Wiscon 2008 Trip Report

Before I left for Wiscon (a fantasy and science fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin), I said to my husband, "I've never been to Wisconsin. All I know is that they have a lot of cheese."

"And cows," he said. "They also have cows." Our knowledge of other states is quite deep and extensive, as you can tell. Jeopardy, here we come.

Now that I've been to Wisconsin, I can tell you:

Wisconsin has a lot of cheese.

Every restaurant I went to served cheese platters, macaroni and cheese, and/or beer-battered cheese curds. Convention attendees carried bags of "squeaky cheese" (cheese so fresh that it squeaks on your teeth). Gift shops sold cheese-shaped inflatable hats.

I can't vouch for whether or not Wisconsin has cows too. I'm sure they were around, but they weren't hanging out in downtown Madison. Instead, downtown Madison was filled with writers and readers, which was great because writers and readers are far better conversationalists than cows.

Wiscon was all about great conversations. I talked to lots of fabulous and fascinating people, such as Sarah Prineas, Tobias Buckell, Jennifer Pelland, Alex Bledsoe, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Ysabeau Wilce, Cecil Castellucci, and many others.

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

- Spending time with Tamora Pierce and Cara Coville, two of my favorite people. I just adore them, and I was lucky enough to see lots of them this weekend.

Tamora Pierce and Cara Coville

- Hanging out with the YA Posse (Tiffany Trent, Elizabeth Bunce, Heather Tomlinson, and Debbie Jacobs) at and between various meals.

Elizabeth Bunce, Heather Tomlinson, Tamora Pierce, Tiffany Trent, Cara Coville, and Me

- Speaking on three panels and doing a reading. The panel topics were all great, and so were all my fellow panelists and readers.

Tiffany Trent, Cecil Castellucci, Me, Heather Tomlinson, and Elizabeth Bunce

- Signing books with Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. (This was a stroke of luck. I'd met the super-nice Caroline on Saturday, but I'd missed a chance to meet Pat Wrede on Sunday and I'd been sad about that. She'd blurbed Into the Wild, and I wanted to thank her. Plus I adore every one of her books. So I was very happy when I spotted them before the mass autographing and thrilled when they invited me to sit with them.)

Me, Caroline Stevermer, and Patricia C. Wrede

- Rooming with Tiffany Trent, who is super-awesome. (You want proof? She not only remembered that it was my birthday last Friday, but she bought me a chocolate cake and a custom-made bracelet decorated with pictures of fairy-tale scenes and Into the Wild cover art. How sweet is that?)

Really, the only thing missing from Wiscon was a reenactment of Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch. So for your viewing pleasure...