StokerCon Librarians’ Day - Don’t Miss Out!

I loved being the HWA’s first ever Librarian Special Guest at StokerCon 2017 so much that I couldn’t resist accepting their offer to have me coordinate the second annual Librarians’ Day at StokerCon 2018. [I signed up for 2019 too]

StokerCon 2018 will be in Providence, RI, hometown of H.P. Lovecraft, from March 1-4. Librarians’ Day itself is 3/1. With so many east coast library workers able to get to the location and back as a day trip [either by car or train] I was very excited about the chance to provide a full day of useful continuing education to as many of you as possible.

I also knew I could not plan this alone from 1,000 miles away, so I asked the very first person I thought of to help me [and thankfully she said yes], Kristi Chadwick who is not only my friend, but as Library Journal’s Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror columnist and a Consultant for Massachusetts Library System is perfectly situated to help.

We have taken what we both know as professional CE planners AND genre experts to create a day of training that is affordable, useful, and fun. As long as your library checks out at least 1 Stephen King book a year [and I’m going to go with that being 100% of you; I know, I am not really going out on a limb there], you can learn from this day of programs.

Here is the link to the website where you can sign up and even email Kristi or I with questions. It is only $65 for an entire day of programs, including networking time, lunch, and swag and books, but only if you sign up before 1/31. Also there are a limited number of discounted hotel rooms either 2/28 or 3/1 for those who want to stay overnight.

We did a soft launch of the event last week and we got 17 immediate signups. So I know there is interest. You are not going to want to miss out.

Link is here but I have also posted the page below. I hope to see you there.

Librarians’ Day

Join Stoker Con for a special day-long program of panels and presentations for librarians! Becky Spratford, author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd edition (ALA, Editions) and horror reviewer for Booklist and IndiePicks Magazine and Kristi Chadwick, Consultant, Massachusetts Library System and Library Journal’s Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror columnist are coordinating the event.

When: March 1, 2018, 8:30-4:30

Where: Biltmore Hotel, Garden Room. Cost: $75 or $65 with Early Registration Discount Code: PROVIDENCE.

• Select “Early Registration” and enter the code. Expires January 31, 2018. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. 

Lunch included!

ARCs for all attendees!

Librarians’ Day Programming 

8:30 to 9: Welcome/Registration 9 -10am: Dacre Stoker, a direct descendent of Bram Stoker, will present “120 Years of Dracula: From Novel to Stage to Large and Small Screens.”

10-10:50 am: Becky Spratford will be moderating a panel entitled, “Why Horror Matters: A Conversation With Experts on the Genre and Its Practitioners” featuring Eric Guignard, Les Klinger, Grady Hendrix, Andy Davidson, and Christopher Geissler, a librarian from the John Hay Library which holds the papers of H.P. Lovecraft among other horror legends.

11- 11:50 am: Bram Stoker Nominated author Mary SanGiovanni will be moderating, “A Panel of Fresh Voices for Your Collections.” This panel will gather newer authors who many library workers may not have heard of before but whose works are a great choice for public library collections, including Nadia Bulkin, Stephen Kozeniewski, Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi, and Morgan Sylvia.

12 – 1:30 pm: All attendees will enjoy a lunch together with time for networking, socializing, and the chance to participate in an AMA [Ask Me Anything] with Becky and Kristi.

1:30- 2:20 pm: After lunch, J.G. Faherty, the Library and Literacy Coordinator for HWA will moderate the panel, “Horror Programming at Your Library,” featuring Christopher Golden and his partner in the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival, Haverhill [MA]  librarian Liz Rieur, as well as Grady Hendrix who in partnership with Quirk Books has presented at numerous public libraries across the country.

2:30- 4:30 pm: The day will wrap up with a traditional “Book Buzz” featuring horror titles. Confirmed participating publishers include MacMillan, JournalStone, Sinister Grin, Bloodshot Books, Quirk, and Cemetery Dance although more are joining the party with each passing day. Each publisher will present their upcoming titles for the library workers in attendance and all attendees will go home with a tote bag and ARCs of some of the discussed titles.

It should be the perfect day for library workers to learn, network, and just have some good old fashioned scary fun.

Please direct all inquiries to either Kristi or Becky.