Chris Gigoux

How About a Con(vention) Just for Kid/Young-Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

Cons these days tend to be adult-focused, and consumer-focused, trying to appeal to the older geek-set with disposable income. But Julie Holderman and Tamora Pierce have a different idea: We love fantasy and science fiction (F&SF) conventions. LoveloveLOVE them. We love the dealer rooms, art shows, intimate conversations with favorite authors and editors, video and […]

Kidlit
Cons these days tend to be adult-focused, and consumer-focused, trying to appeal to the older geek-set with disposable income. But Julie Holderman and Tamora Pierce have a different idea:

We love fantasy and science fiction (F&SF) conventions.
LoveloveLOVE them. We love the dealer rooms, art shows, intimate conversations with favorite authors and editors, video and anime rooms, readings—oh, yes, and the panel discussions with our favorite personalities.

The only thing we wish cons had more of was teen
(YA, or young adult) and kid (children’s) fantasy and science fiction content. Let’s face it, teen and kid F&SF is rocketing. We can thank that Certain Boy Wizard in part, and we can thank the current Kid
Boom for both sales and for the variety of content for readers not technically classed as adult.

And so, they're planning one, from the ground up, using a LiveJournal group to organize it. Sounds like a great way to get kids really excited about reading in general, and especially the kind of genre fiction that made many of us the GeekDads we are. If you're interested in reading more, take a look here. Via Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing.