appearances

Science fiction(-ish) convention (8th of 2025)

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I’ve got my programming schedule for this year’s DragonCon. If you’re going to be part of the huge throng of people gathering in Atlanta the end of this month, these are the times/places you’ll be certain to run into me (I won’t have a dealers’ table, so everything else will be wandering about the convention):

I’ll be participating in the mass signing event known as The Gather on Friday August 29, from 8pm to midnight, in the Hyatt’s International Ballroom.

My panels include:

Saturday August 30, 5:30pm, in the Hyatt’s Embassy AB: “That Never Happened: Science Fiction as Alternate History” with D.J. Butler, Bill Fawcett, M.A. Rothman, Mark Stallings, and Ben Yalow.

Saturday August 30, 8:30pm, in the Hyatt’s Embassy EF: “Writing and Selling Short Stories” with Kevin A. Davis, Bethanne Kim, Violette L. Meier, Phillip Pournelle, and Sean H. Taylor.

Saturday August 30, 10:00pm, in the Hyatt’s International South: “Fantasy Dating Game: Will Our Characters Find a Match?” with Todd Fahnestock, Jen L. Grey, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Rachel Rener, Stacey Rourke, Daniel Schinhofen, Cisca Small, and Steve Wetherell.

Sunday August 31, 10:00pm in the Hyatt’s Embassy AB: “The Eye of Argon, Continued” with Keith R.A. DeCandido and Jean Marie Ward.

Hoping to see many of you there!

Upcoming conventions

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Planning out the next few weeks, I suddenly have several conventions on my schedule that weren’t there a few days ago.

Next weekend, I’ll be at LICH—the Long Island Convention of Horror, in Hauppauge, New York. I’m trying to decide if I want to commute (to save hotel costs) or see if I have a friend out that way who’s looking for a house guest for Friday and/or Saturday night.

The following weekend (March 7–9), I’ll be staying at my sister’s house while attending NorthEast ComicCon in Boxborough, Massachusetts.

At both of those, I’ll be in the dealers’ room all weekend, no programming appearances. But, as always, I’m happy to talk at the table.

And, the latest news, I’ll have a table at this year’s Ravencon, in Richmond, Virginia, April 25–27. For this one, I’ve got a hotel room reserved, but all they had left are rooms with one king bed. If anyone has a two-bed room and is looking for a roommate to cut the costs, I, too, am interested.

Beyond those speculative fiction cons, I’m also planning to be at Connecticut & Western Massachusetts Mensa’s mini-RG in Bethel, Connecticut, the weekend of March 21–23. I’ve got a roommate to split the room Friday night, but will have an extra bed Saturday night, if anyone is looking for space.

I’m also planning to attend New Hampshire Mensa’s RG April 4–6. I’ve got a hotel reservation there, but I’m not sure if the other bed is already spoken for.

Those are the pro con (professional convention) announcements for the moment.

Science fiction convention weekend (fourth of 2024)

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Next weekend is my next science fiction convention. This time, I’ll be in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland, for Balticon. If you’re looking for me, as always, first check the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room, which will be open 2–7pm on Friday, 10am–7pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 10am–2pm on Monday.

I’ll also be on programming. Look for me on the following panels:

Friday at 4:00pm in Guilford: “What Good is an Agent?” with John Appel, Joshua Bilmes, and Shahid Mahmud

Saturday at 2:30pm in Guilford: “Punctuation and Other Things” with Sarah Avery, Carrie Gessner, and Elaine Stiles

Saturday at 8:30pm in Federal Hill: “Late Night Tales From the Slush Pile” with Neil Clarke, David Keener, Jennifer R. Povey, and Sheila Williams

Sunday at 11:30am in Gibson: “OH NO A Paradox!” with John Ashmead, Jack Campbell, Aaron M. Roth, and Martin Wilsey

Sunday at 4:00pm in Guilford: “Running a Small Press” with Neil Clarke, Shahid Mahmud, and Martin Wilsey

Sunday at 8:30pm in Mount Washington: “First Pages Party” with Joshua Bilmes, Morgan Hazelwood, and Sheila Williams

Science fiction convention weekend (third of 2024)

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Only the third? It’ll be May. That seems to be far fewer than in usual years. Hmm…. Anyway…

I’m still on the road, and the current plans are for me to return to New York late Tuesday. Nevertheless, the wheel of conventions continues to roll on, and next weekend, I’ll be at Heliosphere in Piscataway, New Jersey.

If you’re looking to join me at the convention, I will be (as always) at the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room, open Friday 4–7pm, Saturday 10am–5pm, and Sunday 11am–3pm.

I’ll also be on programming, if you’re looking to join me for these fascinating discussions:

Saturday at 11:30am in Salon E: “This is How You Lose the Space Race”

Saturday at 2:30 pm in Salon E: “So You Want to Make an Anthology”

Sunday at 11:30am in Salon C: “Fact and Fiction: Hear from writers who write both”

Hope to see y’all there!

Science Fiction Convention Weekend (second of 2024)

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Next weekend is another science fiction convention weekend. I’ll be at Boskone, once again in the Westin Waterfront in Boston. As always, I’ll be tethered to the Fantastic Books dealer table (Friday, 4–8pm; Saturday, 10am–7pm; Sunday, 10am–3pm).

And you’ll be able to catch me on some fascinating programming, including:

Friday at 5:30pm in Harbor III: “‘Our Air! Our Water!’ Space Independence” with Brett James, Steven Popkes, John Scalzi, Romie Stott, and Erin Underwood

Friday at 8:30pm in Harbor III: “Legal and Actuarial Supernatural Hypotheticals” with R.E. Carr, Jack Cullen, William Fletzer, and Michael Green

Saturday at 2:30pm in Harbor III: “Worldbuilding New Folklore for Fictional Worlds” with Ben Aaronovitch, Sarah Beth Durst, Amelia Leonards, and Emily Hurst Pritchett

Saturday at 8:30pm in Harbor II: “Radical Economics in Speculative Fiction” with R.E. Carr, Vincent Docherty, Will McMahon, and Christie Meierz

Hope to see lots of you there!

Convention Weekend – Mensa mixed with sf

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It’s another convention weekend, the second in a row (definitely kicking off the new year with a bang). This time, it’s a Mensa event: Northern New Jersey Mensa’s Blast! Regional Gathering, in Newark, New Jersey.

Echoing the proper “enjoyment” of it at science fiction conventions, I’ll be leading a talk/reading of the “classic” story “The Eye of Argon” at 10:30 Friday night in Boardroom C.

A slightly more prosaic appearance: I’ll be participating in the “Meet the AMC and Members Who are Willing to Run for Office” event Saturday at 1:00pm, also in Boardroom C.

Other than that, I’ll be around, enjoying the weekend. They put on a great event last year, and with one year’s experience, they’re bound to do even better this time! So I hope to see all you Mensans there!

DC convention next weekend

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Convention weekend: I’ll be at Capclave in Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 29 to October 1. It’s a smaller, powerful convention that tends to focus on short fiction.

If you’re looking for me, I will be (as always) tethered to the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room (open Friday from 3 to 6pm, Saturday from 10am to 6pm, and Sunday from 10am to 2pm).

I’ll also be on programming

Friday at 5:30 pm in the Wilson room: “Exquisite Corpse Writing Challenge” with Hildy Silverman, Richard Peter Haviland Sparks, and Mary G. Thompson

Friday at 7:00 pm in the Washington Theater: “Anthology Builder” with Neil Clarke, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Mike McPhail, Neil Clarke, and Alex Shvartsman

Friday at 10:00 pm in the Wilson room: “The Writer’s Toolkit” with Ken Altabef, Morgan Hazelwood, Mike McPhail, and Adeena Mignogna

Saturday at 10:00 pm in the Washington Theater: “The Eye of Argon and the Further Adventures of Grignr the Barbarian” with Hildy Silverman, Michael A. Ventrella, and perhaps some other special guest

Albacon this weekend

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Got my schedule for Albacon this weekend, and it’s pretty packed. I expect it to be a cozy, friendly convention, and hope to see a bunch of you there.

Unlike most of my sf conventions, there won’t be a specific dealers’ room, but instead, a few dealers vending from their hotel rooms. Thus, Fantastic Books will be selling out of room… well, I don’t know the number yet. I think we’re all supposed to be on the first floor, near each other. But I’ll be on a lot of panels, so unless Michael wants to sit in the room selling books, we will only be open very limited hours. Look for a sign on the door.

And if you’re looking for me on programming, I won’t be hard to find:

Friday, September 8

5pm in Meeting A: “Starting a Small Press” with Inanna Arthen, Bianca D’Arc, and Claire Houck, and Bianca D’Arc

6:30pm in Meeting B: “The Role of Antiquity and Myth in Science Fiction” with B.A. Chepaitis, Walter H. Hunt, and Anna Rose

8pm in the Lobby: “Ice Cream Social”

9pm in Meeting A: “The Eye of Argon and the Further Adventures of Grignr the Barbarian” with Keith R.A. DeCandido, Daniel M. Kimmel, Hildy Silverman, and Michael Ventrella

Saturday, September 9

10:30am in Meeting B: “I Used to Be…” with Susan de Guardiola, Daniel M. Kimmel, Matthew Kressel, and Alex Shvartsman

6:30pm in Meeting B: “Choosing an Independent Publisher” with Bianca D’Arc, Sally Wiener Grotta Tris Lawrence, and Anna Rose

9:30pm in Meeting A: “Friendship in Science Fiction and Fantasy” with B.A. Chepaitis, J.A. Fludd, and Daniel M. Kimmel

Sunday, September 10

10:30am in Meeting A: “Crowdfunding For Print” with Bianca D’Arc, Claire Houck, Tris Lawrence, and Alex Shvartsman

Mensa appearance this weekend

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This coming weekend, March 3-5, I’ll be at Central New Jersey Mensa’s Snowball Regional Gathering. It’s one of the longest-running RGs in American Mensa, and always a good time. This time, I’m not just attending, but actually on the program. On Friday, at 7:30pm, I’ll be giving a talk on “Punctilious Punctuation,” and I know all of you who are going to be at the RG will want to see my talk (mind you, I’ve got some stiff competition in that time slot: Lesley Schierenbeck talking about “Dark & Dirty New Jersey History,” and John Devotti’s always wonderful “Monster Trivia.”

After I’m off stage, stick around in the same room for the Mensa Foundation and RVC2 Meet and Greet. And at 2:30pm Saturday, RVC2 Trebor Lefebvre will be running “Everything You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know About Mensa.” I’ll be there, too.

But the other program item I’m really urging you to attend is Saturday at 10:30am. One of my authors, Michael A. Ventrella, will be talking about “How to Argue the Constitution with a Conservative.” Michael is a wonderful speaker, talking about a topic on which he is very knowledgeable, and it’s an especially timely topic. We’ll also have copies of his book, How to Argue the Constitution with a Conservative, available for sale (and possibly a few other of his titles that I’ve published).

Should be a great weekend. Hope to see y’all there!

The books are waiting for me

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Just got confirmation that several boxes of The Presidential Book of Lists and Ranking the First Ladies have arrived at a friend’s house in San Diego. I had them shipped out so that I’ll have them when I speak on Sunday, July 3, at the American Mensa Annual Gathering. The books are there, now I have to get there. I generally love traveling, but am somewhat trepidatious about using airports. At the moment, my eagerness to go to the AG overshadows my distaste of the airports, so I hope to see some of you there!

My talk, scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday, July 3, is titled “Hail to the Chiefs! (And Their Vice Presidents, and First Ladies….)”. I’ll be selling/signing books directly after (though if you catch me earlier in the convention, I may be able to sell you an “advance” copy).