Boskone 2019

Had such a fantastic time at Boskone!!! Some photos from the weekend:

Ottoson and Boskone

Ottoson Middle School Visit

Ottoson Middle School, you guys rock!

Thank you to all the students, teachers, and librarians who listened to me babble. You all asked so many great questions. I had a fantastic time! (Extra thumbs up to the boy who suggested the attack-potato story.)

You guys now have the distinction of being the largest audience I've ever addressed. (Each grade was 300+ students.) A decade ago, if you'd told me that I'd be talking to that many people at once about writing, I'd have looked at you as if you'd transformed into a pink talking pony with a sparkly tail. But I loved it. (And if you'd told me a decade ago that I would love it, I'd have looked at you as if you'd transformed into the Supreme Ruler of the Pink Sparkle-Ponies.)

Rocky Point Middle School Visit

The day before my Ottoson visit, I'd been scheduled to visit another school, Rocky Point Middle School, but we were snowed out!!! Fortunately, my visit has been rescheduled for March 12th. I'm crossing my fingers that it won't blizzard again. Looking forward to meeting all of you Rocky Point students soon!

Boskone 2010

This past weekend, I was a program participant at one of my favorite conventions: Boskone. If you're in the Boston area and you like fantasy and science fiction, you really should come to this. It's every year around Valentine's Day, and it's filled with people who love books (like yours truly). It's also well-organized. Plus the hotel has soaps shaped like leaves, which makes me happy. I like cute soaps.

Highlights included meals, of course. I had a fun dinner on Friday night with Lev Grossman and Ethan Gilsdorf. On Saturday night, I had a lovely time at dinner with Bruce Coville, Jane Yolen, and Andrew Sigel. (The rest of the meals consisted of loaves of bread provided for free by the con. I inhaled those. Man might not be able to live by bread alone, but with bread and books, this girl can get pretty darn close. Throw in some chocolate and I'm all set.)

I also had some fantastic programming items, including a panel on "Why Adults Love YA" with Bruce Coville, Michael Daley, Margaret Ronald, and Navah Wolfe (in which we waxed poetic and effusive on why YA fantasy/SF rocks the kazbah) and my kaffeeklatsch (in which many awesome people woke up alarmingly early on Sunday morning to chat with me -- thank you!).

And the hallmark of any good con: lots of great conversations with great people throughout the weekend. Especially enjoyed talking with Liz, Sarah, and Emily after my first reading. And I had a ball chatting with fellow admirers of Thundarr the Barbarian!

Nebula Deadline and Boskone Schedule

Nebula and Andre Norton Award Nomination Deadline

Attention SFWA Members: The deadline for nominating books for the 2009 Nebula Awards, including the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, is rapidly approaching -- February 15, 2010. Under the new rules, any active or associate member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) may nominate books. And for the Norton, any YA fantasy/SF books published between July 2008 and December 2009 are eligible.

If you're a SFWA member, click here and enter your name and password to start nominating!

There are lots of wonderful YA books in the running for the Norton this year -- including one that is particularly dear to my heart :) -- so if you're a SFWA member and you love YA, please head over to the nomination site before it's too late.


Boskone Schedule

In other news, I'm very excited to be headed up to Boskone next weekend! Boskone is a wonderful fantasy/SF convention held every February in Boston. This year it takes place from February 12-14 at the Westin Waterfront hotel. I've been attending for many, many years and have been serving on panels and such ever since I got published. Really love this con. I think it's my favorite one. Very well organized, great panels, great people, and lots of fun. And I recently got my schedule! Check it out:

Friday 6pm Schools for Magicians
Bruce Coville
Sarah Beth Durst
Ethan Gilsdorf
Lev Grossman (M)
Jane Yolen
A Hogwarts degree isn't the only path from mundanity to magicianhood. Let's consider how writers have portrayed schools, including Roke, Unseen University, Brakebills, and more. Why a school setting (well, besides innate familiarity for both reader and writer, plus a built-in rationale for info-dumps? How do these fantastical academies compare to SF's schools for space cadets. As we look beyond (and before) Harry Potter, we'll examine the continue fascination with such sorcerous scholastic settings.

Saturday 10am Reading (0.5 hrs)
Sarah Beth Durst

Sunday 9am Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 10am Autographing

Sunday 11am Reading for Kids (0.5 hrs)
Sarah Beth Durst

Sunday 1pm Why Adults Love YA
Bruce Coville
Michael J. Daley (M)
Sarah Beth Durst
Margaret Ronald
Navah Wolfe
Are grown-ups just trying to recapture their misspent youth, or is there something either more compelling about this kind of fiction? If so, what?

So in preparation for my Boskone panels, I pose the above questions to you. Any thoughts about wizard schools or adults reading YA? Please do share. My goal, as always, is to avoid sounding like an idiot. And tapping into the collective wisdom of all of you is a great way to do that!

Boskone 2008 Trip Report

Sometimes I'm attacked by shyness. When this happens, I feel like I'm trapped inside a Meow Mix commercial. I look inside my brain for something witty, intelligent, or at least semi-articulate to say, and my brain supplies me with, "Meow-meow-meow meow, meow-meow-meow meow."

So not helpful.

But I've wanted to be a writer for so long that I'm determined not to let the shyness win at book events. I force myself to be brave enough to let the real Sarah out. The real Sarah loves people -- she loves meeting people, talking to people, hearing their stories. The real Sarah gets giddy over fantasy books and marine mammals and rosy sunsets and chocolate-covered raisins. The real Sarah sings silly songs off-pitch with little provocation and isn't afraid to talk in public about how much writing means to her.

The real Sarah was in attendance at Boskone this past weekend. Boskone is a Boston-area science fiction and fantasy convention, and it is one of my favorites because it's attended by three YA powerhouses: Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, and Jane Yolen. I adore this trio. They write life-shaping books, and they are all brilliant and funny and kind. And I was mildly petrified (and incredibly excited) because I was scheduled on programming with them!

Here's photographic proof:

Me, on a panel with amazing people

I loved every one of my authorly events this weekend. I was on a total of four panels. My favorite was "The Works of Bruce Coville" with Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen, and Mary Ellen Wessels. We each had a microphone for this panel, and I commented that we could be a barbershop quartet. So naturally, we all picked up our microphones and started to sing. Jane took melody, "Bru-u-u-ce Coville, Brucey-baby." I did the do-wop. I think that was my favorite panel ever.

And after the panel, I got to chat with two terrific girls who had been sitting in the front row. And one of them was holding a copy of my book! Their mom was nice enough to take a picture of the three of us:


Sunday morning was also awesome because I was on the "YA Novel" panel with Tammy, Bruce, Jane, and Stephen Fisher. I was just so giddy to be on that panel that light nearly started beaming out of my curls.

Me, so excited that my brain nearly exploded

After the YA Novel panel (aka the Panel of Awesome Delight), I had my kaffeeklatsch. A kaffeeklatsch is a meet-the-author event where you can sign up to sit at a table and chat with an author for an hour. Maximum sign-up is ten. I'd been a bit worried that no one would sign up and I'd be sitting by myself talking to the tablecloth!

But I had ten. A completely full kaffeeklatsch!!!

I was so thrilled that I nearly hugged them all. (I admit it: I'm a hugger.) After the kaffeeklatsch, I did a reading from Out of the Wild, and that was super-fun. This is my new book, coming out in June, and I'd only read from it once before (at World Fantasy Convention). But everyone laughed at all the appropriate places, so that made me very happy.

I also had lots of great conversations with super-awesome people in between my authorly events (and also on the train ride home). I won't list them all here for fear I'll forget someone, but if you're one of those people... hello! I loved talking with you! Hope to see you again soon!

Boskone and the Croton Library Book Club

Upcoming Event: Boskone

This weekend (2/15 - 2/17), I'll be a program participant at Boskone, a Boston-area convention that I adore. (Click here to read my trip report from last year's Boskone. You'll need to scroll down the page to get to part one.) I'm really excited about my schedule for this year: four panels with authors that I worship, plus my own reading and kaffeeklatsch! (A "kaffeeklatsch" is a meet-the-author discussion group.)

Saturday:

10am Panel - Sarah Beth Durst, Gregory Frost, Farah Mendlesohn, Amy Thomson, Jane Yolen - "The Pill in the Sugar: Morals and Young People's Literature"

3pm Panel - Ctein, Sarah Beth Durst, David Weber - "From Tribbles to Treecats"

5pm Panel - Sarah Beth Durst, Tamora Pierce, Mary Ellen Wessels, Jane Yolen - "My Teacher Is a Unicorn Hatcher: The Work of Bruce Coville"

Sunday:

10am Panel - Bruce Coville, Sarah Beth Durst, Stephen C. Fisher, Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen - "The YA Novel"

11am Kaffeeklatsch - Sarah Beth Durst

12:30pm Reading - Sarah Beth Durst

If you're going to be at Boskone, I hope you'll consider dropping by my reading and/or kaffeeklatsch so I don't feel all lonely and unloved. And if you come to my panels, please excuse my tendency to gibber, gush, and forget my own name while trying to sound intelligent in front of people I admire. (Repeat to self: I will NOT cluck like a chicken. I will NOT cluck... Again, for the record, I'd like to state that spontaneous-clucking has never actually happened to me, but it would be oh-so-embarrassing if it did!)


Trip Report: Croton Library Book Club

Today I visited the 5th & 6th grade book club "Half & Half" (so named because half of them like apple juice and half prefer milk -- yes, I asked) at Croton Free Library in Croton-on-the-Hudson, NY. Shockingly, I didn't get lost driving there. I say "shockingly" because I've been known to get lost on the walk from my kitchen to my bathroom. (Is it my fault that some of my books have alluring voices and sing out, "Read me, Sarah, read me!" as I'm walking by?) So any time I leave the house, it's a severe test of my navigation skills. (Seriously, I'm convinced that if I had a GPS system, it would give up on me. "Oh, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, I told you to turn right. Why didn't you listen? Now you are hopelessly lost. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to figure this one out on your own. Use the stars for navigation, and remember that moss grows on the north side of trees.") But I made it, and I'm so glad I did. I had a lovely time!

I have a great photo of the awesome Half & Half girls and their super-awesome librarian Maggie, but I didn't ask permission to post it so I'm going to show you some other photos as proof of their awesomeness.

Exhibit #1: A display of picture books that Maggie set up, featuring some of the characters who star in INTO THE WILD:


Exhibit #2: The Question Jar. The Question Jar is filled (okay, not filled -- look at the size of that jar!) with questions about this month's book. Each person pulls out a question and answers it. We got into some lovely conversations about heart's desires and free will. At the end of the meeting, they let me do the honors of gluing a picture of my cover art onto the Question Jar.


Exhibit #3: Cupcakes!!! Maggie baked cupcakes in honor of my visit. And not just any cupcakes: INTO THE WILD cupcakes. My book inspired dessert! I think this is so cool! And, incidentally, so yummy.


In summary: Croton Book Club = Awesome. Huge thanks to Maggie Davies and all the book club members for a wonderful afternoon!

Boskone Trip Report (part 6 of 6)

Episode 6, Sunday: My Reading

On the Sunday morning of Boskone, at precisely 11:30am, I did my first ever solo reading from INTO THE WILD. (I'd done a reading at World Fantasy Convention last November, but that was part of a group session. This was the first time that it was just me and the audience.) I woke up early to finalize my selections and indulge in some pre-reading panic. I picked scene one of chapter one, scene one of chapter nine, and all of chapter ten, and then I ponced around the room for an hour practicing.

Apologies to the people in the hotel room next to mine.

At 11am, I went to Bruce Coville's reading (which preceeded mine, in the same room). Yikes, talk about a hard act to follow! If you ever get a chance to listen to him read, do it. He's a consummate storyteller. Naturally, I was a nervous wreck by the time it was my turn, and my nerves weren't helped by the mass exodus that occurred when Bruce finished.

But then... something miraculous happened: people came.

All the people that I'd talked to in the prior days: Eddie (the George R. R. Martin fan who took those pictures of my Superstar Panel), Tim, Josh, the three awesome Sheroes (Elena, Genevieve, and Rachel), a young writer who I'd met after the Audio Books panel (I think her name was Emily), Nomi and Michael Burstein, the woman I sat next to during Bruce's reading and forced a bookmark on... plus a bunch of people I'd never even seen before. They came! And I read to them from INTO THE WILD and they listened and they clapped, and it felt like flying.

Because I'm a big dork, I took a picture of my audience:

My Audience!

See! See! People came! And there are even a few on the sides that I accidentally chopped out of the photo. (Sorry about that.)

Afterwards, Bruce said that I'd read well (which means a lot to me, considering he owns an audio book company and hears people read all the time), and several people said they couldn't wait until June, which was very, very cool to hear.

Episode 6 1/2, Sunday: The Good-Bye

Now we're near the end of my Boskone trip report. If you have complaints about the length of this report, please complain to Erin. She's the one who asked for the detailed report. In my defense, I have yet to tell you what I ordered for my meals or what I wore each day (though I should mention that I carried my Class of 2k7 tote bag). Consider yourself lucky.

Anyway, after my reading, I sat in on Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville's literary beer and laughed myself silly -- they're like a comedy team. And then I had lunch with Josh Spaine and Arika Cohen (a Massachusetts drama teacher). Then one final convention event: a literary beer with Tobias Bucknell and John Scalzi. Before leaving for my train, I made one final loop, saying hello to Lou Anders and an artist named Marc and good-bye to several others.

And then I hopped in a cab, got on a train, and began writing part one of this trip report for you. Hope you've enjoyed it, and hope to see you all at my next convention, Lunacon!

Boskone Trip Report (part 5 of 6)

Episode 5, Saturday afternoon: Sarah and the Superstars

At 1pm on Saturday of Boskone, I had my superstar panel: "The Many Genres of Young Adult Fiction," originally scheduled to include Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen, Kate Laity, and me. To my disappointment, Tamora Pierce was unable to attend the convention due to health and deadline reasons (though she promises to be at Lunacon!). But as much as I wished she were there, how could I be sad sitting between Bruce Coville and Jane Yolen?

Look here, I'm between Jane and Bruce:

Jane Yolen, Me, Bruce Coville! Eeeeeeee!

And here, where not only am I between Jane and Bruce, but I am actually speaking and they are both looking at me:

Think un-poultry thoughts, think un-poultry thoughts...

I am rather amazed that I didn't keel over and start twitching. Bruce and Jane are both extremely intelligent, extremely funny, and extremely... well, not as prone to brain freezes as I am. (During the panel, we each named our favorite book from each subgenre of YA fantasy, and my brain froze a couple of times. In my defense, though, can you think of an example of "machine fantasy"? I haven't the foggiest idea what "machine fantasy" is.) Anyway, the panel was filmed for a local cable channel (me on TV! me on TV!), and overall, I think it went well.

Machine Fantasy?!?!?

When we introduced ourselves to the audience, Bruce said nice things about my book INTO THE WILD (which he blurbed). A more poised person would have nodded polite thanks or blushed in an attractive manner. I, of course, bounced up and down in my seat and said something akin to, "Yay!" or more embarrassingly and thus more likely, "Wheeee!" There is a reason why a very polite person said to me this weekend, "You know, you have a very youthful disposition." I think she meant that I have the emotional maturity of a four-year-old, but I am choosing to take it as a compliment.

At 2pm, after the Superstar Panel, I had my kaffeeklatsch. Kaffeeklatsches, as I've said, are the best feature of Boskone (not counting the luscious pink Ribbons of Bliss, of course). In a kaffeeklatsch or "literary beer" (same thing, just the latter is in the hotel bar), up to ten people can sign up to hang out with a particular author. On Saturday at 2pm, I was that particular author.

I had one person show up.

I was really expecting zero, so one was a major coup!

For some unfathomable reason, people just don't seem to attend these kaffeeklatsches, even when the author is a much bigger fish than me. But I had my one (the Harry-should-die guy from episode 4), so I'm counting the event as a win.

As an added bonus, I also got to have a lovely chat with authors Greg Feeley and Mark del Franco.

After my kaffeeklatsch, I had a late lunch with the super-sweet Tim Liebe, co-author of the White Tiger comics. I also said hi to Tyler Stewart from Pandemonium Books (buy a T-shirt!), and I bought an audio book from Bruce Coville's Full Cast Audio. At 5pm, I attended two panels: one on Urban Fantasy and one on Audio Books. And then I had my least professional (but one of my most exciting) moments of the con: I said hello to Christopher Stasheff.

Christopher Stasheff is the author of HER MAJESTY's WIZARD and THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF (and their six million sequels). If you're looking for an out-and-out fun fantasy adventure, look no further. My brother and I devoured his books when we were growing up. I still have a little dragon statue that I named Stegoman after a character in his books. I had zero excuse to meet him, but I had no intention of missing the opportunity -- I'd never seen him attend a convention before. So summoning my courage, I called his name, walked across the room, shook his hand, and proceeded to gush like a fangirl at him about how cool his books are. And then I gave him an INTO THE WILD bookmark. I have no shame.

Episode 5 1/2, Saturday night: Rapid-Fire Name-Dropping Without Any Particular Anecdote

I don't have any particular anecdote to tell you about Saturday night, but I did spend time with a slew of really awesome people and I don't want them to feel unloved so I'm going to mention them here. I waited for dinner with Bruce Coville, Tim Liebe, Kathy, Cara, Dorie, Joe, Henry, and Jack. Dinner was minus Bruce, Kathy, and Henry (casualties of the long wait for a table -- no, we didn't eat them, they just had someplace to be). After dinner, I chatted with authors Esther Friesner, Sarah Smith, Greer Gilman, and a woman whose name tag was hidden but who drew a lovely sketch of a sheep painting. (Not a painting of a sheep; a sheep with an easel and ink palette.) And then I hung out with Josh Shaine (organizer of the Beyond IQ Conference) and some very awesome people that I hadn't met before: Elena, Rachel, and Gennie (three friends who'd met each other on Sheroes, the Tamora Pierce-created discussion board). All in all, a very fun night.

Coming next, episode 6, the grand finale, the anecdote you've all been waiting for... MY READING!!!

Boskone Trip Report (part 4 of 6)

Episode 4, Saturday morning: Sarah speaks with unearned authority about HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (which, for those not familiar, is a book by some British chick which comes out a month after INTO THE WILD)

Saturday at Boskone was AWESOME.

I woke early because I was ridiculously excited, donned my name badge with the Ribbon of Happiness, and attended Jane Yolen's reading, in which she read some fabulous fairy-tale poems and one-and-a-half short stories. I then fluttered around like a deranged butterfly until it was time for--

MY FIRST PANEL EVER!

The topic: "Should Harry Die? Speculations on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: what will happen? What should happen?"

Book by some British Chick

Fellow panelists were Daniel Kimmel and Priscilla Olson. Dan moderated, and he was a fantastic moderator, asking good questions and calling on the audience for input. I particularly liked the boy who proposed that Volemort die due to lactose intolerance because that would be unexpected.

I think I did well. I'd re-read the sixth book on the train ride up (after the ferry fiasco) and had a few pet theories. In case you're curious, here's what I said:

Harry could die in book 7 for the following reasons:

[Warning: spoilers, plus completely unsubstantiated guesswork]

1) JK Rowling has very clearly stated that Harry has no future. Career-wise, he sort of wanted to be an Auror, but he failed to make the appropriate grades. Relationship-wise, he broke up with Ginny, and it looks like Ron and Hermione might end up together. So there's no clear something or someone that's waiting for him after he defeats Voldemort.

2) The prophecy in book 5 is phrased very oddly. Instead of saying like in Highlander "there can be only one" (or whatever), it says "neither can live while the other survives." This wording leaves open the possibility that neither Harry nor Voldemort will survive.

3) The theme of self-sacrifice is very strong in the Harry Potter books. In Rowling's universe, the highest expression of love is self-sacrifice (as shown when Harry's mother sacrifices herself to try to protect Harry from Voldemort), and Dumbledore has repeatedly said that Harry's greatest strength is his ability to love. So it would be thematically consistent for Harry to sacrifice himself for his friends.

The main reason that I think Harry should NOT die in book 7 (even though he could for the above reasons) is that I think if he died, it would send the message that good and evil are equal. I hope that Rowling instead chooses to say that good is stronger than evil. She implies this in the prophecy saying that Harry has a power that Voldemort knows not, plus Dumbledore also talks about the power of love (both to Harry and to Tom Riddle/Voldemort himself). Harry doesn't believe he's stronger than Voldemort in any way, so Rowling could be planning to have him learn that love conquers all. Or something.

I'm also fond of the theory that Snape will sacrifice himself to save Harry, thus redeeming himself, and that Neville will kick Bellatrix's, um, tushy, thus making his grandma proud.

Neville and Snape (as Simpsons)

But others disagreed, including one guy who passed me in the hall afterwards and said under his breath, "Harry should die." So I invited him to my kaffeeklatsch! More on this later...

Coming next, episode 5, in which I successfully avoid clucking like a chicken...

Boskone Trip Report (part 3 of 6)

Episode 3, Friday night: Schmoozing with Buffalo

After conquering the sea and obtaining my coveted Ribbon of Self-Esteem, I finally felt free to do what I'd come to Boskone to do: talk to as many cool people as possible. Friday night began with Esther Friesner and her friends from the Society of Creative Anachronism and included a hello from Jane Yolen. In case you don't know, Jane Yolen is the grand poohba of children's literature and has written something like 290 books. (I'm not exaggerating.) Esther Friesner is the author of the very cool book Temping Fate (and numerous other books). When I met her at a convention several years ago, she introduced herself to me as the Queen of Hamsters. At a later convention, she introduced herself to people as the Perpetual Virgin -- and then without batting an eye, introduced her son and daughter. Anyway, we chatted for a while, and then Esther invited me to accompany her to the Buffalito party on the fourth floor. She then began stabbing the air repeatedly with her fist and shouting, "Buffalito! Buffalito!"

This confused me a little, but I like Esther and I like buffalos (who doesn't?) so off I went.

Buffalito?!?!

Buffalitos, as it turns out, are science fictional creatures created by Lawrence Schoen, the founder of the Klingon Language Institute (which published Hamlet in the original Klingon). Lawrence, a very nice man whom I'd heard of but never met before, founded the Buffalito World Outreach Program (BWOP) to promote a collection of his short stories. As part of his marketing plan, he translated one of his stories into a number of different languages -- interestingly, none of them Klingon.

Hamlet in the original Klingon

I met a bunch of lovely people at the BWOP party (including romance author Darlene Marshall) and a bunch more very cool people at the George R. R. Martin fan party. All in all, a typical night at Boskone: lots of laughter shared with wonderful people who don't take themselves too seriously.

Coming next, episode 4, in which I speculate about the fate of a certain Mr. Potter.

Boskone Trip Report (part 2 of 6)

Episode 2, Friday evening: Sarah hunts for a ribbon, aided by Tribbles

If you've talked to me recently, read this blog, or been anywhere within a 300 mile radius of me in the past month, you'll know how excited I was to finally be a program participant at Boskone. Part of my excitement was because of my very cool schedule, but another (embarrassingly large) part of my excitement was because of the ribbon.

If you're on the program, you get a lovely large pink ribbon that dangles from your name badge. I have been attending Boskone for so long without a ribbon that the ribbon achieved a sort of mythic status in my mind, the maguffin at the end of my Quest to Become a Writer. It was the Ribbon of Honor, the Ribbon of Victory, an outward symbol that someone thinks I have Something to Say...

A more traditional maguffin

Anyway, when I arrived at Boskone, I proudly trotted over to Program Ops (the Keeper of the Ribbons) to obtain my Ribbon of Glory... and Program Ops was closed. No more ribbons for anyone until Saturday morning.

Well, this was just no good. I had attended Boskone since 1999 ribbon-less. Seven years sans ribbon. (Technically, six. I skipped one year for a trip to Austria so my husband could attend a physics conference in a castle... another story for another time.) Point is, I wanted that ribbon!

So I trotted back out to the registration desk and told them how much I wanted my ribbon. They nodded politely, the way you do when a crazy person starts telling you how important lemurs are to the well-being of your soul...

Important Lemurs

They (the convention staffers, not the important lemurs) pointed to the information desk across the hall. So I trotted over to the information desk and pleaded for my ribbon. No ribbons, but they did have tribbles...

The Guest of Honor at Boskone this year was David Gerrold, author of many, many things including Chess with a Dragon and the famous Trouble with Tribbles episode of Star Trek. In his honor, the convention organizers planned the Great Tribble Hunt. Imagine an Easter egg hunt but with thousands of small pompoms. While I was on my hunt for my Ribbon of Joy, the convention staffers were hiding tribbles throughout the hotel lobby. As one of the staff hid the tribbles around the Program Ops area, she discovered a box of Program Participant ribbons.

Coincidence? I think not. I think the tribbles guided her to the ribbons.

Tribbles: trouble-makers or heroes? You decide.

So I got my beautiful Ribbon of Sweet Delight, which I promptly attached to my badge, along with my Class of 2k7 pin.

Ribbon of Triumph

As an added bonus, I also got a sticker with my Boskone schedule to stick on the back of my badge. I had actually forgotten about this bit of coolness. For years, I have watched program participants casually say, "Oh, I wonder where and when I have been asked to go to spread my wisdom next," and then nonchalantly flip their badge over to check their schedule. I, of course, had my schedule memorized for days, but I still couldn't help casually flipping over my badge to check my schedule at least three times an hour.

Now that I'm home, I am displaying that badge in a place of honor next to my SFWA member card, a picture of my AUTHOR stamp, and the Control key that fell off my computer months ago which I keep forgetting to reattach.

Join me next time for episode 3, in which I schmooze with buffalo.

Boskone Trip Report (part 1 of 6)

Just returned from Boskone, the Boston area annual fantasy and science fiction convention. I loooove this convention. In response to my last post, Miss Erin asked for a detailed trip report. So to avoid an endless blog entry, I'm going to divide my report into parts, beginning with my journey to Boston:

Episode 1, Friday afternoon: Sarah leaps to freedom over the sea

I live on Long Island. Best way for me to reach Boston is to take the Port Jefferson ferry to Bridgeport, then an Amtrak train from Bridgeport to Boston. I had thirty minutes between when the ferry was supposed to dock in Bridgeport and when my train was supposed to depart. Not a problem. The ferry was ten minutes late. Still not a problem. The ferry was unable to dock because they'd loaded so many cars on that the boat was several feet lower than the dock.

This was a problem.

"We have to wait for the tide to rise," the ferryman said.

This was such a mind-boggling statement that we all repeated it back to him slowly, as if we'd simply misheard, "We have to wait for the tide to rise?"

He shrugged helplessly, as if the tide was some sort of freak phenomenon that only occurs with the frequency of, say, Halley's Comet, but less predictable. Once this had sunk in, we all promptly whipped out our cell phones to spread the news about how tides had managed to surprise our crew...

I called Mission Control (a.k.a. my husband), who sprang into action...

My husband plots a new travel plan

... and went online and came up with about six different combinations of trains that I could take to reach Boston. I believe one of the plans may have involved the Hogwarts Express.

Alternate transport from Bridgeport to Boston

A half-hour later, the tide had risen enough to allow the walk-ons, myself included, to leap (okay, step) from ferry to dock, and I put one of those plans into action. I ran, with my suitcase weighed down with three bajillion bookmarks, across an icy parking lot and then jumped like a horrendously out-of-shape gazelle onto a train. (The conductor had to reopen the doors for me, that's how close it was.)

I was not quite this graceful...

From there, I took the Metro-North to New Haven where I caught up to my original Amtrak train (which sits scratching its caboose in New Haven for a half an hour -- no one knows why). As I wrestled my suitcase up onto the overhead rack (a feat the required head-butting it as I shoved), I let out a cheer of victory.

And that was the least exciting event of my trip.

Episode 2 will feature my arrival at Boskone, in which I hunt for a pink ribbon and encounter Tribbles...

Boskone Schedule

This weekend, I'm heading north, through the snow, slush, and ice, up to Boston. I will be a program participant at Boskone, the annual Boston fantasy and science fiction convention, held this year at the Westin Waterfront hotel from February 16-18.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you outside of my brain, here is why this is incredibly cool:

1. Boskone is my favorite convention ever. Fabulous authors and editors always attend; the schedule usually includes several panels on YA and children's literature (my passion); and there are kaffeeklatsches. Kaffeeklatsches are awesome. At a kaffeklatsch, you and up to 10 other people get to simply hang out and chat with an author or editor.

2. I have been attending Boskone since 1999. It is now 2007. This is the first year that I will be a program participant. You do the math. I have been waiting for this for a loooong time.

3. Just look at my schedule. Look, look, look!

Sarah's Boskone Schedule:

Sat. Feb 17, 11am - Panel - Sarah Beth Durst, Daniel Kimmel, Priscilla Olson - "Should Harry Die? Speculations on the final Harry Potter novel"

Sat. Feb 17, 1pm - Panel - Bruce Coville, Sarah Beth Durst, Kate Laity, Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen - "The Many Genres of Young Adult Fiction"

Sat. Feb 17, 2pm - Kaffeeklatsch - Sarah Beth Durst

Sun. Feb 18, 11:30am - Reading - Sarah Beth Durst

I love my schedule. First, how cool is the topic of my first panel? Very fun. Second, look at that list of panelists for my second panel! Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen... *gasp*, *wheeze*, *gasp again*. Third, I have my very own kaffeeklatsch! Fourth, I'll be doing a reading from INTO THE WILD! (And if you look at the complete schedule, you'll see that my reading directly follows Bruce Coville's reading, in the same room! Eeeee!!!)

Here is my one itsy bitsy teeny weeny little worry: I don't want to cluck like a chicken.

I've never been on a panel before, and I have this little (okay, not so little) fear that my brain will simply freeze as I sit up there between not just one but several of my all-time favorite writers ever. What if I forget how to speak? What if I remember how to speak and only say drivel? What if I suddenly start clucking like a chicken?

Help me out here, guys. If you have thoughts on either of my panel topics -- Harry Potter #7 or subgenres in YA fiction -- please leave a comment so that I can steal your ideas and avoid looking like an idiot. And even if you don't have suggestions, please just think un-chicken-like thoughts sometime on Saturday, and hopefully I'll absorb some of the good non-poultry vibe. :)