Looking forward to Lunacon this weekend. After some discussion about my schedule, it has settled out as…
Reward Is It’s Own Success
Saturday 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Genre awards and contests are their own reward, but they are also designed to encourage excellence in genre fiction. What are some of these awards and how do they help new writers get recognized? Do they truly help bring new talent into the spotlight or is the message lost in the noise?
Neil Clarke, Esther Friesner, Jeff Lyman, John Grant [M], Andrew Porter
To E- or Not to E-
Saturday 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
A lively (and hopefully friendly!) discussion between print and epublishers as they discuss the merits and flaws of both kinds of publishing as well as the effect e-publishing can have on the industry, both now and in the future.
Neil Clarke, Jean Elizabeth Krevor, Edmund Meskys, Lawrence M. Schoen, Hildy Silverman [M]
Size Doesn’t Matter: The Impact of Small Genre Press
Saturday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
More and more authors are getting their start in small press publications, and more established writers are contributing to small press to broaden their audience. What are the benefits and detriments of small press publishing? Where do you find good small press? Can you, should you, start your own?
Neil Clarke, Lawrence M. Schoen, Ian Randal Strock, Michael Walsh [M], Gordon Van Gelder
Short Fiction and Its 9 Lives
Saturday 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Though some have been predicting its demise for years, why hasn’t short fiction died yet? Are we really entering into a new golden age for short fiction?
James Chambers, Neil Clarke [M], Keith DeCandido, Marvin Kaye, Ian Randal Strock
Butchering Your Own Baby
Sunday 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
For many people, editing can be the most difficult part of the writing process. How do we go about editing our work?
Ellen Asher, Neil Clarke [M], Nathan Lilly, Ian Randal Strock, Ben Yalow
The Future of Genre Fiction Magazines
Sunday 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Genre magazines have been a vital lifeline for science fiction and fantasy authors to get their work to the public. But in a changing world increasingly filed with technology, what does the future hold? Which magazines are likely to survive the economic downturn, and why? Are there still enough readers out there to keep these magazines publishing?
Neil Clarke, Edmund Meskys, Hildy Silverman [M]
See some of you there!
cuddlycthulhu
As a person who’d like to improve their writing, it’s been suggested that going to some conventions and attending panels and workshops might be a way to do that. Do you have any suggestions?
wyrmadmin
Have you considered something like Clarion, Viable Paradise, OWW, or a local writing group? As for conventions, it sounds like you should focus on ones that are more literary in focus. Several of those offer writing workshops. What state are you in? I might be able to suggest some.
I go to cons because of the people I meet there. My daily life doesn’t have many like-minded people in it, so I find it an enjoyable change of pace.
cuddlycthulhu
I did apply to Clarion this year and, unfortunately, didn’t get in (really wanted to meet GRRM, Jeff, and Anne). I looked into Viable Paradise but that requires having a novel manuscript (or a big chunk of one) and I don’t have that ready for this year. What’s OWW?
I live in California but I could travel up to Washington or the states bordering it easily.
I go to cons because of the people I meet there. My daily life doesn’t have many like-minded people in it, so I find it an enjoyable change of pace.
Ah, that makes sense. So, many of the cons you go to are for social reasons, not necessarily just “business”.
wyrmadmin
OWW is the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. You can find them at http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/
Unfortunately, I’m not as familiar with cons on that side of the country. I’ve heard good things about Norwescon, but haven’t attended. I don’t get to many cons outside driving distance from NJ. Maybe someone here can chime in and suggest something.
Con-going didn’t start as a social thing for me. That’s a very recent change. I quit going to cons for about 10 years before being pulled back in. I’m a bit of an introvert and going by myself wasn’t working.
cuddlycthulhu
Thank you for conversation and the link, I’ll check it out.
Well, not sure if/when I’ll make it over to that side of the country but if I do attend a con there I’ll say hello. Which cons do you recommend over that way?
wyrmadmin
Anytime!
Most of the regional cons here are pretty good, but Readercon suites me the best. I have a definite preference for the literary cons.
safewrite
That’s quite a schedule! Sorry I will not be there this year due to the move. Are you coming to Balticon?
wyrmadmin
Yeah and there were two others on the original schedule!
Sorry to hear you won’t be there this year. Unfortunately, finances prevent me from doing Balticon this year. I can commute to Lunacon, so it costs next to nothing to attend.
safewrite
I hear you. My brother-in-law and in-laws live in the Baltimore area, or Balticon would be out of the question for me, too.