ConText 2011
Now that NZ Book Month is over it’s time to look forward to the next event on the horizon, which in my case is ConText, the 32nd New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, which is to be held in Auckland over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend of 3-5 June.
Although the full programme is yet to be confirmed, the international Guest of Honour is US author Catherine Asaro who will also be running a pre-Convention writing workshop on 1-2 June.
I am very much looking forward to attending ConText, meeting up with Catherine and the other guests, who I understand may include Lyn McConchie and Russell Kirkpatrick, with fan Guest of Honour, Lynette Howell.
Closer to the event, I’ll bring you details of the programme events I’ll be particiapting in—I do look forward to seeing some of my NZ readers there. 🙂
With (as I understand it) two Auckland conventions coming up in successive years, I think Kay and I will be skipping this one – but I hope it goes really well. We might still change our minds because we both enjoyed Au Contraire so much, but with a son who isn’t particularly interested in going to conventions (young people today, eh?) but isn’t yet old enough to leave at home for a weekend, an out-of-town convention is a bit more of a challenge for both of us to attend.
As a South Islander (no Mainland conventions in how many years, or decades?) I definitely understand the constraints of travel, but understand that the Auckland bids were the only ones on the table for both 2011 and 2012—and suspect conventions do have to go where people are prepared to organise them. One thing’s for sure though: Christchurch is definitely “off the menu” for the next year at least …
Any chance of having a 2013 Christchurch bid – do you think the city will be back on it’s feet?
Or Wellington again, since it was a Wellingtonian who was originally concerned about travel time and cost to Auckland. I am not in a position myself to know whether there would be any possibility of a Christchurch bid at any time in the future.
I have to admit, I really wish we could get a convention down here some time. I totally get that it can’t happen this year, obviously, but it’s a huge deal having to travel and stay some place so far away when you have other things going on. I’d really love to go, especially since I missed last year. Even Dunedin or Nelson or anywhere in the South Island would work. Maybe there just aren’t the numbers from down here to justify it?
I don’t really know about numbers here or elsewhere in the SI, although I did meet three keen spec fic writers in Invercargill the other week …