This past weekend, my husband and I attended RavenCon, held in Richmond, Virginia. The hotel comprises a complex of three buildings in a lovely setting, which is slightly inconvenient when the weather is atypically chilly for April, as it was this time. Also, it rained off and on, but I brought an umbrella. They had nice buffets for all breakfasts and two dinners. On Friday, though, the only food venue for dinner was the bar, same as last year. Fortunately, at least this time we didn't have to sit for almost an hour waiting to get fed.
My husband appeared on four panels, I on three. First I had horror and the supernatural in ancient literature, in practice meaning Greek, Roman, and Norse with a bit of Celtic. The moderator and both panelists had more in-depth knowledge of the field than I do, but I managed to find enough to say, seldom a problem for me anyhow :). My Saturday panels were on cozy fantasy, very well attended and lively, and vampires, my specialty. The former discussion focused largely on trying to decide precisely how to define the emergent subgenre -- what do we mean by "cozy"? The vampire session ranged widely over folklore and fiction, past and recent, print and film media.
Of my husband's panels, the ones that interested me most were "The Ethics of Colonizing Other Worlds" and "Intergalactic Villainy" (should probably be "interstellar," sigh), about science-fiction villains and antagonists, specifically in stories set in space. The latter spent much more time on film media than novels. It considered, among other questions, what makes a character a villain and why villains fascinate us.
I didn't get to watch the costume contest because it occurred opposite my vampire panel. However, I did get a look at the participants as they were lining up.
Some sessions I particularly enjoyed: Two panels on research, "Down the Rabbit Hole" and "But I've Never Ridden a Horse." Monstrous insects in SF and horror films. Writing in other authors' worlds. The role of history in fantasy and science fiction. A slide show on dangerous plants and fungi with some discussion of that theme in fiction and film.
It was dismaying to learn they're shifting the date of future RavenCons from late April (which I like because of the weather, which is normally much nicer than this year) to late October, with a greater chance of chilly days. Of course, we'll still attend.
You can read all about the convention here:
RavenConMargaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
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