Neil Clarke

Unfortunately, my flight to China was canceled after a full day of issues at Newark airport. United Airlines gets points for good communications, but it seemed like chaos in regards to how they dealt with the mechanical issues. Early on, they told us they were considering getting a new plane. They should have. A quick look online revealed that the same plane had been delayed coming to us because of mechanical issues as well. That should be a red flag. (I could also go into details about the hotel vouchers and flight rebooking process–staffed by one–that awaited many of my fellow passengers, but I’m tired of this. At least they weren’t as bad as Aer Lingus.)

I ended up having to cancel my entire trip to the China SF conference. (A 19 hour flight with connections that had me arriving as the conference ended didn’t work for me, oddly enough.)

I am very disappointed not to be there and send my regrets to everyone I hoped to meet. It looked like it was going to be a great time and judging by the snippets and photos that have reached me so far, it look like it has been.

For their part in this mess, United offered me two travel vouchers. The first was laughable, but the second, while not great, was just good enough. I have another flight to China later this month and this might just get me a decent seat upgrade. Failing that, it could cover another flight I have planned in early 2020.

I was supposed to give a talk on International Science Fiction at the convention and had spent some time putting it all together. A few people there have asked about it, so I may record a voice-over for the slides and put it up on YouTube when I have some time.

 
I’ll be attending Philcon in Cherry Hill, NJ from November 8th-10th. Here’s my schedule:

Genre Publications in 2019
Fri 7:00 PM in Plaza III (Three) (1 hour)
[Panelists: Ty Drago (mod), Alex Shvartsman, Dina Leacock, Julie Ann Dawson, Neil Clarke]

Ask a Small Publisher
Sat 12:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour)
[Panelists: Marc Histand (mod), Brian Koscienski, Neil Clarke, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Alex Shvartsman, Michael Hanson]

Meet the Editors
Sat 10:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
[Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail (mod), Mike McPhail, Ty Drago, April Grey, Gordon Linzner, Neil Clarke]

Autographs: Sam Delany, Gordon Linzner, Neil Clarke
Sun 12:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Promenade (Gaming) (1 hour)

NOTE: Due to my flight being cancelled and an inability to book a replacement flight that would get me there in time, I’ve had to cancel this trip. I am very disappointed and send my apologies to everyone. Should be a fantastic conference and I hope everyone has a great time.

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I’ll be taking two trips to China over the next month. The first will take me to the China Science Fiction Conference 2019, held November 2-3 in the Garden Expo Park in Fengtai District, Beijing. It will be a short trip, but I expect to have a day of sightseeing before I return home. I’ll talk more about the second trip later.

Schedule (subject to change)

November 2nd
9:40-10:20 Interview
13:00-14:00 Interview
5:00-15:30 @ Storycom Table (number 07) Signing
Evening, Welcome Banquet held by CAST

November 3rd
Morning, Opening Ceremony
Afternoon, Presentation (The Future of SF is International)