First con!

Teresa Edgerton said:
Also, notice who isn't talking, who is being ignored or doesn't have the courage to speak up, and try to bring them into the conversation by asking them what they think. Even if it doesn't elicit much of a reaction (but it may) it will give everyone a break from the "monologist" on the panel.
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That would be me! The trouble with turning to me and asking what I think is that as soon as the spotlight turns to me, I panic and get a "deer in the headlights" moment. Every thought in my head goes poof. My throat tightens up. I shake. I get nauseous. I flashback to being a small child at my family's holiday dinner table -- not a good memory. Often I'll want to respond to something from a few minutes back, but when the conversation derailed or got off on a tangent, I have NO IDEA of how to steer it around. In my shy bunny mind-set, I assume that if the conversation veered away from a topic, then people must not be interested in it anymore. I'm not sure how to prompt for that? I've heard confident public-speaking types use transitional phrases such as, "I'd like to get back to what so-and-so said..." I think I might try those.
 
Denise Tanaka said:
transitional phrases such as, "I'd like to get back to what so-and-so said..." I think I might try those.
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Yes, I've done it that way. Or "I'd like to respond to what_______ said about __________." And the way to draw out the person who is silent is to ask them a specific question. They may only stammer out a few words, or they may come out with a long and interesting answer, but at least they've had some input. And maybe their name in the program is the reason some of the people in the audience chose that panel, and they'll be disappointed if that person never gets a chance to speak after the initial introduction.

Some years ago (I apologize to those of you I may have told this story to before), I was on a panel with Evangeline Walton. For those of you who are too young or who hadn't discovered the genre yet, Evangeline Walton's retellings of four of the stories from the Mabinogion were published back in the '70s by Ballentine's adult fantasy line (which had such a big part in establishing fantasy as a marketing genre). Her books were quite popular when they first came out, at least here in the US, but more importantly they were the inspiration behind the big wave of Celtic fantasy novels that followed soon after and continued for such a long time. Writers that she did not directly inspire were inspired by writers she had inspired, or by writers who were inspired by writers who were inspired ... and so forth. In other words, she had a huge impact on fantasy, much greater than writers who have since received more credit, and at least among American fantasy writers had an influence that was perhaps only second to Tolkien. But there was no way, in the decades that immediately followed, that a woman who was not at all aggressive in putting herself forward was going to get the same kind of credit for influencing the field that a man would, so she and her works rather lapsed into obscurity, even when the trend she had started was still very much alive. What she did, however, was inspire many other female writers to start writing fantasy. Walton and other women who don't get the kind of fanfare they deserve, like (for instance) Patricia McKillip. (My first three books were Celtic-style fantasy, so Walton was a big influence on me, and so, for that matter, was McKillip whose style I did and do greatly admire.)

At the time I met her she was quite old, but nevertheless went to conventions and SFF events all over the US, travelling on her own though she was physically quite frail. She tended to ramble in her speech. And her appearance was distinctly odd, her skin a bluish-grey as a side effect of some medical treatment she had when she was younger. (The first time I saw her—not to meet her—I thought who is that old woman with the badly done face paint?)

So there she was with me, on a panel, about twenty years after her books had their first huge impact on the fantasy genre, and you can imagine what it thrill it was. It must have been a panel on women writing fantasy, because all the other panelists were women -- and quite a bit younger than I was. They didn't know what she had done, not only to inspire so much other fantasy, but also to pave the way for their own careers. All they saw was a strange looking little old woman they had never heard of, who rambled in her speech. But me, I was sitting there on a panel with EVANGELINE WALTON, for goodness sake, the Ancestral Mother, the woman who had inspired so many writers of my generation. What an inestimable privilege that was.

But, as I said, whenever she spoke she wandered from the topic, she digressed, she mumbled. Even I was a little impatient at first, until I realized the truth: that she didn't really wander from the topic, because each time she came to the end of what she was saying it turned out that it had all led into something very much on topic, and interesting, funny, or wise. Mostly wise. It was always well worth waiting for. But the other women on the panel ignored her, didn't speak to her, would sometimes cut in on what she was saying. It was very difficult for me to keep my temper, watching them show her such disrespect. But I did keep my temper and contented myself, from time to time, with turning to her and saying, "What do YOU think about that Evangeline."

I think my fellow panelists, who seemed to scarcely listen to her, missed out on what should have been a wonderful experience for them (maybe someday later they did find out and were suitably chastened). But there were plenty at the convention who were of an age and involved enough in the SFF culture to know who she was and what she had done, and some of them were in the audience, and no doubt would have been disappointed if she hadn't been given much of a chance to speak.

As I said, she was frail, and the woman who had been assigned by their mutual friends to look after her and see that she made it onto elevators, etc. ended up being busier than she intended, and asked me (and the friend who had travelled with me to the convention) to look after Evangeline some of the time. So we were able to spend a few hours with her, and eat a few dinners with her, and it was so much fun, and so enlightening. I am so very grateful for the experience. (Which probably wouldn't have been offered to me if I hadn't stood up for her on the panel. Somebody else would have been asked.)

And all this is a very long way of saying: If you offer the panelist who is being ignored and overwhelmed by the others a chance to speak, you might elicit something that is well worth listening to, for you and the audience, if not your self-absorbed fellow panelists.
 
Moving forwards on this and once the programme's released I'll pop a thread on conventions. Anyway, I've just seen my panels and am maasively excited (but will reveal when all is official. However Lord Grimdark may be mentioned....) it looks like a great day with Syrio from Game of Thrones leading a fascinating workshop, lots of fun stuff and interesting panels. I have a week to jitter like mad. :D
 
Jennifer L. Carson said:
More excitement! When is it? I'm doing one more con myself this year. Convolution. Doing a panel on Fantasy Tropes that I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm excited, too.
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It's next weekend - their program is always runs later than most because they have a lot of Game of Thrones guests who don't confirm attendance until late because of filimimg commitments. Sounds a nice panel. :)
 
That is so cool Jo. All you need to do is get Joe to send a tweet out about your books and blamo!!

Seriously though, I think this would be really fun. Best of luck.
 
Three panels is impressive for your first time! Bring copies of your books and stand them up on the table in front of you. Remember that even if some of your fellow panelists aren't interested in discussing the topic listed in the program that is what the audience came to hear about. So feel free to use your comments to bring the discussion back on topic.

Think about the topic in advance and write down some things you want to say. Read through them just before the panel so that you will remember. The way the conversation flows, you might not get a chance to say any of them. But if an opportunity comes up you'll have a brilliant well-thought remark to add, just as though you thought it up on the spot.
 
I'm sure it must be quite nerve-wracking to appear with a top author, so be patient if Abercrombie seems a little anxious.
 
Teresa Edgerton said:
Bring copies of your books and stand them up on the table in front of you.
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Yes. At one of the Boskone panels I went to, one of the more experienced panelists asked the newbie panelist, "Where's your book? Always bring your book to stand up on the table." (Or words to that effect. Was funny. Newbie was part grateful for advice, part embarrassed. :D )
 
The con panels I've attended (as an audience member) usually start by the moderator asking each panel member in turn what their opinion of the panel topic is, so having something semi-prepared is a good idea, as even on noisy panels, this is usually not a much contested part of the affair. And, if one is lucky**, a moderator will ask what a panellist's qualifications for talking on the topic might be, which should not be seen as a trick question, but as an opportunity to mention how the topic is relevant to the panellist's book(s). (Obviously, whether one is asked or not, having an idea about which of one's books has relevance to the topic is a good idea, particularly if one does want to get a mention of it in.)


** - I say lucky, because there are those who are wary of mentioning their book, particularly if they are nervous of worming it into a conversation. Far better to be given an open door (although saying no more than, "Buy my book," even in different words, is probably not the best answer to the invitation).
 
Thanks, all, great advice. I do have some business cards, but not a lot left -I'll see if I can get more by Friday. And I'll take my copies in my bag for propping up.

I bought a nice steam-punk-y brooch today for it which was dirt cheap. I did want to get the crane pendant to go with the cover of Inish and my t-shirt but at 70 quid it was a little beyond this little author's means. :)

(And, yes, Thad. I'll give him a bye-ball. :D)
 
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