Heading to a Con? Start Here.
The World Fantasy Convention is coming up at the end of the month! Similar to the World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon, World Fantasy moves around the world each year. This year, it will be back in Brighton, England.
I’ve had the amazing opportunity to attend two World Fantasy Conventions, plus this year’s WorldCon. So I’ve taken the liberty to put together a list of quick tips based on my experiences. Whether you’re attending your first major literary convention or you’re old hat, I hope you’ll find something useful.
1. Get your badge early! Don't wait for the first day; conventions often open their registration desks before the official start date because they anticipate a large number of attendees will be traveling.
2. Wear a mask. You won't be the only one. WorldCon had a super helpful Covid reporting channel in their Discord server, and as it filled with updates I was more and more relieved I’d decided to wear a KN95.
3. Consider staying at the con hotel at least one night, even if you're local, to help w/ fatigue. You'll be able to go to parties, nap, and wake up later
4. If you're local, bring lunches!
5. Don't be afraid to sit at big tables with empty seats—or to choose an empty table and invite strangers to join you.
6. Bring business cards or something similar (at WorldCon one of my writing friends handed out small embroidered keychains instead of business cards, which was brilliant!). Just don't make business cards black! And when you exchange business cards with someone, take a moment to jot a note on their card about when you met them and why you exchanged info.
7. It's ok to leave a session if you don't like it. Or if you’re just tired. Or if it’s different from what you expected. People move in and out of sessions all the time.
8. If you're a writer, have an elevator pitch at hand—and no, it doesn't need to be memorized!
9. Use the con's communication platform, even if it's not one you're familiar with or that you plan to keep using. If you don't, you'll miss out on a lot.
10. Take time to think about your con goals. What do you want to get out of it? What do you need to be at peak for days on end? Why are you paying to go?
There are no wrong answers, but knowing these things ahead of time will make it easier to decide where to spend you time
11. Be flexible. You may meet friend(s) you'd rather chat with than go to a session. That's ok!
12. Bring a friend to the con with you, especially if it's your first time! You can divide and conquer sessions, and be one another's wing person
13. Wear comfortable shoes and be ready to walk. A lot. At WorldCon I walked 5 miles or more without even leaving the convention center!
14. Take breaks as soon as you feel like you might need one. Don’t try to power through, or you’ll burn out.
15. Related, If you get sick, isolate! No one else wants to get what you've got.
16. If you’re traveling to the con, try to take the opportunity to explore by arriving and leaving with a day or two buffer around the con itself. And even if you don’t travel anywhere, plan some recuperation time after!
17. Don't assume you'll remember things like the context of conversations, why you took a business card, etc., even a day later. Even if you have a great memory!
18. Be distinctive in a good way! For instance, the classmate I attended by first World Fantasy with wore a leather hat that people remembered. For WorldCon, I wore geeky skirts and dresses and chainmail jewelry, both of which were great conversation starters.