From Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ will play host to the 78th annual convention of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society… Philcon 2015!
The goodly organizers of Philcon have once again, for reasons beyond my ken, invited me to be a guest at their annual shindig, so if you attend you get to see me.
No, wait! Come back! There are other people there, too!
But if, for some reason, you do want to pop by and say hi (Atlantic-Cape students, I — and five extra credit points — am looking at you), this is my schedule:
Friday, November 20
7:00-8:00 p.m. — Autograph Table: I’ll have copies of New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, The Sacred Scrolls: Comics on the Planet of the Apes, Gotham City 14 Miles, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a few copies of A Long Time Ago: Exploring the Star Wars Cinematic Universe. Come by, buy a copy, and get a signature for free! Or stop by and say hi, and get an autograph on anything you’ve got for free! Unless you’re a process server. Then I ain’t signing a thing. Barring that, though, just stop by. Please. And bring coffee.
Saturday, November 21
1:00-2:00 p.m. in Plaza IV — USING LANGUAGE CREATIVELY (2126)
Panelists: A.T. Greenblatt (mod), Christie Meierz, Lawrence M. Schoen, Joseph Berenato, L Hunter Cassells
From Hemingway’s spareness to Lovecraftian atmospheric density to Chandleresque similes, there are a variety of ways language can be used to enhance the worlds you write. How do language and syntax choices affect the way a story is perceived?
5:00-6:00 p.m. in Plaza II — THINGS YOU SHOULD READ (BUT DON’T KNOW ABOUT YET) (2226)
Panelists: Fran Wilde (mod), Dena Heilik, Joseph Berenato, Alex Shvartsman
Not every amazing book is a best-seller. Whether it’s an unsung classic or a recent author, come talk about the fiction you’ve found that, strangely, nobody else seems to be talking about.
Sunday, November 22
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Crystal Ballroom Three –THE CHANGING FACE OF PUBLISHING (2123)
Panelists: Sally Wiener Grotta (mod), Russ Colchamiro, Joseph Berenato, Ian Randal Strock, Alex Shvartsman
How is it moving away from the conventional New York publishing scene? There are so many alternatives today (Crowd-sourcing, small presses, independent publishers and non-print electronics) Will the big publishers be left in the lurch?
1:00-2:00 p.m. in Plaza V (Five) — FANS, FICTION, AND THE FORMATIVE YEARS (2076)
Panelists: Lynati (mod), Tony Finan, Victoria Janssen, Joseph Berenato
What stories made you first realize something new about yourself? When mainstream media doesn’t depict the kind of person you are, where do you turn to find characters you identify with?
***
So there you have it. That’s where you’ll find me next weekend. On top of that, I’ll be sure to be floating around the con floor, so if you see me don’t be afraid to approach. I probably won’t bite. Unless I haven’t had coffee. Then I might. So maybe you might want to have some extra with you, just in case.
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