By Michael Raymond Astle
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Sam was walking the hallowed halls of Signum University when he spied young Lucy. Knowing it was her first year, he thought he’d go chat with her.
“Hey Lucy,” said Sam.
“Hi,” Lucy replied.
“Are you going to Mythmoot this year?” he asked.
“What’s Mythmoot?” she responded with a quizzical look on her brow.
“You mean you haven’t heard? It’s only the most fabulous speculative literature conference on this earth. It brings together the whole Signum community every year for academic papers and panels, creative showcases, formal and informal discussions, plus some occasional high jinks, but you needn’t worry about those. It’s held every year during the mid-semester break, beginning on the Thursday after the third Sunday in June. That means that for this year, 2025, Mythmoot XII will be held June 19-22.”
“Hmm. I had been hoping to get a head start on my assignments that week. I don’t really want to be travelling.”
“You could always attend online instead. The MootHub gives you access to all the talks. Their quality is always high because proposals need to pass two rounds of approval. Every year there’s a new theme. Most presentations and workshops relate to it somehow but, so long as they’re given a clear proposal, they’ll consider any idea.” Lucy could tell Sam was rather excited about Mythmoot, but she was still more concerned about her assignments. “Or,” he continued, “if you’d rather join in the quiet time, the staff post downloadable colouring pages and instructions for easy crafts in the Slack and Discord channels. Even the luncheon chats are offered through Zoom so you won’t miss out on anything, except the great food of course.”
“Food?” That word piqued her interest. “I’m a vegetarian. If I do go, will I be able to eat anything?”
“Sure. The National Conference Centre (NCC) food is amazing. They always go out of their way to cater for any special dietary needs. I like to visit the big salad bar at nuncheon and dinner; they even bring elevenses and tea to the gathering room near our sessions! I’ve had friends on vegan and gluten free diets attend. They all had plenty to eat. I think they might have had to let them know in advance though. Maybe it’d be a good idea to mention it when you book.”
“Hang on. I didn’t say I was going yet. I wouldn’t know where to stay for a start.”
“The NCC has over 900 rooms. It used to be the Xerox training centre so there’s plenty of space to stay there. But it can be a bit confusing trying to find your way around without a map. All the corridors look the same.”
“Don’t worry,” said Lucy, “I’ve lots of experience finding my way around unfamiliar places. You wouldn’t believe some of the experiences I had with my siblings back in the day!”
Sam was about to say something about how Lucy’s sister had told him of how she used to hide in the wardrobe during the War and pretend she was talking with a lion. But then Lucy asked another question.
“What if I don’t want to stay at the venue itself? Is there anywhere else nearby?”
“Oh there’s plenty of accommodation in the area. I don’t know if you’d call it semi-rural or suburban, but there are lots of other places you can easily look up.”
“Has anyone made a list of them?”
“Not that I know of.” He held his chin pensively. “Some former attendees have made a list of things you can do in the area though. Like, there’s that brewery that just opened.”
“What’s it called? Was that very long ago?”
“Ah, I don’t know,” said Sam. “We may need a wizard to answer all your questions. Oh look! There’s Trevor Brierly.” That esteemed gentleman was walking towards Sam and Lucy.
“Is he a wizard?”
“After a certain sort. He’s on the Mythmoot Events Coordination Team. Let’s ask him.”
By that time, Trevor was within hearing range. “Hey Sam,” he called out. “Who’s your friend?”
“Hi Trevor,” said Sam as they all stopped walking. “This is Lucy. It’s her first year and…”
“Welcome to Signum!” Trevor interjected.
“It’s great to be here,” said Lucy. “This campus is so huge! It must span this whole world. And I’ve already learnt so much. How did you end up here?”
“It was a bit over a decade ago –” Trevor began, “I was looking for videos to watch online when Corey Olsen’s talks on The Silmarillion popped up. If you’ve heard any of them, you already know why they call him the ‘Tolkien Professor’. I thought I’d explore what else he had to offer and discovered Mythmoot II was just about to be held not far from where I lived. I had a really good time there and soon after enrolled in Philology through Tolkien at Signum. I don’t think they offer that class any more but it was really hard. It was hard in a good way. I enjoyed it and learnt a lot.”
“Seeing you mention Mythmoot,” said Sam, “I was just telling Lucy about your role. Might you know…”
“Yes, that’s a good question,” Lucy interrupted. “How did you end up as the Mythmoot Events Coordinator?”
“Ah,” said Trevor. “Well firstly, I’m not the Events Coordinator. I’m just one of the folks on the team that looks after these things. But to answer your question, I think it was Mythmoot IV when Corey asked if I’d be interested in helping to organise it. Since then, I’ve given academic presentations and served as gamemaster for RPGs too.”
“RPGs”? asked Lucy.
“Role-playing games. Mythmoot includes lots of activities outside of presentations. Snacks, book-trades, silent auction, some of our Signum Community members who are artists and craftfolk sell their work. There’s a children’s programme too!”
“That sounds fun!” Lucy lit up. “What ages of children would fit the programme?”
“Hmm, there’s no fixed answer to that. We reshape the programme from year to year depending on who’s coming. We try to find commonalities within different groups — like art projects and games — and shift the focus to suit them. Often, we run a lightly guided worldbuilding activity, which the kids really enjoy, along with the facility itself. It’s usually a small group with a single leader focused on them so the kids get a lot of attention.”
Lucy started to wonder if she could somehow join the children’s programme. Then Sam spoke. “I hope they still have the Saturday night dance in the downstairs secret lounge!”
“Wait,” Lucy paused. “So, Mythmoot is always held in the same place?”
“Not quite. Most Mythmoots have been held at the NCC. It’s a good venue. But sometimes it’s booked out and the Moot is held somewhere else in the DC or Baltimore area.”
“That makes me wonder,” said Sam, “what will the weather be like?”
“Oh yes,” said Lucy. “What clothes should I pack?”
“Most of the time I’d suggest packing light. The weather can vary a bit though it will be warm in Virginia at this time of year, but if you bring a raincoat, you should be fine. We spend most of our time indoors anyway.”
“I might knit a beanie in case it snows,” Sam thought, always prepared. In any given Mythmoot audience, he liked to sit with the approximately 1 in 5 people knitting, embroidering, sewing, or engaging in some other quiet handcraft.
“What about the dance?” asked Lucy. “What kind of shoes shall I wear?”
“Glass slippers might not be the best of choices.” Trevor thought for a moment. “It’s hard to know in advance. The dance style varies depending on who’s leading it. I’d probably recommend wearing something comfortable. That way, you’ll be prepared for anything.”
“Alright then.”
“I should be going soon.”
“Okay. Just one more thing: Where did the name Mythmoot come from?”
“The first part should be obvious. Both Signum and Mythgard have always celebrated myths and legends — the original name of our identity was, after all, Mythgard! The ‘moot’ part is derived from the Old English work for a meeting, and it’s a not-so-subtle nod to Tolkien’s Entmoot. Anything else before I head off?”
“I think that’s all. Thanks for your help.” Lucy waved and so did Sam.
“You’re welcome. Have a great day.” Trevor waved too and went on his way.
“So, do you think you’ll attend?” Sam asked Lucy.
“Nothing in this world could stop me,” Lucy answered joyfully. “I will just follow this handy link to register!”
As they rounded the corner, they both saw a familiar face. For Sam, he was a wizard. But for Lucy, he was a lion.
(Note: This story is fictitious. While Trevor Brierly was interviewed for this article, much of the conversation as here portrayed never occurred. Nonetheless, in light of the substantial factual contributions he provided, it was considered befitting to incorporate his character into this otherwise mythical scene. Whether or not he self-identifies as a wizard remains unknown.)