Sunday, May 9, 2010

And Now It's Over.

Well the 2010 KSP Mini Con has come and gone. For once the weather was kind to us. Instead of teeming rain we had a glorious, sunny day, that invited everyone to wander out into the sunshine and brightened the inside of the house. We were very grateful too given that we arrived to find the power was out – and so it stayed until shortly before 3:00 pm. This caused considerable challenges, particularly in the kitchen, but with creative, not to mention lateral thinking, we managed to run a successful day. Several visitors commented that if they hadn’t been told they wouldn’t have realised the power was off. Much credit for this goes to Vanessa and Richard. They managed to supply hot food and drinks using only the gas cook top and the barbeque.

As well as no power, sickness cut a swathe through helpers and panelists and I’d like to thank all those who stepped into fill the gaps so successfully.

Guests including Lee Battersby, Lyn Battersby, Adrian Bedford, Stephen Dedman, Russell B. Farr, Liz Grzyb, Sue Isle, Elaine Kemp, Dave Luckett, Juliet Marillier, Bevan McGuinness, Ian Nichols and Tehani Wesseley as well as members of the KSP Speculative Fiction group, ensured panels were lively and informative. The Kaffeeklatsches, a new innovation run by Elaine and Tehani, were popular too.

Booksellers including Fantastic Planet, Ticonderoga Publications and Twelfth Planet Press brought a range of books including those by guest authors.

The house made an ideal setting for a convention of this size with guests able to mingle with writers, editors and publishers and those who attended took full advantage. Although numbers were down on previous years, judging by feedback on the day and on the Internet later, those who came enjoyed the opportunity.