Day 6 started off with a bang.
There was some confusion as to whether or not we were supposed to meet in the lobby at 9:45am, and because of our earlier fiasco at the library-cum-burrito restaurant, none of us was willing to evoke John Goodwin’s ire by missing a meeting. So we ended up hanging out in the lobby for a bit, chatting with whichever judge happened strolled by.
After a while, John did indeed show up, but instead of hosting a meeting, he simply asked us if any of us had read a lot of pulp fiction. Dead silence. Finally I chirped up that I’d read a few “Best Of” Anthologies, and the Sci-Fi Hall of Fame, to which he responded, “Great! You’re doing a documentary in ten minutes.”
Terror.
On the way to Author Services, John asked me which authors I’d read, and luckily I remembered all the old Conan stories, and that H.P.Lovecraft does indeed count as a pulp writer.
The interview went so-so. I kept referring to author A.E. van Vogt as A.E. Vogt (I pronounced it like Jon Voight), and his story “Arms Locker” (The Weapon Shop). Finally, when asked how the contest would affect my career, I exclaimed with enthusiasm that “I will succeed because of this contest”. Not “I’ve been helped tremendously” or “I’ll have a better chance”, but actually “will succeed”. Don’t get cocky, kid? Dude, I was nervous. Real nervous. And I had no time to prepare. As we will see later, when I’m nervous I tend to spew verbiage.
John found me later and told me I’d done great, but I’m hoping they have a brilliant editor behind the cutting desk. Either way, I can’t wait to see it.
I spent the rest of the day writing my acceptance speech, and yes, even my Gold Award speech, though by that time it was pretty clear that Emery Huang was going to take home the prize. Still, my roommate Stephen Kotowych had been fooled into not writing a speech, and he convinced me that it would be in my best interest to write one anyways.
Makeup was a disaster. They sent us into a room with about a dozen hair dressers and makeup artists, and they were students from a local school. Apparently, they were nervous too. I made a joke about a Faux Hawk (a Mohawk where you don’t shave the sides of your head) that apparently wasn’t taken as a joke, and I nearly fainted when I saw myself in the mirror. Remember what Ferris Bueler looked like in the shower scene? Yeah, like that. It took three hairdressers to straighten it out, and what you see in the video is the result.
The ceremony was pretty impressive, and I’ve included the video below. Cirque de Soleil performed before the cameras were rolling, and the dance was absolutely amazing. It was a writer dancing with his muse and spawning forth beautiful characters who performed various jaw-dropping stunts. Later on, the choreographer and two of the dancers approached me at the signing and told me that part of the dance and the costume of one of the dancers were inspired by my story. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about my writing.
The speeches were all amazing, but the standouts for me were Gra Linnaea whose eloquence put us all to shame, Krista who was nearly overcome with emotion, and Gary, whose closing speech was a wonderful cap to the evening. The gold award was announced, and it was indeed Emery Huang. Congrats Emery! I’d read his story previously, and I found myself agreeing with the judges pick.
The signing was a whirlwind affair. Thanks to Nina Kiriki Hoffman for her advice on how to do one effectively. We spent hours chatting and signing and being congratulated by the judges, then afterwards, Schon, Gra, and I retired to Schon’s room to chat about the ceremony and the signing. We talked until the earlier morning and I ended up dragging myself to bed just after 5am.
Here is the footage from the awards ceremony. I am announced at exactly the 100 minute mark (which you can skip right to in this player. You don’t have to wait for it to load).