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At the World Fantasy Con in San Diego, volunteers spent yesterday assembling promotional giveaway packages for each of the 1200 registered members of the convention. Largely publishing professionals, each member will come away with a “gift bag” of books, courtesy of publishers eager to get influential eyeballs on their titles.

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This “bag” must be the size of a garbage bag and fifty times as strong. I am curious to know what exact form this package will take! Will registration staff also be handing out luggage carts to cart away the booty?

I mention it because if you’re attending World Fantasy this weekend, dig deep in your gift bag and keep an eye out for this:

This 52-page booklet features info about Machine of Death (which, if you’re reading this post, you probably already know about, but not everyone at the con will) as well as a preview of two stories from Volume 2.

I’ll be at the convention myself, and hope to meet you there! I won’t have a table, but I’ll be at the autograph session on Friday afternoon, and I’m also on a panel:

Sunday, 10AM: Intellectual Property Rights vs. the Free Web

Does information really want to be free? Do the people who say that still think so once they’ve been published? Generational differences in attitudes toward information and its effects.

Justin Ackroyd, David Chanoch, Jeff Conner, Ashley Grayson (M), David Malki !

I find it interesting that “generational differences” as a factor is called out right in the panel description. Are old folks by definition curmudgeons about Those Blasted Internets? Are young folks cool and hip and culture-savvy and with-the-flow, riding their skateboards with their backwards caps? WE SHALL SEE, on Sunday!

Able chronicler of generational differences Harley Schwadron

I also hope to spend some time asking folks their opinion of the giveaway bags. Is this a viable way for publishers to promote new titles, or just a thing that they feel they have to do because everybody else does? THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER: FORTHCOMING.

You will also be able to pick up a sampler booklet next weekend, November 5-6, at the Minneapolis Indie Expo! Matt will be representing MOD and signing books along with MOD frontispiece illustrator Katie Sekelsky. (Did you know that Katie also sells prints of her drawing?)

IN CONCLUSION: THESE THINGS ARE GOOD