Got
back late Sunday night from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association
(SFWA)’s 58th Nebula Awards. I’ve been a SFWA member since 2014, but this was
my first time attending the Nebulas Convention. It travels to a different venue
each year, but since it was in the neighboring city of Anaheim this time around,
I had to check it out and be part of the event, and I’m so happy I did—It was a
great first experience!
The attendance was a little smaller than I’d expected (only about 200 people in-person,
although there were more attendees virtually) and held at the Sheraton Park near
to Disneyland.
I
only knew a few people going in—Kate Maruyama and Peter Blaisdell who I both see
often, and KC Grifant and Arley Sorg, whom I’d met once each before,
but have also corresponded with (and good to see again famed Scott Edelman!).
Myself with Mark Coker and KC GrifantMyself with Kate Maruyama, Krista, and Jennifer R. Povey
(Photo by Kate Maruyama)
Myself with Kate Maruyama, Francesca Myman, Krista, and Jennifer R. Povey
(Photo by Kate Maruyama)
Myself with Kate Maruyama, Krista, and KC Grifant
(Photo by Kate Maruyama)
Best
of all was meeting friends for the first time whom I’ve only ever communicated
with online: Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito, Ai Jiang, and Anna Ziegelhof.
I
was sorry to have missed meeting S. Qiouyi Lu who came by one night, and I only
learned later that Laura Anne Gilman was in attendance, whom I would have loved
to have met.
But
I was also very pleased to meet many other attending writers, some of whom I
only shared a few words of introduction, while others I chatted with for a long
time:
###
While
at the convention, I spoke on two panels:
For The Love of Short
Fiction 2022
by:
Arley Sorg, Eric J. Guignard, Peter Behravesh, Jane Pinckard, and LP Kindred
(Photo by Phong Quan @pqwrites)
Seeking a Writer for
the End of the World
by:
K. R. Monin, Eric J. Guignard, R.W.W. Greene, and John Murphy
###
And
I attended a number of other panels, but only took pics of two:
How to Reach an
Audience with a Niche Genre
by: Jasmine
Gower, Zabé Ellor, Sarah Branson, and M. S. Ewing
Branding and
Marketing: Finding That Return on Investment
by:
L.S. Johnson, Jonathan Brazee, and Cerece Rennie Murphy
###
Nice,
memorable awards show, hosted by designer and actress Cheryl Platz.
(Photo by SFWA)
Anyway,
now marked on my to-do list is to attend the Nebulas again in the future!
Carry
on, Airship Nebula!
#Nebulas2023
