NECON 25   (Silver Anniversary of the Northeastern Writer’s Conference)

By Regina Allen

Though unable to attend NECON 25, which took place July 14-17, 2005 at Roger Williams College in Bristol, Rhode Island (sigh), author, Joel Ross, attended. He sent me the following report on what sounded like a really great conference (Mr. Ross was also the attendee who sent the report on World Horror Convention).

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of this informal, relaxed but highly professional convention (sometimes affectionately called “summer camp for supernatural and psychological horror, fantasy and science fiction writers”) the venue returned to the campus of Roger Williams College near Providence after last year’s site at Newport’s Salve Regina College.

In addition to the usual array of “campers,” this year’s Conference boasted suspense author and co-president of the International Thriller Writers Organization, David Morrell. On the second day of the conference, Dr. Morrell hosted an intriguing and unusual presentation with a showing and discussion of the early sixties classic TV show Route 66.

This program - about two young men touring the longest American road in a Corvette seeking both the essence of America and of themselves - scored a lasting impression on Dr. Morrell.  He emphasized scriptwriter Sterling Silliphant’s plotlines, character development and pacing, as well as the creative use of camera angles and light-and-shadow of the era’s black-and-white TV shows. This and later exposure to the work of Hemingway scholar, Philip Young, prompted him to obtain an M.A. and Ph.D. in American Literature.

Dr. Morrell then explained the inspiration for his newest suspense novel Creepers, published by CDS Books. The title refers to “urban explorers” who enter abandoned buildings (anything from hotels to psychiatric hospitals to derelict tenements). As a youngster in Kitchener Ontario, he examined deserted buildings as well as the occasional tunnel or subterranean structure. Creepers follows five disparate people who slip into a dead recluse’s pyramidal hotel scheduled for demolition in a dying Asbury Park. (Visit the Creepers’ website at http://www.theparagonhotel.com)

After this, Dr. Morrell shared such experiences as dealing with Hollywood, polishing the craft of writing and the excruciating pain of losing a teenage child to cancer.

Other panels discussed the future of horror as a genre, character development and the current market for speculative fiction. An interesting twist on the former was using a trio of panels, from the female, “veteran” and “younger” perspectives.

The traditional Friday night cookout was held with few bugs compared to last year at Salve Regina. Toastmaster Gordon Linzer (publisher and executive editor of Space & Time Magazine) did his usual fine job of keeping the ghost story competition moving well. Among the many authors vying to provide chills on a warm summer night were Yvonne Navarro Ochse, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, P.D. Cacek, Joel Ross, Gerard Hournauer and poetess Linda Addison.

In addition to the usual softball and croquet games, horseshoes and the visit to Lizzie Borden’s house in Fall River, Massachusetts (led by Lisa Manetti of Chancery House), there was a darts tournament after the traditional “roast”, the recipient this year being Phil Nutman. Phil, a native Brit, was considered to have an genetic advantage but Darrel Schweitzer of Weird Tales surprised everyone with his accuracy and elan. Phil thought that since darts is generally played in a pub rather than a breeze port, his English heritage counted for “naught”.

NECON 25 offered many interesting panels, discussions and an all around good time. Happy holidays and keep writing! 

Regina is a fiction writer who lives in New York.

For an extensive listing of conferences, check magazines like the Writer, Asimov’s Science Fiction,Poets & Writers and Locus. For websites, Writer’s Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/conferences)and Shaw Guides (http://writing.shawguides.com) have an exhaustive listing of conferences and workshops.

National

Wrangling with Writing
January 27-28, 2006
Tucson, Arizona
This conference offers networking opportunities as attendees will meet with editors, publishers, authors and agents who will speak, solicit manuscripts and conduct one-on-one interviews.
For information, contact: Society of Southwestern Authors, PO Box 30355, Tucson, AZ 85751. Contact Person: Penny Porter.
Telephone: (520) 546-9382
Website: http://www.azstarnet.com/nonprofit/ssa
Email: wporter202@aol.com

Cosine
January 20-22, 2006 OR January 13-16, 2006
Colorado Springs, Colorado
This is a genre conference. Membership: $25 for pre-registration. For more information (and for the exact conference date), contact: Cosine, Box 50618, Colorado Springs, CO 80949-0618.
Website: http://www.stardel.com/cosine/index.html

27th International Conference on the Fantastic In the Arts
March 15-29, 2006
Wyndham Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Theme: Drawn by the Fantastic: Comics, Graphic Novels, Art and Literature
For more information, visit their website: http://www.iafa.org

International

Discworld Convention 2006
August 18-21, 2006
Hanover International Hotel, Hinkley, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
This is a genre conference. For more information, visit their website: http://www.dwcon.org/