About Pure Speculation

Well, Pure Speculation was last weekend, and once again I had a great time. There were some fascinating discussions at the panels, and I was certainly impressed with the collection of intelligent, and somewhat strange minds that we gathered together - both panelists and audience members. I also would like to thank the organizers, and especially Diane Walton for all her work in putting the writing sessions together. I only hope that this convention can grow into a bigger event without losing the hometown feel which it has for me right now.

Here is the blurb which I wrote up for the DragonMoon Press newsletter:

On October 13 and 14th, I attended the Pure Speculation convention in Edmonton. The Alberta SF scene seems to mostly centre around Calgary, and this convention is a pretty modest affair, but friendly in a way that bigger cons seldom manage. It was held in a community hall, with the main area devoted to vendors and gaming, and two smaller rooms for panels. So far, more of those panels were devoted to games and comics than fiction, but there was a strong attendance at the writing panels. The guest of honour, Peter Watts, was interviewed by Barb Galler-Smith on Saturday to a packed room, and a large proportion of the crowd stayed afterwards to hear Robert Burke Richardson, Edge author Amber Hayward and me give some hints for aspiring writers.
On Sunday, we had our 'Writer's Jam.' Ann Marston joined Peter, Barb, Robert, Amber and I for an interesting discussion in which we delved into dreams, taboos, and other sources of inspiration. Susan MacGregor and Diane Walton of On Spec Magazine also joined us for a while, before leaving to run another panel.
Brian Hades of Edge SF was in attendance with a large display of books, including many Dragon Moon Press titles.