StokerCon 2026.
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
Usually when I have a flight to catch, it's transatlantic. These flights, usually to StokerCon early summer and Toronto for holiday late summer, are usually early morning London time, getting me to my destination around late afternoon local time. Usually.
This year's StokerCon had me on a flight heading out of London Heathrow late in the afternoon. Which, given that I'm usually an early riser, meant that I could pack in the morning, instead of the usual late-night rush to stuff everything into a suitcase.
Anyhow.
The journey to Heathrow was smooth enough. Check-in was smooth enough; even saw a whole UK contingent of horror types (Daniel Carpenter, Mo Moshaty, et al) while I was at the gate. And the flight was smooth enough. Par for the course: I got some sleep, watch an in-flight movie or two, and got an in-flight meal or two, topped up with a packed-lunch brought on board, since the inflight meals are always too small.
Given the time of the outbound flight, I got to Pittsburgh by around 8pm local time. From there, it was a pretty straightforward affair: passport control, baggage carousel to collect luggage, and then a cab to the hotel; where the check in was also quite straightforward. For any convention where I stay overnight, regardless of whether it's in the UK or not, I'll make a point of staying to the convention hotel. This was no different. The advantage being that when I'm done for that particular day at a convention, all I need to do is get the lift up how many floors to my room - rather than doing a late-night trudge back to my hotel with a full bladder and an empty stomach. Anyhow. On this particular occasion, I only saw a handful of familiar faces on the Wednesday evening: Dennis Crosby, Geneve Flynn, Kari Wolfe, Patrick Frievald, etc.
Of course, the following morning was the Thursday, which is when StokerCon started. Standard operating procedure: anytime I do an international flight for a convention, I'll be sure to get into town the day before - which means I'm rested and at the venue already on the day in question. Registration is the first order of the day: to get your ID badge, goodie bag, etc. Which is also where I'd seen more of the usual suspects: Charles Barouch, Sephera Giron, Andrew Wolter, Candace Nola, Jacques Mersereau, et al. After that, lunch, and various panels/readings throughout the day until the opening ceremony that evening. Followed by the Monster Mash panel that night.
The rest of the convention went pretty much the same way: panels and readings here and there, peppered with convos, be it with the usual suspects, or making new connects. Case in point: with Abigail F Taylor, who I first met on my way to registration on the Thursday morning, and therefore lacking my ID badge, while her and two other women were ferrying a crate that may have held severed human body parts. And then, she was the last one I saw, killing time with her in the hotel lobby, talking everything from family to martial arts and Honest Trailers doing Alien: Covenant on YouTube (so much flute), before catching a cab to the airport late Sunday afternoon before getting an overnight flight back into the capital. Saturday night, of course, was the Bram Stoker Awards cocktail party, followed by the awards dinner and the awards ceremony, and then the after party with canapes.
For this particular StokerCon, there were a number of takewaways, and I'm not talking about food. One: the benefit of podcasting to support the author hustle. Two: the benefit of libraries and local bookstores to support the author hustle. I feel the need to stress that when I'm abroad, I'm never in the mindset of, 'oh, no, I don't wanna leave.' I maintain that when I travel, it's the actual travelling that I look forward to. Whether it's within the UK or internationally, it's the actual journey where I feel I can switch off. For trips within the UK, I look out the window and watch the scenery scroll past. Fields, horses, cows, streams and rivers. For the international trips, I look out the window and see the clouds below.
As far as time away is concerned, as much of the good stuff I come away with (time with the usual suspects, new connects, new business, etc.), I'm always grateful for that time away grants me - a chance for a respite from the current routine. No one forces that on me, but I do feel a sense of urgency that I have so much to do, and feel like I'm so behind the curve. As such, when it's time to leave wherever I've been, I'm always grateful when I get back into the capital. Home territory; my jungle.
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