GCLS Past and Present

I’ve been hit this week with a bittersweet nostalgia…seeing all the photos posted on social media of this year’s Golden Crown Literary Society’s conference in Denver. (The city locations for each yearly conference may change, but the hotel carpets have the same eye-wateringly exuberant patterns!)

I attended three conferences in past years and had amazing experiences in each one. The first was at New Orleans in 2015. A lot of firsts at that event…meeting the Affinity team, other authors and readers, participating on panels, and doing a reading in front of an audience, signing books. It was all very new and exciting.

*New Orleans: Annette Mori, Jen Silver, C D Cain, Ali Spooner*

The following year the conference was held in Washington DC. Highlights include: Annette Mori winning a Goldie for her book, Locked Inside; getting my photo taken with Lee Lynch, asking Katherine V Forrest to sign a copy of Curious Wine (and surprised she knew my name); seeing Velvet Lounger dressed up as Frank-N-Furter for the Rocky Horror Picture Show evening.

2017 was my last GCLS conference, held in Chicago. It had some very fine moments too. Lots of fun and laughter, especially with the Affinity crew.

*Affinity authors in Chicago: Angela Koenig, Renee MacKenzie, Annette Mori, Ali Spooner, Jen Silver*

So, thank you to the delegates sharing their experiences from the Denver conference. It’s good to see familiar faces and new. Wishing all the finalists good luck for tonight’s awards ceremony (1 July 2023).