The Rolling Stones said it best.
You can’t always get what you want.
I love having an active role at conventions. Being on panels with other authors, reading my work, selling my books and interacting with other people… I consider all these things the lifeblood of my Con experience.
But this year, for various reasons, I only had an active part to play in one of them.
To be honest, I’ve always struggled with imposter syndrome and not having an active role in the cons depressed me. I felt adrift, like I had no purpose.
That’s when I took matters into my own hands. I decided what kind of convention experience I wanted to have.
How did I do that?
I decided on a theme for each convention.
For WorldCon 2026, the massive international gathering of fantasy, science fiction and horror writers, I decided to absorb as much information as I could. I attended a wide range of panels, to get a sense of where my genre (and those adjacent to mine) was heading. I went to talks on horror in space, dark academia, cozy horror and the intersection of horror and romance. But I also branched out and sat in on panels on Greek mythology, audiobook production, creating inhuman characters, and the power of using middle-aged women as lead characters. Casting the net a little wider gave me a lot of fuel for thought (and material for future stories).
Me with the one and only John Scalzi
WorldCon was also the place where I went into full fan mode. I met authors I’ve long admired: TK Kingfisher, John Scalzi, Wil Wheaton, and Nick Mamatas.
The World Fantasy Convention in Oakland didn’t have as much programming, so I decided to do something called a “HallCon”. That’s when most of the action takes place in the halls between the formal programming.
For example, I met up with the local horror writer’s group in the lobby of the hotel. We just hung out and talked before we all went to their late-night panel “Horror Is Always with Us”.
I reconnected with a writer I met at last year’s World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, England. She invited my husband and I to a breakfast meetup with some other science fiction and fantasy authors. We joined them for a lively conversation (and some amazing diner food!).
Of course, I also got to be a fan. I had a moment to talk to Stephen Graham Jones, the New York Times bestselling and Hugo award winning author. I have met him at other cons and he is always gracious and generous with his time.
Even though I had no official role, I wound up getting a lot out of the conventions by “choosing my own adventure”.
It’s true what the Rolling Stones said.
You can’t always get what you want.
But if you try sometime, you’ll find, you get what you need.