Sirens Conference!
Again, I’ve been horrible about updating-I have so much to talk about-but I had to share with you my time at the Sirens Conference in Vail, CO before I put it off for too long.
When I have trouble organizing things, I always resort to my default format: the list. So I therefore bring you, the…
Top Ten Things I Loved About Sirens
10. Vail. I have to admit, when I first found out that Sirens was set in Vail, I kind of groaned. It’s FAR. And… it’s really hard to get to! But, as soon as I went, everything made more sense. Having the conference in such a remote area guaranteed two things: intimacy between attendees, and proximity between the hotel room and conference events.
Case in point: most of us took a two-and-a-half hour shuttle to Vail from Denver Int’l, and the time seemed like nothing. Some of us had flights that several hours early on Thursday, or departed several hours later on Sunday, and the time felt like nothing. Because we were too busy gabbing a mile a minute to each other! And because there isn’t much too much else to do in Vail in October, you are more likely to meet with up with others. Plus, the travelling down two floors to the main conference area was so convenient, because it meant less time commuting and more time having fun!
Besides, Vail really is beautiful. Two of my roommates and I hiked a little bit in the area around the hotel-the contrast between snowy mountaintops and beautiful autumn trees really WAS something out of a fantasy book.
9. Speaking of my roommates, Katie, Jazz and Zen, if you read this, you were awesome. I started emailing Katie and Jazz several months before Sirens, and they were awesome penpals as on top of being awesome in general. Katie told us nearing the end of the conference that she wished she could take us all home and show us off to her friends-I feel the same way. I would room with any of them again, and if they ever decide to move to New York, then too!
8. Shared meals and discussion topics. One of my favourite things about Sirens was that we all came together over lunch or a dessert reception to a) talk to each other, and b) listen to a keynote presentation. I loved the icebreakers-Amy, they definitely were NOT silly-especially the fact that, no matter where you sat and who you sat with, you were guaranteed to have a great discussion. Everyone came from different backgrounds: writers, publishing professionals, teachers, librarians, or students like me, but the icebreakers gave us all something to talk about and helped us lose that initial awkwardness with each other.
7. The Court Ball. Let me preface this by saying that I was the type of kid who hated school dances with a passion. And yet, it felt so natural and easy to dress up as a Renaissance wench and wear a snood. And it felt so natural and easy to get on that dance floor and sing and stomp to “Wannabe” and “I Will Survive.” And it will feel just as natural and easy when we learn the court dances Sherwood will teach us next year! (hint)
(Also, Jazz and I won the murder mystery!
The prize was three WONDERFUL mugs with the heroines of our three guests of honour: Kel, Katsa and Meliara. Jazz took Katsa because she was closer to Kristin’s work than I was, which worked out perfectly because I felt the same about Kel and Meliara.
By the way, I also got bought this awesome shirt with the same three heroines:
)
I have to wait for Jazz to put up the ball pics, because my camera does really terrible evening shots.
6. Discovering Kristin Cashore. She’s a relatively new author, and I had never read any of her work before. I loved Graceling, meeting Kristin and listening to her keynote presentation, and then reading Fire. Haha. I also added her blog to my LJ feed. Katie and Jazz were both really big fans, and I read Katie’s copy on the shuttle over. Katsa is such a strong, and still real, heroine, and I recommend it to anyone who loves YA fantasy, or just YA in general.
In fact… I think I’ve been touting Graceling to everyone I know since I first read it last Thursday. If you talk to me regularly, you’ve definitely heard my evangelising. Don’t worry, you’ll thank me for it
5. Programming in general. I have to hand it to the vetting board, programming committee and the ladies who organized the conference. I loved the setup of papers, lectures, workshops, classes, and round tables. The first programming I attended was a series of three papers, the first about feminism in C.S. Lewis ‘Til we Have Faces, the next about the different types of female bravery and agency in Robin McKinley’s Spindle’s End, and the third about Melissa Marr’s and Holly Black’s female protagonists working within the (possible publishing) construct of romance to claim their identities. I also sat in on Tamora Pierce’s Non-Western Fantasy talk and Sherwood’s Fanfiction roundtable, as well as a few others. I loved them all, not once was there a dull moment!
4. Katie’s round table on Finding Femininity in a Warrior’s World. This one, however, was really special. My roommate Katie had been preparing for this round table for a while, and I thought it was great that she allowed people to discuss freely but still gave the round table some structure. (We got hand-outs.) But I have to admit, it was a little unnerving to find that some of the works she chose to put in the handout were written by the guests of honour, Tammy and Sherwood, who were sitting with us!
The icebreaker was also awesome. We began by going around the room and saying what being “feminine” meant to each of us. The variety of opinions and backgrounds made the discussion just that much richer-and I found this to be a true representative of what Sirens is really about.
3. Guest of Honour keynotes and bedtime stories. I loved all of them equally and for different reasons. Tammy talked about her personal trajectory in her keynote: as a child growing up in Pennsylvania, as a writer, as a feminist, and as a woman. I’m pretty sure I cried buckets. Kristin gave one of the best speeches I ever heard about the complexity of words, and how identity is complicated because the words we use to describe ourselves are complicated. And Sherwood gave a wonderful speech about the history and social influence of women in writing, which was more academic than personal but just as fascinating.
I must also note here that Sherwood is a fantastic reader. She engages her face and entire body when she’s reading, which does wonders to transport you into her story. I can’t wait for Banner of the Damned!
2. I feel that this moment deserves its own entry:
Sherwood invited me to sit at her table for lunch on Saturday, and Katie and Jazz sat down with me, to be later joined by Tamora Pierce and her editor, Mallory Loehr from Random House. Squee? Squee! I think Katie and I exchanged a few glances gawking at each other and thinking, “how is this really happening?”
In this picture, Mallory had stepped away for a moment and my roommate Zen came to join us!
1. Finally, generally, totally-the people and community. I’ve mentioned that we were all of different ages, professions, opinions. I’ve mentioned that my roommates were wonderful. They were, and I would room with any of these attendees in a heartbeat. It’s hard to describe the camaraderie I felt-it was like, no matter which direction I turned, whomever I spoke with was a potential friend. To be in a place with a group of awesome women (and a few token males!), plus authors that I grew up reading and admiring was really something special. I hardly get to discuss these books at great intellectual depth in my day-to-day life.
It was my first ever conference, and certainly not my last. I'll be measuring every con I attend afterwards against Sirens. I don’t think I’ll attend another one like it… except for maybe Sirens 2010, where the theme is Faeries. (Featuring Holly Black and Marie Brennan, plus one more guest of honour who is a secret for now…)
Obligatory plug! If this entry has convinced you in any way, sign up for Sirens 2010 with this link: https://www.narrateconferences.org/sirensFaerie/registration/
It’s only $150 until November 1, when the price jumps up to $165. I’ll probably register before then. Even if you change your mind, get a registration now, I bet someone else will want to buy it off you later, if you find out that you can’t attend because of money or scheduling issues. Do it!