8,000 people attended LonCon3 hailing from 64 countries, some as far away as Australia. Roughly 2,000 from the U.K. and 2,000 from the U.S. What the LonCon3 site doesn’t show is something I noticed as soon as I walked through the doors of the ExCeL building: the age, gender, disability and racial demographics.

70% or more of the attendees were over 40 – though over 60 is probably more accurate – and during the four days I was there I only saw two black faces. There were a few Middle Eastern and south and east Asians, but no black people.

Why?

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With my full membership ticket came the Hugo Awards Voter Pack which included an avalanche of e-freebies (a £25 supporter membership also gave access to the pack – I’ll probably buy one of these next year as I can’t afford to attend in person) which included artwork, podcasts, and ebooks such as:

A 14-book omnibus of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
Hard Magic (Grimnoir Chronicles #1) by Larry Correia
Spellbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #2) by Larry Correia
Warbound (Grimnoir Chronicles #3) by Larry Correia

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I attended my first WorldCon (14-18 Aug) over the weekend. In four days I went to 33 panels and saw countless authors and bloggers, including a few of my favourites. Exhausted, I decided to skip Monday’s events to come home earlier than planned, saddled with heavy bags on each shoulder like a mule.

We in the UK don’t have huge conventions like ComicCon so for years my being has turned green with envy whenever my fellow American readers mention them. This was likely my only chance to attend something with literally hundreds of authors making an appearance and where being an introverted reader is welcome and “normal”. For once I wasn’t the only one in the room. As August is my birthday month, I decided to spoil myself with a full 5-day ticket.

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WorldCon - Thu 14 Aug - Mon 18 Aug 2014
http://www.loncon3.org/

Programme: http://guide.loncon3.org/#prog/day:al...

Includes the Hugo Awards ceremony, nominees here: 
http://loncon3.org/2014hugos.php
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

Appearances / signings include: George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Sarah J. Maas, Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn, Leigh Bardugo, Kim Curran, Catherynne M. Valente, Audrey Niffenegger, Michelle Sagara / Michelle Sagara West, C.E. Murphy, Foz Meadows, Suzanne McLeod,Scott Lynch, Tanya Huff, Robin Hobb, Peter F. Hamilton, Simon R. Green, Cory Doctorow, Ellen Datlow, Mike Carey, Peter V. Brett, Lauren Beukes, Elizabeth Bear, Joe Abercrombie, Lauren Beukes, and hundreds more. These are just the names I recognise.



Nine Worlds Geekfest - Fri 8 Aug - Sun 10 Aug 2014
https://nineworlds.co.uk/

Programme: https://nineworlds.co.uk/sites/ninewo...

Guests include: Elizabeth Bear, John Connolly, Kate Griffin, Laura Lam, Liesel Schwarz, and more listed here - https://nineworlds.co.uk/2014/guest



Anybody going? I think I might. 

I registered for LoneStarCon3! 

I've stared downloading the Hugo Awards packet - wow! This is an exciting year. 

I'm surprised to say, I have not read anything by the authors nominated in the Novel categoy. So, each of the entries is now on my to-read shelf. :)

There are 17 categories; I doubt I'll get through *all* of the reading by July 1, the date the ballots are due, but I will do my best. 

Brief responses will be recorded here at bookLikes. Longer opinions will be posted to TotalCatAnomaly.blogspot.com, as often as I can get it done.