Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA, Aug 29-Sept 1, 2014

[Priscellie]

Dragon*Con
August 29th-September 1st
Dragon*Con
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30303

Jim's schedule TBA!

[AndiSue]

I'm planning a group shoot for Dresden Files cosplayers on Friday, August 29.  The time and location have not yet been set, but I will post here when I have them.

[AndiSue]

Photo shoot will be Friday, August 29 at 5:30pm (following "An Hour with Jim Butcher") at Hardy Ivy park, behind the Hyatt.

[MetalFae]

Do we know his Dragon*Con schedule yet?

[Dannyboy]

The Urban Fantasy track is organizing his panels this year.  They have posted their preliminary schedule, Jimness follows.  All of these are in ballrooms, expect to be in line early for a good seat.

Friday
4pm An hour with Jim Butcher
10pm Panelist on The Uses of Enchantment: Magic in Urban Fantasy

Saturday
2:30pm Dresden Files TV show panel with Paul Blackthorne

Sunday
4pm Panelist on Monster Menagerie: Supernatural Variety in Urban Fantasy
10pm Panelist on A Light in the Darkness: Humor in Urban Fantasy

Going to my 13th Dragoncon in 14 years
Danny

[Kodiakc]

Any info on signings for the weekend?

[Dannyboy]

The app was just updated, I strongly suggest anyone attending con get it from iTunes or the play store.

Danny

[PilgrimDan]

I heard some really bad things about Dragon*Con from quite a few people at Gen-Con, along the lines of how people at Dragon*Con mostly turn up to party and many people who aren't guests turn up just for the booze and that the atmosphere was nasty. I was talking to one writer who said it got so crowded it took an hour and a half or more to go to the rest room and that he lost money going there to get books signed because no-one seemed to be interested, so he wouldn't be going again. He also said that Dragon*Con was getting so unruly that there was a real danger of it turning into a riot - with a quarter million people.

Does anyone know how true this is?

[slayn]

I heard some really bad things about Dragon*Con from quite a few people at Gen-Con, along the lines of how people at Dragon*Con mostly turn up to party and many people who aren't guests turn up just for the booze and that the atmosphere was nasty. I was talking to one writer who said it got so crowded it took an hour and a half or more to go to the rest room and that he lost money going there to get books signed because no-one seemed to be interested, so he wouldn't be going again. He also said that Dragon*Con was getting so unruly that there was a real danger of it turning into a riot - with a quarter million people.

Does anyone know how true this is?

Not very.  It's a crowded convention, yes, but outside of that nothing else is accurate, and even the number of people there isn't a problem for the most part.  I've never had to wait more than, like, two minutes to use the restroom at any point in the last five years of attending.

Further, both hotel and convention staff are very good at keeping people without badges and/or hotel room keys out of the hotels.

The main thing to remember is that the convention isn't about any one specific aspect of being a geek.  I can almost guarantee that people at GenCon don't like DragonCon because there's not enough gaming for them.  But then, DragonCon is not a gaming convention.  There's gaming there, certainly, but it doesn't get any more or less attention than other events.

As far as the writer you spoke to, that sounds like sour grapes to me.  First, attendance hovers around the 50-60,000 range, putting his number off by a factor of five.  Second, it's a well-behaved crowd for the most part; some people drink a bit too much in the evenings, but I've never seen anything that comes remotely close to unruly and the idea that a bunch of geeks are going to riot at a convention that specifically caters to them is hilarious.  I'm sorry no one wanted his signature, but if you're not a NYT bestseller, that's a risk you take attending a general-purpose convention like DragonCon.  Hell, I've seen actual NYT bestsellers with anemic lines during signings.

[Dannyboy]

PilgrimDan:

I've been attending Dragoncon since 2000, yes the convention has gotten bigger in many ways.  You must remember that it is a non-profit fan run convention.  They started in one hotel and now use all the convention space of five major hotels in downtown Atlanta plus the exhibit space of the Atlanta Merchandise mart.  50,000 is an accurate count for attendance from what I've heard about last year's count.  The drunken atmosphere complaint isn't accurate from my experience, there is plenty of drinking going on but I have never witnessed someone spewing.  The only real issues happen when someone stops at the bottom of an escalator.  As for the author in question... he wasn't Jim.  I was on line for over an hour waiting to get books signed last year.  Twice.  I had three books to get signed they were limiting people to two at a time to try and get through the whole line in the hour allowed.

I have attended many other cons but Dragoncon is the one that keeps me coming back.  By comparison NY Comicon (my hometown con) is a horrible zoo.

My $.02
Danny

[PilgrimDan]

You're right - the writer wasn't Jim. He was a guy called William I Levy.

[AndiSue]

Do we know his Dragon*Con schedule yet?

Jim's tentative schedule, including signings, is in the DragonCon app and has been posted in the Official Dragon*Con Facebook group and, I believe, on the Dragon Con Urban Fantasy Facebook page

[slayn]

From the email that went out today:

FRIDAY

Title: Autograph Sessions
Time: Fri 2:00pm – 3:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Dealer’s Room, Badali Jewelry Booth — 15i-17i.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Badali uses a “timed ticket” system to ensure signings don’t become a fire hazard. Stop by their booth Friday morning to get your free ticket and to be assigned a time slot.

Title: An Hour With Jim Butcher
Description: Audience Q&A with the bestselling author of the Dresden Files and Codex Alera series
Time: Fri 4:00pm – 5:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Regency VI – VII – Hyatt

Title: The Uses of Enchantment: Magic in Urban Fantasy
Description: Authors in the field discuss the various magical systems used by their characters
Time: Fri 10:00pm – 11:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Augusta Ballroom – Westin
Tentative Panelists: Laura Anne Gilman, D.B. Jackson, Linda Robertson, James R. Tuck, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher

SATURDAY

Title: Magnificent Men of Fantasy Fiction
Description: Powerful speculative fiction demands a lot of the authors. These well-known authors will provide inside information on how to write powerful fiction.
Time: Sat 1:00pm – 2:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Centennial I – Hyatt
Tentative Panelists: Kevin J. Anderson, Nancy Knight, Jonathan Maberry, Larry Niven, Jim Butcher

Title: Dresden Files – Bringing the Wizard to Life
Description: Interview and audience Q&A with the creator of the Harry Dresden character and the actor who brought him to life on the screen.
Time: Sat 2:30pm – 3:30pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Regency VI – VII – Hyatt
Tentative Panelists: Jim Butcher, Paul Blackthorne

Title: Autograph Sessions
Time: Sat 04:00pm – 6:30pm (Length: 2.5 Hours)
Location: International Hall South – Marriott

Title: Modern Day Magic
Description: If “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” what happens when you drop magic into a technologically advanced world?
Time: Sun 11:30am – 12:30pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Embassy C – Hyatt
Tentative Panelists: Lev Grossman, Jim Butcher

SUNDAY

Title: Worldbuilding 101
Description: Where does a writer start? What’s important to the reader? Who needs to know what and when do they need to know it? Build a better fictional world.
Time: Sun 1:00pm – 2:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt
Tentative Panelists: Lee Martindale, Michael Bunker, Lynn Abbey, C. L. Wilson, Jim Butcher, Jonathan Maberry

Title: Monster Menagerie: Supernatural Variety in Urban Fantasy
Description: Urban Fantasy features a wide range of supernatural beings, often in the same book, and our authors discuss their diverse approaches.
Time: Sun 4:00 pm – 5:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Augusta Ballroom – Westin
Tentative Panelists: Christopher Golden, John G. Hartness, Kat Richardson, Laurell K. Hamilton, Linda Robertson, Jim Butcher

Title: Autograph Sessions
Time: Sun 5:30 pm – 6:30pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: International Hall South – Marriott

Title: A Light in the Darkness: Humor in Urban Fantasy
Description: Authors in the genre often use humor, and this panel of authors will explain why they do so, and what type they employ.
Time: Sun 10:00 pm – 11:00pm (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Chastain BC – Westin
Tentative Panelists: Kevin J. Anderson, John G. Hartness, Julie Kenner, J. F. Lewis, Kat Richardson, Jim Butcher

MONDAY

Title: I Have This Idea
Description: How to develop an idea into a novel. Basic tools to take an idea from that little germ into a full-blown blockbuster.
Time: Mon 10:00 am – 11:00am (Length: 1 Hour)
Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt
Tentative Panelists: Jim Butcher, Lou Anders, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Janny Wurts, Peter David, Gene Wolfe, Nancy Knight

==========

Fans may also be interested in checking out the screening of the “Night Light” fan film Friday night.

Title: Night Light: A Dresden Files Fan Film
Description: Last year we shared a clip from this fan film set in the Dresden universe, and this year we will screen the whole movie.
Time: Fri 11:30 pm Location: Chastain BC – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Other Dragon Con Items of Note:

Please ARRIVE EARLY for signings. The last time Jim was at DragonCon and last week at GenCon, his lines were capped long before the signing even began.
Don’t forget that Badali Jewelry–in addition to hosting Jim’s first signing–is selling gorgeous Dresden Files jewelry, including Harry’s pentacle amulet and shield bracelet as well as “good” and “evil” Bob necklaces. You can preview them on Badali’s website.

I'm so happy I only have to go to ONE signing this year!

[Yeratel]

By 3:00 this afternoon, an hour before the 4:00 "An Hour With Jim Butcher" session, the waiting line already stretched around two sides of the square block at the Marriott. I decided it was too hot to wait outside, so I strolled over to the Sheraton and got in line for "An Hour With Colin Baker", the 6th incarnation of Dr. Who. The line was shorter and inside in the A/C, though the crowd got big enough to pretty well fill up the Grand Ballroom. This was Colin Baker's first trip to Dragon*Con, and he did not disappoint, he was vastly entertaining.  In the Dragon*Con news, they announced that they are rebroadcasting the panels on DragonConTV at the event hotels, and will make them available on YouTube as well, for those of us who didn't get to see Jim, or Patrick Stewart, or other popular guests live. I expect there will be a link available in a day or two.

[PilgrimDan]

After not getting to see Jim, Colin Baker sounds like a good second.