Reading back over my WorldCon reports, it occurs to me that I don't seem to be doing much. A couple of panels a day, and mentions of parties, but that's it. The reason is something I had to explain to a friend: "At a con the fans have fun and go to parties. The pros work . . . by going to parties." I've made at least three very useful professional connections at social events during this convention. Now, of course, going to parties is also fun, but a lot of what I've been doing is professional gossip and schmoozing, which isn't very interesting to read about. 

On Sunday the 19th I was a little surprised to discover there wasn't a panel at 10 a.m. that I absolutely had to see. So part of the Crack Team and I found a nice bakery-cafe with sidewalk seating, and had breakfast al fresco while people-watching. 

At 11 I did manage to squeeze into an absolutely packed reading by Jack Clemons from his forthcoming book Safely to Earth, which is a memoir of his time in the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, and a look at the lives and activities of some of the half-million people involved in the space program who don't get to ride the rockets.

Following that I attended yet another panel on SETI (it's something I'm interested in; don't judge me) called "What Do We Do When We Find Them?" There was some interesting discussion — one of the participants pointed out that our reactions will likely be very different depending on whether we pick up signs of some other civilization's activities, a signal sent to us, or a physical artifact. Guy Consolmagno, the Vatican astronomer, was a delight as always. (When is the Vatican City going to put in a WorldCon bid? VatiCon, anyone?)

We had dinner with friends in San Jose, and so skipped out on the Hugo ceremonies, but we did make it back to take a turn through the surprisingly subdued post-Hugo room parties in the Fairmont Hotel. And so to bed, as Samuel Pepys would say. 

Congratulations to this year's Hugo winners:

Best Novel: The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin

Best Novella: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

Best Novelette: "The Secret Life of Bots," by Suzanne Palmer

Best Short Story: "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience," by Rebecca Roanhorse

Best Series: World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Best Related Work: No Time to Spare, by Ursula K. LeGuin

Best Graphic Story: Monstress vol. 2, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

Best Movie*: Wonder Woman, from Warner Studios

Best TV Show: The Good Place, "The Trolley Problem," by Josh Siegel and Dylan Morgan

Best Short Story Editor: Lynne Thomas and Michael Thomas

Best Book Editor: Sheila Gilbert

Best Professional Artist: Sana Takeda

Best Semiprozine: Uncanny, edited by Lynne and Michael Thomas

Best Fanzine: File 770, edited by Mike Glyer

Best Podcast: Ditch Diggers, by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace

Best Fan Writer: Sarah Gailey

Best Fan Artist: Geneva Benton

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer: Rebecca Roanhorse

*Note: until an opera or a radio play wins one of the "Dramatic Presentation" awards, I'm just calling them what they are instead of using the ungainly official names.