It used to be that you had to register for Necon by mail, even in this day and age of “intertubes,” but no more! Starting now, you can register for Necon 34 online right at the website! Hooray for modern technology!
Did I mention I’m one of the Guests of Honor? So you’re coming, right?
Michael Koryta and Amber Benson are also Guests of Honor, in case I’m not good enough for you.
What am I, chopped liver?
I’ve been going to Necon — more formally known as the Northeastern Writers Conference; informally known as Camp Necon — since the year 2000, missing only one year in between. And if there’s one thing I remember from the start, it’s that their website was outdated even then. But not anymore! Thanks to Matt Bechtel and Sara Calia, Necon now has a brand-spanking-new and much more user-friendly website, just in time for Necon 34!
Did I mention I will be one of the Guests of Honor at Necon 34? Well, I will be! The other Guests of Honor will be New York Times bestselling author Michael Koryta and actress/director/author Amber Benson. By fabulous coincidence, the Artist Guest of Honor will be Erik Mohr, who designed the amazing cover to my novella Chasing the Dragon. Acting as Toastmaster will be the inimitable critic and author Jack Haringa. I thought he was dead!
So, are you coming? Of course you’re coming! You can register via the Necon website I linked to above.
Also, here’s another bit of very cool Necon news. Bram Stoker Award-winning author Elizabeth Massie, a Necon regular, has set up the Bob Booth Necon Memorial Fund, which will help make Necon attendance possible for those who might not be able go due to financial constraints. If you’re able to, please donate to the cause here.
(Photo by Jill Bauman)
I just received the following email from Matt Bechtel with devastating, if not entirely unexpected, news:
Dear Necon Family,
Papa is at peace, and free.
Bob Booth — writer, editor, publisher, founder of Necon and Necon E-Books, avid fan of horror and the written word, father, grandfather, mentor and friend — passed away last night shortly after 2AM. As you all know, Bob had been battling cancer for the last eight months (and had far exceeded any and all expectations at the time of his diagnosis, including his miraculous four days spent at Necon this summer). His passing was peaceful and dignified, completely without pain or fear.
Plans for a memorial mass are currently being made, and details regarding the services will be made public as soon as they are finalized.
Bob is survived by his beloved wife, Mary; his children, Dan and Sara; his granddaughter, Jillian; and by literally everyone who is reading this email / blog / post. The term “Necon Family” is not an empty platitude; Bob loved you all, and you touched his life as much as he touched yours. Your love, prayers, thoughts and well-wishes meant more to him, and did more for him, than I have the words to express.
Condolences can be sent to: Mary Booth, 67 Birchland Ave., Pawtucket, RI 02860. They can also be sent via email to Dan (daniel.booth77@gmail.com), Sara (saracalia08@gmail.com), or myself (bechtel.matt@gmail.com), or via this blog or Facebook post; you have our word they will be received and passed along.
On behalf of all of us — thank you, Papa. Safe passage. We love you.
I don’t have much to add to this. I don’t have the words right now. All I can say is that Bob Booth was a lovely man, and it was an honor to know and befriend him. I’m deeply saddened by the news of his passing. I’m so glad Jack Haringa and I got to spend a little time alone with him at the tail end of this past Necon.
There have been too many losses in the community recently. I would like a break now, please.
Another Necon, another weekend of not enough sleep. But it’s easy to run entirely on adrenaline at Necon. As someone said during Thursday night’s memorial service for our dear departed friend Rick Hautala — Necon isn’t a convention, it’s a family reunion. And it never felt more that way than this year, with so many long-absent regulars returning. I was particularly happy to see Douglas Winter again — though unfortunately it also meant he would be hosting That Darn Game Show again on Saturday night. But, after the usual fifteen minutes spent describing the rules to everyone, the game went very quickly. I came in 3rd by correctly recognizing the opening line to F. Paul Wilson‘s novel The Tomb. My valuable prize was an alien autopsy play set…with edible pieces!
Rio Youers had his head shaved for charity, raising more than $600 for the Jimmy Fund. The son of a bitch was bald but he still looked magnificent! My panel, Playing in the Other Guy’s Sandbox: Homage, Pastiche, Mythos, and Shared Worlds went well. Panelists C.J. Henderson, Darrell Schweitzer, John Goodrich, and James A. Moore were all game to discuss their experiences writing in universes they didn’t create themselves. The brand new kaffeklatsches on Friday morning, opposite the Necon Olympics mini-golf/bowling, were an enormous success, and judging by the feedback at Sunday’s town hall they’re here to stay. Other good news from the town hall: the Necon website is finally going to be redesigned and more frequent updates are promised!
And then there was the highlight of any Necon: the roast. This year, we roasted Linda Addison, and we got her good! Christopher Golden and I co-hosted. We caught Linda completely off-guard by starting to roast Jose Nieto, and then calling Linda up as our first roaster. Jose, a fine actor, pitched a fake hissy fit fifteen seconds into Linda’s act and stormed back into the audience. Linda was flabbergasted. Chris and I, nowhere near as good at acting as Jose, then pretended to be flummoxed. “Oh no, Chris! What do we do now?” I asked. “Well, we have to roast someone,” Chris replied, taking Linda’s arm. “Yes, we have to roast someone,” I said, taking her other arm. Together, we led her over to the chair, and the real roast began. That’s all I’m going to say about it, because what’s said at the roast stays there. I will, however, admit that some people who seem so nice are actually so beautifully nasty it would make your head spin! Linda stared daggers at Chris and me all through the roast. I bought her a drink afterward to keep her from killing me. No, she was a good sport, and she told me later she was very honored and touched.
But Necon is more about the people than the events, and I had a wonderful time hanging out with Jack Haringa, Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni, Dave Thomas, Bev Vincent, John Harvey, S.J. Bagley, Nate Kenyon, Duncan Eagleson, Kealan Patrick Burke and his awesome girlfriend Adrienne Wallace, John McIlveen, Chris Golden, Craig Shaw Gardner, Gordon Linzner, Hildy Silverman, Richard Dansky and Melinda Thielbar, and so many more. I was especially happy to be able to spend some one-on-one time with Bob Booth on Sunday. We only thought he was going to make it to Necon for one night, but miraculously he was able to be there for the entire weekend. His spirits were high and his wit was as sharp as ever.
So that was Necon 33. Oh, and now I can tell you: for Necon 34, I’m one of the Guests of Honor — along with Michael Koryta and Amber Benson! Joining us will be Toastmaster Jack Haringa and Artist Guest of Honor Erik Mohr (who did the cover for my book Chasing the Dragon, as well as so many other great ChiZine Publications covers). If you haven’t been to Necon for a while, or if you’ve never been before, you simply have to come to this one!
