📚Kyla’s musings: How a book festival led me to Furry Con
I ended up spending more time observing Furry Con than I did at the book festival!
Hi friends!
This weekend, I was a Featured Speaker at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books. And this newsletter was originally going to be about my amazing—though short (you’ll see why soon)—experience there.
But before that, let me share with you the tale of how my journey to the book festival brought me straight into the midst of one of America’s most renowned furry conventions.
(And if you don’t know what a furry is… look it up and be prepared to have your world view enlarged.)
The story starts on my flight from California (my homebase) to Pittsburgh (where the book festival would be)—on the opposite end of the country. It was a two-legged flight with a layover in Atlanta.
The first leg went perfectly, but once I landed in Atlanta, all my luck evaporated. My second flight (Atlanta to Pittsburgh) was pushed back once, twice, thrice… before the dreaded notification came:
Your flight has been cancelled.
At this point, I had been stuck in the airport for close to four hours. I was physically exhausted after waking up at 4am to get to the airport. I was also ravenous because I didn’t want to pay exorbitant prices for airport food and was banking on the free in-flight snacks (but the flight never happened…).
Even worse: The next available flight was over 24 hours later, so I’ll only get into Pittsburgh at 2am on May 11… just a few hours before I’m supposed to take to the stage as a Featured Speaker.
(Sadly, it also meant I missed the launch party on May 10, which I had been so looking forward to as a chance to meet some author friends for the first time. There’s still the festival the next day, but with all of us on different panels, the probability that we would be available at the same time was low.)
Since I was going to be stranded in Atlanta for the next 24 hours, I decided to book myself into a hotel downtown. And the moment I walked into the lobby, I sensed something was different.
The place was PACKED. I’m talking THOUSANDS of people. And these aren’t your regular hotel guests, oh no. These folks were all dressed in FURRY. ANIMAL. COSTUMES.
Every elevator had a snaking line and there was an exceptionally high number of security guards stationed around. Every common space in the (very big) hotel was filled to the brim with these furries. All I could do was remain in the crowd and wait for it to inch forward slowly, while animal heads and tails bobbed all around me.
Seriously, I’ve never seen so many bushy tails and cat ears in my entire life.
And then I saw this sign that explained it all.
A quick Google search told me I’d stumbled into Furry Weekend Atlanta. One of the country’s largest gatherings for the furry community.
(Those are words I never expect myself to type.)
Based on what I observed, the event seemed very well-organized. Plenty of signages were placed strategically around the hotel, directing conference goers to different venues for various festival activities. To the ballroom for a vendor showcase, to a conference center for a “bimbo disco” party, to another room for a workshop about STD prevention.
And the entire event gave off the vibe of a massive adult slumber party. Many of the festival goers seemed to know one another and pooled together to book group stays at the hotel. Once, at the hotel convenience store, I stood in line behind someone who’s apparently very well-known in this community—no fewer than three separate individuals approached to gush about how much they love his TikTok videos.
I’ve heard about furries, but it was truly an eye-opening experience to see such a massive congregation of them! Not gonna lie, I felt very underdressed in my sweatpants while these festival goers had on the most extravagant outfits. Their costumes (especially the headpieces) look so massive that I imagine each could have easily taken up a suitcase on its own. It was jarring to see a ‘regular’ family on vacation in the hotel lobby, clad in their plain shirts and jeans—and right behind them, a guy dressed as a dominiatrix and holding a leash… tied around the neck of another man dressed as a dog.
(Again, words I never expected to type.)
So while the flight cancellation was definitely a big bummer, I’m choosing to focus on the silver lining: this exposure to a way of life that I might otherwise never get to see up close. :) Small blessings.
This newsletter is getting much too long, so I’ll save my reminiscing of my amazing time at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books for my next issue! Subscribe to get it delivered straight to your inbox. 😊 Flight issues aside, I truly love book festivals because they allow me to meet fellow authors and readers!
In the meantime, take care, friends!
Kyla
ha, I love these moments of serendipity that lead you to a weird or cool new experience! a high-rise where I once worked downtown would host a big k*nk conference once a year, and one time it happened to coincide with when we all went down to the restaurant for a big work lunch. It was great.