ReaderCon 33
Yes, I did go to ReaderCon 33.
It’s a convention less about readers than what they read. As the Con puts it:
Although Readercon is modeled on general “science fiction conventions,” we feature a near-total focus on the written word.
a place where
“We support the subversive notion that thinking is fun.”
— Readercon founder Bob Colby
It consisted largely of panel discussion after discussion I wanted to attend. Listening to the successful, esteemed, and various spec-fic allied geeks—such as booksellers, editors, and voice actors.
Lost Thursday
because of a series of mishaps worthy of Inspector Cluuseau, we missed all the programming on Thursday and made it to the store for our room goodies with 15 minutes to spare. Made for some dubious panic purchases, some of which are still living in cabinets.
As my wife is a translator, I didn’t mind missing the panel The Translator as Editor, as I have heard a lot about that already. I suspect I had wanted to go so I could know something about translation she doesn’t. For once.
Friday, plus
I was up early and ready to go Friday, and I indulged in panels such as The Speculated Audience, which was not about readers of speculative fiction. Rather about implied audiences found in a piece of fiction, such as the recipient of letters uncovered in a story—whether the intended person received them or not. These are people who might never show up in a story but for whom a character, in-story or not, wrote or left spoken messages. The panel discussed how we can know who they are from these half-conversations. How these messages can tell several stories at once—of the writer, of the audience that might never have gotten them, and of the fictional reader in the story, or the RL reader of the work. All intriguing angles to a common story feature—the recovered diary, captain’s logs, a bundle of letters from a lover.
Speakers and Readings
There were also plenty of solo talks and readings. In one of those readings, I joined other members of the BSFWs to read a standalone short story from Walking the Darkmaker’s Way, “Whispers in the Water.” This short piece explains how Daan becomes obsessed with a River God by nearly drowning.
The program also featured the presentation of two major genre awards: the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award for a neglected author and the Shirley Jackson Awards for dark fantasy and psychological suspense.
The Con had the expected autograph signing sessions. (We writers like meeting and getting the autographs of authors more famous than us, thank you.) I, though, didn’t go to any. Ran out of time. It’s that kinda packed con.
And, of course, a large Bookshop full of new, used, rare, and collectible books & magazines. That is a dangerous place to enter with a credit card. A siren on every other table sings for you to wreck your budget on the rocks of bound temptations. A few small presses sold their wares there. If you click on “Bookshop” above, you’ll get all the names and links to the shops as well.
Things Not Written
As the organizer said, near-total focus on the written word. One of the most important panels for me was one of those not written ones.
What Makes a Good Audiobook Narrator Tick: during this panel, three voice-over actors talked shop about things we writers might not know about the narration of audiobooks. And it gave me ideas for solving problems I have with my own narrated tracks. Specifically, how to voice a female character without sounding like a Monty Python skit and how to cast voices for different parts in a reading. Fascinating stuff.
Writers are Real People, too
But what I like the best about this con is seeing a badge on someone and knowing they are one of us, just as I am. Conversation is easy. Ranges from personal to professional.
The tables on the patio behind the hotel are everchanging conversation pits. I went to see the person I was sharing a suite with, Andrew. I sat down and didn’t leave for nearly three hours. Just before Andrew left, two other writers pulled a table up, expanding our group—a horror writer who goes by a pseudonym I’ve forgotten and a writer who sat on a panel earlier. The conversation lit up and rolled. Not long after, the best-selling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch, pulls up a seat next to me. I had seen him earlier in a panel on writing series endings, and now we were talking about other cons and how he grew up in western Massachusetts. After a bit, we decided to order Indian Food, and I found out the name I’d been using for that horror writer was a pen name—I had to pay her back using Venmo, and that takes real names only—Teri Clarke. Helps that the app keeps names for me 😊.
It’s fascinating to see writers as just people. Real people with many of the same problems as anyone else has, and with the same need to fit in and be liked and to just enjoy shooting the shit with other folks.
If you want, swing over here for more details about the con here: ReaderCon 33 .
Of Audiobooks
One of the effects of this con was to drive me to dive back into my own audiobook. This was my first attempt at recording a reading after giving a fair number of live readings back in the day. I’d thought I had done rather well with it. Perhaps some blemishes, but a solid performance.
Well, I hadn’t, and it wasn’t.
I was so concentrated on learning the software and making sure all the words got recorded that I failed to look at each story as a whole. As a piece that needs to be directed. Making sure the whole flows, has the right hesitations, and that the narrator or character speaks from within the story. It’s a performance, after all, not merely reading lines off a page.
And the women‘s voices I had worked so hard to make sound natural—came off all Monty Python. I cringe thinking of it now.
The time between the recording and this last listening was long enough for me to let go of all the work I’d done and simply hear what I recorded and ye-ow. Not so good.
I pulled all the files offline and scrubbed any reference to an audiobook. The eBook of the text is available. And might read slightly off, given it is the “print” version of what I had recorded. The stories are good. The connections between them, well…
What’s going to happen to the audiobook version?
Oh, I plan on recording it using all the knowledge gleaned from the Con. Including how not to embarrass myself with women’s voices. I’ll probably record it story by story and make each available to listen to.
Eventually, rerecorded the intro, connecting bits, and sendoff to ultimately be assembled into an audiobook in 2025.
For anyone who has already downloaded the audiobook version, apologies. I promise this next one will be worth the time in your ears.
Other Things and Stuff
I am taking a mentor’s advice and looking into short stories. Probably set in the world of Walking the Darkmaker’s Way. Possibly dipping into an Urban Fantasy, I’ve been playing with off and on. We will see.
If you have any thoughts about what you’d like to see me pursue, let me know. Readers are why I’m spending so many hours alone.
