Potlatch 25 Recap

The Potlatch 25 overlay assembled in San José to discuss Book of Honor Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson. First we stood in a circle and threw this constellation:

Constellation

We discussed the Book of Honor for about an hour. The readers thought it was well written, funny, and subtle. Some readers did not like Ariel, the main character, which is understandable because he is rather self-centered and unreliable. For them, the book took off when it became more about other characters. Others thought his predicament was realistic and empathized with him. We talked about computer games, artificial intelligences, ethics, relationships, saving the world, and what happens when they all get entangled.

Leonard joined us on Skype for a Q&A session. He answered questions about why Judy Chicago (because The Dinner Party is big but human-scale, and it is art that Jenny would really be into), his writing influences (Douglas Adams and Ken MacLeod), whether the Constellation has a Special Circumstances (yes, and it’s Curic, although she doesn’t use violence or coercion), and so on for 45 minutes. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

The writers workshop earlier in the day was small but well run, and the submitted stories were excellent.

Getting to Potlatch 25

The San José Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library is at 150 E. San Fernando St., San José, CA 95112.

There is a city parking garage right across the street from the Library entrance. Enter from San Fernando St. or South 4th St.

The light rail is 2-3 blocks away on South 2nd St. and South 1st St.

There are several bus lines that are convenient to the library. See the King Library information page for details.

Silicon Valley Comic Con will be happening at the San José Convention Center. If you would like to go to both SVCC and Potlatch, it’s only a 15 minute walk or an even shorter bus ride.

Potlatch 25 Restaurant Guide

For Potlatch 25, David Bratman has updated his epic restaurant guide to focus on just the restaurants that are very close to the San José main library. That’s 58 restaurants right there. And there are 8 other favorite restaurants that are downtown within walking distance. One of the highlights of downtown San José is how much it has become a great place to eat. Check it out!

Potlatch 25 Date and Location

Potlatch 25 will be held on Saturday, March 19th at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in San José, California. The King Library is jointly operated by the San José Public Library and the San Jose State University Library. It is on San Fernando Street in downtown San José.

The King Library has a large meeting room that will be great for the Book of Honor discussion.

Because we are meeting in a public library, and because we want to encourage everyone to attend, even if they have never been to a Potlatch before, Potlatch 25 will be free.

The King Library has excellent transit access. It is a short walk from the light rail, and there is frequent bus service from the Caltrain station. There is a public parking garage (with EV chargers) just across the street.

March 19th is the same weekend as Big Wow! Comic Fest in the San José Convention Center. It is about half a mile from the library. You could easily go to both Potlatch and Big Wow! in the same day. If you just want to come to Potlatch and are driving in, you probably will want to park near campus instead of in the Convention Center garage. No matter what, be careful and watch out for superheroes and animé characters crossing the streets.

Please mark your calendars and plan to come to Potlatch 25 on March 19th!

Potlatch 25

Potlatch 25 is a virtual Potlatch. We will have a Book of Honor and an on-line Clarion West Benefit Auction. The Book of Honor will be announced soon. We are planning to have a Book of Honor discussion at a library in the San José area. The discussion will be free and open to the public. There will also be a Clarion West style Writers Workshop.

Please subscribe to the Potlatch mailing list to get the details as soon as they are announced.

Potlatch 24 Writers Workshop details

There will be a writers workshop with small critique groups led by professional writers at Potlatch 24 on Saturday during the lunch break. It includes lunch for participants.

To participate in the workshop, you much have a Potlatch membership and you will need to email your 2,000- to 8,000-word story to the workshop organizer by Jan. 23.

Interested? You’ll find all the details on our Writers Workshop page.