Babscon fanfic author gatherings · 8:15pm Apr 22nd, 2016
This post is for folks attending Babscon this weekend (in San Francisco) - here's where to come be social with your fellow authors!
First of all, you can join the at-con author chat room if you want to be social and/or plan further outings. We're using a communications app called Discord. Just click this link to go to the web interface, or join the chat room in the app using the invite code 0xqOoPWifCdB6gvY.
Xepher and I are assembling a DIY fanfic author gather in his hotel room -- it's going to be a chill-out zone, with chairs and tables and (possibly) some light refreshments, where we can just get together and socialize. The formal room party hours are Friday from 5-8 pm and Saturday from 5-8 pm. Depending on interest, that might be extended further into the night or on Sunday day. And we know it's during prime dinner hours -- but we might be able to all take off for a group meal at 8, or if folks start starving we can all chip in on getting pizza delivery or something. We're keeping it all very flexible.
The convention itself is hosting a "Gathering of Fanfic Authors" on Saturday afternoon. It's in the Hall of Magic (upstairs on the atrium level, past the autograph room) from 3:15-4:15 p.m. If you can only make one author meetup, that's probably the one to do.
There are a clawful of other fanfic panels on the schedule, though they're a bit ... odd. "Fanfiction Formats" (12:45-1:45 pm Saturday) explores the use of chan-style greentext for stories. "Read it and Weep" (18+, 9-10 pm Friday) is a bad fanfic reading panel, while "My Little Grimdark" (18+, 11:30 pm-1 am Friday night) explores creepy/horror stories. Then there's "Fanfiction After Dark" (18+, 11 pm-midnight Saturday), discussing M-rated stories. I was kind of assuming there were some general-interest fanfic panels to go along with those, but you know what they say about assuming.
See you at any or all of those!
5:20 PM Friday and we're already up to seven in the party room. Drop on by!
I hope it was awesome.
Much jealousy; it sounds like a great con. 
I'm also surprised about the lack of more general fanfic panels. I mean, that's a pretty big con! Perhaps my little excursion into paneling at WCPC filled a real gap... though surely others must be doing what I was doing, only (presumably) better?
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Honestly, I'm not sure what was going on with Babscon's events division this year. Panel choices were questionable, the posted schedule had big errors (there was actually a sixth fanfic-related panel which I literally only found out about because I talked to the presenter), and not a single person seemed to know the musician order of the Saturday Neighhem concert, which was like *the* big headline event. It wasn't nearly that disorganized in previous years.
I enjoyed the con a lot, though!