Patrick Swenson

The end of August saw my trip to San Antonio for Worldcon, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention. Worldcons are often well attended, full of panels and publisher parties, books and art…most of the time there’s just too much going on and not enough time to do everything. I suppose, considering the attendance at such major conventions such as the San Diego Comic Con, which boasts over a 100,000 attendees, a Worldcon’s numbers (three thousand to six thousand attendees) doesn’t seem like a lot.

Next summer, Worldcon will be in London. The attendance is bound to be smaller. I don’t usually attend the major conventions that take place outside the country. But now, of course, there’s a catch. My novel comes out next August.  Do I go to London?

A well-respected editor told me I might consider Dragoncon, in Atlanta. I asked: Isn’t that a media convention similar to Comic Con? I was told: It’s a matter of perception. Only 20% of attendees at Dragoncon are readers, and official attendance last year was around 50,000. Unofficial attendance, 100,000.  That would be 20,000 readers who might stumble across my book! The Worldcon in London, at best, will bring 5,000 attendees. Certainly something to think about when I make my decision about where to go.

As chance has it, the World Fantasy Convention, one of my favorites of the year, is also in London. That happens in a couple of weeks, and sadly, I’ll have to miss it. Next year, it will be in Washington D.C. I attended the convention the last time it was held there, in 2003. It’ll be good to go back and see the sights I wasn’t able to get to the last time. And it’ll be just two months after the book comes out.

Well, there are lots of things to keep in mind as the next ten months go by. Most new novels by “new” authors have a small window of time to make a splash. I’d love to have a chance to show everyone the sequel!