Blog Posts and Writeups

• Chooseomatic Books: Norwescon wrapup! “Norwescon is a weird, wonderful convention, people.”
• Crime and the Forces of Evil: seriously is it wednesday already? “The Saturday night concert set – that was pretty epic.”
• Dennis R. Upkins: Norwescon Interview “So at Norwescon, Triple J and I had just finished lunch and I was in between panels so we decided to do an impromptu interview.”
• Diana Pharaoh Francis: Finally, a Norwescon report “I saw some of the masquerade costumes and many were just stunning. I would have loved to go and see more.”
• Dorkadia: Running 13th Age Demos at Norwescon “The combat was fast and furious, most of the players immediately grasped their class powers in a matter of a single round of combat. The cleric buffed, the barbarian smashed, paladin smote with impunity. Huge success.”
• Fanboy News Network: Norwescon recap “Ran Cards Against Humanity every night in the Gaming area after it went to uncensored play at 10 PM. Most memorable hand: The question was ‘What is Batman’s guilty pleasure?’ the winning card was ‘dead parents.’”
• Speculative Friction: Post Norwescon Blues “As usual, the convention rocked. The panels were awesome, the parties were fun and the crowds were awe inspiring. [...] It’s a great con with lots of great people and perks.”
• Out of the Mouths of Gamers’ Babes: Ambassador to the Norms “There are always fabulous outfits at these things, and this year was no exception. I saw a realistic Xena and a tiny Rainbow Brite, and a giant Totoro, and the YipYip Martians were back. But there was one costume that I felt was so perfectly done it deserved special mention.”
• Geek’s Dream Girl: Pointers for Panel Audiences “I had a whirlwind Norwescon this year, moderating panels and a Q&A with Lee Moyer. It was my first time moderating at a con, and my first time doing a live Q&A interview.”
• Geek Girls Rule!: Podcast #34 — Norwescon Wrap Up! “Ok, so I did Norwescon this last weekend. And this podcast talks about how it went, how much fun I had, and one or two little road bumps that were all me. So, I hope you enjoy it.”
• GeekyLibrary: Norwescon 36 “I had never been to a science fiction convention — there I said it — before this past weekend. I’m a little sad about that, I had no idea what I was missing.”
• Heroines of Fantasy: Norwescon, Seattle “…in the end I would say my experience was a qualified success. The con is GREAT with something for everyone. It has a long history and supports local writers. I will be back.”
• Iron Head Jane: NorWesCon, Dragonlance, and the Awesomeness of Fan-generated Media “If there’s one thing that I have taken away from NorWesCon this weekend, it is that fan fiction and fan art is legitimate and important, and should not be minimized.”
• Jay Lake: Still at Norwescon: fell on my face, must be having fun “My reading yesterday was Standing Room Only. That was fun. I’ve seen a lot of old friends and new and had some really good conversations.”
• Jay Lake: Norwescon and me “Yesterday was a good day. Hugo nominations, yay! Plus lots of time with friends and associates and whatnot.”
• Kevin J. Anderson’s Blog: HELLHOLE AWAKENING–Seattle, Norwescon, and Atlanta “Normally, I wouldn’t consider working the weekend as a guest speaker and panelist at a major science fiction convention to be the RELAXING part of the tour, but it was great just to stay in one place for a couple of days, unpack my suitcase, sleep in the same bed.”
• Mark Andrew Edwards: Norwescon 36 review “Some years, you have a really great Con. This was one of the better ones for me.”
• Michael Tinker Pearce and Linda Pearce: Norwescon- Survived. Barely. “All in all we reconnected with old friends, met some fantastic new ones and certainly did our budding career as writers no harm.”
• Off the Written Path: Norwescon: Roses, Onions, and Assorted Vegetation “Each year I know more people at Norwescon, and each year I make more friends and strengthen previous ones. [...] If I ever leave Seattle, I think the writing and fan community would be the thing I miss the most.”
• Red Harp Arts: Norwescon “I spent nearly all of this beautiful, Spring weekend indoors at Norwescon. [...] There were lots of interesting panels, many people in excellent costumes and a bit of good shopping.”
• Pharyngula: How I spent the last few days “People give me weird looks when I say I’m going to a con as a scientist/educator — but really, this is another example of stepping out of our comfort zones and reaching out to a different population of people…and SF people are a very receptive audience for science talks.”
• Seattle Geeky Girls: Seattle Geeky Girls Visits Norwescon 36 “From the moment we entered, we felt that we were home. There were many familiar faces as well as many new ones.”
• Suvudu: Norwescon 36 Video: Terry Brooks “While at Norwescon 36 in Seattle, WA last weekend, Terry Brooks sat down with Pierce Watters and talked about [the beginning of the Shanarra series].”
• Suburban Fantasy and Science Fiction: Norwescon I “I went to Norwescon in Seattle again this year.”
• Suburban Fantasy and Science Fiction: Norwescon II “Catherine Asaro, among other things, is a chemical physicist, a rock singer, a dance instructor, and a member of a think tank that advises the government on national security. I attended a mini-concert of hers at the convention.”
• Schrodinger’s Stories: Notes from NorWesCon: Big Press, Small Press, or Self-Publishing? Where to Publish Your Book “I had a great time at NorWesCon 2013, and took copious notes of all of the panels I attended. Over the next few weeks, I’ll let you know what I found out.”
• Schrodinger’s Stories: Notes from NorWesCon: What to Look for in a Small Press “This year’s NorWesCon featured a lot of panels that included representatives from regional small presses. With the rise of e-publishing, the role of the small press has also changed. Here are the points I took from these discussions.”
• Missing Worlds Media – The Phoenix Project: The Phoenix Project Update: Monday, April 1, 2013 “Obviously, the biggest event for us was our first ever panel which took place on Friday at the Seattle-based convention. We’re grateful to everyone who came along to spend some time with us and to find out more about what we’re trying to do.”
• These Other Realms: Norwescon 36 – Masquerade! Workshops! Awards! “I had the pleasure of attending Norwescon 36 in the Sea-Tac area of Washington state, a spare 30 minute drive from my home. It was great to discover such a rich and varied convention for fans of science fiction and fantasy right under my nose!”
• ars ludi: Norwescon 2013: GMless RPG talk “…imagine me standing in front of a room full of people, talking about GMless role-playing games for an hour. Too hard? No problem! Like magic you can just listen in as though you were there….”
• Jeremy Zimmerman: Norwescon 2013: After Action Report “All told, I had an awesome time. The volume of things to sit in and hear about was awesome, and I constantly ran into people I know that I felt comfortable around. Really the best fan convention I’ve been to this year.”

Photosets

• Jon Lavinder: Norwescon 36
• artvixn: Norwescon 2013
• corwyn1: Norwescon 36
• Handsomejimfrommaryland: Norwescon 36 in Seatac, Washington 2013
• EMP Museum: Norwescon 2013
• Xavier_Sword_of_Humakt: Norwescon 36 Thursday and Friday
• Xavier_Sword_of_Humakt: Norwescon 36 Saturday
• Thom Walls: Norwescon 36 2013-03-29
• Merchants of Deva (NPO): OPEN THE DOOR: Norwescon 2013
• Ed Matuskey: Norwescon 2013
• Ed Matuskey: Norwescon 2013 MoD Doctor Who party
• Luke Wesson: NorweCon 2013
• Dethcon: Dethcon 9: Supernatural Hunters

Official photos by the Norwescon photography team should start appearing soon — keep an eye out on our official Flickr page!

Video

And finally, here is a YouTube playlist of Norwescon 36 videos! We’ve found ten videos so far, and we’ll add more to the playlist as we come across them.

From the Panel of Judges:

People’s Choice:

We would also like to congratulate Leanne Dunn for receiving this year’s NWC Raising Artist Scholarship to be applied to her education at the Northwest College of Art.

LOST EVERYTHING by Brian Francis Slattery (Tor Books)

Special citation was given to:

LOVESTAR by Andri Snær Magnason (Seven Stories Press)

The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by the NorthWest Science Fiction Society. The 2012 judges were Bruce Bethke, Sydney Duncan, Daryl Gregory, Bridget McKenna, and Paul Witcover (chair).

This year’s judges are Elizabeth Bear (chair), Siobhan Carroll, Michael Kandel, Jamil Nasir, and Tim Sullivan.

For more information, contact the award administration:

Gordon Van Gelder (201) 876-2551
John Silbersack (212) 333-1513
Pat Lo Brutto (845) 516-4412

For more information about the Philip K. Dick Trust: http://www.philipkdick.com
For more information about the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society: Contact Gary Feldbaum (215) 665-5752
For more information about Norwescon: Contact NorthWest SF Society: (425) 686-9737

Kickstarter is the new hotness in self-publishing, but there are pros and cons to crowd-sourcing. What are some other options for creating and publishing your own board games, video games, and role-playing games? Our panelists will discuss kickstarter as well as other methods of self-publishing your own game.

Julie Haehn (M), Chris Pramas, David Fooden, Jeremy Holcomb, John Harper

Have you ever wanted to write a fanfic, but just never were able to before? Fret not! In this panel, a team of fanfic writers will help you work past your fears and jump feet first into writing! A number of different ideas will be presented as inspirational starting points and then after the hour is up, attendees share their works and get constructive pointers on what worked, what didn’t and how they can improve their stories.

Micole Rose (M), Keerawa, Erik Scott de Bie

The schedule for the free shuttle between the Hilton and the Doubletree is as follows: