Beg to differ, Clay. Most of the panelists at SF/F cons are not being paid to be there by anyone. They are self-employed authors, for the most part. Possibly, for the larger conventions, editors might be reimbursed by their publishers for attending, given the contacts they make with authors and potential authors. World Con, where the Hugo Awards are presented, has a fair publisher presence, for networking with authors and some contact with rank and file fans. But most conventions draw upon regional authors and publishing industry contacts, and educated fans, with their not being reimbursed by anyone; the writer, artist, and any other Guests of Honor will have their travel expenses comped and their room/meals comped. Where we get into apples and oranges from a legit perspective is that SC/F conventions have much greater attendance, and thus the expenses of the con are spread out through a much larger group of people. Orycon, which takes place in Portland, OR, costs $65.00 at the door; the earlier you buy your membership, of course, the lower the price, down to $25.00 if you bought at the prior year's convention. Orycon has an attendance of several thousand people, for a three day convention. This year is Orycon 35, it's been around for a while. Norwescon, held in the Seatle/Tacoma area, is slightly spendier, with pre-reg starting at $50.00 and increasing from there. Norwescon 37 is next year, so it's a couple of years older than Orycon.
That's the fan run conventions, by fans for fans. Then you have the major media conventions, where for profit companies such as Creation Entertainment hire actors and other celebrities to attend, which cost rather more and serve a very different clientele. These are the big Star Trek cons, Xena, Stargate, Dr. Who, and various other television SF/F programs. Much more "Cult of Personality". Yours, John Mead, who use to help put on Orycon, back in the day. On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 9:57 AM, Clay Blackwell <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi Bronwen, > > I think that you're comparing apples to oranges here. At a lacemaking > convention, people are paying experts to travel (many from Europe), stay at > the hotel and have their convention costs covered, as well as a teaching > stipend. The best and most sought-after teachers devote their careers to > designing and teaching, and do not do that for free. > > On the other hand, at Sci-Fi "cons", it's a great deal more like a trade > show where speakers are sharing information, but also selling something. > They are eager to do this because it furthers whatever it is they are > promoting. Most times these speakers are being paid to be there by the > company for whom they work. > > So I don't think you're ever going to see a lacemaking convention that is > $150, all inclusive. > > Clay > > Sent from my iPad > > On Apr 22, 2013, at 12:18 PM, Bronwen of Hindscroft <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Many SciFi/Fantasy Conventions are much less than $150, and have the > > programming (classes) as part of the entrance fee. > > > > Now, there are a few differences > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to > [email protected]. Photo site: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/ > - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
