Why can't I write Dragon Con off as a business trip?

This was my second excursion to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia, and both times, I have asked myself, "Why is this not a business trip?"

Perhaps it's because of the Kilt Blowing.

But seriously.  I always learn so much that is relevant to library science at Dragon Con.  Last time I attended, in 2009, was a few months after I went sent by my job to Computers in Libraries.  In all honesty, I learned more at the sci-fi/fantasy geeky convention than the business one.  I even took better notes at Dragon Con.  :P  In my combination notebook/autograph book, I have scribblings from such things as, "YA Lit Track - Religious Themes in YA" (2009), "YA Lit Track - Faeries and Fairy Tales" (2009), "High Fantasy in YA" (2014), "Fantasy Lit Track - Fantasy for Gamers" (2014), and "Writers' Track - Writing for the GLBT Market" (2014).  Valuable information?  Heck yes.

My library science degree, and continuing education, has covered such matters as copyright.  There was a panel on Copyright 101 at Dragon Con, which was an excellent refresher for me and an enlightenment for others.

Need to know about the publishing industry?  My partner and I found out so much from the various panels we attended - things that weren't covered in his college writing classes, even at the master's level.  I even learned a lot about small presses (strangely, in the "Writing for the GLBT Market" panel).

How can you help aspiring writers research science to make their science fiction realistic?  Thanks to the YA Lit Track panel about "Writing Science in Science Fiction YA," I can tell you that if you research leading experts, you can then try contacting them via Twitter.  Many scientists would love to talk to writers about their passions.

And, of course, I got to meet authors.

L-R: Jonathan Maberry, Faith Hunter, Alex Hughes, Susan Griffith, Clay Griffith

For the most part, the authors I met were so amazing.  I managed to talk to Jonathan Maberry before a panel, and have him sign some books for my libraries, and he knew who I was.  Squee!  (Thank you, sir, that means a lot.)  Stephanie Perkins is sweet.  Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is regal.  Todd McCaffrey is jovial.  And Laura Hickman rocks my world - did you know that she A) introduced her husband and fellow author Tracy Hickman to D&D, or B) she introduced story to the D&D modules?  Inspirational!

And the author-librarian relationship is symbiotic.  I love meeting authors, and most of them love meeting librarians.  I took to jokingly calling my autograph book my shopping list.

Todd McCaffrey said it succinctly.

Janny Wurts' note was touching.

If you get to go to Dragon Con, you might not be able to call it a business trip, but it's certainly worth it.

Bonus picture: Janny Wurts plays the bagpipes and leads the parade.