Literally Living Out A Fantasy: One Day To Go!

We’re entering the home straight: Fantasycon starts tomorrow! And it’s not just a UK thing, y’know: Silas A. Bischoff is flying over from Germany after finding his “tribe of lovable, excitable anglophone weirdos” at Glasgow’s Worldcon. Here, he tells us why it’s worth the hassle.

This year’s Worldcon in Glasgow was pretty much my first fan convention experience. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been to GamesCon, but that’s more of a giant consumerism jerk-off than a fan event. Closer would have to be the various tabletop gaming conventions I’ve been to, like the “Spiel” in my hometown of Essen, Germany, or the RPC (Role-Playing Convention) in Cologne, Germany. But the closest I ever came was a tiny event called “ZamCon”, held in a small school building in the suburbs, and devoted entirely to a wacky fantasy setting called “Zamonia” by German author Walter Moers. It was a true fan event, very DIY, very familial. I remember running a small in-universe TTRPG session there, people sculpting little creatures in the room next door, and I think there was an endearingly ridiculous cosplay improv theatre session in the evening. What struck me most about Worldcon was how close it still came to that wholesome DIY vibe, despite its massive scale. It was, essentially, a bunch of geeks from all over the world getting together to geek out about science fiction and fantasy. Bloody brilliant!

Finding that vibe was not initially why I bought the ticket and travelled to Scotland. I had just published my first book, and I don’t have many writer friends here in Germany. Even all the other sci-fi fantasy nerds in my circle read mostly German books and translations. They don’t know most of the authors I like, their fandom exists in a kind of parallel world where everything is German. Sometimes I feel like I’m a fan in exile, because most of what I read and write is in English.

So my plan was to network and mingle, spread the word about my book and get an autograph or two from authors I love – as far as my neurodivergent, socially anxious ways would allow me (I was there alone). But it was that collaborative DIY geek-out vibe that gave me the convention bug. Who would have thought that being surrounded by legions of other neurodivergent, socially anxious people would cancel out most of the social anxiety! (That, and a wee nip of lager.) Also, why is it that everywhere I look there’s someone crocheting?

I’m a bit lost at first, but Tiffani Angus picks me up at the My First Worldcon panel (I think… it’s a bit fuzzy) and introduces me to some folks, who I then go to her book launch with (it was Spec Fic for Newbies 2 – I’ve got the signed copy on my desk, right next to Vandermeer’s Wonderbook). And have you seen Anna Smith Spark’s shoes? They are dragons! Bloody dragons, mate!

I was itching to do more than walk around with big eyes, sit in the audience and leave money in the dealer’s hall next time. I was itching for another shot at this as soon as possible. Stopping by the BFS stand, chatting to Lauren McMenemy and signing up to the British Fantasy Society was probably one of the best things that came out of it. I decided on the spot to book a flight and a ticket to Fantasycon. This time I’d know what was what.

(Pictured: part of the BFS table at Worldcon, celebrating our members’ projects)

Before Worldcon, I hadn’t considered how much I could actually participate in all that was going on. Now I’m looking forward to being on two panels, raving about monsters and scary things and all that good stuff, a book launch, and a reading. For one weekend I will return from fan exile and rejoin my tribe of lovable, excitable anglophone weirdos…

But this time I know some of the faces from last time.

This time I know I’m as much a writer as anyone else there, and we’re all just fans.

This time I’ve been connecting with people online for a few weeks.

This time I have tried to get involved as much as I can at short notice – still I did not expect to be on four programme items. These are what I am most looking forward to.

Here in Germany, I am positively starved of opportunities to talk shop about monsters and mythology, discuss the finer points of magic systems and world-building, deliberate on how to scare readers, and pick apart my stories and those of others. Oh, and the banquet. I’m really looking forward to the banquet. Two hours of geeky table talk over wine and fine food? Are you kidding me? Plus, it’s potentially a blind date with some amazing authors sitting nearby. Is it called Fantasycon because I get to literally live out my fantasy, or what?

Tickets – both for a day or the whole weekend – are still available if you want to join in at the 11th hour! Grab them here, or check out the programme.