I had a blast at Context this last weekend. I attended a a "Plotting the Novel" workshop with Guest of Honor Tim Powers and it was an amazingly compact yet insightful affair. Putting aside the fact that Powers is deadpan funny--there's nothing like humor to spice up a workshop--his knowledge of novel craft is unsurpassed.

The other workshop I attended focused on world building. Taught by Timons Esaias, this workshop was a three hour affair covering all aspects of creating unique and realistic worlds in fiction. Even though the focus was on SF/F, what Esaias covered actually applies to all fiction genres. Yet again, a wonderful and learning experience.

In all, Context is a great literary-focused convention. The attendance was up again this year and I spoke to people who came from as far away as the Bahamas to attend. I highly recommend this convention to anyone with an interest in either writing or reading science fiction and fantasy.