MK Goodwin is a powerhouse of a woman. Ready to take on the world of fandom, she’s providing fans everywhere with amazing conventions to engage with other fans, as well as their favorite celebrities! In preparation for Keystone Comic Con, I got to talk with Goodwin about all of the opportunities for fans at the convention in Philadelphia, as well as her own connection to fandom and her experience with being a fan and organizing the events.
For many, we know the art of going to a convention, but we’re not really sure how a convention comes to be, so I asked Goodwin about the preparation for the con, and shockingly, there are year-round employees who spend their days working to make Keystone Comic Con a wonderful event every year! Goodwin told me, “I oversee sales, marketing, PR, content, operations for the event, and then I have a team underneath me of about 7 people who work under me for the entire year.”
That, to me, seems stressful, but Goodwin said the convention itself is more like their holiday: “This is like our Christmas. We just love the convention so much, and of course it’s stressful leading up to it and there’s a lot of weekend work and seeing your coworkers more than your own family, but they’re wonderful, so it’s not that bad.”
What’s great about Goodwin’s team (or at least those I’ve been dealing with leading up to the convention) is that they’re mainly a team of women—which, in the world of conventions and fandom in general, is rare, since many still view fandom love as a male-dominated world.
But Goodwin, who also oversees Emerald City Comic Con, pointed out that the number of female attendees continues to grow and continues to be a bigger number with each year, making me extremely happy to see women represented in the comics-loving/nerd sphere.
What’s going to be fun about Keystone is that Goodwin has events planned for Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Star Trek, and so many fans can connect to others who love those fandoms and can meet up through these events. To me, that’s the best part of convention life, and the fact that Goodwin recognizes that the community feel is just as important to conventions as our favorite properties and celebrities is a wonderful thing to see.
Excited about the Weasleys, Tom Holland, and so many other guests, Goodwin is happy that the growth of these conventions and fandoms are offering her daughters a view of what being a female fan can be—which, to Goodwin, expands upon the idea of what makes conventions so special: “It’s such a basic human thing to want to connect with others and it’s not always easy for everyone to do that and for comic con to kind of give people a platform for people to do that? It’s so important to us and it’s what we’re going to keep on doing.”
Goodwin also offered me her shoulder to cry on when we’re sitting at the Tom Holland panel, so I’m pretty sure we’re now fandom best friends! Keystone Comic Con is this weekend, and I’ll be there covering Tom Holland’s panel and meeting him for the Mary Sue! Make sure to join me in my tears.
“I’m going to give you my shoulder to cry on during the Tom Holland panel, and I’ll probably be crying, too.”
(image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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