The Exploding Spaceship Reviews ConCarolinas May 29-31, 2015 and Previews Guests for 2016
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The Exploding Spaceship Reviews ConCarolinas May 29-31, 2015 and Previews Guests for 2016
Posted on 2015-11-04 at 06:14 by angelablackwell
The new location for this convention, Embassy Suites Concord, was quite an improvement over the crowded hotel of years past. There were more function rooms of larger size so all the panels had enough room, even those featuring John Scalzi. The dealer room was larger and had more vendors. The hallways are very wide so even with tables on both sides of the hallway people browsing on the two sides didn’t bump into each other.
The location is not far from Concord Mills and all the eateries surrounding it so food for every budget was easy to obtain. Also for those of us coming from north of Charlotte this location has plenty of backroads routes which allow you to miss the Friday afternoon horrible traffic. Arriving less stressed is always a bonus.
The author guests were more diverse than your humble reviewers had ever seen at a southeastern convention. Panels on many writing topics had authors of various backgrounds including self-published and traditionally published as well as some small press. Also the “diverse” authors were present on several panels for their appropriate areas and not just on the “diversity” panels. The “diversity” panels actually were about writing someone who isn’t you and were helpful in discussing resources and how to meet people with a background like your character. Also discussed was some things to do and not to do when meeting “others” so prospective authors can make new friends not just be accused of using people for their knowledge.
There were many great costumes including several Mad Max (which had just been released in cinemas) influenced ones. Also there were the standard superheros, TV characters and even a few giant inflatable beings used as advertising.
Next year’s convention will be at the same venue. Writer GOH is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Ursula Vernon is Artist GOH. Special Author Guest Christie Golden has also been announced for next year. Special Media Guest is Bill Blair. Master of Ceremonies is Rich Sigfrit.