Easter is over and I’m feeling sad. That’s because Swancon, the annual Western Australian Science Fiction Convention, is over for another year. Every year, as summer draws to a close, I start to look forward to four days of socialising with fellow fans and sitting in on panels — usually in the audience but sometimes on the podium — about books, writing and other topics of interest to aficionados of genre fiction in all its forms. This is the eighth one I have attended and Swancon has never yet disappointed me. There are always interesting, knowledgeable guests from Australia and overseas, as well as plenty of good company.

This year was no exception. We had two excellent Guests of Honour: American author Brandon Sanderson, successor to the late Robert Jordan and author of well over a dozen excellent books and the very versatile and gifted Marianne de Pierres, author of the Sentients of Orion trilogy, the Parrish Plessis series and, writing as Marianne Delacourt, the Tara Sharp books, as well as several novels for teenagers.

Local authors, including Bevan McGuiness, Stephen Dedman and Sue Isles, also lent their presence to various panel discussions on books, comics, games, reading, writing, authors, film, TV programs – two or three panels or talks in an average of eight time slots on each of four days. There is no way any one person could be at all of them!

There were a couple of book launches, several author talks, classes on subjects as diverse as poi twirling, how to run a convention and how to play the game ‘Magic the Gathering’, a favourite pastime of our overseas guest, Brandon Sanderson.

I always enjoy the panels on the techniques of writing. Our guests offered many hints on finishing a manuscript, breaking through writers’ block, inventing new worlds and other aspects of the craft, among other salient subjects.

I was involved in three panels: one on how to rewrite or revise a manuscript, one on how fairy tales are used in modern films and books and one on what happens — or should happen! — after you’ve finished your manuscript. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them as I had excellent team mates including my fellow Egobooers Helen Venn and Carol Ryles and fellow editors Alisa Krasnostein and Jonathan Strahan.

But sadly, it’s all over now until next year.Hopefully, I'll be able to attend at least a couple more cons before then.

Aussiecon4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, has just ended. An amazing and sometimes overwhelming experience, it has been a once-in-a-lifetime event for me, since the “Worldcon” is only held in Australia about once in a decade. The four held here so far have all been in Melbourne

The event was both exhilarating and frustrating: exhilarating because of the combination of guests from all over the world, a huge array of panel topics and panellists and activities that included kaffeeklatsches with, and readings by, dozens of writers; the opportunity to buy books and other fan-pleasing merchandise from a veritable army of dealers, and the possibility of falling over a favourite author in the bar or in an elevator.

And the frustration? It just wasn't possible to take advantage of even a tenth of the offerings. Several times I found myself sitting in the foyer, poring over the program, unable to make up my mind which panel or kaffeeklatsch to go to and ending up so paralysed that I did none of them, opting instead for the comfort of a hot coffee or a turn about the dealers' room! Nevertheless, I did attend about a dozen panels, four or five kaffeeklatsches and about the same number of readings. Some of my favourite authors, including Glenda Larke, Juliet Marillier and Karen Miller, sat on panels,and I even took part in one myself. It was about YA paranormal romance, which I list among my least favourite sub-genres, while I was overlooked for all the reviewing panels. Obviously the mode of allocating panellists to panels is beyond my comprehension. However, my fellow-panellists – Crisetta McLeod, Amanda Pillar and Tehani Wessely (who is an awesome moderator) - covered up for any deficiencies I might have!

There were glittering social events, too, and. I was lucky enough to be invited to two of them. The first was a fifteenth birthday celebration for HarperCollins's spec-fic imprint, Voyager. No less a personage than George R R Martin himself cut the cake, to the accompaniment of a blaze of exploding torches outside the windows framing the dais in the Crown Entertainment Complex. Mr Martin joked about authors who do not submit their books on time, to the amusement of those of us who have been awaiting the appearance of his long-delayed opus, A Dance with Dragons. (Perhaps next year, in Reno, brethren...) The second event was a pre-Hugo awards party, kindly put on by the Orion imprint of Hachette Livre. This was another stupendous event, in which artist Nick Stathopoulos proudly showed the shining throng his beautifully crafted award statuette. It incorporated elements of Art Nouveau and Aboriginal creation stories, a mix that shouldn't have worked but did, and that right wonderfully.

Later in the evening, the Hugos were presented. There was one Aussie among the winners – artist Sean Tan, a Perthite now living in Melbourne. Tan is highly regarded, not only for his art but also for his writing and his personal popularity as a humble and generous all-round Nice Guy. Aussie editor Jonathan Strahan just missed out on an award, but I hasten to add that to be shortlisted for the Hugos is as prestigious in the SF world as is being shortlisted for the Oscars in the realm of cinema, so we in Aussie fandom are very proud of both these talented men.

I had hoped to catch up with many of the friends I've made online, and indeed I did manage to kaffeeklatsch with some of my fellow webzine workers, not only those on The Specusphere but others including Nyssa Pascoe, Phill Berrie, Crisetta McLeod, Chuck McKenzie, Simon Petrie, Helen Stubbs, Damien Smith, Brendan Carson and Catherine Gunson. I also managed quick schmoozes with many others including Sally Beasley, Sue Bursztynski, Michele Cashmore, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Edwina Harvey, Judi Hodgkin (a lovely surprise, that, for I hadn't seen ex-WAAPA buddy Judi since 1990!), Heidi Kneale, Dean Laslett, Dave Luckett, Ian McHugh, Nicole Murphy, Ian Nichols, Gillian Polack and Monissa Whiteley. Plus, of course, my dear friends from the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre: Sarah Parker, Andrew Partington, Carol Ryles, Helen Venn and Jessica Vivien. There were, in fact, well over a hundred Perthites among the membership, perhaps more per head of population than any other city in the world!

What's more, I made many new friends and acquaintances, not least my room-mate at the Melbourne Central YHA hostel, Ruth Anne from San Francisco. I also had the opportunity to consult with the London literary agent who had been kind enough to read the opening pages of my trilogy. He was very encouraging and offered me the opportunity to submit again when I've made some improvements.

There is so much to say about Aussiecon4 that I feel I should stop waxing lyrical about it lest I bore you, since only being present at such an event can give a true idea of its wonder and complexity. There will be plenty written about it elsewhere, and I will probably write more myself for The Specusphere. But let me register here my profound thanks to Sue Ann Barber and the rest of the hard-working team who put the con together. It was an amazing achievement!

I return to Perth tomorrow for another round of housesitting, so I should have pictures of some new furry friends to share with you next time!

I came back to Perth especially to attend Swancon, and a friend has very kindly put me up for the nonce, since my first housesit doesn’t start until Thursday. I have house-sitting or other accommodation lined up for the next three months, so I shall avoid at least half of Mount Gambier’s beastly rotten horrible cold wet winter.

Are you wondering what “Swancon” is? It’s Perth’s annual Speculative Fiction convention. Easter every year is special for Perth fans. We descend on a hotel — for the last few years it’s been the All Seasons in Northbridge — to play RPGs, to listen to speakers, to socialize and to dress up for the masquerade that’s held on the Saturday night. There is always a Guest of Honour from overseas (this year it was American Scott Sigler) and an Aussie Guest of Honour (Ian Irvine from NSW filled that role for 2010). They are both interesting speakers who are keen to advise and assist less experienced writers. Scott Sigler had us all enthused about the benefits of self-publishing (he’s one of the rare birds who gained contracts with publishing houses via that route and has now become a bestselling author) while Ian Irvine offered useful tips on writing and publishing, as did other authors including Narrelle Harris, Richard Harland, Dave Luckett and Stephen Dedman. These are the panels I love best and I find it a great privilege to sit at the feet of writers who have made it to the revered status of professionally published author!

As last year, I was on a Romance panel, again with Juliet Marillier, one of my favourite authors, who won the Tin Duck, a prize awarded by popular vote to the WA author who has had material published in the last year. Juliet won the trophy for her novel “Heart’s Blood”. Three other friends — Laney Cairo, fellow Egobooer Sarah Parker and fan Samara Morgan — were on the panel with Juliet and me, and despite a certain amount of sometimes overwhelmingly enthusiastic participation from the audience I think we gave a pretty good account of ourselves:-)

There were book launches, too, notably Belong, an anthology about finding and acknowledging one’s true home, and Scary Kisses, a good fun blend of vampires and other shape-shifters with suspense, horror and humour. Both are published by Ticonderoga. Several friends and colleagues, including Annette Backshall, Astrid Cooper, Carol Ryles, Donna Maree Hanson, Felicity Dowker, Nicole Murphy, Patty Jansen, Simon Petrie and Sonia Helbig have works in one or other of these anthologies. Scary Kisses will be reviewed in the April issue of The Specusphere, which goes live this Sunday. We hope to have a review of Belong ready for the June issue.

Swancon’s all over until next Easter, but meantime I’m eagerly looking forward to the Katharine Susannah Prichard SF group’s mini-con on 2 May and the much-anticipated Worldcon in Melbourne in September.

I’ve spent a happy weekend hanging out at the Conflux Mini-con. This is a great idea: a precursor to the live convention and a wonderful second-best for people who, like me, can’t get to Canberra. I lurked around and occasionally commented on discussions led by some articulate and entertaining people including Jack Dann, Simon Haynes, Bruce Gillespie, Glenda Larke, Sharyn Lilley, Karen Miller, Marianne de Pierres, Gillian Polack, Cat Sparks and Sean Williams. Writers and fans from all over the world joined in. One new e-buddy, Pema Lloyd, from Tucson, Arizona, stayed up all night so she didn’t have to miss any panels! Now that’s dedication for you. If you’d like to read the words of wisdom that were bandied about, go to the Conflux forum and check out the entries. And bookmark the page for next year! On another part of the site you can even download recorded talks from last year’s Conflux.

Congratulations are due to the team, comprising Phill Berrie, Stephen Herring, Nicole Murphy and Gillian Polack. I'm looking forward to next year already.

In between the great discussions at Conflux, I've been planning a mini-con of my own. Well, not just mine, you understand, but mine and a few other people's brainchild - (Ta Da!) - The KSPSF Mini-con!

We held the first one of these two years ago and it was successful beyond our wildest dreams. We thought maybe twenty or thirty people would show up, but in fact half Perth fandom appeared to be there. Trouble was, it rained, and activities planned for out-of-doors had to be held indoors. This time we've planned it for later in the year so hopefully the overcrowding won't happen.

Confirmed panellists include Adrian Bedford, Janet Blagg, Lee Battersby, Lyn Battersby, Hal Colebatch, Stephen Dedman, Russell Farr, Simon Haynes, Elaine Kemp, Alisa Krasnostein, Martin Livings, Dave Luckett, Bevan McGuiness, Juliet Marillier, Ian Nichols, John Parker, Grant Stone and Tehani Wessely.

Our Fearless Leader, Helen Venn, has set up a blog for the minicon here. I've linked to the site (see left)so you can check for updates about guests, food, books for sale, activities etc as they are added to the schedule. It should be a great day - and guess what? Just one gold coin will get you in! A cheap lunch will be available as well as ongoing refreshments. If you live in Perth or not too far away, write it in your diary now - Sunday 21 September, 10.00am-5.00pm. Barring a naked orgy in the woods, what better way to spend the Equinox?

One last post on Swancon and then I must set it aside for another year. A terrible thought - what if I can’t be here next year? I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have been able to cross the Nullarbor this time, so I won’t count on coming again. But there are other cons in other cities. In fact, there are plans for next year’s Natcon to be in Adelaide, which would be brilliant.

But Swancon was wonderful and my heart is still singing. Of course, I loved the Fantasy panels, including the one I mentioned in my Saturday post called “A Point of Difference: Standing out in Fantasy Fiction”, which involved Glenda Larke, Juliet Marillier, Bevan McGuiness and Karen Miller. There was another good one on Friday, called “Story Building” with Lee Battersby, Bevan McGuiness and Karen Miller. They were discussing the way they put their stories together and I was relieved to find that they are all “flimmerers” – they start with a beginning, probably an ending and possibly some bits in the middle – but they do not write strict outlines. Now I’ve been writing by this method for ten years and still can’t plot my way out of a paper bag. Listening to these guys I realised they have a gift that I missed out on. All of them can access the unconscious almost at will. That was a revelation to me! I caught Bevan McGuiness later and he agreed: this skill is an essential one for a fiction writer. He mentioned a book by Ayn Rand called “The Art of Fiction”. I googled for it and found a whole Wikipedia article on it here. Well worth reading, from the looks of it – but can this skill be learned? I’m not sure, but if I’m ever going to finish the never ending trilogy I’m going to have to try.

Glenda Larke gave a superb Guest of Honour Speech in which she drew together the many and varied threads of her life. She lives in Malaysia and when not writing fantasy, works as an ornithologist. Her blog (see link above left, under my picture) always makes interesting reading and her GoH talk was likewise engrossing. She gave an excellent writing workshop at the con –no extra charge! – which I also enjoyed very much. It was about “Mistakes Beginners Make” and I’ve made them all. Does that mean that maybe I’m not quite a beginner any more?

Space Opera, it seems, is back in fashion. I sat in on a panel given by Ken McLeod, the overseas Guest of Honour, with Karl Schroeder and Sean Williams. They began with a history of the sub-genre, which was a Good Thing for me, since I haven't read anything in this line for years. At one time, I quite enjoyed the works of Isaac Asimov and E.E. "Doc" Smith, but I quickly got sick of the sexist attitudes of the characters, which undoubtedly reflected those of the authors. Asimov, Smith and others of their ilk were men of their time, and we cannot blame them for that, but by the 1960s feminism was already burgeoning. While I had no desire to burn my bra or climb a corporate ladder, I was glad to get a breath of fresh air after the stultifying atmosphere of the fifties. And in the seventies I discovered Anne McCaffrey, so Asimov et al stayed on the bookshelf.

But the New Space Opera, they told us, is darker, meatier, grittier and much more accessible by women. In fact, Aussie author Marianne de Pierres writes it, and, I believe, does it well. I have only read Marianne's Parrish Plessis novels but I shall have to dip into her Dark Space and its sequels to find out if the New Space Opera is something I might grow to love.

One of the last panels was one of the best: In “Writing for Television: A Guide for New Writers”, Grant Watson facilitated a conversation between Rob Shearman, who wrote the Dr Who episode “Daleks” in the recent series, and Graeme Watson, also a script writer of note. It was very entertaining and informative.

The Academic stream, called “SF Histories”, was the most ambitious such program I’ve come across and some say it was the best and most thorough ever presented in Australia. Over twenty papers were read in just two days, in a kind of forced brain-feeding that left the head whirling. I only heard three or four of the papers, but Cathy Cupitt has blogged “notes on several papers from the Academic Stream and some other thinky panels” here while Dr Stephen Dedman, organiser of next year’s academic stream, has even put out “a very early call for papers - on SF, Fantasy, Horror, Slipstream, Futurism, Astronomy, Spaceflight, Forensics, Robotics, Exobiology...” here. I’d like to see Academic streams given due credibility both by fandom and academia. They are heading that way, it seems, for this year’s stream was supported by Curtin University and fans ran back and forth between the regular panels and activities and the academic stream.

The best part about cons is the happiness they generate. Being with like-minded people opens the heart and mind better than almost anything else. Suddenly, the world is heaven, and all one’s friends are angels. As well as enjoying the company of writers, editors, reviewers and publishers I already know, including Lee and Lyn Battersby, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Stephen Dedman, Sonia Helbig, Glenda Larke, Dave Luckett, Juliet Marillier, Karen Miller, Marianne de Pierres, Carol Ryles, Cat Sparkes, Helen Venn and Jessica Vivien, I also finally met others whom I’d only known by repute or via e-mail, including Trudi Canavan, Brendan Carson, Russell B. Farr, Edwina Harvey, Bevan McGuiness, Joel Shepherd, Sean Williams and Damien Warman. Damien, BTW, is the point person for next year’s projected Natcon in Adelaide. I hope I’ll be able to become involved in getting that up and running, for South Australia has never had a con. It should have, because lots of writers live there, including Fiona McIntosh and Sean Williams.

As a Swancon bonus, I got my grasping hands on two lovely new books to review. One is a historical YA novel called Escape by Sea, by L.S. Lawrence, who is really a specfic writer with the initials D.L. but I’m not allowed to mention the two names in the same context. It’s a rip roaring adventure story with a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter. The other book is a magnificent coffee-table tome by Pat McNamara, Michal DutRiewicz and Gary Turner. Entitled The Last Realm: Book One: Dragonscarpe. It is a visual treat with dragons, knights, wicked villains and fair maidens leaping from every page. Both are already available but my reviews won’t appear in The Specusphere until May.

OK, I promise not to mention Swancon again for a while. Well, not very much. Maybe a little bit, now and then, to remind you how good it is and how you all ought to come next year.

This time last year I was in Europe. I attended the Easter Eve service in a little country church in the Rhine Valley with my dear friend and cousin-by-marriage, Elfriede. A week later, I was back in England, catching up with Diana in London, and after that I met up with my Canadian e-cousin, Alison. We spent a wonderful weekend in the lovely medieval city of Winchester. The beauty and magnificence of that town’s famous cathedral will linger in my heart and mind forever, as will the delightful time spent in Alison’s company. That trip was one of the highlights of my life to date, giving me, as it did, opportunities to meet face-to-face with people I'd communicated with via the internet through our mutual interest in family history. This year at this time, my focus is on another of my passions - speculative fiction.

Alison and I chat regularly on Facebook, and yesterday I received a puzzled message from her. “Satima,” she asked, “what is a Swancon?” She had noted my excited posts to all and sundry, counting down the days to my favourite Easter activity. But living in Nova Scotia, how could she know that Swancon is the annual convention held by Perth’s speculative arts community since 1975? The black swan, you see, is Western Australia’s animal emblem, and the word convention is universally abbreviated to “con” by the communities that raise and support them. Hence “Swancon”.

A report on Swancon can only be like a report from one of the Blind Men in the Buddha’s parable of the elephant. You can feel the trunk, the ears, a leg or the tail, but never all four at once. In fact, Swancon is even worse, for as well as four streams of games, panels and talks running simultaneously, there is an art show and an auction/market. And although the attendees are all speculative arts enthusiasts, none has yet managed the art of even bi-location, let alone sesqui-location, so it just isn't possible to attend everything.

It seems to me that attendees fall into categories, and I shall attempt to delineate them for you: the Flavell system of sorting con-goers. First, there are the Readers, many of whom aspire to write - I count myself in this category. Then there are the Academics: people who are studying for masters or doctoral degrees or who are involved in lecturing or the archiving of speculative materials. Next, we have the Gamers, who can discuss World of Warcraft (or whatever game constitutes their particular addiction) in minute detail and aim to thrash the pants off anyone else addicted to the same pastime. There are also the Professionals – writers, publishers, artists and retailers, who, as well as loving the speculative arts, obviously have an interest in promoting their wares. And the biggest category of all is made up of the Fans, who just love attending cons for their own sake. Many of them are not only widely read, but can also discuss movies, TV shows, comics and the history of the speculative genres in considerable depth. However, it is apparent that fellowship is their main reason for attending cons. Many fans seldom go to talks or panels, but hang out in the foyer or one of the other open spaces, catching up on gossip and discussing the latest trends in things speculative.

There is considerable overlap among these divisions – most attendees would fit into more than one of them. The true Fans, however, can be identified by their almost universal proclivity for black clothes. (At least this has been true of every con I’ve attended, so if it isn’t universally so, blame my ignorance for the sweeping statement.) One almost starts to think that black clothing is compulsory, for in the foyer and the panel rooms one is surrounded by a veritable sea of black garments, with hardly a flash of colour in sight. I learnt after my first con to wear at least one black article so as not to look too eccentric.

Fans are the wonderful, hard-working people who make up the committees, do the fundraising and organizing and oversee the smooth running of the event. And it takes some doing. Fans form teams that vie with each other for the privilege of organising the next-but-one convention: that’s how long it takes to pull all the elements together. I dips me lid to these guys. This year’s event was organised by Anna Hepworth, Elaine Walker, Linda Deegan, Grant Watson, Dave Cake and a strong support crew. They deserve medals, every last one of them. Planning for next year’s event, to be held from 9-13 April 2009, is in the hard-working hands of PRK and his team. They already have Guests of Honour lined up and are busy planning fundraising events for the coming year.

Next time, I’ll give you more on the panels I attended and the other activities available to con-goers, but that’s enough for one lesson. Class dismissed:-)

Well, maybe not really sad. Kind of happy sad. It was a wonderful con and there is so much to blog I don't know where to start. I think maybe I need a night's sleep first. Suffice it to say that I've been going to Swancon since 2003 or thereabouts and this was the best one yet. Perhaps that's at least in part because I know more people now. The con-going community is like one huge extended family, with some cousins you know well and feel at ease with, others you like but aren't too sure of and still others who are friends you just don't know yet. This year I caught up with loads of old friends and colleagues and made some new acquaintances. Some of those I already "knew" from Facebook and the blog round and some were introduced to me at the con. Tomorrow I'll look up all their blogs or web pages and make links.

You'll be glad to know the two panels I was involved with went OK, and I emerged unscathed. One was entitled "Girl Meets Boy: Romance in Fantasy". I felt really honoured to be on the dais with Glenda Larke and Juliet Marillier, to say nothing of fellow fan Ju Landeesse who is a much more experienced con-goer than I. Glenda Larke has a photo of this panel up on her blog. (See link up left, under my photo.) Juliet is holding forth (very knowledgeably, I might add) and I look like a stunned mullett, probably at the realisation of actually being up on a panel beside her. Juliet chaired this panel very skilfully, I thought. It can be hard to keep panels on track as some enthusiasts from the audience tend to get excited and throw in comments with wild abandon, sometimes to the point of being quite disruptive. Not on this panel, though: everyone was very well-behaved:-) We each nominated our favourite romances in Fantasy, and there was a surprising degree of agreement. We three older women loved Jacqueline Carey and Guy Gavriel Kay, although Ju, perhaps because she is younger and has different tastes, selected works by Anne Bishop, Louise McMaster Bujold and Scott Westerfield as her faves.

The other panel I was on was called "Critiquing: how much is too much" and here again Juliet was a great chair. The other panellists were Lee Battersby, Robert Hoge and Cat Sparks. I forgot to get anyone to take pix of that one, darnit. Just be assured we were all confident, well prepared and extremely knowledgeable. Well, the others were, anyway:-) We all agreed, I think, that crit groups can be useful provided the members all have the same aims (it's no good putting occasional writers in with intending professionals) and are willing and able to critique each other's work in an open-minded and open-hearted manner. Everyone, it seemed, had some experience of being in groups that just weren't working for them, and we all agreed that it's best to move on when that happens.

I'll come back tomorrow with lots of links and a bit about the panels and talks I liked best. But right now I really must go to bed!

This is just an interim post to tell you all how much fun I'm having at Swancon. It is wonderful to be among like-minded souls and to listen to talks and panels on a wide range of topics by a variety of knowledgeable people. This afternoon there was one of the best panels - Glenda Larke, Juliet Marillier, Karen Mills and Bevan McGuiness discussing "How to stand out in fantasy". While the content was interesting and encouraging, the main thing that gripped me was the sincerity and enthusiasm of all four writers. My favourite writers are all very dedicated people. I guess you have to be to stick at a job where the money isn't all that crash hot and you only have a job for as long as you can go on turning out good books. I am so filled with affection and admiration for these special people that my heart always feels open and joyful when I'm at a convention. And that, friends, is the very best thing about cons:-)

I'll post a more thorough report on Tuesday, or maybe even Monday night. May you also have open and happy hearts in the meantime!