Time & Perspective Quote by Alan Dean Foster

The unglamorous truth of being a working writer is that the “con circuit” isn’t a victory lap; it’s logistics. Alan Dean Foster’s matter-of-fact inventory of appearances reads like a budget spreadsheet with just enough affection left to call it community. One convention a year “as a GoH” (Guest of Honor) isn’t bragging so much as boundary-setting: prestige gigs are finite, energy is finite, and the job still has to get done when the applause stops.

The key tell is “World Fantasy Convention for business purposes.” Foster punctures the romantic notion that conventions are purely fan-service pilgrimages. They’re markets: face time with editors, agents, foreign rights people, fellow writers who can recommend you for anthologies or blurbs. Networking gets dressed up as celebration, but everyone involved knows the difference between being seen and being read.

Then there’s the quiet headline: “a worldcon for the first time in two decades.” That gap hints at how careers evolve. A writer with Foster’s longevity doesn’t need constant visibility to validate relevance; he can afford to opt out. Coming back after twenty years suggests either a renewed strategic need (a new project, a changing industry) or a recalibration toward community in an era when online presence has replaced a lot of hallway conversations.

“I may go again this year” lands with deliberate nonchalance. It’s the voice of someone who has survived enough hype cycles to treat cultural institutions as tools, not temples. The subtext: fandom is meaningful, but a professional life is negotiated one commitment at a time.