Worldcon 76: The End Is The Beginning

Last week, I stood centerstage at Worldcon 76‘s Opening Ceremonies with my fellow Mexicanx, locked arms in ‘X’ formations, reading a statement condemning the inhumane treatment of immigrants and families at the border. We banded together, strangers united by a desire to share our visions, to give our all, to do more than we can do ourselves, and maybe change this world for the better. It was a historic moment, still rippling, still resonating. It marked the arrival of The Mexicanx Initiative’s founding assembly. We stepped across that stage as individuals, and walked off together as family, bonded by hope, eager to add new color and shape to the tapestry of modern science fiction and fantasy.

It was my first official act as Worldcon’s Artist Guest of Honor — becoming only the third Worldcon GoH to ever be a Hugo Awards Master of Ceremonies in the same year (Connie Willis and David Gerrold are the others). More on those Hugos later….

• TUESDAY the 14th: The opening act of my Worldcon week was not a Worldcon happening, but it was a big one, as George R. R. Martin and I shared the stage for a benefit live conversation at The Fox Theatre for Locus Magazine. SF in SF‘s Rina Weisman produced the event, and she did an incredible job. It was billed as a talk between George and me, and we ended up giving the fans a 2-1/2 hour event complete with signed books, signed prints, a lot of laughs, new insights, candid responses, and a wide-ranging Q&A. He and I have done this type of event before, but never in a theatre this beautiful, in front of an audience this big. It was a joy to see how much the fans appreciated it.

• WEDNESDAY the 15th: Setting up an Art Show and a Dealers Booth at the same time is not recommended, but it needed to be done. It wasn’t the last time I had to be in multiple places at once. ‘Twas a tough task, not made easier by union guys who argued amongst themselves and weren’t ready for exhibitors to set up during scheduled hours. I’m pro-union, but unfortunately, there was a rotten foreman apple in this CC bunch, making trouble for his own union teammates and the rest of us. Exhibitors did their best with the time remaining. I lost at least two hours of setup, waiting for just a simple table to be delivered, and I was far from alone in being delayed. This was not Worldcon 76’s fault. Dealers Room head Angela Jones-Parker and her team were terrific under the circumstances. Thank you, Angela!!

• THURSDAY the 16th: Had to set up an GoH Art Show and a Dealers Booth in a very limited slot of time, thanks to Wednesday’s hijinks. Could not have done it without my cousin Adria Gonzales, who was amazing throughout the entire show. It was her first Worldcon. She was a dynamo, start to finish. I had 19 minutes to set up my Dealers Booth from scratch before doors opened to the public, and when they did, I signed and sold Loteria Grande Cards and Posters so fast for four hours that I didn’t have time to put the money in my pocket, instead letting it cascade in piles on the floor of my booth. The aftermath looked like a Colombian drug deal gone bad.

Adria is a professional corporate accountant, and when she finally finished setting up my Art Show and walked into my booth, she was NOT pleased at the sight of all that money on the floor. 😉 From then on, she became my booth assistant and things ran just as fast, and a LOT more smoothly. That said — THANK YOU, Worldcon 76, for mobbing my tables for five days. It was a dream to see all of you, to sign hundreds of your badges and programs, to take selfies with you, to shake your hands, and to hand you full-color slices of Loteria Karma all day long.

After The Mexicanx Initiative’s baptism-by-greenscreen-and-stagelights at Opening Ceremonies, all of us Mexicanx marched to The M.I. Reception, coordinated by ASFA President Sara Felix, with assistance from Diane Osborne, Christine Doyle, Linda Wenzelburger, and Rina Weisman. Mr. “Mexicanity” himself — Hector Gonzalez Hernandez — prepared an ASTONISHING feast for us, featuring the best carnitas I’ve ever had, along with seven different salsas, including one called ‘Dracarys’ made with Trinidad Scorpion chilis (or was it Carolina Reapers?). Either way — no one died that night. GRRM himself graced the Mexicanx with an extended visit even though the room was sweltering. Wave after wave of sponsors arrived. The Mexicanx partied and bonded. It was an amazing night of food, friendship, and revelry.

From there, I went up six floors to the Darwin’s Children Party, hosted by Tom Rodgers and author Greg Bear. They’re developing a pitch for a major television series based on Bear’s Nebula Award-winning Darwin’s Radio. I created some concept art for it and the work adorned the walls of the suite. The room was packed as fans picked the concept art they liked best from the choices on the wall for the main character of Stella. People were passionate about their choices, and I think that bodes well for this show’s future. I signed all of the posters. It was a blast. Congrats, Tom and Greg.

• FRIDAY the 17th: I was one of the panelists on ‘New Ancestral Myths’ with Mimi Mondal, Jeannette Ng, and J.C. Cervantes. My M.I. sister Raquel Castro moderated and she did a great job. I heard a lot of positive comments and I’m glad it went well. After that, I almost lost my voice hosting ‘Loteria’ at Callahans’ Place with no microphone available, but a quick-footed tech named Kludge finally found one, or else I probably would have shredded my vocal cords long before Sunday arrived. (Thanks, Kludge.) I think this was the most Loteria players I’ve hosted in a single room since I hosted nearly 200 players at a DragonCon. It was so much fun. I signed a ton of Loteria Grande Cards and Posters that day (and a lot of convention t-shirts), and by 5pm, it was time for the Chesley Awards.

This year, I was up for a Chesley Award for Best Interior Illustration, but lost to Gregory Manchess. That category was STACKED and anyone could have won, but Greg richly deserved it for his work on Above The Timberline, one of my favorite 2017 releases. He’s one of my all-time favorite illustrators and this was his first Chesley Award (which is about 15 years overdue). It was terrific to see him win.

• SATURDAY the 18th: Adria said on Friday, “You’re gonna be almost sold out by Sunday at this rate.” She was prophetic. Saturday was bonkers at my Dealers Booth, and again, I thank you, Worldcon, for swarming my booth and scoring your personal pieces of Loteria karma. It was one of the most successful single days I’ve ever had in any dealers room, at any con. Meanwhile in the Art Show, my ‘El Arbol’ original sold, along with several other works. I signed autographs for five solid hours, and then moderated a killer panel called “The Artist / Author: The New Wave of Storytellers”. I was joined by Hugo Fan Artist Finalist Grace P. Fong, newly-minted Chesley Winner Greg Manchess, Robbie Trevino, and Mariana Palova. They were all terrific and I think that panel could have gone for another hour, and still been compelling. I did a back-to-back straight into my GoH slideshow called “Art and Soul” and it was very well-attended. Thanks, Worldcon!

Met up with Lucasfilm Executive Fiction Editor Jennifer Heddle for dinner, along with my Hugo Ceremony Directors Jessica Guggenheim and Randall Shepherd, plus Ryan Guggenheim, and Adria. It was terrific being with Jen, since the 2002 Worldcon in San Jose was the place where we first bonded with our own personal ‘Rat Pack’ of up-and-comers sixteen years earlier (shoutout to the mighty Lou Anders who appeared at his Worldcon in years, and it was AWESOME to see him).

That night, there were amazing parties everywhere, and instead I went back to my room to prepare for the Hugo Ceremony. The irony of being a Worldcon Guest of Honor and yet missing all the Saturday night parties was not lost on me.

• SUNDAY the 19th: It was a hard day. A lot of things beyond my control went wrong. In short, I ended up with almost no time to rehearse onstage. No time to coordinate with tech and work out the kinks for one of the biggest nights of my life, with my whole industry watching. I had a brief talk with Stage Manager Michael Rafferty and said, “We’re gonna have to trust each other’s talent.” My co-Directors, Randy and Jessica, worked tirelessly to update the script, making revisions as breaking developments swirled around us, all the way ’til the last minute. They were incredible.

Four minutes before showtime, I walked past Robert Silverberg backstage. He was calmly lounging in purple shadow, when he looked up and said, “You’ve always been your own boss. No need to change now.” Right words, right time. Took my mark at the curtain. Waited for countdown. Voice of Ghod said my name. Boom. GO.

I always forget how applause makes me feel like I’m underwater. I knew I was going to ‘X-up’ centerstage in salute to my Mexicanx brothers and sisters, but from there, every word of my opening address was blank page. Unscripted. Pulled from the bright stagelights, the infinite sea of faces, the inky black, that primetime moment you can’t calculate no matter how hard you try. It’s right there in front of your eyes, beyond the dazzle, if you can stop your heart from exploding out of your chest. All of those struggling years, building to arrive at that moment….I remembered that kid who so desperately wanted to be a part of this business….that guy who appeared at his first Worldcon a mere twenty-one years ago. And he led me through the darkness, like he always does — because I’m still that guy. I still want it as bad as I did when I worked on my first book cover, when I resigned from architecture to be the person I am full-time, seventeen years ago. I don’t remember everything I said up there — it just comes out — and no, I don’t want to watch the video and find out. Once is enough. 🙂

I do know I have now become a drinking meme because I’m apparently partial to the phrase, “Let’s keep this moving along.” Many humans damaged their livers Sunday night, pounding the sauce every time I uttered that, which rumors say is a lot. I do know I said that I would keep the Hugos running like a freight train so I could get us to the parties. I’ve been in those front rows as a Hugo Finalist, and I know how it feels to sit through a long, drawn-out ceremony. It’s hard. Worldcon is my extended family. You don’t treat your family to hardship if it’s in your power, and that night, it was in my power. So I did what I do, and I took us all somewhere we haven’t been before — or at least somewhere we haven’t been in a very long time.

We started the Hugos at 8:15pm that night, and we ended at 10pm — under two hours — even while carrying the most categories a Ceremony has ever had, proving we have room for inclusion — and then some — and yet still deliver my industry to its parties at a decent hour.

This year, the Hugo Awards faced one of its most important opportunities in years, with the awarding of Worldcon’s first Young Adult Book Award, recognizing that mammoth fellowship of readers and creators who are the future of Worldcons-to-come. Those fans and pros do not know what to think of Worldcon’s YA category at this point, and who can blame them. I was proud to see three things happen Sunday night that I hope that audience recognizes as a bridge of welcome. I positioned the YA category as the penultimate award, putting the two Best Novel categories together at the end of the night as they should be. I asked Felicia Day to award this inaugural recognition because her visibility and ambassadorship boost Worldcon’s credibility with those readers. Finally, two objets d’art were presented to winner Nnedi Okorafor — one hand-crafted in wood and resin by ASFA President Sara Felix, as well as a plaque. Today’s YA readers are the future of Worldcon, so that our sons and daughters might still have a Worldcon tradition to enjoy. Let’s hope Dublin 2019 and New Zealand 2020 show the future lifeblood of Worldcon the same respect — if not more — that the con expects for itself today.

Congratulations to Nora Jemisin on a history-making three-peat in the Best Novel category. I loved her speech. (And yeah, I think Bob got it wrong, regarding this.) She was great. She understood the moment. She was the moment because of her great novels, not just because of great acceptance speeches. Totally right on. Honored to witness it. Nora’s work and ongoing legacy will stand the test of time.

With that, I called ‘recess’ and the 2018 Hugo Awards Ceremony was over. Parris and George R.R. Martin soon commenced another EPIC Hugo Losers’ Party at San Jose’s Glass House. It was stellar, complete with chocolate fountains, terrific cocktails, and giant dancing robots. I received a cryptic text near midnight, requesting me to stay near the stage where GRRM addressed the house, as he does at every Losers’ Party. He announced the only Alfie Award Winner of the night, and look out, gente — it was me. For those who don’t know what an Alfie is, it’s George’s award tradition created in response to troll attacks upon the Hugos. The Alfies are named afer the legendary Alfred Bester and were awarded in 2015 and 2016, but none in 2017.

I can honestly say this 2018 Alfie means as much to me as any recognition I’ve ever received. This one is a commemoration of my Mexicanx brothers and sisters and they celebrated it onstage as I accepted it. They danced with the trophy. Took selfies with it. Ghod only knows what else they did with it that night, but it was an incredible knighting by one of our most beloved, legendary creators, validating them all within the Worldcon fold — as if anything is now possible for them — which it is.

Worldcons are magical happenings. There’s nothing quite like them.

I know.

My Mexicanx brothers and sisters now know it too, after that night, after this amazing week.

Love you, Worldcon. This was one of the single greatest experiences of my entire life.

Thanks to Kevin Roche, Andy Trembley, Christine Doyle, Cindy Scott, Kathryn Duval, Diane Osborne, Ric and Debbie Bretschneider, Sara Felix, Linda Wenzelburger, Rina Weisman, Kerry Kuhn, Angela Jones-Parker, Elayne Pelz, Nancy Alegria, the O’Hallorans, Chris Castro, Debi Chowdhury, Randy Smith, Lisa Hertel, Jerome Scott, Sandra Childress, Chuck Serface, Lori Buschbaum, and all of the tireless volunteers who make Worldcons happen. Thank you again to my incredible Hugo Ceremony co-Directors, Jessica Guggenheim and Randall Shepherd (and Michael Rafferty)!!! Thank you to Pablo Defendini, Meg Frank, Julia Rios, Fireside Magazine, Will Frank, Liza Trombi, Francesca Myman, Lenore Gallegos, Elias Gallegos, and Ti Mikkel.

And finally, all love to The Mexicanx Initiative, the great Parris McBride Martin, GRRM, and my cousin Adria Gonzales.

(Photos by Adria Gonzales, Rick Canfield, Jose Luis Zarate, Debi Chowdhury, Tom Rodgers, Bronwyn Lake, Liz Gorinsky, Gabriela Damian Miravete, Raquel Castro, Lauren Snow, Jeremy Brett.)

#Xup