In just a few short days, we’ll be welcoming attendees to our tenth annual Sirens! While we’re excited to celebrate our conference theme of reunion, we also know that for many of you, this will be your first time attending—so read on for some tips, tricks, and general things to know before you start your journey to Colorado:

1. Follow us on Twitter at @sirens_con and the event hashtag #Sirens18 (if you haven’t already!). We’ll be tweeting programming reminders, last-minute changes, quotes from presenters and guests, pictures of things like auction items, and more!

2. Come to our new-attendee session. We’re hosting a session specifically for new attendees on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in the McCoy’s Peak room. You’ll have a chance to hear more about how Sirens works, ask all your questions, and meet other new attendees.

3. Find a Sirens Ambassador. We’ve appointed 19 seasoned attendees as Sirens ambassadors, specifically so our new attendees will be able to find a friendly face in the crowd. Our ambassadors will be wearing a special button when they’re available for conversations. Feel free to pepper them with your questions or find them when you’re feeling adrift or out of place—they’re here to help!

4. Start a conversation. Everyone at Sirens is a reader. Whether you’re waiting for the shuttle, lounging in the hotel lobby, or eating at a table, it’s easy to use book talk to break the ice.

5. Attend programming. Sirens’s programming is presented by our attendees, for our attendees—and as everyone’s voice at Sirens is vital to our community, our presenters include readers, librarians, and educators, as well as the scholars, authors, and professionals that you might be expecting. We’ve had a record year of proposal submissions and are able to offer four tracks of programming! Check out our full schedule and our summaries of programming, geek out over what’s being offered, and plan out your day. Conversations are highly encouraged in between sessions, and sometimes even during sessions, like in the case of roundtables or Q&As.

6. Seating is open. Unless the seat is specified as “Reserved,” feel free to sit anywhere while at programming, Books and Breakfast, Bedtime Stories, the community room, or at meals—but please leave the seating closest to doors and aisles open for attendees who might need a closer seat or some extra room to maneuver.

7. Looking for a group for dinner? Check the program book. We’ll have a list of meet-up times and locations, as well as a list of dining recommendations.

8. We have a bookstore, specially stocked with over a thousand fantasy titles by women and nonbinary authors. If you want recommendations, we’re holding Books with Amy and Faye at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday in the community room, when the staff will try to sell you books upon books. A word of warning: we’re pretty good at it—some people save their book money all year for our bookstore and some bring a second suitcase to take their treasures home! Shipping is also available for a fee (media mail, in the United States only).

9. We have an auction, of amazing items, some hand-crafted, some one-of-a-kind, some that you simply won’t want to leave behind. The proceeds are crucial to covering a large portion of Sirens’s expenses and keeping our prices down. Your registration bag will include information about the auction and a list of offered items. We hope you’ll bid early and often!

10. Check out our accessibility policy. Sirens is committed to making the conference accessible for a variety of individuals, but we need your help to do so. Please take a look at our accessibility policy (and also printed in your program book), and then consider how you might help make Sirens accessible for others.

11. Bring a bathing suit! The hotel has a heated outdoor pool, and five, count ‘em, five hot tubs. Not to mention Aqua Sanitas—a special water ritual at the spa accessible for an additional fee.

Any more questions? Please do come to our in-person, new-attendee session:

Thursday, October 25 at 5:00 p.m.
Sirens New Attendee Orientation
McCoy’s Peak (room) next door to registration
Gerald R. Ford Hall (meeting level)
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa

We can’t wait to meet you at Sirens!

A version of this post initially ran in October 2017.