StokerCon 2025.
- CC Adams
- Jun 28
- 5 min read
For all the fuss and spectacle of StokerCon 2025, I have no shame in saying that even as I was preparing to fly out, I was looking forward to getting back. That’s in no way a slight against the convention – just an assertion of how well the busy things were going as part of the day to day.
Nonetheless, as part of the author hustle, it helps to be seen – and it also helps to have some degree if holiday. So there you go.
Having started packing the night before, and somewhat late into the night, I then go some much needed sleep only to throw myself in the shower some four hours later and then hail across town to London’s Heathrow airport (one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world – yes, I’ll rep that with pride). My mother is one of those people who express amusement at the idea that I need to move at pace through the airport. Because, as much as I love the spectacle of them, I’m not there to spend time off – I’m there to get somewhere else. Thankfully, I’m now used to sleeping on the plane, albeit with sandwiches and such in my carry-on, since the inflight meals are still too small.
With this StokerCon in particular, this was the most difficult one to get to. I’m given to understand that even for those who live in the U.S., nearby or not, it’s still something of a hop, skip and a jump. For me, I had to get a flight from London to Dublin, Ireland, and then a connecting flight to Bradley International in Connecticut. From there, a two-hour cab ride to the convention hotel, where the cab driver was adamant that he could drop me off at the back of the hotel since he couldn't find the front of it.
Once dropped off a the front, I checked in, hauled luggage up to the room, admired the view and freshened up before heading down to the bar to meet people. Now I got into Stamford, Connecticut on the Wednesday evening. StokerCon doesn’t start until the Thursday, but some people, like me, will want to get into town at the very least, the day beforehand to make sure that they’re present in good time for when the convention actually begins. Some people may get into town even earlier than the day before, as a chance to do a little sightseeing, take something of a holiday, etc. Anyhow. My time in the bar was spent with the usual suspects such as Colleen Anderson, Lance and Barbara Cottrell, along with new connects like Geneve Flynn and Jamal Hodge. Thanks to Geneve and her recommendations, the TBR (To Be Read) pile on my Kindle is a little bigger. Props have to go to the bar staff for an even temperament - because while it may have been frustrating for us as patrons to put up with extended wait times, at least we weren't there to work.
The following days proceeded as many conventions do, in a heady and full-on affair of meet and greet. Trying to catch up with the usual suspects, only for them to be rushing somewhere in a hurry and possibly leaving you in the process of making a new connect. From having wandered through the hotel restaurant that morning and catching up with Ace Antonio Hall, having a sit down and game talk with Adam Nevill to talking meet and greet with Mark Fitch a couple of days later, or talking about Kenneth Johnson's 'V' television show from the 80s and its subsequent iteration with LP Hernandez and Johnny Compton, or talking fencing (with rapiers, not wood) with Lance Cottrell, or hustle and work ethic with Jake Wyckoff, or mentoring with JG Faherty.
I'm led to believe that the better part of 500 - 800 people attended that convention; maybe not all at once, or even in person. At any rate, with those kinds of numbers there's a chance you might miss someone or catch them briefly in passing. Like with Brian Keene, who I tried to snag after I caught him in passing to get some food only to see him otherwise engaged after, or Lisa Morton and Ricky Grove as I was heading off to a panel. Everyone is busy. Understandable, given that most of these people you only see in person a few times a year at most.
What's good about these conventions is that while they may have early starts, e.g. 8 a.m. breakfasts before you rush off to your next panel (whether you're on the panel or not) and late night finishes, e.g. drinks, shop talk and possibly food and shenanigans in the bar, you're in the company of your tribe. It doesn't matter whether they write the same flavour of horror as you or not, read the same flavour or not, watch the same flavour or not - this is your tribe. Your love for the genre, the good and the bad, is the common ground. Even on the Saturday night when I was en route back to my room to get food and sleep before getting up early to pack and check out, I was caught mid-stride by Darius Jones. And then we get into convo about StokerCon and any similar UK conventions. See? You never know what or who you'd run into when you're in transit.
Given that this year's StokerCon was, if I understand correctly, the biggest one yet, I wonder, how is that going to be matched next year? 'Exceeded' may be too tall an order so, yeah, just how is it going to be matched?
Invariably, some people will make it back to StokerCon next year and some won't. As is, I've already booked my convention ticket. Hotel reservation and flight booking should follow a damned sight sooner than they did for this year's convention. This is still my record year for convention appearances; currently standing at seven on both sides of the Atlantic. And as heady and full-on as they are, I'm always grateful to fly back out and head home, eager to get back to the grind.
Busy is as busy does.
Comments