Adam J. Whitlatch

Another CONvergence has come and gone, and with memories, new friends, and expensive geek swag comes exhaustion and feelings of longing for the next con. This year’s con was filled with great friends, both old and new. Last year I was so overwhelmed by the grand scale of it all that I never really took the chance to enjoy myself and meet my fellow attendees, but this year was very different.

I’ve done the post-apocalyptic survival panel at many different cons, including last year’s CONvergence, but never before have I had so many people come up to me in the hallways and in parties to tell me how much they enjoyed it. From the lovely lady who had a bone to pick with me about her husband proudly clutching his Golden Spork throughout the entire con, to the muffled conversation outside the consuite with the gentleman in Karl Kroenen cosplay (If you’re reading this, Kroenen-guy, please find me on Facebook. I loved your costume), the reaction from attendees was just amazing! For this year’s can game I decided to try something new. Jerrod Balzer suggested sporks as prizes, which I initially scoffed at, but I’m happy to say they were well received. Four of the contestants won stainless steel sporks, while the grand prize winner claimed the aforementioned Golden Spork, the mark of the ultimate wasteland survivor.

SPORK POWERS UNITE!!

The “Escaping the Slush Pile” panel was fun. I hope we didn’t break any hearts on that panel, which I assure you was not our intention. To the young lady whose manuscript I had the pleasure of evaluating (Santiago, I believe was her name), I would like to say, “Keep working! You really have something there, and I wish you the best of luck!”

The “Doomsday Scenarios” panel was both informative and humbling. When I introduced myself as “Adam J. Whitlatch, possibly the dumbest person on this panel,” I meant it, but my fellow panelists were all great and didn’t make me feel insignificant at all. We all worked really well together, touching on some very important issues, and we had a lot of fun doing it.

Finally there was the “Martial Arts for the Working Writer” panel. The panel was pretty balanced, with practical and traditional/mystical aspects of martial arts both equally represented. We covered weapons (both ancient and modern) and the physical limitations of fighters. Very fun.

Overall, a fun and fantastic experience. Jess and I can’t wait to see all our friends next year. If you’d like to see the rest of the pictures we took at CONvergence, they’re available at the following link (please feel free to tag yourself and your friends):

CONvergence 2012 Facebook Gallery

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