KSP Mini Con 2008

I've been meaning to blog about this ever since it finished but life got in the way - not to mention exhaustion. This co-convening of conventions is hard work. Still better late than never.

It was a great day despite the cruelty of the weather makers who turned on cold, heavy rain and fierce winds. Despite this we had a good turn up to listen to - and participate in - a range of panels on writerly subjects. Well you'd expect that since it was at a writers' centre - Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre to be precise.

This was the home of Katharine Susannah Prichard. It's perched near the top of Greenmount on the Darling Scarp which overlooks the coastal plain surrounding most of Perth. Greenmount is as pretty as its name sounds. We used to go up to Old York Road (where KSP is situated) as children to visit relatives who had a huge block where they grew flowers to sell. I remember a field of daffodils and a shaded patch of violets. This was only a couple of houses along from where Katharine herself lived and wrote.

A small Con like this gives a chance for writers (as opposed to mostly fans) to get together. We had a large number of local writers turn up, as panellists, to read or to simply meet up with people with similar interests and that many were only leaving as we were locking up indicates they were having a good time. I certainly did. I was asked a number of times if we intend to run another convention - also an indication that people enjoyed themselves. The answer? Well the Mini Con certainly seems to fill a niche so ... Sorry, you'll have to wait and see. We'll let you know when we've all recovered.

By the way if anyone came across this before it was finished you can blame my kitten. He jumped on my hand last night just as I was clicking on Save As Draft and I didn't realise that he had pushed the cursor to Publish Post until I opened the blog this morning.

Of Spring and Other Things.

As usual Spring is working its usual magic - make that pain. As anyone who knows me can tell you I suffer badly from hay fever. The trouble is it looks so lovely outside - and it's warm and sunny. Unfortunately about half an hour outside is as much as I can take. So the garden is suffering from the explosion of weed growth that always comes at this time of year while I race out pull, out the the most obvious offenders and race back in again.

Still at least I can look at my garden from inside the house - and it is really pretty. Rampaging nasturtiums everywhere, some glorious clusters of Dutch irises - a mix of white through soft mauves and blues to royal blue and purple, a bed of crimson and scarlet poppies and the first roses. One sad thing is the decline in bird numbers. Usually by now there are flocks of New Holland honeyeaters, singing honeyeaters and others sharing the space with the resident wattle birds but not this year. Our new back fence neighbours have stripped their yard of everything except one tree and while I know they had to take drastic action (the previous owners had let it become over-grown to the point of being impenetrable) it means the birds which have taken advantage of the food sources and nesting sites for years have nowhere to go and the bird bath which is usually in great demand is hardly used.

To more pleasant subjects and they are the ever increasing number of publications my fellow Clarionites are achieving. There are so many now that I can't list every one every time. How's that for a bunch of high achievers? As we discussed at the KSP Mini Con a couple of weeks ago Clarions can have unpredictable effects and some attendees, I'm told, never write again. Obviously not what's happening to this group. I've linked to all those of us who have blogs so please drop in on them sometimes and find out what they are doing.

KSP Mini Con

In case anyone has not heard about it, from the KSP Mini Con blog

The KSP Mini Con is on again!

Those who attended the inaugural KSP Mini Con run, by the KSP Speculative Fiction Writers' Group, have been asking when the next will be on. Well the wait is over and planning for the KSP Mini Con 2008 is underway.

This is a must visit for Western Australian writers and fans of speculative fiction - a chance to meet writers and editors with panels, readings and books for sale for only a gold coin entry. Tea and coffee and cheap lunches available.

Why come? Because the more opportunities for fans and writers of speculative fiction to get together the better. You'll be able to mingle with established authors and editors, meet up with fans and buy books.

When is it? From 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday 21 September 2008.

Where? At Katharine's Place, the home of the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers' Centre, 11 Old York Road, Greenmount, WA 6056. This heritage listed building, perched near the top of Greenmount, was the home of well known Australian writer Katharine Susannah Prichard.

Who will be there? Established Western Australian writers and editors from all areas of speculative fiction - science fiction, fantasy and horror. They'll be on discussion panels and reading from their work and there'll be books for sale from local speculative fiction bookshops.

And an update.

Update.

There's going to be a great line up at the KSP Mini Con.

Confirmed guests so far include:

Adrian Bedford

Alisa Krasnostein

Bevan McGuiness

Dave Luckett

Elaine Kemp

Grant Stone

Hal Colbatch

Ian Nicholls

Janet Blagg

John Parker

Juliet Marillier

Lee Battersby

Lyn Battersby

Martin Livings

Russell Farr

Simon Haynes

Stephen Dedman

Tehani Wessely.

That's a lot of knowledge and talent to be gathered in one place and it's only the beginning.