Honestly, never have I been more excited for a convention. I mean, there is definitely a very, very, very special place in my heart for LeakyCon and GeekyCon, but this convention is going to be a bit different for me. This will be the first convention in a while where I will be going as a regular attendee. Sure, when I registered for NerdCon: Stories, I checked the little box next to “Are you interested in volunteering?”, because I couldn’t resist. Besides, it may help me to see how other conventions handle certain situations. But that’s not why I’m going, obviously. I’m going for two major reasons:

1. It’s a convention where the nerdiest of the nerdy will convene to talk about, what better: stories! I mean, what do movies, video games, books, TV shows, and even theme parks have in common? They’re all based on and tell our favorite stories! Neither LeakyCon nor GeekyCon would exist without the stories that inspired them. So many great authors are already planning to come: Cassandra Clare, Jacqueline Woodson, John Green, Lev Grossman, Maureen Johnson, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, and so many others. In addition to authors, there will be performers from podcasts such as Welcome to Night Vale as well as poets, playwrights and video game designers.
2. NerdCon is being produced by the same folks behind VidCon (including and especially Hank Green, who made the announcement on the vlogbrothers YouTube channel on Friday, March 27th, which you can watch below). I’ve always wanted to attend VidCon, but I’ve consistently had some excuse: it’s too big, it’s too far away, I won’t know anyone there, I’m not a YouTuber myself so it wouldn’t be relevant to me (forgetting that I, like so many others, watch my favorite YouTubers more frequently than I watch regular TV shows).

With NerdCon, I can easily dispel my many excuses:

1. NerdCon is going to be a much smaller conference than VidCon.
2. IT’S GOING TO BE IN MINNESOTA (MINNEAPOLIS, TO BE EXACT), WHICH IS MY HOME STATE. I WILL BE ABLE TO DRIVE TO THE CONVENTION RATHER THAN THE AIRPORT. WOO.
3. I already know of some LeakyCon/GeekyCon friends who are also going.
4. I’ve always wanted to write a book myself, and seeing some of the world’s greatest Young Adult authors come together for this convention is going to be, I hope, inspiring for me to stop avoiding my “future book”. Granted, many of these same authors also attend Leaky/GeekyCon, but I am usually too busy working to attend any of their panels. At NerdCon, I won’t have that problem!
5. The only slight snag in the plans is that the convention is taking place in October, which is during the school year. Because it’s so close, though, I don’t see why I couldn’t take off work a couple days to drive down there.

Hank Green’s Announcement

Register Now for NerdCon: Stories

As Hank said in the video, registration is likely to sell out quickly, because NerdCon is a much smaller convention than VidCon is. It hasn’t sold out yet, a little over one week since registration opened, but that doesn’t mean that you have unlimited time to get your ducks in a row and get registered! On the NerdCon website it says this:

NerdCon: Stories is here to honor that institution with a diverse gathering of story tellers. Podcasters, novelists, cartoonists, musicians, poets, and more will gather in Minneapolis for an exceptional celebration.

If that sounds like something that you’d like to attend, do not hesitate to register! Registration is $100 for the two days–Friday and Saturday, October 9th and 10th. You can register on the NerdCon website.

Once you’ve registered, come back here and comment to say that you’re going! I’d love to see you there!