A photo of individuals in Steampunk attire, by a Miss Cindy P (via Flickr)The Seattle SteamCon, which will be taking place in late October 2009, looks to be quite an interesting event, but it appears that issues are beginning to emerge pertaining to the dogmatic adherence of Steampunk marketing. As first reported in IO9, registration for vendors has closed for the event, and it has been reported that no booksellers will be making an appearance at a convention for a genre, which started on the printed page.From what at least one book seller, Book Universe, has stated, is the convention organizers insist that according to the contract provided by the convention, only Steampunk materials are allowed to be sold, with no exceptions, including books. The logic of the organizers, which does follow some conceptual adherence, is they “didn’t want people with fairy wings and Star Trek jerseys” at a Steampunk convention. The “Steampunk Only” concept extended to merchants, including booksellers, who understood the rule extended to any books (e.g. only “Steampunk” books could be sold at SteamCon). As such, there will be no booksellers (at this writing) at SteamCon. A bit ironic, as the majority of visitors to the SteamCon will not be in costume, and mostly likely be speaking in an American accent (vice, say, an English accent {a real one, not a “faux” accent}). Insisting on a strict Steampunk attire does make sense, as most attendees to said convention would not wish to view individuals engaging in Cosplay anime costumes or wearing attire appropriate to other genres, but to insist that only Steampunk books be sold seems to be a bit much. Though there is a base of literature for the genre, I would be hard pressed to argue the literary niche of Steampunk (as the only type of publications allowed to be sold) would provide the monies necessary for a bookseller to turn a profit at SteamCon. To insist that individuals in costume reflect the theme of the convention does make sense, but to impose regulations on organizations who would not only help one perpetuate the potential success of the SteamCon and help pay its bills, seems to be an exercise in adventurous judgement regarding the attendance (and potential profit generated) from SteamCon. Every story has two sides, so it will be interesting to hear the SteamCon’s managerial team take on this issue.To read the IO9 article, please turn to:http://io9.com/5333489/the-steampunk-convention-where-you-cant-buy-books?skyline=true&s=iTo visit the SteamCon website, specifically the vendor’s page, please visit:http://www.steam-con.com/vendors/
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