Posted by jukkahoo
Sorry about the mess. Well, perhaps not mess, but the dust and cobwebs and them tumbleweeds. We haven't had time to clean up.
I say "time". I mean "energy". Finncon 2009 was somewhat exhausting experience, which took the wind right out of my wings. It didn't help that I managed to crop up some extra activities beside, I co-edited two books; Ulkomaisia fantasiakirjailijoita 2 ( "Foreign Fantasy Authors" with Vesa Sisättö and Toni Jerrman) and Historiallisen romaanin taitajia 1 ("Masters of Historical Novel" with Juri Nummelin and Sari); did some serious overtime at work; and tried to keep sane at the same time with various other things, that I'm not going to mention here.
After this (wot? six weeks?) time I should be ready to say something about the con itself, but as I think about the long weekend, I can only remember a flurry of motion and some scattered panicky moments, when something or the other was at miss. Not the Guests of Honours, who were just superb! Or the mega-brilliant Staff, who managed to keep the con ship afloat amidst the Sea of Overwhelming Obstacles. Youse gyus rokkkk!
So, no real con-report, I'm afraid, as I didn't really see all that much. "But you saw the thing from within, sir?", says the wild-eyed person with a fluttering set of hands.
Well, yeah... so I did. So, I might have something to ponder about. And I do. I'll try to put to paper... erm, type to screen... write something about that, OK? Together with some thoughts about the Finncon and the future of Finncon in particular.
Since we are heading toward something new - and old at the same time. 2010 will be a whole different ballgame and mindset. 2011 is trying to do something, which to my mind, is very difficult and probably not worth it. I think we've seen what Finncon/Animecon is and it is a mess of of a thing, that needs to rest in its laurels and be no more.
But what is Finncon? What kind of a convention should and could it be? It seems to me, that if we want to keep the original idea of "spreading the gospel" of SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY to the mundane masses and, of course, the occasional fans and interested parties, we need to think this through. Is it a literary convention, with emphasis on books, writers and science on the side. Or is it a more general kind of an event, where you can sample little bit of everything? Should it be exclusive or inclusive? Or something in between?
If you ask me (well, since this is our blog, you don't really have a say on this, so here goes) the answer is there in the middle of everything. I believe Finncon should be a literary-oriented sf/f con, with interesting program items from various and sundry fringe mediums (like comics, games, TV/films, horror, slipstream, science, tomfoolery etc). The emphasis should be on booksies and authors of those books, but it shouldn't be all sercon and dry. There should be games and interactive programming, stuff for beginners as well as advanced weir... members of fandom.
I've heard people say, that they'd like to see more media-oriented programming and GoH's. Well, duly noted. Not impossible, nor totally out of the question, but unlikely.
Finncon is a literary-oriented con. Has been. Will be. Despite being arranged together with Animecon, the Finncon-part has always been pretty heavily veered toward literary side of things. And as I see it, the core of the people who have been organising the event in the past, are literary-minded fen.
Shurely we enjoy media. I know I do. But not as much as I like them books. If someone would arrange a mediacon in Finland, I could see me going there. I might even pay for it. A bit. Especially if the Guest(s) would be interesting.
OK, they'd had to be interesting. That's my caveat.
They wouldn't be cheap. Compared to them, George R. R. Martin was cheapo. Heck, Harlan Ellison would've been cheaper, and he was expensive as hell (which, by the way, was the reason he has never been to a Finncon)!
OK. Rant-like part of this entry over. As is this entry. But I have only skimmed the surface here. I'll be back. In a day or two. More thoughts on Finncon, 2009 edition of it and the future of. Feel free to comment.
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