Balticon 45 ran from Friday through Monday, but as usual for this local con, I only attended for a single day, Saturday. But on that day, I managed to squeeze in three panels, a reading, an autograph session, and on top of that—a durian feast!

My 1:00 p.m. panel, “Fantastic Books Presents,” was hosted by Ian Randal Strock, owner of (you guessed it) Fantastic Books, which published my collection of science fiction short stories, What We Still Talk About. While Ian explained why he does what he does, a few of his authors (me, Walter H. Hunt, and Daniel Kimmel) talked up our books, and actually managed to sell a few copies.

At 2:30, I read my short story “Goobers,” which originally appeared in The Book of More Flesh and was collected in my all-zombie collection What Will Come After. You were probably not there, but in case you wish you were, my performance has been preserved below.

Immediately following my reading, I rushed to the 3:00 p.m. panel, “Name-Droppers,” during which I was supposed to talk about my “personal contacts with the field’s departed giants,” along with Michael Swanwick and Ian Randal Strock. I shared anecdotes about my early encounters with Gordon Dickson, Nelson Bond, and Ted Sturgeon, while Michael talked about R. A. Lafferty and Ian discussed meeting Isaac Asimov. But mentioning only the dead turned out to be a bit depressing, so we moved on to sharing our stories of the living, too. (Including an extremely embarrassing encounter I had with Chip Delany when I was only 17.) (more…)

When I arrive at Balticon tomorrow, I will be bearing two durian with me. If you’re not familiar with this exotic fruit, you should know that it is banned on public transportation and in many hotels in Singapore, ingesting one has been described as like “eating custard in a sewer,” and I’ve read that, “You can kill a person by throwing a durian at his head. It’s just like a ball of spikes.”

Take a look at a boy and his durian. You’ll note that due to those lethal spikes, I’m holding it with a leather glove.

What else do you need to know about durian? How about the fact that it has thrice defeated Andrew Zimmern, the host of Bizarre Foods, eater of everything from lamprey to bats to stinky tofu? Check out one of his failures below.

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If you’ll be heading to Balticon this weekend, and would like some advice on where to eat, I can think of no better guide than Adam Richman of Man v. Food. He hasn’t steered me wrong yet. So check out his Baltimore episode below, and think about whether you want to tag along to Chaps Charcoal Restaurant when I put out the call.

Haven’t decided whether I’ll make that trip before or after I carve up the durian, though …

Balticon begins Friday, and now that the pocket program has been released, I can finally let you know where to find me.

So if you’re up for my particular brand of pontificating, here’s where you’ll be able to get a hefty dose of my hot air.

Fantastic Books Presents
Saturday, 1:00 PM
Moderator: Ian Randal Strock; Panelists: Scott Edelman, Walter H. Hunt, Daniel Kimmel
Fantastic Books is a publisher of quality new and reprint speculative fiction. Some of our authors have been publishing and winning awards for decades. Others are brand new, and welcoming the arrival of their first books. Publisher Ian Randal Strock will present the titles he’s recently published, try to explain why “Animythical Tales” and “Jar Jar Binks Must Die” are the company’s two best-selling books, and reveal the exciting books coming in the future. He may also be available to discuss small press publishing with potential authors.

Name-Droppers
Saturday, 3:00 PM
Moderator: Scott Edelman; Panelists: Ian Randal Strock, Thomas B. Talbot, Phil Giunta, Michael Swanwick
Our panelists tell their most colorful stories about their personal contacts with the field’s departed giants. What were they really like?

Fans And Writers
Saturday, 6:00 PM
Moderator: Carl Cipra; Panelists: Michael D’Ambrosio, Scott Edelman, Douglas C. Fratz, Neal Levin
A panel of writers, fans and publishers discuss the pluses and minuses of the sometimes close relation between the creators of SF and its readers.

Autographing
Saturday, 7:00 PM
Scott Edelman, John C. Wright and Izolda Trakhtenberg

Unfortunately, even though I’d indicated early on that I was only going to show up either Saturday OR Sunday, I’ve been mistakenly scheduled for both. And since I’m only finding this out after the pocket program has been printed, without getting a chance to vet my schedule, and they’ve got me down for a Sunday night reading I won’t be at the con for, I’ll end up disappointing some folks.

Sorry about that!