The Day After

Tom and I got back from Madison last night, after a blissfully uneventful half-day of travel. Though he had to get up early to prepare a lecture and then teach, I got to sleep in, which I desperately needed to do. The short version of being GoH this year at WisCon: it was fabulous. The personal downside was that I didn't have time to sit and chat (much less share meals with) many of the people I usually spend time with at WisCon. But I loved the experience of chatting with so many different people, not only doing the usual fan talk that like most writers I love hearing, but also engaging in the conversation that I so ardently wish to foster. I got enormous gratification hearing the ideas and stories so many people brought to me over the weekend. Thank you all!

For those of you sending me emails, please be patient. I promise I will reply-- it may just take me a little while to do that.

For those of you wanting a transcript of the speech: that is definitely forthcoming. When it's been posted, I'll link to it here. (Its possible a podcast may be available, too. This will depend on the quality of the recordings we have access to.)

I'm sorry to say there were (at least) two skeletons at our feast. A violent upper-GI virus felled dozens of attendees, including some Aqueductians. Dora Goss and Vandana Singh succumbed early in the outbreak, and then Kath came down with it late Sunday night (leaving Tom and me scrambling to pack up in the Dealers Room and still make our plane on time, which we did with the wonderfully calm assistance of Kim Nash). I just spoke to Kath on the phone, and she reports that she's recovering, though her stomach is still not too thrilled to be openly confronted with food.

The second skeleton at the feast was Ms. Vapid, a misogynist, racist troll who attended WisCon in order to photograph attendees and ridicule them with deep malice aforethought. Some of the people she attacked are friends of mine. They are handling it.

And finally, an uplifting update: I've heard from someone who knows the department I was talking about in my speech on Sunday night. Apparently that department is now, forty years later, half women. When I was asked the name of my teacher back then, my informant said oh yes, I can easily believe it of him. (And he is no longer, I'm told, in that department.)

More will be forthcoming on WisCon 32. Stay tuned to this space!