Worlds collide at sci-fi and fantasy literary convention

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This article was published 20/05/2017 (3228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Worlds collided Saturday at a downtown Winnipeg hotel.

The 34th edition of Keycon, billed as Manitoba’s premier science fiction and fantasy literary convention, was in full swing, and event co-chairwoman Carol Leblond was smiling.

“Everybody’s fandom is welcome. At Keycon, you always see a little bit of everything,” she said of the three-day event that has taken over three floors of the Radisson on Portage Avenue.

Focusing on science fiction, fantasy and related literary genres and featuring more than 70 blocks of programming — ranging from roundtable discussions to writing workshops to convention guest meet-and-greets to the traditional Saturday night social — Keycon organizers were expecting to draw roughly 500 attendees, up from the more than 400 in 2016.

“We’ve got lots of new faces… The fan base builds and new generations (are added to the mix),” Leblond said. “We’re happy with the attendance, and we’ve heard (from) a lot of happy people.

“Everyone is here for something different… People pick and choose what they want to do. It is open and welcome to all fandoms and all types. Let your geek flag fly,” said Leblond, who was attending her 27th Keycon. 

“It’s a labour of love, as corny as that sounds… Those who spend their time running this convention, it is what we do it because we love it,” she said. “This is my family. I grew up around these people… my blood family has come into this as well.” Leblond’s mother, Alex Stornel, is also a 2017 co-chairwoman.

While interests such as video and board gaming and anime were also represented among the dealer tables and designated hotel meeting rooms, science fiction and fantasy remain the core of the annual event — as does the notion of kindred sprints, said one of the event’s founders. 

“I think there’s about seven people who have been to every convention (including herself)” said Linda Ross-Mansfield, 66. “The thing that’s stayed the same: people call it a family. We’ve (now) got multiple generations attending… It’s really cool. 

“When we started, the only (big sci-fi) TV we had was Star Trek… There wasn’t that much in the media but a lot more on the book end. Now, people are relating a lot more to the media side than the books… but we’ve tried to keep a little bit of everything,” she said.

“The thing is, almost everybody here, whether they read anime or graphic novels — they read. We’re still readers, so I think that’s kind of important. (The subjects are) so creative, and it’s so forward-thinking.”

“We do have very much a literary slant here. We’re very big on celebrating our local authors as well as bringing in (industry guests),” Leblond agreed, singling out the feature author this weekend: Kelley Armstrong (who wrote the Age of Legends young adult fantasy trilogy). Winnipeg-born actor Thom Allison and Tamsen McDonough (both of Syfy channel’s Killjoys) were the feature media guests. 

“Much of our attendance will stay in the hotel for the weekend, and it’s a lot more relaxed and intimate” compared with the two large annual comic/sci-fi conventions Winnipeg is also home to (C4 and the Manitoba ComicCon), Leblond said. 

It’s that vibe that lures and hooks convention regulars, said Terra Doe of Winnipeg, who was attending her 10th Keycon.

“The people, the sense of community that goes around these people… is what keeps me coming back,” she said Saturday afternoon, adding she started bringing her now-14-year-old daughter a couple years ago. “I don’t have to worry about her… enough people know me, they know her. We keep tabs on each other.” 

It was a sentiment understood and echoed by Ross-Mansfield as she sat amid tables of genre books for sale in the convention’s dealer and merchandise room: “We all enjoy ourselves, and we all have fun.” 

Keycon 34 continues through Sunday. 

For more information, go to www.keycon.org/2017. 

scott.emmerson@freepress.mb.ca