So, I am even more heartbroken than I would usually be because I have had to skip Archipelacon. I would have loved to have been able to go as I am sure this will be THE BEST con of 2015. But, the main reason I am sooo sorry is the fact that is definitely NOT hot in Finland!
I would urge you to go – they have fun programming and a list of GoHs that makes my head spin with joy – George R. R. Martin, Johanna Sinisalo, Karin Tidbeck, Gary K. Wolfe and Parris Mcbride. But they are sold out. I passed on my own membership but that might not be a case with my husbands. Interested?
Archipelacon - The Nordic SF & Fantasy Convention - June 25–28, 2015
Also, it will be in the open. Animafest might be 40 but still comes up with great ideas! Case in point: Animafest Open Air @Zrinjevac. Awesome!
The best part of a convention is often the discovery of other people enamoured with the same books, characters and worlds. But I came to the world of fandom late and made friends with those who had similar reading interests regardless of where I met them.
Anyway, I had already read him by the time I met petra in college and I have done so many things with Petra since – SFera, the SFERA Award, all those SFeraKons, trips to Worldcon, a Eurocon, trips to Croatian conventions – that somehow it’s been years since we spoke about books. I have no idea how that happened – I was not even aware of it until the SFera Book Club last Tuesday.
Petra did not just do the three books, she brought pairs. So, the Book Club opened with a discussion of similarities between Snuff and Disgrace. The the inevitable comparison of the number of books sold as in audience reached (Snuff 55 000 in a day! while Disgrace won a Man Booker and never reached anywhere near that number in a day). I have not read Disgrace, but I have a need to now, if nothing else than to pen an essay on the lack of serious themes in genre literature and how it actually does not exist.
The A Hat Full of Sky discussion centered around Tiffany as one of the very well rounded characters while Marko Štengl, one of the biggest Croatian Terry Pratchett fans proclaimed it an awesome parenting manual. Totally did not see that coming and now I have to reread the book to see why.
Post-con depression is best cured by attending – or indeed organizing – another event. Shamrokon taught me that! (
I am doing these at the ZBF, but on behalf of 
One of them is – to circle back to kids again – the Swedish children’s author and illustrator Sven Nordqvist whose Pettson and Findus picture books my son is literally crazy about.
The Hugos, voting systems and supporting memberships are a hot topic in SF fandom these days. I have a lot to say about it, but running a con while working full-time hours as a freelancer will severely limit one’s free time (translation: I have 3 different Hugo-related articles pending that might or might not ever see the light of day). But reading a 
I administer SFERA, the oldest Croatian national SF award and I have a Sad Puppy type of person, thinking they’ve written the next Tolkien or the Croatian Asimov every other year spouting shit all over me personally and the award I administer for not recognizing their genius. Online, as well as live, gossiping relentlessly behind my back. Such is the nature of awards.
I could be ironic in a number of ways now. Or point out in how many nuances that situation is different from the shitstorm the Hugos are going through right now. (And it is, in many ways). Thing is, it did look like a pretty big shitstorm to us as it was happening. And now?
My Sunday talk on Croatian SF scene and literature was well attended and there were even questions from the audience. Polish fandom is huge and varied, I’ve been told they have more 100 events in a year. And I thought many SF cons in a year were a Croatian thing! I was a bit comforted when it was pointed out Poland had 38 and Croatia only 4 million people. Still. A large local fandom, however, makes Polish fandom not only self sufficient but pretty self-involved. Not many Polish fans get about outside of Poland and their knowledge of traditional fandom and its customs seems pretty limited. I focused my talk on the differences in our two fandoms, Polish and Croatian, showing off mostly how Croatians do things and pointing out all the traditions the late but great Krsto A. Mažuranic set up in Croatian fandom.
I do not LARP or play games much, unless it is with my five year old son. I have no idea why – I figure I am just lazy and much prefer to sit and read a good book. But occasionally someone comes up with something I would so totally get into. The idea behind Astra that Ivana Delac and Vesna Kurilic, both accomplished Croatian genre authors with day jobs in the culture and public education field and experienced game masters, came up with would have been my first LARP had they not asked me to be one of the small behind the scenes helpers. I am not sorry as I am sure I can bully them into making more of these. Also, I think it would be wonderful world if I could send my kid to school to learn like this.
Astra was a pervasive game with elements of espionage and research on literature, with a playable plot relying heavily on the supernatural. It had a strong ARG (alternate reality game) aspect, which is uncommon in Croatian LARPs. Most of the story had been kept secret until the game started (and continued so well into the game), the characters were pre-written by the organizers and the full number of participants – 28 active players, 2 GMs and a larger number of outsiders as supporting cast and crew – have been revealed only after the end of game. The main storyline revolved around the lives and works of three famous Croatian authors of the 20th century – novelist and journalist, Marija Juric Zagorka, Croatian Nobel award nominee and famed children’s author Ivana Brlic Mažuranic and acclaimed poet, Antun Branko Šimic.
Astra lasted for 12 days straight and 24 of the initial 28 players participated, in some way, until the very end. Loads of creative and informative material was produced: stories, poems, artwork, music, videos, research reports, statues, lanterns… All of it, as well as lovely ingame photos, are featured on the LARP’s 
Astra included quite a few elements that were previously unseen in Croatian LARPs, such as numerous ingame video materials, “hard copy” casefiles (given to every player at the beginning of the game) filled with mysterious documents and old photographs, ingame blogs and websites created months before the game and regularly updated, etc. This game was also,to the best of our knowledge, the first Croatian LARP to include mainstream outside partners: Marija Juric Zagorka Memorial Centre, Školska knjiga Publishing House and the Booksa Book Club.
