Tag: michigan

We had a really fun time at Penguicon this weekend, and I thought I’d provide a rundown, both for fun and also in case anyone out there is curious what it’s all about.

First: the premise. Penguicon is a community-run convention for a wide range of storytelling, gaming, and other open-thought activities. Here are my overall thoughts and surprises:

1. It’s everything. I mean, not the millennial “it’s everything” but like it’s all over the place. People provide and share their own events, which range from readings, gaming, costumes, discussions, crafts, tech, burlesque, food, I mean… it’s a lot.
2. Everyone there seems really happy. I’ve been to cons where people are engaged or excited, but I’ve never been to one where everyone is walking around looking so darn happy. The vibe was really great—very community feeling.
3. The vendors were top-notch. I’m used to seeing many of the local vendors at a variety of events, cons, and street fairs, but in this case I really noticed that some of the best craftspeople were there. The crafts, jewelry, art, and other items were all really fun. You really could just go there and gift shop.

So what did we do?

Well, first, I confess that I caught the funk, and not that good Dayton funk, coming back from Gem City Comic Con last weekend. Despite my best allegiance to hand-sanitizer, sometimes it happens. However, the few hours where I pretty much completely lost my voice also coincided with two first Penguicon panels. So I apologize to those of you who had to listen to me straining to channel my inner stressed-out-frog. I know it was disturbing.

First, Chris did a workshop on formatting a manuscript for indie publishing. The questions were great, and I hope people learned a few tips. (Note: Chris offers publication services.)

Then, my friend Marsalis and I led a discussion on socially conscious fiction. Of course we didn’t claim to have the answers, but we discussed things we’ve seen as well as general advice for what to look for and where to seek (and not seek) help. We emphasized the point: it’s all about being thoughtful, about listening, and about considering how what you write may convey to other people.

If you like really big, bold always-exciting writing, check out Marsalis on Twitter, Instagram, and Amazon.

Then, Chris and I went to a reading by Saladin Ahmed, where, even knowing he is a skilled and varied writer, I blurted out that I was a Kamala Khan fangirl in my froggy voice. Look, I love her.

And after that, I was co-leading a panel on advice on short fiction submissions. As I started to say the few things I wanted to say, the other editor abruptly took ill and left, leaving me and my now 2% battery voice up there alone. Which made this really the coolest place to be at 8 PM Friday night. Luckily, Chris stepped in and helped discuss anthologies in general, as well as some of the red flags on contracting and terms. And…what a great audience. I sort of can’t believe you stayed! I hope it was worth the time!

And if you want to hear more on our upcoming anthology Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, (it releases this week!) I was excited to be on another episode of Pondo’s Playground discussing it: I hope you’ll give it a listen!

We went back Saturday to hang out, and of course being May the Fourth and Free Comic Book Day, we had to swing by and catch the atmosphere (and update from the pull file) at Comics & More in Madison Heights, which is a super cool store.

Making our way to Penguicon, we enjoyed listening to horror author Stefani Manard talk about her own experiences with indie publishing, along with a team member from Podcast Detroit. She had a lot of great advice to offer!

Now, you’ll notice these have all been literary events. (Marsalis and I joked that all our events were marked with “Lit” like yeah, obvs.) Not feeling great still, I didn’t want to push it, but I wanted to try at least something different. So we went to a meditation overview with a Zen Priest. It was…calming. And…it took them about ten seconds to tell me I needed to stop worrying about what other people think of me. I’m trying! Anyway, they recommended a specific book so I’m totally going to try that.

After we left, we went to the other side of Southfield to try a place I’ve wanted to go for so long: Taste of Ethiopia. So good. If you’re in the area, stop by! (Very vegan-friendly, for my peeps. They make their own cheesecake, mmm.)

And then Sunday, Chris and I ran a panel called “Meet Atthis Arts,” where we talked about our small press – really just to let people know who we are, what we believe, and about all our great titles. Afterward, we had such a nice time talking to Marv, we joined him in the bar for a Penguicon wrap-up. (Hey, Marv!)

Then we went back to the Penguicon bookstore (“Writers’ Block”) and were excited to see that all six pre-release copies of Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove had sold, along with some of my own titles. If you bought one, thank you, and I hope you enjoy it!

Anyway, we’d like to thank the Penguicon organizers and attendees for making this such a pleasant experience. We’ll definitely be back in 2020 – and maybe we’ll see you there?