All posts by Carl

LI-CON Gaming update

We’re happy to announce a unique event: Cards Against LI-CON. Play an uncensored, uninhibited game of the insanely popular (and insane!) game, using unique cards created specifically for this special event. We’ll have cards based on our guests and staff, and players can receive these one-of-a-kind cards and decks as prizes, signed by the people they’re about. This tournament will be the centerpiece of our overnight gaming. That’s right, you can play games continuously from Saturday morning through the con ending on Sunday evening. But please stop a few times to do stuff like eat, shower, and such.

More exciting gaming news soon!

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

–Robin Williams

LI-CON will bring a grand tradition back to Long Island: room parties at conventions. Room parties are a chance for convention-goers to just hang out together in a social way. (Yes, nerds socialize!) They can also be used for a business purpose. For instance, many times a convention team will throw a party at a different convention as a way to interest people in attending. (We’re throwing a party at Arisia, for instance.)

Parties usually start around the time panels slow down, so plan to spend Saturday evening at room parties.

If you’d like to throw a party, please email parties@li-con.org. We have only a very limited number of party rooms, so act fast!

ICON Indiegogo campaign over: LI-CON Store now open

ICON Science Fiction’s fund-raising campaign via Indiegogo has ended.

We did not raise the targeted amount. I want to emphasize two things:

  1. LI-CON is a go. We are holding the event in March.
  2. I-CON the event has not been abandoned. It just won’t happen in June. We will continue to work on it and when it happens, anyone who purchased a membership as part of the campaign is still a member.

For more details see the announcement.

So how can you get LI-CON memberships now? Via the LI-CON online store, which you can find by clicking the Register for LI-CON link at the top of this very window.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the campaign.

Carl

A Conversation With Jody Lynn Nye, Part 1

Interview conducted by Carl Fink

I first met Jody Lynn Nye at I-CON, where she and her husband Bill Fawcett were appearing. Like so many accomplished writers, both of them were remarkably down-to-earth and friendly and I really enjoyed talking to them, both there and at another convention. (Conventions are great places to have conversations—one among me, Jody, Bill and Mike Resnick I will probably remember for the rest of my life.) I still enjoy talking to both of them, and that made them naturals to invite to the first convention I am in charge of. I asked Jody to sit for an email interview as a way to introduce her to any fans who might not know her.

LI-CON: Hi, Jody. To start with, have you every done a job besides professional writing? Continue reading A Conversation With Jody Lynn Nye, Part 1 →

Meet the LI-CON Chair at Philcon

I will be a Program Participant at Philcon next weekend (Nov. 8-10). Please come to some of my programming, and if you’d like to say “Hi” or ask any questions about LI-CON or I-CON or ICON, I’ll be manning the ICON table some of the time and co-hosting the ICON party Saturday night as well.

Here’s my programming schedule:

Fri 8:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour)
GOOD SCIENCE FICTION SPOILED BY BAD SCIENCE (1405) [Panelists: John Monahan (mod), Gina Martinelli, Carl Fink, Inge Heyer, JJ Brannon] The plot, the writing, the characters were great. The story was gripping, pages were turning, but then a massive scientific mistake thuds down into your suspension of disbelief. How big an error can be overlooked? What’s a deal-breaker? What are some examples

Sat 10:00 AM in Grand Ballroom A (1 hour)
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RUN A SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION (1617) [Panelists: Michael J. Walsh (mod), Jeff Warner, Carl Fink, Joe Foering] There are a hundreds if not thousands of tasks to be performed in order to have a successful science fiction and fantasy convention. Let’s talk about what is needed

Sat 4:00 PM in Plaza IV (Four) (1 hour)
WEB COMICS FOR EVERYONE! (1439) [Panelists: Tony DiGerolamo (mod), D.L. Carter, Phil Kahn, Carl Fink] But exactly WHAT is out there/ Come find out what you’re missing. Comic Strips aren’t disappearing, they’re just migrating to the web. Find out why you should be browsing to get your Sunday Funnies Fix.

Of course, the schedule is subject to change at the Philcon Programming team’s discretion.

-Carl