Intergenerational SF&F Fandom
This was actually a Capricon panel discussion topic, but I didn't have time to get to it over the weekend. However, it really meshes with the concern I've heard from a lot of long-time fannish friends, that old-school fan-run conventions are dying as the younger generation goes more and more to the commercially-run comic conventions and anime conventions.
And it's true -- a lot of the conventions I went to in the 90's and early 00's have simply disappeared, and most of the ones that remain have shrunk to the point that we simply can't justify going to them because the sales simply aren't there. The last time we went to Capricon, we lost money, and when Grand Rapids Comic Con moved to the same weekend as Windycon, we had to go where the money was. InConJunction has been doable only because it's a hometown convention, meaning our expenses are minimal, and Archon has slowly become more and more a media con, even if it is still fan-run and calls what you buy to get in "memberships" rather than "tickets."
And that last underlines the difference between fan-run and commercial conventions. In the old fannish tradition, you're a participant in a community, while at commercial conventions, you're a passive consumer buying an experience. Even as sellers, I notice the difference. At fan-run conventions, we'll usually stick around after the dealers' room closes, hang out in the con suite and chat with friends, even go to the parties (as long as they aren't exclusively focused on drinking). At the big comic cons that have become our bread and butter, it's pretty much a job to do. We do business, and when the vendor hall closes for the night, we head back to the hotel to have supper, and then I do work on my writing business while my husband plays his computer games.
Way back in 2017, after the last Windycon I attended, I commented upon the dearth of young faces among the membership and how, if that didn't change, the convention would wither and ultimately die as the old guard aged.
And it's true -- a lot of the conventions I went to in the 90's and early 00's have simply disappeared, and most of the ones that remain have shrunk to the point that we simply can't justify going to them because the sales simply aren't there. The last time we went to Capricon, we lost money, and when Grand Rapids Comic Con moved to the same weekend as Windycon, we had to go where the money was. InConJunction has been doable only because it's a hometown convention, meaning our expenses are minimal, and Archon has slowly become more and more a media con, even if it is still fan-run and calls what you buy to get in "memberships" rather than "tickets."
And that last underlines the difference between fan-run and commercial conventions. In the old fannish tradition, you're a participant in a community, while at commercial conventions, you're a passive consumer buying an experience. Even as sellers, I notice the difference. At fan-run conventions, we'll usually stick around after the dealers' room closes, hang out in the con suite and chat with friends, even go to the parties (as long as they aren't exclusively focused on drinking). At the big comic cons that have become our bread and butter, it's pretty much a job to do. We do business, and when the vendor hall closes for the night, we head back to the hotel to have supper, and then I do work on my writing business while my husband plays his computer games.
Way back in 2017, after the last Windycon I attended, I commented upon the dearth of young faces among the membership and how, if that didn't change, the convention would wither and ultimately die as the old guard aged.