This weekend was my first time at Confluence, a small-but-mighty SFF convention held in Pittsburgh, PA, but I’ve vowed to return next year and for the foreseeable future. The answer why is simple: Confluence has a powerful sense of community. At most conventions, the organizers are nebulous figures scarcely glimpsed in the background as they hurry from place to place. At Confluence I ran into the Kevin Hayes and Karen Yun-Lutz several times, and they both made time to just shoot the breeze with me.
The authors invited are very approachable. This year’s Guest of Honor was the uber-SF writer Robert J. Sawyer, who was as personable and friendly as he is accomplished (and that’s saying something).
I did three panels, a book signing, and a reading, and I think I made a good showing at them all. Still not used to reading out loud in public, but I’m slowly getting more comofortable.
If you live anywhere close to PA, I suggest living Confluence a look next year.
