Denvention 3 — Saturday, Aug. 9th
We actually set the alarm today so we’d get up in time. The package we’d been expecting managed to find us last night and we’re to deliver it today after 3 pm to its finally resting place. We got up and finished the blog post from last night, though the pictures still need some work. Got the photos all set to go up on Flickr but haven’t actually had time to upload them yet.
Then it was off to the convention center. We hadn’t finished the Dealers’ Room yet so we decided to check it out. You’d think with all the books that I get for review I’d never have to buy any. Wrong! Damage to the budget was quite steep. I did managed to meet some of the people that I deal with for review copies and such. It is just so nice to be able to fit a face to a name after all this time. Hyperion found that Phil and Kaja Foglio were there and bought the entire collection of Girl Genius and had them autographed.
Hyperion then went to a panel and I checked out the art show. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to take pictures in the art show and it’s very difficult to expound on the variety of styles, materials, ability, and just plain weirdness that makes up a Worldcon Art Show. Just about all the major artists that you’ve seen on book and magazine covers are represented as well as a lot of lesser known but no less talented artists are also there. There are also a number of 3-D artists (pottery, jewelry, sculpture, wood carvings, whatever….) . It’s breath-taking in a good way.
After the art show experience, I just needed to sit quietly for a while. Got coffee and sat in one of the couches just outside the Dealers’ Room and Art Show to wait for Hyperion. Timing was perfect. I finished a book that I’d been reading for review so now I get to take another one off my stack (course now I’ve got to write it up).
Then lunch. We still needed to deliver the box. We decided to change for the Hugo Ceremony a bit early since we wanted to go to a panel at 5:30 and the Hugo Award Ceremony started at 7:30 pm. There wasn’t really enough time between the end of the panel and the start of the ceremony to get to the hotel and back, let alone do anything while at the hotel. And it took a while to deliver the box. Hyperion went over three times. Fortunately, it was just across the street. It turns out that everybody was at the back of the suite, and couldn’t hear anyone knocking on the door. He finally had to call on his cell phone from the hallway to tell them to come open the door. Took showers. Walked back to the convention center and got there in time for Hyperion to go to a panel he wanted to see on dirigibles.
I decided to get a coffee and sit and read for awhile. I just realized this is the first time I’ve just sat in a while (at least since earlier after the walk through the Art Show. It was a nice experience to just sit for a while. Then it was on to the Hugo’s.
The auditorium is the same one that the Masquerade was held in the night before. It’s huge and even with this big crowd it wasn’t full. We managed to get very good seats in the row behind the nominees and their guests. Still it was very difficult to take pictures from where we were, especially since we couldn’t use a flash. Luckily, my camera has a 12x zoom and the big screens of the view were nearby. I ended up mostly taking photos of the screens rather than the stage.
The ceremony was its usual mix of professionalism, wit, humor, joy, and laughter. The Master of Ceremonies was Wil McCarthy who wished to be known as the People’s Hugo MC — he told us how he could feel our pain in having to clap over 2000 times for the ceremony and gave us instructions to make our lives easier.
First came the First Fandom Awards presented by Keith Stokes. The First Fandom Hall of Fame Award was a tie to Mike Cashley (or Ashley, I don’t have the spelling) and Ray Harryhausen. There was also a Posthumous Hall of Fame Award for Issac Asimov. The Sam Moskowitz Archive Award was also a tie and went to Frank Robinson and Bob Peterson. The Big Heart Award was presented by John Hert to Suford Lewis.
Denvention 3 exercised their option to give Special Committee Awards. Presenter Kent Bloom, Denvention 3 Chair, gave an award to NASA for 50 years of science and to NESFA Press for keeping great SF in print.
Stanley Schmidt, Editor of Analog, presented the John W. Campbell Award for Best new Science Fiction Writer to Mary Robinette Kowal. Then Jay Lake presented the Campbell Tiara.
The Hugo Administrator Mary Kay Kare introduced the designer of the this year’s Hugo base, Lee Kuruganti who then described the base and the reason each of the elements were chosen to represent this convention.
The Hugo Awards went to:
- Best Fanzine: File 770, edited by Mike Glyer
- Best Fan Writer: John Scalzi
- Best Fan Artist: Brad Foster
- Best Professional Artist: Stephan Martiniere
- Best Semiprozine: Locus
- Best Related Book: Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who “Blink”
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Stardust
- Best Professional Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder
- Best Professional Editor, Long Form: David G. Harwell
- Best Short Story: “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear
- Best Novelette: “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chaing
- Best Novella: “All Seated on the Ground” by Connie Willis
- Best Novel: The Yiddish policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon
We took lots of photos and stayed to take ones of the winners with all the lights on and using flash. Then it was off to the Hugo Loser’s Party which we managed to get in to because we were helping out. It ended up not being that much work since the area I was assigned to said they didn’t need me so I made sure the door guards had enough water or drink to stay hydrated (the room got incredibly hot) and helped pick up trash as it occurred (picking abandoned napkins, glasses, cups, plates, and such). Otherwise, not that taxing and I got to move around and talk to people also. As the crowd thinned it was easier to talk to people and it got a bit cooler. (Hyperion here: I was assigned to door guard duty, and, like Gayle, was told my services were not needed. So mostly I roamed around the room taking pictures of anything that would stay in focus in my viewfinder.)
Now, hopefully, it’s to bed. Tomorrow is the last day of the convention. We check out and start home.