Catherynne M. Valente
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Denizen of the Month: The Tiniest Martian’s First Real Convention
🕑 Added 2025-04-27 21:40:10 +0000 UTCNow, Bastian has been to many conventions before. Somewhere near 20, I think. But they were a baby, or at Worldcon and thus in the childcare suite, so they never could really participate or comprehend what exactly was going on.
NO LONGER.
What you see in the first pic is my kitten signing their first autograph--as someone asked them to sign their book as well as me. Just before this? BASTIAN WAS HANDSELLING BOOKS LIKE A PRO. I had no idea they had it in them. They just jumped up and started telling people they needed this book or that one (many versions of "what's it about?" "I don't know, I just think you'd like it!" ensued), making change, restocking inventory, AGGRESSIVELY insisting that these books NEEDED to go home with people, all in a signing room that was PURE BEDLAM. This kid was CLOSING DEALS. My jaw was on the floor. One of the other guests of honor owned a bookstore and even she did a double take at the SOUL OF A SALESMAN that suddenly possessed this child's body.
Honestly, they were very good, and adored the convention, especially all the costumes, whose quality level they could not comprehend given Mum's propensity for making things out of duct tape and happy thoughts. (We did make a War of the Worlds costume for them, hilariously, many, many older folk stopped us to compliment the costume and then could not quite place what it was because, you know, normal people
Comments
Molly McEnerney
Selling books like they are puppies and kittens finding their loving forever homes!
Cynthia White
Awww... I attended science fictions as a young teenager, and helped some of my mom's friends sell used books, but I did not quite possess the soul of tiny huckster. Bastian is adorable.
SallyRose Robinson
Also may we get a pic of the War of the Worlds costume?
SallyRose Robinson
They are truly amazing!
