philcon

Science Fiction Convention (10th of 2025)

~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

It’s another science fiction convention weekend, this time with an over-stuffed Saturday! This weekend, I’ll be at the Doubletree in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for Philcon.

As always, you can find me in the Dealers’ Room, open Friday, 4:00–7:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am–6:00 pm; and Sunday 10:00 am–3:00 pm.

You can also find me on programming:

Saturday at 12:00N in Plaza 3: “Meet More Editors!” with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Michael D. Pederson, Alex Shvartsman, and Ann Stolinsky

Saturday at 3:00PM in Plaza 4: “How Do I Get Publishers to Notice Me?” with Aaron Rosenberg, Neil Clarke, and Michael A. Ventrella

Saturday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm in the Con Suite: book launch party for Daniel M. Kimmel’s A Talent to Amuse, as well as Dragonwell Publishing’s new book by Bernie Mojzes.

Saturday at 8:00PM in the Grand Ballroom: I’ll be emceeing the Masquerade.

Sunday at 11:00AM in Plaza 3: “Assembling an Anthology” with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Neil Clarke, Alex Shvartsman, and Michael A. Ventrella

If you read that schedule closely, you’ll notice I have to be in the dealers’ room and the con suite and the masquerade Saturday afternoon/evening, probably all three at the same time, so I don’t really know where I’ll be: setting up for the launch party in the con suite before 6:00; closing the table in the dealers’ room at 6:00; and preparing for the masquerade before 8:00. You, however, as an attendee, will be able to do all three with no overlap.

Dan’s book, A Talent to Amuse, is a wonderful romantasy. In it, a professional writer is looking for the inspiration to take his writing to the next level. He meets an out-of-work Muse, who is looking for some inspiration of her own. And together, they may find something even more.

I hope to see y’all at the convention!

Philcon weekend

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Friday starts another science fiction convention, my expected last of the calendar year: Philcon, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. As always, I’ll be spending a lot of time at the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room (open Friday 4-7pm, Saturday 10am-6pm, and Sunday 10am-3pm). I’ll also be on programming:

Friday, 7pm in Plaza 5: “Money, Morals, and Financial AI” with Gil Cnaan and Jeff Warner

Saturday, 11am in Plaza 5: “Kickstarting Your Next Project” with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Storm Humbert, and Alex Shvartsman

Saturday, 4pm in Plaza 2: “Meet the Editors!” with Neil Clarke, Ty Drago, Bjorn Hasseler, and Gordon Linzner

Sunday, 12n in Plaza 3: “Paths to Publication” with Eric Avedissian, LJ Cohen, Christine Norris, and Mark Roth-Whitworth

If you haven’t yet picked up your copy, I’ll have copies of the recently published anthology Jewish Futures edited by Michael A. Burstein, of which Publishers Weekly said “Burstein brings together 16 appealing stories extrapolating Jewish themes into near- and far-future settings.… These stories open diverse and challenging vistas for sci-fi fans—Jewish and gentile alike.” And The Atlantic said “Best work of fiction I’ve recently read. I can’t wait for other people to be able to read it.” Makes a great Hanukkah gift!

Hope to see lots of you there.

Convention Weekend, November 2022

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philcon_logoNext Friday starts my last scheduled sf convention on the calendar year (though I’m always open to more, if you’ve got any to suggest). This time, it will be, once again, Philcon (at the Doubletree by Hilton in Cherry Hill, New Jersey [that’s the same hotel it’s been at the past bunch of years, but under a new name]).

If you’re looking for me, I’ll be fairly easy to find. I’ll be at the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room Friday (4–7pm), Saturday (10am–6pm), and Sunday (10am–3pm). But I’m also scheduled to be on a bunch of programming. Note especially the first item:

Friday at 9pm in the Grand Ballroom: “The Eye of Argon: The Play” co-starring Keith R.A. DeCandido, Gregory Frost, Peter Prellwitz, Hildy Silverman, Michael A. Ventrella, and Jean Marie Ward. This will also be the official launch of the anthology The Eye of Argon and the Further Adventures of Grignr the Barbarian.

Saturday at 12n in Crystal 2: “Space Colonies ‘Rhyme’ with Space Westerns” with N.E. Lilly, Peter Prellwitz, Tom Purdom, and Kathryn Sullivan.

Saturday at 2pm: “Apocalypse How?!” with Eric Blair, Anton Kukal, Hildy Silverman, and Richard Stout.

Saturday at 3pm: “Flash Fiction Challenge!” with Storm Humbert and Anton Kukal.

Saturday at 8pm: “Foundations of Worldbuilding: Past Political Tensions and Turmoil” with Dee Carter, Storm Humbert, Michael A. Ventrella, and Simone Zelitch.

Sunday at 12n: “Meet the Editors!” with Neil Clarke, Margaret Riley, Ann Stolinsky, and Michael A. Ventrella.

I hope to see many of you there!

Philcon, this weekend

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philcon_logoIt’s starting to feel like the before-times again. I just got back from a weekend on the road (I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, for Charlotte Blue Ridge Mensa‘s Regional Gathering, which hosted the AMC meeting), and now I’m getting ready to leave Friday for Philcon, my second science fiction convention of the new world.

As a typical science fiction convention, I’ll be spending most of my time in the dealers’ room at the Fantastic Books table. We’ll have many copies of Allen Steele’s brand new novel Sanctuary, and of the non-fiction book On Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren (I’m hoping to have Delany himself at the table for some of the time, to sign copies). But I’m also on programming. If you’re looking to catch me there, my scheduled items include:

Friday at 6:00 PM in Plaza 2: “Perils and Pitfalls of Near-Future Scenarios” with Jennifer Povey, Margaret Riley, Michael A. Ventrella, and Joan Wendland

Saturday at 1:00 PM in Plaza 4: “Writing and Publishing in the Digital Age” with Neil Clarke, Gordon Linzner, Margaret Riley, and Ann Stolinsky.

Saturday at 5:00 PM in Plaza 3: “The Future You Imagine is the Future You Get” with Mitchell Gordon, Mark Roth-Whitworth, and Jeff Warner.

Saturday at 7:00 PM in Plaza 3: “Alternate Histories” with Scheherazade Jackson, Roberta Rogow, Mark Roth-Whitworth, and Chuck Rothman.

Sunday at 11:00 AM in Plaza 5: “A New Dune” with Randee Dawn, Barna William Donovan, Robert Hranek, and Lawrence Kramer.

I hope to see a lot of you there!

Virtual Convention Weekend

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Virtual convention weekend: Philcon has moved most of the con online, and I’m doing four panels for them (the most I’ve had at any virtual convention this year). One of them was already this evening, but the two tomorrow and one Sunday I thought I had are actually three on Saturday (November 21):

10am: “Heinlein’s Third Rule of Writing” with Barbara Barnett, Lawrence M. Schoen, Michael Swanwick, and Elektra Hammond.

2:30pm: “Kickstarting Your Next Project” with Keith DeCandido, Danielle Ackley-Mcphail, Neil Clarke, and Alex Shvartsman.

8:30pm: “What Else Might Have Changed?” with Simone Zelitch, Miriam Scheiber Seidel, and Tom Doyle.

The panels are on Zoom, with after-panel discussions on Discord. Details on the Philcon web site.