Reflections on WHC 2005
By Brad Warren
The World Horror Convention comes but once a year to some lucky (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) city and the ghouls flock from the ends of the earth to attend. Brad Warren gives us the Down Under perspective of being a stranger in an even stranger (but wonderful) land.
Twenty-one hours flight time from Melbourne to New York, plus five hours screwing around in airports, taking my coat and shoes off for security checks, and then somehow triggering the alarms anyway. Then came the jet lag, dragging myself through the first day of the convention as though, by some twist of fate, I’d barely slept for thirty-six hours. You know what? It was worth it. Every minute. To be with a group of people with the same ideas, interests, and passions as myself, sharing experiences with experts in the horror genre, and discussing the craft in all settings from workshops to panels to the hotel bar, proved to be one of the most productive, empowering events of my life.
Panels
There were many of these, on a variety of different topics. Being of an academic frame of mind, the one I enjoyed most was “African American Issues in Horror Fiction,” which included Andre Duza, Sheree R. Thomas, Muarice Broaddus, Linda Addison, Wrath White, Chesya Burke, and John Edward Lawson. This panel was not so much a question-and-answer session as an intellectual debate. I was so impressed by what many of the panelists had to say that I wanted to know more about them, so I went out immediately and bought several of their books.Many of the other panels concerned the publication of short fiction. To be honest, the short story has never been my favorite form of writing, but I caught the disease last weekend and I’m fast developing an interest. Sometime after midnight on the first night of the conference (still jet-lagged as Hell), I picked up From the Borderlands, the anthology that came in the WHC goodies bag and, I must confess, I ignored all else and read the Stephen King story first. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it didn’t outshine the tales I was to read thereafter. There is so much talent out there: Gary Braunbeck’s “Rami Temporalis” was spectacular, as was Whitt Pond’s “The Goat” (to name just a couple). Further, one of the great joys of WHC for me was that, from now on, I will not be able to read the acknowledgements in a horror novel without connecting faces and voices with the names listed, without thinking I know that person, or, I met that person.
Author Readings
A mixed bag. I won’t name any names but, as far as reading aloud is concerned, the beauty of the tale is most definitely in the telling, not in the tale itself. Some readings came across as stilted and uncomfortable, while other authors used their voice and charisma to make their stories and characters come alive.
Writing Workshop with Mort Castle and Gary Braunbeck
These sessions rocked! Despite the many hours in which I had no time at all to complete the homework assignment, I managed to get it done, and it was wonderful (and more than a little daunting!) to share and discuss writing with people of such high caliber (students and instructors alike).
The Dark Fiction Results and the Gross-Out Contest
I participated in both (with no success, but never mind). The evening was a lot of fun. A gentle criticism, however, with regard to the Dark Fiction Contest: All we heard were the names of the stories the winners had written. I wanted more. Tell me about the prize-winning stories, please. Synopses, at least. Or perhaps excerpts read aloud. I wrote a new story especially to compete, and I don’t think it sucked too much. I would’ve liked to know about those who had bested me.
With regard to the Gross-Out Contest, all I can say is I was humbled in the presence of grandeur. The atrocities presented by the likes of Cullen Bunn and Mark McLaughlin (first- and second-place winners) left my performance looking like grade-school show-and-tell.
The Venue
It’s been a dozen years since I was last in New York City and it was a pleasure to be back. I loved the sights and sounds, the whole experience that combine to make New York like nowhere else on Earth (even though the stories about the service industry are based firmly in fact and, if you’re prone to doing your math in Australian dollars, tap water for breakfast seemed like a damn fine idea).
Clearly, I immersed myself in as many aspects of WHC as possible, Hell-bent as I was to get the greatest possible return out of my investment. Everything—the events, the art, the dealer-room, the friendships I made—combined to make for a most memorable four days. Where else could I go to, not only meet, but discuss our craft with such names as Charles Grant (by way of a trip to a hospital in New Jersey on the first day, a journey that was worth infinitely more than the time it took), Harlan Ellison (who lived up to his reputation, is a consummate storyteller and entertainer, and who shared with those present during WHC’s final panel an unusually candid and self-deprecating reflection concerning his soon-to-be-released biography), Brian Keene, Mort Castle, Joe R. Lansdale, Mick Garris, and others. Time and finances allowing, I’ll be back next year for sure.
Brad Warren is an Australian-based writer who holds a Ph.D. in Sociology. He resides in Melbourne, where he teaches to English to native and non-native speakers.
