Sherlock Seattle is a convention for fans of Sherlock Holmes, in all his many in­car­na­tions. Emma and I are attending the 2015 convention this weekend at the Broadway Per­for­mance Hall. We also attended the two previous con­ven­tions, in late 2012 and late 2013. Holmes has always been popular, since Arthur Conan Doyle wrote A Study in Scarlet in 1886. Three recent adap­ta­tions have boosted Holmes’ popularity con­sid­er­ably, the steampunk Sherlock films with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law; the BBC Sherlock in modern-day London with Benedict Cum­ber­batch and Martin Freeman; and the CBS Elementary in modern-day New York with Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

Sherlock Seattle has, I’d guess, about 150 attendees. Probably 90% of them are female and half of them are under 30. (This must be a little what it’s like for a woman to attend most technical con­fer­ences.) Although many attendees were already fans of the books or earlier adap­ta­tions, like the Granada Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, a lot were drawn in by the three recent adap­ta­tions. From the cosplay, the artwork on sale, the dealers’ room, and the fan fiction, the Cum­ber­batch and Freeman Sherlock is the undisputed favorite.

I don’t attend many con­ven­tions, but it’s not a bad way to spend a weekend.