World Fantasy Convention

Yesterday's panel on villains and their motivations, starring Len Wein, Kay Kenyon, John Fultz, F. Paul Wilson (moderator), and myself, seemed to go well. Up on the panel, we were all pleased afterwards: it felt like we'd had a useful discussion and left the audience wanting more. Audience feedback was uniformly good afterwards, and it was a pleasure meeting my fellow panelists.

For a combination of reasons I haven't been getting to much of the program, though I can report that the "in conversation" item with convention guests Neil Gaiman and Connie Willis was delightful - both are very engaging personalities. The mass autograph signing last night was lots of fun, as these things always are, with a large number of authors all in one room and a strong feeling of the almost familial relationship among authors.

I spent a fair bit of time at the party afterwards talking to James Bradley, Gregory Benford, and literary agent Cherry Weiner. Great to see you guys. Have also been glad to catch up with many other friends whom I don't see often enough. Once again, I'm running late this morning in getting along to the program items, but never mind ... I'm sure it'll be a good day.

The big question is whether I'll be able to fly home on Monday, given the industrial action affecting Qantas (which is currently totally grounded ) ... but I guess I'll have to deal with that problem when I get to it.