What do you look for in a fandom convention?

Hillbilly

July 13, 2022

It’s time for the Imaginarium After Action Report and THE IMADJINN AWARDS!

Not knowing anything about this convention, I tossed my hat in the ring last year to join in panels and scope things out. It’s no secret that we’re searching for a home con to settle into and grow with as a publishing house, and Imaginarium looked interesting. Then after a number of Three Ravens titles that I’d submitted to the Imadjinn awards made it into the Finalist category, we went full bore, became a sponsor of the convention, got a table, and took the full crew.

Per their web site, here’s what they say about the convention.

The Imaginarium Convention, now in its 9th year, is an event for writers, creatives, and fans of creators, of all genres, that features three days of panel and workshop programming, an expo, a film festival, entertainment, cosplay, and much more!

A broad array of guests and panelists will be featured in the programming, including authors, editors, publishers, filmmakers, screenwriters, game designers, comic creators, artists, actors, and many other creatives.

The Imaginarium Convention hosts an inclusive environment that fosters networking, learning, professional opportunities, promotional opportunities, and other benefits to independent creatives.

Ran by Holly Marie Phillippe and Stephen Zimmer, Imaginarium turned out to be a fun little convention with that family-friendly vibe, and a tribe vibe. For those who have attended Chattacon, FantaSci, or LibertyCon, then you know the vibe I’m talking about.

Where FantaSci and LibertyCon tend to be Hard Scifi/MilScifi heavy, Imaginarium brought a little something else to the plate. They had a heavy Horror and Romance element that I haven’t seen at the other Conventions I’ve been to along with the film element that brings in a whole other range of fans and attendees.

Along with a plethora of Literary panels and workshops, Imaginarium sported a number of film and art-centered content for a wide range of creatives.

In their ninth year, they have some growing to do compared to some of the other conventions I’ve been to, who have been around for well over three decades. But that’s nothing that won’t come with time and experience.

I promised Holly a full list of things that we all really liked and thought could be improved after our next post-con Sketti dinner meeting here at Raven Central.

All in all, we had a great time, kicked ass at the Imadjinn awards, and had one hell of a positive weekend. We will, without a doubt return next year.

Imadjinn Awards

The Imadjinn awards is one of the few awards out there, that in my opinion has value. That value is based on how the contest is carried out. The judging for the awards is done by a panel of individuals and based on the merit of the work itself, whether it falls into the Literary or Film category. On top of that, there are the Staff awards, given out based on the convention Staff’s interactions with the attendees.

We managed to take three Literary awards ourselves, (Best audiobook narration, best poetry collection, best historical fiction) as well as two Staff chosen awards. The Sizemore Award for the best small press, and I received the “Hollerin’ Holly” award for being the most outgoing and interactive participant. And afterwards, we took over a corner of the hotel and held “Hillbilly Court”, where a number of other authors came over to hang out and chat about the craft of writing.

Five awards! Not too shabby for a little publishing house.

The list of Literary award winners is below, but unfortunately, the film festival list isn’t available at this time. I’ll write up a future post with that information just as soon as I can find it for those interested.

BEST ANTHOLOGY