Traveling to Oz for GenreCon!

GenreCon in Sydney AustraliaIt's been officially announced, so I can share the giddy: I'm going to be one of the featured guests at the first GenreCon in Australia!

The conference is being hosted by the Queensland Writers Centre as part of their Australian Writer's Marketplace program. Their description reads: “a weekend long party and networking opportunity for like-minded writers and publishing professionals united by their love of romance, fantasy, science fiction, crime, young adult, and other sub-genres that have been routinely segregated to their own corner of the bookshop. Genre fiction often gets overlooked at Australian literary festivals, but it’s the source of many of our most enduring stories and it bridges media such as film, games, and comic books in addition to fiction. We’ve started GenreCon to celebrate creators of genre works and the contributions they’ve made to the Australian literary landscape, and to foster the next generation of genre writers as they build their careers.”

I'm one of four guests, along with fantasy author Joe Abercrombie, agent Ginger Clark, and Australian romance writer Anna Campbell. I'm also told there will be tea and possibly Tim Tams.

The registration is online now, and there's a discount for the first 50 people who register. The student registration is also discounted.

A conference all about genre fiction in Australia? Awesome. I think this is going to be a very cool conference, and I am so excited. When I first received the email about this conference inviting me to attend, I was eating Tim Tams. I plan to bring home a suitcase full from Sydney. (And possibly one or two Wiggles, as souvenirs for my kids.) I hope, if you're in Oz, you'll be at the conference so I can meet you in person –  it is very fun to meet people whom you mostly speak with online. 

 

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General Bitching...

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  1. ksattler says:

    Congratulations! Wish I could go too…got room in the suitcase?

  2. MargaretNKinnley says:

    Awww i wish i could go! good ofr you

    http://goo.gl/XH0xU

  3. I saw that yesterday on one of my writing loops and did a big Woohoo! Gonna have to see if I can jump the ditch to Sydney…. unless you are planning a small detour to New Zealand afterward? There’d be a bunch of romance writers and readers who’d love to talk all things romance with you!

  4. CarrieS says:

    Oh.  My.  God.  I am so jealous!!!!!!

  5. Keziah Hill says:

    Squeeee! A Smart Bitch in person! And November is the best time of year in Sydney. It’s spring so it’s not too hot. How long are you going to be in the country? While Parramatta, where the conference is being held is the geopraphic heart of Sydney, it’s a fair way from the coast where the city centre is. Looking forward to meeting you or at least admiring from a distance.

  6. Venetia says:

    OMG, it’s in Sydney! And nearby! I can go!

  7. Ilona says:

    Awesome! For once I can actually attend something, so gonna go

  8. Arienette says:

    I’m going to second the motion for coming to NZ! Woot!

  9. Philippa B says:

    I’m excited, it is a suburb near me, and actually about 5 blocks away 🙂

  10. Katherine O'Grady says:

    That is so awesome! I am so jealous! Enjoy the Tim Tams, the tasty food, the fun people and the gorgeous scenery. We honeymooned in Oz and had the best time. I want to go back!

  11. Katherinelynn_04 says:

    TIM TAMS! I love them! Did you know Pepperidge Farm makes (or made, I’m not sure they still do because I’m not allowed to buy cookies any more) Tim Tams here in the US? They made the caramel and chocolate flavors. According to my Aussie friends they are very close to the original. I’ve had the original a few times, and I have to agree.

  12. MissB2U says:

    I’m proud to have you rep the Bitchery in Oz!  Send back as many dispatches as possible and include video links for those of us moldering here at home.  Now if we could just get you out here to the left coast…

  13. JimLynch says:

    This is awesome!  The mix of genres also sounds like a perfect opportunity for folks to go beyond their main areas of interest/expertise to find out what else is out there, the similarities between genres, etc.  Woot!

  14. JaniceG says:

    Kewl! I’m unlikely to be able to make the conference but if you plan to travel to Melbourne, please do post your plans!

  15. Taylor Reynolds says:

    Congratulations!!!

  16. gabby says:

    I want to cry! I’m studying overseas this year – I cannot believe I’m missing this *sobbing*

  17. DreadPirateRachel says:

    Awesome! I’m so jealous. I wish there was a con like that in my neck of the woods. I could definitely use some solidarity at the moment; I have one professor who is so obnoxiously against genre fiction that he actually said in class yesterday, “Ursula Le Guin would be offended to be categorized as science fiction.”

    Um, excuse me? I’m pretty sure if she were offended, she would be on the record telling people not to call her a SF author, instead of criticizing people like the aforementioned douchebag who claim all the good genre authors for LitFic and then mock the genres for lack of quality. Witness the following quote: “The problems come with books that are cross-genre—and with the critical assumptions that anything they call “genre” is going to be automatically inferior and they don’t have to review it or learn how to read it.” Link: http://scifi.about.com/od/inte…

  18. Marc says:

    I love Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series.  I read it around the same time I read George RR Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice.  He is one author I would really love to meet.  Glokta was/is such an epic character.  If you haven’t read the First Law series you should.  Hope you have a great time!

  19. Fantastic! You are going to have the best time.
    And Anna Campbell is also a guest? That is awesome to the power of Fabulous!

  20. Violet Bick says:

    This sounds so cool! I’ve always wanted to go to Australia. And, yes, in my hypothetical-at-this-point plans, I would of course go to Melbourne and visit Rendezvous, The Romance Bookstore. (Does anyone else have a bookstore bucket list?)

    But what I am really wondering is, Why is the Queensland Writers Centre hosting a conference in Parramatta (Sydney)? Aren’t they in two different states? I mean, wouldn’t that be comparable to, say, The New Jersey Audubon Society hosting a conference in Baltimore, MD?

    Am I missing something? Am I being geographically ignorant? If so, let me know. I can take it.

  21. SB Sarah says:

    I don’t have any plans for New Zealand, I’m sorry!

  22. SB Sarah says:

    I will probably be there a little over a week. I have to be home shortly after the conference because my older son’s birthday is that week.

  23. SB Sarah says:

    I will be in Anaheim for the RWA conference this summer, does that count? And I will make sure that my phone has international data enabled so I can share as much as possible!

  24. SB Sarah says:

    I have had drinks with a group of folks at RWA in Orlando, and Anna Campbell was there. I thought alcohol was going to come out my nose I laughed so hard. She’s awesome.

  25. Marymac47 says:

    I was confused too. I had to check the website to see that it was in NSW and not Queensland.

  26. Helena Sapphire says:

    Congratulations!! Don’t forget to take notes for us.

  27. js264 says:

    Congrats! Hope you have a great time. I’m delighted to learn about this conference. Lynn Flewelling (a great fantasy writer) and I once threw a party for all of the genre writers in New England—the Dangerfield party, for obvious reasons. It was tremendous fun and very useful. I hope GenreCon becomes very successful!

  28. Philippa B says:

    I sent you timtams before didn’t I Sarah?  Regardless, I will make sure to bring you some.  Multiple varieties 🙂

  29. Rudi_bee says:

    I’m so excited! Already bought my ticket.

  30. Kylie says:

    Possibly in NSW because the new Premier of QLD would find a way to withdraw funding because we don’t need books and reading in this state.  Possibly an exaggeration, but sadly the message so far is that writers and readers don’t matter.  Much as I wish this event was here in QLD, I can understand choosing to host it elsewhere. 

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