Flame Con 2025!

I had a great time at Flame Con this past weekend! As planned, I went both days, Saturday solo and Sunday with my kid. On Saturday my good time started even before I entered the Con, chatting in the press pass line with Erica Friedman (LGBTQ Comics Tastemaker) of okazu.yuricon.com.

When I got in, I oriented myself with the map, looking at how FlameCon was spread out through three floors of the Sheraton New York Times Square this year. The entry level floor was mostly for gaming rooms, one floor up was the exhibitor space, and above that, the third floor was mostly programming, with rooms for panels and workshops.

I went first to a session called “Vampires, Werewolves and Frank N Furters—Oh, My!” moderated by Josh Trujillo (with microphone) and featuring from left to right, Brent Lambert, Mags Visaggio, Bradley Clayton and Sina Grace. They chatted about horror generally and its appeal to queer readings. I was excited to learn that Mags Visaggio is working on two exciting projects right now, one a graphic novel sequel to Rocky Horror, and the other a gigantic horror novel called Long Island Baby. I look forward to reading both!

After that panel, I went down one floor and walked both of the exhibitor halls. The Community Tables are generally my favorite part, with institutions like the Center for Suicide Awareness and the LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center with tables for sharing information. This year I was excited to learn about a locale Trans Chorale and sign up for their newsletter! I spent some time chatting about book challenges and bans with the librarians at the Brooklyn Public Library table, and was excited to learn about an upcoming comic book industry summit from the folks at WinC.

The exhibitors with things to sell range from publisher tables with deals on books, to artist tables with handmade crocheted monsters, soap with gaming dice in it, and art prints of characters from K-Pop Demon Hunters. They seemed to be doing a flourishing business and by Sunday, some vendors were sold out of popular products, like Monster Cliché’s tote bag that says “All vampires are Gay.”  Monster Cliché  was still doing a rollicking business with their many other items.

After the exhibitor halls, I went to the Neon Hemlock Reading Showcase, where I heard snippets from novellas by debut authors (from left) Brent Lambert, S.M. Mack, Dominque Dickey, and Sharang Biswas, moderated by publisher and editor dave ring on the right. I’m now planning to read all of their books, probably starting with Redundancies and Potentials, about a world where time travel means making a copy of yourself and then killing the spare, and some people enjoy that quite a lot.

The next day, Sunday, was Youth Day, which I learned Flame Con does every year. I was thrilled to bring my eleven year old kid, who enjoyed a workshop on queer fan fic where she was by far the youngest person in the room. She came to the Con prepared, and got her beloved copy of Home Field Advantage signed by the delightful Dahlia Adler.

Flame Con prioritizes accessibility and inclusion, so even though the Con is small compared to something like New York Comic Con, there is a lactation lounge and a quiet lounge; signs remind people to keep wheelchair routes passable and that bathroom stalls are all-gender; masking is mandatory; and there’s a sewing machine available for any cosplay first aid required. There was a Queer Little Free Library on a landing that was consistently restocked with books throughout both days.

I treat Flame Con like a book convention, for I am a Book Person, but I appreciate that it always has a ton of gaming, podcasting, activism, tv and film, and cosplay scheduling as well. I am already looking forward to seeing how it evolves next year, and bringing my kid again!