It's Heeeeeere!

Good morning, Readers!

This lovely piece is by deviantart.com user ryky. Click to go to the artist's page.

From the Can*Con website:

Announcing Can-Con 2018!

Hi everone!

We’re very pleased to announce the dates for Can*Con 2018! We’ll be back at the Sheraton in downtown Ottawa on October 12-14. Mark your calendars!

We’re very happy with last year! We grew 40%, reaching 350 attendees (!), more than 10% of whom were students. We’re staying downtown partly to not only entice tourists to our beautiful city, but also to remain accessible to our local community. Most buses lead downtown, after all!

We did notice last year that some panels were rather full and that some of our special guests (we love you, Tanya!), were sitting on the floor.  In an effort to curb that particular trend, we’ve rented more space in the Sheraton, so we have a spiffy room upstairs. This may mean an extra track of programming, or a torn down wall! (Programming and Corporate are in tough negotiations on that end.)

The new room is on the top floor, and we’ve updated our accessibility policy to reflect the new space.  We ask that everyone familiarize themselves with this policy and our conduct policy. These policies are part of what help us maintain a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment at our conference.

We’ve also secured a private space for agent and publisher pitches and the blue pencil café, instead of sticking people in the back of the vendors’ room behind (authentic!) vintage Chinese dividers. This also means that we have a few more space in the vendors room, so hopefully this year we’ll be able to accommodate everyone who wants to buy a table!

The con suite will be bigger, too, with both attached bedrooms opened up for milling and chatting. We do need volunteers there and at other on-site locations, so please let us know if you’d be willing to lend a hand at the convention. Even a couple of hours can really help us out!

You’ll note that registration prices went up a bit this year, for the first time in several years. We didn’t increase student pricing, but we did increase our adult weekend prices, since costs in downtown Ottawa have been on the rise.

This year, we’re also implementing a “pay it forward” model for those who are interested in helping out others. We strongly believe in hosting a very accessible con, which means welcoming people from all backgrounds and financial situations.  We’ve never wanted money to stop any new or aspiring writer from joining us, so we’ve traditionally comped attendees who needed that consideration. If you’d like to help us support writers or readers who need that extra help, you can now donate when you buy your own pass.  That money will only be used to support those who need it.

Registration is already open, so go today to take advantage of our early bird rates!  The Sheraton hotel block is also open, so you can also book your hotel room. For those of you eager to get on programming, we’ll open up panelist applications soon.

We’ll provide more updates soon! Keep an eye out on this space and our social media, and help us spread the word like fine unchunky jelly.

See you in October!
​
Marie Bilodeau, Co-Chair, Corporate                                     Derek Künsken, Co-Chair, Programming

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

There's a lot here that I love.  First, that the convention has been announced.  Can*Con has a very special place in my heart, and wherever I end up in the world, I will come back every autumn to attend.  Unless, you know, the world has ended or something.  It's not currently outside of the realm of possibility.

Anyway, the point is, I'm really, really happy that Can*Con is going so strong.  It makes my wee black heart happy.

I have already purchased my table.  I won't be able to eat for a bit, but that's okay.  It's totally worth it.  For the first time in a bit, I won't have a new book to add to the table.  Maybe I'll do a sculpture or something.  I need something new there.

I'm thrilled to have registration open already.  I'm contemplating booking a hotel room for this one, even though I live in town, so I can attend the parties and get to a bed without having to wait on OC Transpo... which I hate with a passion.  Travelling on public transit in Ottawa at that time of night is roughly an hour and a half.  I can walk home in a similar amount of time.  But I won't want to, having spent the convention on my feet.  We'll see how my finances shape up, but the hotel room is tempting me.

​I really also love their pay it forward initiative.  I didn't have the funds to do it at the time of purchasing my table, but I definitely will be buying a random ticket for someone who wants to get in but wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.  It's such a great thing to do, and I'm so glad they thought of it.

I told you, the community here is absolutely wonderful.

Right, so, if you're one of the regulars, and you live in town, do consider volunteering for the convention.  They could always use a hand, and they're wonderful folks to be around.  Plus you get in for free, so there's that.

I'm so ridiculously excited, and so happy, and I cannot wait for the event.  It's my favourite time of the year, and my favourite people in the world.

So go, register, and join in the fun!

Now I have editing to do, so I'm going to goof off... obviously.

​Ciao!