This weekend, I became a member of the Secret Feminist Cabal, with insidious plans to take over the world and indoctrinate the masses…with Feminism.

I’d been hearing about the awesomeness of WisCon for years, from writer friends, scholar friends, and complete strangers.  I intended to go last year, but plans fell through.

This year, I made it a priority and finally reached the nerdy casual halls of the Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club in Madison, WI.  I flew directly from having been in NYC for a week (working, including BEA), so I had a wicked-overpacked bag.  We had a six-hour delay getting out of LaGuardia, and I was very happy to have my various gadgets and some books on hand for distraction.

I could spend quite a long time talking about how awesome WisCon is, but I think I will start with a bullet point approach.

• Starting off the convention with a writing workshop, getting great feedback on the opening of Shield & Crocus.
• Getting to see friends from far away, catching up with @Teleidoplex, @futuransky, @DougHulick, @CassieY4, @creature57, @rachelswirsky and many others
• A convention where the default level of discourse is high enough that when I ramble about the ideological implications of semiotic paradigms, people nod instead of making confused or annoyed faces
• Bake Sales for Activism
• A riotous auction filled with communitas
• Great readings from brilliant writers.
• Meeting several of my authors (for Night Shade Books and Prime Books)
• Acquiring several books and only having to pay for two.
• Discovering delicious food in downtown Madison, from tapas to pizza to Himalayan food
• My awesome roommates @Keffy and EJ — we all worked excellently together and helped me have a Con Posse despite never having been to WisCon
• Rar and Squee in various amounts across the weekend, with cutting critiques and effusive praise