The conference on imaginative literature, third edition pfcADcTCOn 3 Lowell Hilton, Lowell, Massachusetts March 30 - April 1,1990 GoH: John Crowley Special Guest: Thomas M. Disch Past Master: T. H. White (In Memoriam) Program Guide Introduction and General Information...............2 Hotel Map........................................................... 4 Dealer’s Room Map............................................ 5 Con-At-a-Glance (= Pocket Program)...............6 Guests-At-A-Glance............................................ 9 The Program...................................................... 10 Friday............................................................. 10 Saturday.........................................................12 Sunday........................................................... 17 The Readercon Small Press Award Nominees. 20 About the Program Participants........................24 About Lowell.....................................................33 Help Wanted.....................................................33 Program Guide Page 2 Readercon 3 Introduction Volunteer! Welcome (or welcome back) to Readercon! Like the sf conventions that inspired us, This year, we’ve separated out everything you Readercon is entirely volunteer-run. We need really need to get around into this Program (our hordes of people to help man Registration and Guest material and other essays are now in a Information, keep an eye on the programming, separate Souvenir Book). The fact that this staff the Hospitality Suite, and to do about a Program is bigger than the combined Program I million more things. If interested, ask any Souvenir Book of our last Readercon is an committee member (black or blue ribbon); they’ll indication of how much our programming has point you in the direction of David Walrath, our expanded this time out. We hope you find this Volunteer Coordinator. It’s fun, and, if you work division of information helpful (try to check out enough hours, you earn a free Readercon t-shirt! the Souvenir Book while you’re at it, too). -Robert Colby, Chair Buy Our Stuff! That’s right, merchandise. Outside of What We’re Not Merrimack in the main ballroom area, you’ll find While we’d much rather define ourselves in the Readercon Sales table (at least on Saturday terms of what we are, we feel obliged to point out and Sunday.) There you’ll find: the many things typical of science fiction -Our stupendous T-shirt, designed by Readercon conventions (our model in form if not in content) 1 artist Joe Shea (aka Joey Zone). It’s a that we won’t be doing. There will be no video, 100% cotton, 2-sided (our logo in front, and gaming, or any events for costumes (although you the message "Follow the Reader" on the can wear what you like within reason, except for back) robin’s-egg blue shirt, offered in weapons: see below); there will be only one film Medium, Large, and X-tra Large sizes. Price: (we’ve decided that it’s our policy to show films just S10.00. wTitten by our Guests of Honor). This will be the -Buttons with our logo (in your choice of red or last Readercon without some sort of art display, white) and the slogans from our first two Bad but we will talk about it; see program item 29. Prose competitions. They’re just S1.00 apiece. Some Policies -Program Books (what we now call Souvenir -No Smoking in program areas or Dealers’ Books) from Readercons 1 & 2, for S1.25 and Room. S2.25 respectively; the former features an -No Eating or Drinking by customers in the original Gene Wolfe essay and the latter an Dealers’ Room. appreciation of Theodore Sturgeon by -No Pets (except for guide dogs): Many Samuel R. Delany, and a definitive Delany conference attendees are allergic to a number chrono-bibliography. of animals. As we are in enclosed spaces, we -Extra copies of the 44-page Readercon 3 must ask you to respect their rights. Souvenir Book (take home a copy for that -Child Policy: Small children attached to adults John Crowley fan who couldn’t make it here) do not need a membership. Anyone old for $3.50. enough to benefit from the program does. -Some copies of out-of-print books by our Guest Children of any age seen wandering around of Honor. on their own will be judged to be in the latter —And Monochrome: The Readercon Anthology, category. Please note: our facilities and which really deserves a section of its own ... budget do not allow for babysitting or any kind of children’s programming. The Readercon Anthology -One More Thing: This has never happened, and At the Sales Table, you’ll find copies of we don’t expect it ever will, but should any Monochrome: The Readercon Anthology, edited by attendee violate any state or federal laws Bryan Cholfin, from Broken Mirrors Press (carrying real weapons, etc.) in a way that (besides heading this well-received new small would threaten our relationship with the press-R. A. Lafferty’s The 13th Voyage of Sinbad hotel, the committee reserves the right to was a Readercon Small Press Award revoke his or her membership without nominee-Cholfin is a Readercon committee refund. (End of odious legal requirement.) member). This original anthology features Program Guide Page 3 authors who have appeared at Readercon. Here’s His work strikes to the very heart of the the Table of Contents: meaning and role of fiction, of tales, while still being about life, rather than about fiction. He is Foreword: “The Company of Words: Some Notes enormously ambitious (he writes books that Jorge on the Ostensible Subject,” by Robert Colby Luis Borges would have merely described). He Introduction: “On Reading,” by Samuel R. may well be the finest prose stylist ever to emerge Delany from the genre. We’re honored to have him with “The Monday Man,” by Gene Wolfe us this year. “Articles of Faith,” by Esther M. Friesner ♦ ♦♦ “Going to the Mountain,” by Darrell Schweitzer Some people may be wondering exactly what it “Carbontown,” by Paul Park means that Thomas M. Disch is our “Special “Assemblage of Kristin,” by James Morrow Guest.” Simply this: in light of the fact that he is Four poems by Thomas M. Disch both a great admirer-indeed, an outspoken “Strike,” by David Alexander Smith champion-of the works of John Crowley, and one “Fuzz,” by Martha Soukup of our Guests of Honor at Readercon 4, we “Sonata,” by Ellen Kushner (poem) thought it made sense to have him around this time, too (and let him know what he’s in for next All the material appears here for the first time, time). except “Carbontown” (reprinted from Strange -Eric M. Van, Program Chair Plasma #1) and “Assemblage of Kristin” (reprinted from a 1984 issue of Asimov's). The anthology will be issued in two states, a Hospitality Suite and limited hardcover edition of 150 copies (S25), and a trade paperback edition of approximately 600 Parties copies (S9.95). The trade edition should be here at Our Hospitality Suite is in Room 821, up on the conference; orders may be placed for the the eighth floor; it should be open essentially hardcover, which should appear in a few weeks throughout the conference (including quite late (they will be mailed by Broken Mirrors). Until the each night) and stocked with all sorts of edibles. end of the conference the book will be available You are all, of course, encouraged to throw only to convention members. your own parties. We’ll be posting a list of open parties at Information-please let us know! The standard advice applies: be discreet re corkage Our Guest of Honor policies (keep things covered until they’re in your When I volunteered to write a brief room) and check for conference badges. After 11 appreciation of John Crowley for our Progress P.M., hotel security patrols every twenty minutes; Reports and Program Guide, I knew I was in they’ll ask you to confine any party noise to your trouble. Sure enough, I wrote a long essay (it room. appears in our Souvenir Book, as an introduction to our interview). Crowley does that to people; it’s Ribbons hard to restrain one’s enthusiasm. You may notice that certain attendees are Well, let’s leave it at this: The Deep and Beasts wearing various color ribbons. Here’s what they (especially, I think, the latter, though others say mean: just the opposite) are novels that many of the field’s more accomplished writers would be proud Black........................Chair to point to as their masterpiece. In Crowley’s case Red..........................Committee they have been entirely overshadowed by his Yellow.....................Volunteer subsequent work. Little, Big won the World Fantasy Award; Thomas M. Disch called it “the Purple......................Guest of Honor best fantasy novel ever written.” A somewhat Blue.........................Program Participant lesser authority (myself) has called Engine Summer Pink.........................Small Press Awards the best science fiction novel ever written (come to Nominee my talk Friday evening to find out why.) His massive work-in-progress,/Egypt, may outdo them both. Psge 4 Readercon 3 Main Ballroom/1st Floor S E R V I CECORRIDOR LOBBY —> Concord Middlesex Pawtucket Merrimack Readings/Fri Continuations /Sat and Sun (E) [Si (Merrimack C) A L Staff office E S (Merrimack B) (E) . Panels Panels Dealers detailed map) (see next page for (E) (Merrimack A) (E) :e) (entrances locked) Entrances shown by (E) Concord/Middlesex are combined for Meet the Pros(e) Fri. and special programming Sat. night Second floor program Stairs Hamilton 3 Tsongas (E) (E) (17’x25’) (Discussion (Readings/ Groups/ Discussion Hamilton Groups) Workshops) (20'x 50') Hamilton 1 (Readings and other things) Note: Hamilton 1 not available until 5:30 (E) on Saturday Elevators/ Stairs Scale: 1"= 18' Program Guide Dealers' Room Map Page 5 Dealer list: 1 Weird Tales Magazine 12-13 Autograph area 2 W. Paul Ganley, Publisher 14-15 J&J Books 3-4 Jane Choras Books 16 Serconia Press 5-6 Alice Bentley Books 17-18 Southworth Books 7-8 Mark V.