Having quit my part-time day job, I’m having to cut back on convention appearances for 2019. There are several favorites that I wouldn’t miss, but I have to be a little more careful about money for a while. Also, Onyx Path is changing the way they attend the bigger gaming conventions, so they don’t need my help covering the booth this year for GenCon. Being super-expensive — and not terribly productive, professionally speaking — not going to GenCon is probably a wise move for me.
January
First up is Midwinter, in Milwaukee in January. I know, you’re not convinced of the spa-like nature of Wisconsin in the dead of winter. For one thing, you don’t have to go outside very much. For another, GAMES! I will be running three session of my D&D 5E-Scarred Lands one-shot adventure: “Consumed” — two on Friday January 11, one on Saturday January 12. I’ll also be participating in the pre-con Industry Summit on Thursday January 10. For more information, click here: https://www.facebook.com/midwintergamingconvention/
March
March 8-10, I’ll be getting my Steampunk on at Geneva Steam, in Delavan, Wisconsin. It’s a smaller, laid back event, and is a great introduction to Steampunk if you’ve ever wanted to try things out without getting in too deep. To learn more, click on the link: http://www.genevasteam.com/
May
I’ll be heading to Grand Rapids Michigan to attend my very first Stoker Con, a convention of horror authors, May 10-12. I’m a bit anxious about this one: I typically get verbal and non-verbal cues from some fiction authors that indicate they are less than impressed with my game-writing background. With that and my only fiction credits being two published short stories, I have to admit it’s tough not to feel like a poser. I also will only know about three people there ahead of time, and for an introvert like me, that’s a recipe for a Bad Time. Still, I’m determined to make it work and learn more about the craft of writing.
September
I’ll be attending the inaugural Chicago Steampunk Expo September 27-29. This con is being run by a group of veteran convention runners, so the inaugural part doesn’t phase me much. Here’s the link: http://chicagosteampunkexpo.com/
November
TeslaCon is one of our favorite Steampunk events of the year, and since it’s in our home town, attending is relatively cheap. I don’t yet know the dates, but odds are pretty fair it will conflict with GameHoleCon, which makes it unlikely I can do both comfortably.
I’m certainly open to attending more conventions in the coming year, but I’ll either need to be an invited guest or have a really strong justification for going. Stay tuned for further updates!