I didn't make it out of the hotel at all on Saturday -- I'll say that up front. I also spent a couple of hours in the middle frantically blogging and catching up on e-mailish things in the middle of the day, which will reduce the vaguely interesting things I can write about.

And, actually, now that I come to think of it, I don't remember what I did do yesterday before the WFA Banquet -- I think I hung out at the bar for a while in the afternoon, and I think I went to see a panel about art with Lou Anders on it, but it's all a blur.

I was somewhat dreading the Banquet, since I'd never been to one in the first place, and I'd just found out the night before that Marvin Kaye was expecting me to accept if The Fair Folk won. (He asked me about it several months ago, and I thought I made it clear that I felt very weird and inappropriate about that, since I'm a judge -- but I guess he forgot my problems, or I wasn't vehement enough.) I e-mailed Marvin (I don't have his phone number) to try to get a speech or list of people to thank or something, but he didn't get back to me before the banquet.

I'm sure someone, somewhere, has or will detail the whole banquet -- Bradley Denton was a great Toastmaster, with a long, funny PowerPoint presentation that combined the history of Texas and introductions of the Guests of Honor. And the food was actually pretty good, though having the dessert on the table before we walked in was an odd touch. Stephen Jones and Jo Fletcher announced the British Fantasy Award winners (which I'm sure I blogged here a few weeks ago when they were announced originally in the UK). Then the WFA administrators David Hartwell and John Douglas took over for the presentation of the awards -- but, first, they asked all of the current nominees to stand up, and then added all past nominees. (Worse, after that David asked the judges to stand up -- and since Steve Lockley wasn't there, it was just the four of us with the room staring at us.)

I was sitting next to Barbara Roden (one of my fellow judges), and we made a point to clap loudly as each winner was announced. I have to admit there was a bit of a pause before the applause in some categories -- it seemed like we'd picked the non-obvious winner every time. (Though I also have to insist that we did pick the best works -- and we were remarkably unanimous across the board.) And, in due course, I had to make my way up to the stage to accept Marvin Kaye's award for The Fair Folk. (I'm looking at it as I type this; I still have to get the damn thing home.) We judges had gathered before the banquet began, wondering if anyone was going to throw rotten vegetables at all, but, in the end, we all made it out alive. (Though some Old Personage I didn't recognize, at the next table over, kept making much-too-loud, and mostly incomprehensible, comments on the proceedings to the guy next to him.)

Finally, it was over -- but then I had to head over to the photographer's pit with all of the other acceptors (and Sean Wallace, the only winner there in person). I chatted with some people (mostly Ellen Datlow and Gordon Van Gelder) on the way out, and then escaped to my room to change out of the suit and dump the staring head of H.P. Lovecraft there.

The parties were a bit scantier on Saturday night -- or maybe it was just that I tried to go to the parties first, instead of spending a few hours in the bar first. I did eventually end up in the bar, mostly talking to Tor art director Irene Gallo and a pallette of artists. (That's the correct collective noun, right?) In the end, it was another night when I didn't get to bed until about 2AM, which is ridiculously late for me.

Today I had a lunch date with an editor about a possible project, then it was time for the big Judges' Panel. Victoria, Jeff, Barbara and I assembled in front of the (mostly friendly) crowd, and I was officially the moderator (and I think I talked too much). We explained how boring and friendly we were this year, and then spent most of the time taking questions. There were some things we couldn't answer (such as which items, precisely, were chosen for the shortlist by the judges and which by the reader's ballot -- the administrators want there to be no distinction, and we completely agree with them), but I think our answers generally satisfied the crowd. And then we were done being judges -- it will be five other people's problem next year. (And, if you've been asked to do it, and you're reading this, please do contact me -- there are Secrets and Tricks to pass on.)

After that I ran away from the con (which was winding down, anyway), and went on a quick sightseeing tour of the city with my cousin and her husband, finishing up with a nice Mexican dinner at some place I think was called Guerro's. (My spelling may be very bad, though.)

The con is now over, and tomorrow I fly home. I won't be back into the office until Tuesday, though, and I hope a couple of big packages will be waiting for me there. (And, if I'm really lucky, Stross's The Jennifer Morgue will be among them.) Regular blogging will resume sometime on Tuesday, depending on how much work is waiting for me in the office.