Countdown to Armadillocon

It’s almost time, sports fans.

This weekend, I’ll be participating — along with a ton of other Texas speculative fiction writers, artists, editors and fans — in the 37nd annual ArmadilloCon in Austin.

Guests this year include Ken Liu, James Morrow, L. Timmel Duchamp, John DeNardo, Stina Leicht and Rocky Kelley. San Antonio is well represented with John Picacio, Scott A. Cupp, Peni Griffin, Justin Landon, Juan Manuel Perez, Sherlock, K.B. Rylander and myself in attendance.

The convention runs Friday, July 24, through Sunday, July 26, at the Omni Southpark hotel, 4140 Governors Row. If you’re there, come say “Howdy,” as Texans are wont to do.

Here’s what my schedule looks like:

Reading: “Rattlebone Express”
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Conference Center

Panel: The Art of the Short Story
Friday, 8 p.m. w/ Lou Antonelli, Matthew Bey, Peni Griffin, Julia Mandala and Susan Wade
Ballroom E

Panel: SF TV Shows We’re Anticipating
Friday, 9 p.m. w/ Rick Klaw, Bill Frank, Gloria Oliver and Josh Rountree
Ballroom F

Panel: What Sciences Haven’t Been Used
Saturday, 10 a.m. w/ William Ledbetter, John Moore, Adrian Simmons and Caroline M. Yoachim
Conference Center

Autographing
Saturday, 5 p.m. w/ Matthew Bey, Lillian Stewart Carl, Scott A. Cupp, Henry Melton and Patrice Sarath
Dealer’s Room

Panel: Food in SF
Saturday, 8 p.m. w/ Steven Brust, Julia Mandala, Sherlock and Skyler White
Ballroom F

It’s about the Books: Reflecting on last weekend’s ArmadilloCon

The bar scene at ArmadilloCon: Not quite as odd as the bar scene in "Star Wars," but still full of strange characters. Among them (left to right), SF Signal's John DeNardo, author Joe McKinney, Adventures in SciFi Publishing's Brent Bowen, and author/scholar Matt Cardin.

I attended my first ArmadilloCon three years ago, after decades of staying clear of the SF convention circuit. My memories of cons past were of people in badly fitting Star Trek costumes haggling over toys and packing into hotel rooms to watch sixth-generation copies of anime shows.

If that’s also your memory of SF cons, listen up: ArmadilloCon is not that. Not by a long shot. It’s a con for writers, aspiring writers and people who love SF, fantasy and horror literature and art. Sure, there are a handful of people walking around in steampunk duds and few toys on sale in the dealer’s room, but mostly it’s about the books.

ArmadilloCon 32 was last weekend, and I spent a good portion of it hanging with author and Missions contributor Joe McKinney, podcaster and whisky expert Brent Bowen and the brilliant horror scholar and writer Matt Cardin (who also records eerily beautiful music, it turns out). The three of us put down unhealthy amounts of booze and spent quite a bit of time talking about our favorite obscure horror films. I also enjoyed hooking up with old friends Nicole Duson, an up-and-coming Austin writer, and John DeNardo of the brilliant SF Signal website.

This was the first year I participated in panel discussions, and they turned out to be a blast. During a panel on the New Weird, Neal Barrett Jr. and I agreed that there probably isn’t a New Weird, per se, since many writers — including Neal — have been weird for a long, long time. I also enjoyed my panel on the challenge of writing short stories, where I ended up between luminary authors Michael Bishop and Howard Waldrop (how the hell did I end up so lucky?). Finally, I ended up on a panel about H.P. Lovecraft’s enduring legacy with Matt Cardin and Don Webb, who displayed amazing knowledge of the author’s work. The always witty Joe R. Lansdale made a great case (and one I agreed with) that horror authors can learn far more from writers like Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch and Flannery O’Connor.

Between all the panelizing, socializing and drinking, I managed to fit in a few readings. Stina Leicht read from her upcoming novel, which mixes Celtic mythology and the complicated politics of Northern Ireland. Can’t wait for that one to hit the stands. Joe McKinney’s Sunday afternoon reading of his story “Survivors” proved a great capper to the con.