Monday, July 6, 2009

A Virtual Convention: PP WebCon


The Poisoned Pen at the forefront of so many things in the mystery world will be hosting a The World's First Virtual Convention on October 24. Yes, virtual.

Poisoned Pen Press and The Poisoned Pen mystery bookstore of Scottsdale AZ will host the first major virtual mystery convention online, PP Web Con. "Top mystery and crime writers from all over the world will meet and mix with readers and others online in a virtual convention center on October 24th, 2009." PP Web Con's blog is blank now, but it promises to list all the latest news about the convention's planned events and attendees.

Guest of Honor: Dana Stabenow; International Guest of Honor: Lee Child; Fan Guest of Honor: Adrian Muller

Panels and Discussions: Groups of authors discuss and debate various topics. Live events and presentations and 'on demand' recordings. Video, Audio and Text based panels, debates and discussions on topics related to mystery and crime writing, featuring authors from all over the world.

There's even a coffee shop to meet authors and others, and chat with them live. Not sure where the bar is.

Registration is $25 USD. 100% of the profits will go to a public library to be chosen at random from registrants' nominations. Lots of benefits of Registration, including a $20 book voucher, a Goodie Bag (with e-books, of course) and more.

Have a look at the website to learn more.

So what do you think? Comments welcome here.

10 comments:

Hank Phillippi Ryan said...

Very interesting! Thanks, Janet. I'm in. Can't wait tosee what develops...

Janet Rudolph said...

Yes, it will be very, very interesting. I'm still mulling it over. Lots of pros, and, of course, a few cons.

Judy Bobalik said...

For $25 I'm there. Interesting concept. Curious to see how this differs from what we have on FB.

Janet Rudolph said...

I have (had) clients who design this type of thing, so it's quite different from FaceBook meetings. Could be pretty intense.

My big thing is where's the bar? A lot will be realtime.

Funny not a lot of people are talking about this--yet.

yeah, for $25 you get a $20 book credit, ebooks, and other things...and all the profit goes to a library. Pretty nifty on that account.

Toni L.P. Kelner said...

Sounds like fun to me.

David Cole said...

oh baby, sign me up! was firing up just such a thing with eager virtualists at recent Bloody Words con in Ottawa

i'm in

Robert said...

It seemed like it was time and it seemed like a good idea. We'll undoubtedly have some glitches along the way, but hope this is a good first pass. Enjoy.

Rick Robinson said...

I'm curious, but cautious. As I have NO presence in any social networking site or organization, no do I desire any, I'm not sure what to expect with something like this, but my credulity keeps me from believing it could be at all like a REAL mystery convention.

Janet Rudolph said...

I'll miss the personal contact with friends and authors which is why I go to 'realtime conventions, but for $25 it's worth a try..and the money goes to a library.

I'll post more about this later today, as I find out more.

Unknown said...

This looks terrific, so glad you told us about this wonderful opportunity, can't wait to hear more. Mary Kennedy