fbpx

Posts Tagged ‘Conventions’

A First Look at my ConQuesT 2013 Schedule

No Comments » Written on May 8th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: ,

Later this month, mere days after I return from San Jose, CA and this year’s Nebula Awards conference, I’ll be winging off to Kansas City, MO for some barbecue, a visit with my publisher, and the convention mortals call ConQuesT (and no, I have no idea why they use medial and final majuscules, just accept it).

Friday, May 24th:
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – (Salon C) – Publishing Challenges/Changes [MOD]

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – (Imperial) – Liars’ Panel

Saturday, May 25th:
11:00 – 12:00 p.m. – (Embassy ) – Theme’d for Your Pleasure Podcast

1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – (Salon C) – Hadley Rille Books Showcase

Sunday, May 26th:
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. – (Monarch) – Linguistics in Sci-Fi [MOD]

11:00 – 11:30 a.m. – (Regency) – Reading/Q&A/Autographs [MOD]

As of right now, I’m not sure what some of these titles mean (I must have known once upon a time, right? I signed up for them, didn’t I?), nor who my co-panelists are. But there’s time yet to get it all worked out. When we do, I’ll post an update here.

2013 Hugo Awards Announced

No Comments » Written on March 30th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: ,

The word went out at four different conventions, but as I was at none of them I had to find out about it via the internet. In case you haven’t heard yet, here are the particulars of primary interest to authors:

Best Novel
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit)
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
The Emperor’s Soul, Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats, Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)

Best Novelette
“The Boy Who Cast No Shadow”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Postscripts: Unfit For Eden, PS Publications)
“Fade To White”, Catherynne M. Valente ( Clarkesworld, August 2012)
“The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi”, Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)
“In Sea-Salt Tears”, Seanan McGuire (Self-published)
“Rat-Catcher”, Seanan McGuire ( A Fantasy Medley 2, Subterranean)

Best Short Story
“Immersion”, Aliette de Bodard ( Clarkesworld, June 2012)
“Mantis Wives”, Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, August 2012)
“Mono no Aware”, Ken Liu (The Future is Japanese, VIZ Media LLC)

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Zen Cho
Max Gladstone
Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Chuck Wendig

Congratulations to all nominees!

I’ll be sitting in the audience in San Antonio waiting to see who walks away with a shiny rocket!

Theoretical Lunacon 2013 Schedule

3 comments Written on March 14th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: , ,

If you’re attending Lunacon this weekend (i.e., tomorrow) you may already be aware that programming has not yet gone out to the participants. This will doubtless make for all sorts of “fun” at the convention.

That’s the bad news. The good news is word has gotten out that individual participants can go online to the same database questionnaire they filled out to become panelists, and find their schedules waiting for them.

Assuming that the schedule there is correct, here’s what I think I’m doing at the con this weekend:

Friday, March 15th:
20:00 – 21:00 | Grand Ballroom ? |Meet the Pros
 This wasn’t actually on my schedule, but I’m going to assume there will be such an event, and that I’ll show up for it.

Saturday, March 16th
10:00 – 10:30 | Bartell | Reading
 Start your Saturday off by listening to me read from my Nebula Award nominated novella “Barry’s Tale.”

11:00 – 12:00 | Oak | So You Want To Create & Sell an Ebook (M)
 Neil Clarke and I talk about the tools, techniques, and best practices involved in creating and distributing ebooks. WARNING: It’s extremely likely this panel has been canceled and/or removed from my schedule.

1:00 – 2:00 | Poplar | Less Sh*tty Second Drafts (M)
 Russ Colchamiro, Laura Anne Gilman, Michael A. Ventrella, C.E. Lawrence and I will discuss how authors figure out what’s not working in a manuscript and what might be likely to fix it.

2:00 – 3:00 | Poplar | Finding a Needle in the Slushpile (M)
 Despite the somewhat unspecific title, this panel is actually supposed to be about finding the gold amidst the dross of self-published fiction. It’s a thankless task and I will have April Grey, Neal Levin, Mike McPhail, and Andrew Porter grumbling along with me.

Sunday, March 17th
10:00 – 11:00 | Westchester Assembly | Autographing
 Please bring me something to sign as I hang out with Tim Rodriguez and James Daniel Ross.

11:00 – 12:00 | Poplar | Generic Alien Language Panel (M)
 Walter Stutzman, Ariel Cinii, and I will start with the basic question of how to represent alien language in fiction and jump off from there on related issues in language, linguistics, and philology.

12:00 – 1:00 | Birch | Hugo Worthy Fiction
 Lisa Padol, Byron P. Connell, Alex Shvartsman and I blow smoke about what we think will make the final ballot (assuming it hasn’t been announced by this time).

My shoulder-riding plushie, Barry, has once again been given no programming. First the college of cardinals slight him, and now this. Nonetheless, he will be in attendance in his role as the convention’s unofficial, eponymous, Nebula nominee. Mind you, he doesn’t know what any of those words mean.

Hypnosis in Klingon?

No Comments » Written on March 13th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: , ,

Last night I was working on some notes for what will eventually be the “Pre-Talk” that goes up on my website, Hypnosis4Writers. Some of those ideas were still bouncing around in my head this morning as I was driving to work, but it must have gotten jumbled with some other musings I was having on the forthcoming How to Speak Klingon: Essential Phrases for the Intergalactic Traveler from Chronicle Books.

The end result had me motoring along through morning traffic talking to myself about hypnosis, in Klingon!

It was mostly the standard things I’d say before doing an induction, things likewhat hypnosis is and what it isn’t. How you can view the process as building a bridge between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind, how hypnosis is not sleep, and how you can’t be made to reveal your darkest secrets under hypnosis (unless of course you want to).

The word for hypnotize is vong, and a hypnotist (one who hypnotizes) is vongwI’.

yab is the word for mind and vul means to be unconscious. In Klingon, stative verbs (that is, verbs which describe a state of being) can in most cases follow a noun to modify it, much like an adjective would in English. Thus yab vul would be understood as the unconscious mind. Klingon also has the suffix -Ha’ which in many cases compares to the English prefix un-, so the conscious mind would be yab vulHa’.

vongwI’ jIH. yablIj ‘oDmeH qavong. yIjot. peghmeylIj Da’angbe’.
I am a hyphotist. In order to mediate with your unconscious mind, I will hypnotize you. Be calm. You will not reveal your secrets.

Because vul isn’t a word I tend to use much (in fact, the only time I can recall having spoken it outloud was when it cropped up one day in my year of posting daily Klingon podcasts (see DaHjaj Hol) so it took me a while to even recall that the language had such a word. Prior to that I was trying out phrases like vemtaHbogh yab and QongtaHbogh yab which would be the waking mind and the sleeping mind, respectively. I like those well enough, but it’s nice to have the word for unconscious handy too. Variety and all that.

Anyway, that’s all the time I have to share these Hypno/Klingon musings with you at the moment, but I thought you might be interested. I mainly wanted to post this so I had a record and reference, in case I forget all about it. I have the suspicion that I might be doing some sort of panel or presentation about all of this next January when I’m one of the GoHs at Illogicon. And who knows, maybe Mary Robinette will work up a puppet show to accompany the whole thing? Now that would be awesome (Dunqu’)

Hugo Nomination Deadline! What are you waiting for?

No Comments » Written on March 9th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: , ,

There’s a bit over 24 hours left before the window closes for submitting nominations for this year’s Hugo (and Campbell) Awards.

Depending on how cynical you are, you can see this reminder as one of two things.

It could be a selfless public service announcement exhorting you to participate in the process, because seriously, while the number of Worldcon members who vote has increased significantly in the last few years (due in no small part I suspect to the success of the electronic packet of free books that is worth several times the cost of a membership), far fewer people bother to involve themselves in the nomination process. This is your chance to help shape what we will all look back on as the Hugo-winners, so please take the time to let your voice be heard.

Barry

Oh, wait, I said this post could be two things, didn’t I? Well, the other thing would be yet another shameless reminder that my novella, “Barry’s Tale” is eligible for nomination. You may have heard of it, it’s already been nominated for the Nebula Award. And, as you know, Bob, the infinite worlds hypothesis assures us that there exists (or will exist) a future in which my novella wins both awards and I get to walk around insufferably with a big lucite bookend and a shiny metal rocket. All the while Barry (that’s him in the photo) rides triumphantly on my shoulder, chortling like a very satisfied plushie. But to guide us toward that one shining future amidst all the myriad realities, I would need your nominational help.

Yeah… I’m going to officially say I’m posting this because of the first reason. Really. Of course, that infinite worlds things also means there’s a place where the second reason holds sway. But that’s not this reality, right?

Best Fan Writer Hugo Nomination? Moi?

No Comments » Written on March 3rd, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: , ,

It has been brought to my attention that there are some people out there in the world (and by “world” I of course mean the population of genre fans and pros who are responsible for all that’s good and just) who, due to my weekly blog feature, Eating Authors, insist that I am eligible, and should be considered for, nomination in the Best Fan Writer category for this year’s Hugo Awards.

My reaction was, “Huh!”

To elaborate: while I would certainly not turn down such a nomination, and would be exceedingly chuffed to receive it, there is no doubt in my mind that folks can do much better than to put my name on such a list.

Those of you who aren’t as stunned by the notion as I was, thank you for your kind thoughts. I’m flattered, honored, and all those other emotions associated with people who typically have far less ego than me. Truly.

But speaking of ego, if you’re still enamored of my blog series, take that good will in hand and carry it over to the Novella section of the Hugo nomination ballot. There’s a spot there where my name (and the title “Barry’s Tale”) might actually have a shot. Maybe. If bunches of other people die (horribly or otherwise, and no, I have nothing to do with it if it happens, just sayin’).

Thanks.

2013 Appearance Schedule Update

No Comments » Written on February 28th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: , , ,

For those of you out there who are stalking me are wondering when or where our paths may cross, I’ve just done a major overhaul of my 2013 schedule.

Probably the biggest news is that I’ll be spending Memorial Day Weekend in Kansas City, MO, returning the glory that is ConQuesT. What can I tell you, these people know how to throw a friendly, welcoming convention, and I’ve been away for too long.

It’s also worth noting that Kansas City is home both to my publisher, Hadley Rille Books, as well as some of the best beef around. I mention this here, in this oh-so-public-forum, on the off chance that my publisher/editor will realize what a great opportunity this will be for him to take me out to dinner. (I’ll let you all know how that works out).

The other big news is the date of the Klingon Language Institute’s 20th annual conference. Seriously, twenty years of Klingon speakers coming together from all over the world! Dunqu’.

But before any of those (or the subsequent events on the list) happen, you can find me in a couple weeks at Lunacon in Ryebrook, NY, and a month later at TrekTrax in Atlanta, GA.

My Almost Certain (and you won’t get another update) Immortal Confusion Schedule

No Comments » Written on January 16th, 2013 by
Categories: News
Tags: ,

I’ll be heading to the airport on Friday morning before dawn (a fact which my wife, who will be driving me there, is less than pleased with). I’ll touch down in Atlanta a bit after 8:00 a.m., and then quickly back in the air to eventually land in Detroit just past 11:00 a.m. From there, I’m assured it’s just a quick hop, skip, and jump (or cab ride if the hotel doesn’t have a shuttle — note to self: check that out before Friday morning!) to find myself at the glory that will be Immortal Confusion.

To the best of my knowledge, here’s my “official” schedule:

Saturday, January 19th:
10:00 a.m. – The End
What makes a satisfying conclusion? Do we wrap up all loose ends, or leave some plot threads deliciously unexplored in the hopes of returning to them in future volumes? Does the desire for sequels sometimes rob us of a more permanent and concrete end to a story? This panel explores how hard it is to finally lean back and write “the end.”
Catherine Shaffer (M), Christian Klaver, Maria Dahvana Headley, Michael J. Sullivan

3:00 p.m. – Make Me Immortal
Why make a character immortal? Is this shorthand for power? Temptation? How does the addition of an unending life span change a character’s perspective – or that character’s function in a story? Can the addition of immortality rob a story of its immediacy and consequence, and how can that be avoided?
Catherine Shaffer (M), Diana Rowland, Laurie Gailunas, Steven Harper Piziks

4:00 p.m. – Reading
I’ve been assigned this session along with Peter Orullian. Perhaps we’ll take turns reading. Perhaps we’ll each read the other’s work. Perhaps we will strip down to our unmentionables and wrassle (not to be confused with “wrestle”) to see who gets to use the entire time period for his reading.
Peter Orullian

5:00 PM – Mass Autograph Session
You bring the books, we’ll bring the pens, and then we rush at one another from opposite sides of the room and collide in a frenzy of signings! Or… maybe they’ll give the authors tables to sit at. Yeah, that could work too.
Everyone!

7:00 p.m. – Please Do The Research
Fantasy and Science Fiction both seem very easy to fake. After all, anything is possible, right. When spaceships warp across the galaxy at physics-defying speeds, or wizards transform glib warriors into puggles with the wave of a wand, little things like food, word origins, or animal husbandry can seem a little nit-picky. However, readers may not have transmogrified a foe into a dog, but a lot of people have ridden a horse. Taking the time to learn all there is to know about the realities of fantasy or science fiction often strengthens a story. It will also help avoid common problems that our panelists will discuss, with helpful examples.
Amity Thompson, Howard Andrew Jones (M), Maria Dahvana Headley, Ron Collins

8:00 p.m. – Pop Culture In SF/F
Fantasy has its urchins, sci-fi the dilettantes…but what about everyone else? When crafting a world either fantastic or futuristic, what do we imagine that the common folk would do for fun? What news or events would they discuss? Would they know what village produced the most heroes, or debate the thrust/weight ratio of government warships? Would there be a general popular culture in an imagined past? Could we avoid one in an imagined future? Does the addition of these elements do more than aid verisimilitude?
Brian McClellan, Dr. Phil Kaldon (M), Holly McDowell, Sam Sykes

Which means I’ve got both Friday and Sunday free to hang out with people in the bar, grab a bite here and there, schmooze, and shill for award nominations. Also, these would be ideal times for you to come up and get your photograph taken with Barry!