Publishers Marketplace links to what, on the surface, seems like a rather hilarious idea: take all the people who have worked on those "X FOR DUMMIES" (where X = topic of your choice) and bring them together in one big, shiny new conference. And so, according to this press release, 150 authors of Dummies titles will be meeting in San Francisco from November 3 through November 5 at the San Francisco Hilton Hotel. Most of the conference - or "unconference," as it's being billed - will be closed off, but some sessions will be open to the public.

According to Alan Rubin, organizer of the event, "There are nearly two thousand For Dummies titles available to the public written by thousands of authors. It seemed only logical that an event of this sort would be beneficial not only for the authors but for the general public as well."

So why only 150 authors? "When I sent out the initial information to the authors the response was overwhelming," Rubin continued. "We currently have authors representing everything from acne and computer viruses to poker, gambling and money management!"