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BayCon 2019: Memorial Day Weekend
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The hot, young SOB of science fiction.

Welcome Back David Brin

BayCon welcomes back David Brin as its Writer Guest of Honor.

Brin was a regular guest around the turn of the '80s. "I thought [BayCon] was a great convention. I used to go more often", he said, but then things got busy.

For the following two decades, Brin published more than 10 novels and collections, plus dozens of shorter works, for which he won multiple awards.

Also during that time, He adapted his John W.Campbell Award-winning novel The Postman for film and audio. Negotiations for a TV series are underway. "There's always more negotiation; it almost always go nowhere," he said, but  thought of "Ghostbusters" star Leslie Jones as the lead).

"Many [of his novels] are 'movie-able', Brin said. "Earth might persuade people to care about the future."

Latest project

Brin is working on a short story collection Insistence of Vision, though he said he's writing more non-fiction lately for the education.

"I was the hot young SOB of science fiction, but I learned too little," he said. "One expects to grow in wisdom, but I really can't claim to be a guru."

Looking ahead to BayCon

"I'm happy to schmooze with folks," Brin said, "and when I attend a con, I like to work hard."

"There's a wide range of topics I'm engaged in," said Brin, including a heavy interest in transparency and privacy issues. His non-fiction book The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.

A member of the NASA Innovative and Advance Concepts advisory board, Brin said he keeps his eyes on "strange new possible projects in space."

Insert coin to continue

"Everybody has a history [with coin-operated games]," Brin said. His game was Centipede.

While attending grad school at UC San Diego in the '80s, Brin played Centipede in two arcades, not caring about his scores.

Today "dropping quarters is a deterrent" for home gamers, but Brin said the 1980s was "the greatest time in the world to be 15 years old".

He described arcades as "a nightclub for 12-, 13-, even 11-year-olds, a place to go where they could feel relatively safe. [The arcade was] like a discotheque, exciting and wonderful. It was a very exciting time to be a tweenager."


 
Come See BayCon at East Bay Comic-Con February 10

Figured out what you're doing with your weekend yet? Come meet the BayCon 2019 Outreach Team at East Bay Comic-Con in Concord on Sunday, February 10th!

We will be selling full weekend BayCon memberships for $10 off, plus you have a chance to win really cool prizes by entering our raffle.

Find out more about East Bay Comic-Con at http://eastbaycomiccon.com.

Programming Submissions Deadline is February 10th

The BayCon 2019 program submissions deadline is approaching fast. Have a panel suggestion or other programming item you want to moderate or participate in? BayCon is proud to have wide and varied programming every year, and our guests and program participants are a big part of that!

Go to the Programming page on our website to submit you panel ideas before time runs out.

Reserve Your Hotel Room

The BayCon 2019 hotel room block is open and rooms are going fast! BayCon returns this year to the San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport, at the intersection of Hwy 101 and 92. Be sure to check out the five reasons to stay at the hotel below.

BayCon 2019’s group rate is $139/night for a King room, $149/night for a Double-Queen. A limited number of King suites are also available at $169/night, subject to availability.

Parking at the hotel is free. Valet parking is available upon request.

 

Five Reasons to Stay at the Hotel

  1. BayCon does not have set hours. You’ll often find programming, gaming, music and filking, and impromptu gatherings continue well into the night.
  2. Our popular room parties are a great place to socialize and meet and converse with fellow fans. Have a room nearby so you can crash and recharge for the evening!
  3. Believe it or not, as part of our agreement to make use of the majority of the hotel’s function space, we have an obligation to sell the majority of our room block. If we don’t, we end up spending more money on the hotel and less on the convention. Do your part to support BayCon by staying with us (staff reserve and pay for their own rooms, too!)
  4. Hauling your books, costumes, games, kids, and everything else to and from the hotel can be a bother. Stay at the hotel and know that all of your belongings are safe and sound. You’re free to enjoy the entire day and evening!
  5. Wake up early in the morning and catch breakfast before making it to morning panels, armed combat demonstrations, signings, and interviews. If you’re already here, you’ll never have to worry about being late!
Reserve My Room At BayCon

BayCon 2019 Membership $80 until March 1st

Now is the time to pre-register for BayCon 2019. The price of the Attending Membership increases next weekend. Right now score a full weekend badge for $80: all four days of the convention (only $20 per day!). We also have discounted memberships for youth, and active and reserve military.

BayCon memberships include access to all programming, concerts, signings, the Dealer room and Art Show, and our late night events. We also have special VIP Sponsor and Patron membership levels for additional perks (like having breakfast with the Guests of Honor)! Click the button below to go to our registration page.

Also new this year: the BayCon/KublaCon Multi-pass. For $100, you can get a membership that gives you admission to BayCon 2019, the Bay Area's regional science fiction convention, and KublaCon 2019, the Bay Area's biggest game convention. This is great value right now, and there are limited quantities available!

Pre-Register for BayCon 2019

JOIN BAYCON 2019 ON FEBRUARY 23, 2019

BayCon 2019 is recruiting! Every year, our volunteers put in a lot of work to put on a great convention for our attendees. Come join us and learn how you can help us make the event a success!

Working as a BayCon volunteer staff member has a lot of great benefits: You get to go behind-the-scenes to see how a convention is run, meet a lot of really creative people, a reduced membership for the entire weekend, and free meals during the convention. You can also put it on your résumé as work experience!

BayCon 2019 is looking for volunteers to fill for the following positions:
  • Registration
  • Events
  • Decorations
  • Tech 
  • Logistics
  • Convention Operations
  • Art Show
  • ...and more!
Not sure you're ready to join staff? Spend the weekend as a convention "Gofer" and earn a free membership to BayCon 2020!!

If any of this sounds interesting to you, visit the Get Involved page on our website. We look forward to having your on our team!
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Artwork provided by Anastasia Heublein.


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