World Fantasy Con, 2013

[mariness]

So for those wondering why, after three straight years of attending World Fantasy Con, I will not be attending this year, I quote from World Fantasy's Con news updates.:

"These events will be held during the day in the Chartwell room at the very top of the Hilton, which offers stunning panoramic sea views on Brighton. (Unfortunately, this area of the hotel is inaccessible by wheelchair.) The maximum number of people in the group is 20. Places must be pre-booked and will be allocated on a first-come basis. We are making a minimal charge of £5.00 each to cover coffee and biscuits, plus it helps dissuade people from dropping out at the last minute, when somebody else could have had their place."

(Emphasis mine.)

As I have noted to some of you, my original plan for 2013 was to go to World Fantasy Con and then head over to Spain and Germany to catch up with various friends currently living in Europe, most of whom plan to return to the U.S. in 2014/2015. Giving up this trip was a major, major disappointment. At the same time, I did not want to attend three World Fantasy Conventions with accessibility issues in a row.

This is especially aggravating since the 2009 World Fantasy Convention in Columbus was generally fine (minor hiccups but nothing major). So it is absolutely possible for WFC to use a wheelchair accessible hotel, and yes, the United Kingdom has disabled accessible hotels and laws about disability and discrimination.

But WFC chose not to use an accessible venue, and so, I cannot attend.

(Thanks to Amal El-Mohtar and Farah Mendlesohn for bringing this to my attention.)

Comments

[kate_nepveu]

Well, that sucks.

Doubly--the failure to choose an accessible location, and also charging a "minimal" 5#/$8 entry fee--since when does an SFF con like WFC _charge_ for entry to events that are part of the program? Coffee and cookies are part of the ordinary operating expenses of a con.

Accessibility and class fail, good work.

[mariness]

Yeah, especially since half the draw of a WFC is, in theory, the chance to spend one on one face time with authors/editors/agents, more so than you can, in theory, at a Worldcon or other event. The convention price is already charging for that access.

Previous WFCs have provided desserts and coffee at the art show and snacks and other food at the con suite, and Readercon had coffee at the Kaffeethingy. But I didn't go to the Kaffeethingy at Readercon for the coffee; I went because SAMUEL DELANY. So this feels more like charging for access to authors/editors than for cookies, and since this con is already charging for that access, um, ugh?

(And yes, I know media cons charge for celebrity autographs, but they also have a cheaper ticket price.)

[kate_nepveu]

Seriously. And, of course, WFC is not a media con, and I would bet dollars to donuts that the organizers would turn their noses up so fast they'd get whiplash at the comparison, but, uh, pot, kettle.

(Also, correcting you to be polite, it looks like only the book clubs, and not the coffee-things, are wheelchair inaccessible. Which does not make it any better.)

[mariness]

:: checks :: Right, although since the Book Clubs are featuring the authors of those books, and are offering the same refreshments, they are basically additional coffee things held in a different location.

I've also been informed that many areas of the hotel are wheelchair inaccessible, so this isn't going to be just a Book Club problem.

[kate_nepveu]

Oh, lovely. Not.

[mariness]

Of course, having said that, I haven't seen that many people in wheelchair/scooters at World Fantasy Con.

But yes, unless the Hotel is lying, wheelchair and mobility scooters cannot access the main hotel entrance. (It's all stairs and a door that wheelchairs and mobility scooters can't get through unless the door is removed.) You have to make a fairly long detour to the side entrance which has a long and what looks like a very bumpy ramp and the hotel says if you are dropped off at front they will take you to the side entrance and help you and your luggage get up it. (Basically you have to go down the block and then up the ramp.) There is also a back entrance with the car park that looks interesting but is supposed to be accessible.

The real problem with this is that although the hotel serves breakfast and dinner the only inside the hotel lunch options are at the bar which reportedly is mostly wheelchair accessible. (on the other hand the bar is where they apparently serve the nice touristy cream tea with real Devonshire tea and little scones which sounds like an awesome if expensive lunch substitute.) The main restaurant is buffet style, two levels. You sit at the lower level and go up to the upper level for food, which should be lots of fun in a wheelchair (there's a ramp) but the hotel says they can provide seating at the upper level if necessary. But, the main restaurant is not open for lunch.

Once you are inside the hotel says most of the conference rooms are accessible as is the pool/workout area, but other areas of the hotel are not.

And that's just what I'm aware of.

And now I want Devonshire cream.