The Glasgow Worldcon kicks off in eight days, and even though it’s in the future, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic … because it will mark the 50th anniversary of my first Worldcon, which I attended in Washington, D.C. in 1974.

You probably weren’t at that one, but if you’re going to be at this one, here’s where you can find me … when I’m not off hunting for donuts, recording episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast, or sitting in on panels absorbing the wisdom of others, that is! —

My First Time at Worldcon
Thursday, August 8, 2024, 2:30 p.m. (Argyll 2)
We have selected some fandom veterans, as well as recent Worldcon attendees, to share their stories of how they prepared for and how they experienced their first Worldcon. We hope you will get inspired for your first time at Worldcon.
with Emily January, Alan Fleming, Claire Brialey, and España Sheriff

The Art of the Interview
Thursday, August 8, 2024, 5:30 p.m. (Academy M4)
Many podcasts rely on interviews with creators, fans, and other interesting people. What makes a great podcast interview, and how do you learn the skills you need to put your guest at ease and make an entertaining podcast? And how should you approach being a podcast guest?
with Randee Dawn, Adrian M. Gibson, Janet Forbes, and Wendy Van Camp

Podcasts and Big Business
Thursday, August 8, 2024, 8:30 p.m. (Dochart 2)
Podcasts started as a niche hobby, ballooned into a media empire, and now we’re seeing stories that the business of podcasting is in decline. How has the rise of the podcasting industry affected the individual podcaster? Do you run your podcast as a small business or as a hobby you can monetise, and how do you keep your podcast finances sustainable? What are the benefits of joining a podcasting network, or do you prefer to do your own thing?
with Alan Bailey, Dan Moren, Marguerite Kenner, and Mur Lafferty

The Difficult Second Album
Friday, August 9, 2024, 10:00 a.m. (Alsh 1)
So you’ve started a podcast! You’ve got microphones and editing software and even a few listeners! What’s next? How do you keep your podcast exciting and build an audience? How do you measure success or failure? Does every podcaster want to keep growing their audience, or are you happy in your small niche?
with Ali Baker, Alison Scott, Luke Elliott, and Marguerite Kenner

Table Talk
Friday, August 9, 2024, 1:00 PM (Hall 4)

Stroll with the Stars
Monday, August 12, 2024, 9:00 a.m. (Outside Crowne Plaza)
Join your fellow convention members, and perhaps some big names, for a gentle stroll (1.3 miles/2km) around Festival Park, across the river from the SEC, led by Farah Mendlesohn and Mike Scott. The route is wheelchair-accessible, and we will adjust our pace to match the abilities of the slowest walkers. Sign up at the Registration Desk by 18:00 the previous day, and meet at 09:00 outside the Crowne Plaza hotel’s main entrance.

I hope to see you there!

Earlier today, the Chengdu Worldcon opened nominations for the Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. If you’re eligible to nominate this year, I hope you’ll take my 2022 short story publications into consideration — but I’d ask that you please consider Eating the Fantastic in the category of Best Fancast as well.

Last year, I invited you to eavesdrop on 27 meals with amazing creators, welcoming you to the continual culinary conversation I’ve been having since I attended my first convention at age 15.

Here are links to all 2023 episodes so you can decide whether the podcast — which I launched in February 2016 — is to your taste. Pick a guest who calls to you and join us at the table!

Breakfast on Eggs Benedict with Fonda Lee in Episode 162 of Eating the Fantastic

Dig into duck with Usman T. Malik in Episode 163 of Eating the Fantastic

Nibble noodles with Daryl Gregory in Episode 164 of Eating the Fantastic

Brunch with two-time Hugo Award nominee Natalie Luhrs in Episode 165 of Eating the Fantastic

Eat enchiladas with Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Paul Tremblay in Episode 166 of Eating the Fantastic

Share deep-fried wontons with Library of Congress curator Sara Duke in Episode 167 of Eating the Fantastic

Pig out on pork BBQ with Paul Witcover in Episode 168 of Eating the Fantastic

Chow down on butter chicken with Paul Kupperberg in Episode 169 of Eating the Fantastic

Uncover Alex Segura’s secret identity in Episode 170 of Eating the Fantastic

Join John Appel for a dry-aged burger in Episode 171 of Eating the Fantastic

Brunch with writer Steven R. Southard on Episode 172 of Eating the Fantastic

Share sushi with the award-winning writer Wen Spencer in Episode 173 of Eating the Fantastic

Grab dinner with Gwendolyn Clare during Episode 174 of Eating the Fantastic

Join David Gerrold for a breakfast buffet on Episode 175 of Eating the Fantastic

Dig into dumplings with Patrick O’Leary in Episode 176 of Eating the Fantastic

Catch up with Sam J. Miller over khachapuri in Episode 177 of Eating the Fantastic

Brunch on Eggs Benedict with Michael Jan Friedman in Episode 178 of Eating the Fantastic

Join writer David Ebenbach for cheesecake in D.C. on Episode 179 of Eating the Fantastic

Meet Max Gladstone for a Mexican meal in Episode 180 of Eating the Fantastic

Chow down with Wesley Chu in Episode 181 of Eating the Fantastic

Come to Chicago for lunch with Carol Tilley in Episode 182 of Eating the Fantastic

Dig into dim sum with the Nebula Award-winning Eileen Gunn in Episode 193 of Eating the Fantastic

Munch Carnitas Benedict with the award-winning Michael Swanwick in Episode 184 of Eating the Fantastic

Eavesdrop on Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki in Episode 185 of Eating the Fantastic

Bite into blood sausage with Tim Waggoner in Episode 186 of Eating the Fantastic

Dive into dim sum with Randee Dawn in Episode 187 of Eating the Fantastic

Take a seat at the table in Little Italy with Al Milgrom in Episode 188 of Eating the Fantastic

Should your eavesdropping entice you to listen to future episodes, subscribe at the iTunes store or via the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss to download them to the device of your choosing.

Thank you for your consideration!

Welcome back to another culinary conversation from the 80th World Science Fiction Convention, where you’ve already joined me for brunch with Wesley Chu and lunch with Carol Tilley.

My guest this time around is Eileen Gunn, who received the Nebula Award in 2005 for “Coming to Terms,” a story inspired, in part, by her friendship with Avram Davidson, about whom she’s working on a biography. She also won Japan’s Sense of Gender Award, and has been nominated for the Hugo, Philip K. Dick, Locus, and Tiptree awards. Her short story collections include Stable Strategies and Others (2004), Questionable Practices (2014), and most recently Night Shift Plus … , out earlier this year as part of the PM Press Outspoken Authors Series. From 2001-2008, she was editor and publisher of the influential webzine The Infinite Matrix. She served for 22 years on the board of directors for Clarion West, and taught there and at numerous other creative writing workshops. She also had a lengthy career in technical advertising and website management in Boston, Seattle, and New York.

We discussed how it’s possible to write when you always have writers block, the Ursula K. Le Guin story which convinced her she could have a career in science fiction, the two most important things she wants aspiring writers to know, her early advertising career writing funny ads for shoes she didn’t like, the reason she believes “I don’t decide what the story is until after I’ve finished it,” which famous science fiction writer wrote the box copy for Screaming Yellow Zonkers, the question Kate Wilhelm asked her at Clarion which unlocked the unknown ending of a story in progress, the way her years in the ad business helped her become a better writer, how Carol Emshwiller made her a person of interest with a sheriff’s department, what she said on a Worldcon panel which was so outrageous the audience had to be told she was joking, how Psychology Day magazine was almost sued over Frankenstein because they didn’t listen listen to my advice, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Chicago’s MingHin cuisine — (more…)

Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention, is just around the corner, and if you’d like to hear me pontificate while viewing the top half of my face — because the con has an excellent masking and vaccination policy, the only reason I’m willing to attend — here’s where you’ll be able to find me.

I’m on nine programming items this year. If you’ll be at Worldcon as well, I hope we’ll be able to interact during at least one of them.

Autographing
Thursday, September 1, 2022, 1:00 PM

Geek Pictionary!
Thursday, September 1, 2022, 4:00 PM, Grand Hall L
Come and draw your own conclusions with fellow nerds, geeks and SFFH fans as we get panelists to sketch selected prompts and the audience to decode what they’re trying to “say”! Does not require art talent, but panelists should be prepared to contribute prompts and be ready for an anything-goes atmosphere.
with Devo Spice, Joshua Palmatier, Polina Baron, and Randee Dawn

First Night Chicon Social
Thursday, September 1, 2022, 7:00 p.m., Wrigley
Whether you are new to Worldcon or a long-time attendee, come meet some new people. Say “hi”, share and learn useful con info and tips, and swap recommendations for visiting Chicago.
with Angeli Primlani and J. J. Styles

Living in a Zociety
Friday, September 2, 2022, 5:30 PM CDT, Crystal Ballroom A
The Walking Dead, Kingdom, Army of the Dead, Daybreak, and Anna and the Apocalypse are examples of zombie-populated societies. In such settings, the focus is more on the surviving humans and their fight for survival. But in order to succeed, survivors sometimes need to break social norms and do the unthinkable. Who are the real monsters? Humans or zombies?
with Daniel Kraus, Heshe Leontess, Kelly Robson, and Penelope Flynn

Understanding Podcast Production: Audio Recording
Saturday, September 3, 2022, 11:30 AM CDT, Grand Hall J
This panel will do a deep dive into the recording process, answering questions such as: What microphone do I need? How can I record if I don’t have a proper studio? Which online services help facilitate the scheduling and execution of the recording process? Our panelists will share their secrets and help you secure the highest quality audio with which to create your episodes.
with Bob J. Koester, Heath Miller, Peter Adrian Behravesh, and Ric Bretschneider

Finding Optimism and Comfort in Horror
Saturday, September 3, 2022, 5:30 PM CDT, Crystal Ballroom C
People read horror for all kinds of reasons. And while it might seem paradoxical, for some, horror fiction is a source of optimism and comfort. Where do these readings come from, and what are the writers and books that fit this niche?
with Tim Waggoner, Nino Cipri, Ruthanna Emrys, and Tananarive Due

Contextualizing Authorship
Sunday, September 4, 2022, 10:00 AM CDT, Randolph 2
The life and works of many SFF creators have been the subject of non-fiction works, from Julie Phillip’s James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Alec Nevala-Lee’s Astounding, and Abraham Riesman’s True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, to the two recent Robert Heinlein biographies by Farah Mendlesohn and William Patterson Jr. How do these works help us contextualise the life and works of creators who are still celebrated today?
with Lorelei Esther, Abraham Riesman, and Alec Nevala-Lee

Podcast Genres: The Zine
Sunday, September 4, 2022, 1:00 PM CDT, Grand Hall L
One of the most common “flavors” of podcast is “the Zine”, centered around the discussion of news and information pertaining to a specific facet of contemporary culture. Whether it’s reviews, news, interviews, or how to’s, the Zine feeds the public’s curiosity on the podcast’s area of expertise. This panel will see some the top podcasters describing their unique format within the genre, offer suggestions for how best to frame informational podcast content, and showcase some of their favorite examples of Podcast Zines.
with Alan Bailey, Mary Anne Mohanraj, and Ric Bretschneider

Table Talk
Monday, September 5, 2022, 1:00 PM, Crystal Foyer
Chat with writer, editor, and podcaster Scott Edelman about his 110+ published short stories (and surviving the several thousand rejection slips he received while making those sales), his years working at Marvel Comics, his Eating the Fantastic podcast, and more.

Hope to bump into you there!

It’s getting to be that time again, so if you’re eligible to nominate for the 2020 Hugo Awards, I invite you to check out my 20120 short story publications — but please also consider Eating the Fantastic in the category of Best Fancast as well.

Once March rolled around, and I was no longer able to travel to conventions and record episodes in restaurants, the nature of Eating the Fantastic changed. Now the nibbling occurred, not face-to-face across a table, but with hundreds or thousands of miles between me and my guests.

As I attempted to recapture the year we were supposed to have rather than the year we were given, sometimes we baked, and sometimes ordered takeout, sharing pizza, Weiner schnitzel, pappardelle, brownies, scones and more. In this new world, food continued to do what food always does — relax us, loosen our tongues, turn strangers into friends and bring friends even closer.

(more…)

The 78th World Science Fiction Convention is nearly here, and for the first time, when I say “here,” I mean everywhere, rather than just the chosen host city. Because due to the pandemic, the meatspace Worldcon in Wellington, New Zealand has gone virtual this year, which means you can attend from wherever you happen to be.

I’d hoped to be flying off to New Zealand right about now, where in addition to attending the con, I’d also record a few episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast. Though I can’t do the latter in the flesh, I’ve begun having long-distance meals with those I would have dined with in Wellington, such as Lee Murray. And as for the con itself, I’ll be participating in three panels and a reading, all via Zoom.

Would you like to catch my pontificating? If so, here’s my schedule, translated (correctly, I hope) to U.S. East Coast time —

Modern Short SF and Fantasy
July 29, Wednesday 9:00 p.m., Programme Room 1
More good SF short fiction is being published now than ever before, but does it have the same impact on the field? Is there a core set that everyone is reading, or do different audiences read different subsets? What are the best places to publish, and to find, the best short SF and fantasy?
with Charles Payseur, Daryl Gregory, Sheila Williams, and Neil Clarke

Reading
July 30, 2020, Thursday, 8:30 p.m., Reading Room 2

Fandom in the 1970s
July 31, Friday, 11:00 p.m., Programme Room 5
Fandom exploded in the 1970s. It became larger and more diverse, adding multiple conventions every weekend. Fanzines and APAs also exploded. Science fiction itself exploded in mass media with movies like Star Wars and Superman. What was fandom like in the wacky ’70s, and how has it changed over the decades since?
with Raewyn Nevin, Mark Loney, Gay Haldeman, and Parris McBride-Martin

Comics and Manga in the 21st Century
August 1, Saturday, 8:00 p.m., Programme Room 3
The fields of comics and manga continue to change and evolve, both in content and in the way they are marketed and sold. How has the field changed in the last 20 years? What are the best recent comics and manga? And how will Covid-19 impact the field?
with R.W.W. Greene, Ada Palmer, Jason Franks, and Queenie Chan

Hope to see you there!

Yesterday, CoNZealand opened nominations for the 2020 Hugo Awards. If you’re eligible to nominate this year, check out my my 2019 short story publications — but I’d ask that you please consider Eating the Fantastic in the category of Best Fancast as well.

During 2019, I invited you to eavesdrop on 41 guests across 27 episodes for 53+ hours of ear candy, attempting to replicate all the fun I’ve had since I attended my first convention at age 15 — and then started wandering off from those conventions for good meals with good friends. The only difference between then and now is — since February 2016, I’ve been inviting you to take a seat at the table and eavesdrop. (more…)

It’s time to say farewell to Dublin, because as far as this podcast is concerned, the 77th World Science Fiction Convention is finally about to end. I previously invited you along to sit in on a Javanese dinner with the Nebula Award-winning Lisa Tuttle, share crab and eel with the Hugo Award-winning Cheryl Morgan, and brunch on the delightfully named dish Breakfast of Champions with Arcade Award-winning Maura McHugh. As for this fourth and final episode recorded during Worldcon, I can’t think of a better guest to bring live for you on Halloween than the great horror writer Ramsey Campbell.

Ramsey published his H. P. Lovecraft-inspired first book of stories The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants in 1964 when he was only 18, and hasn’t stopped since. He’s a two-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a four-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, and a TWELVE-time winner of the British Fantasy Award. He’s also received lifetime achievement World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Awards, and was named a World Horror Grandmaster. Previous guest of the podcast T. E. D. Klein called his collection Demons by Daylight “perhaps the most important book of horror fiction since Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others.” High praise indeed!

We got together on the final day of Worldcon, long after the 4:30 p.m. closing ceremonies had ended. So instead of traipsing around to the usual dead dog parties, we had dinner at Rosa Madre, which I found via Eater’s list of the 38 Essential Dublin restaurants — where at one point as I looked across the table, it seemed as if he was nibbling on Cthulhu! (And sure, I know it was only baby octopus, and not the the Great Old One … but we horror writers like to dream.)

We discussed his early relationship with Arkham House editor and publisher August Derleth, who he might have been had he never discovered H. P. Lovecraft, how this master of unease is able to keep the sense of dread going for the length of a novel (hint: he’s not entirely sure himself), why he loves The Blair Witch Project, what it was like writing novels in the Universal monsters universe, how he felt when The Times listed The Doll That Ate its Mother as one of the silliest titles of 1987, how Twilight Zone editor T. E. D. Klein changed his life, our shared memories of the 1979 World Fantasy Convention, why he feels his attempts to write science fiction have been “clumsy,” the way he was made speechless on his first meeting with J. G. Ballard, why he admires Vladimir Nabokov, and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at Rosa Madre — (more…)

It’s time to return to Dublin for the third of four mealtime conversations recorded during the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, following my dinner last episode with the Nebula Award-winning Lisa Tuttle and lunch with the Hugo Award-winning Cheryl Morgan.

Maura McHugh and I first met during the 2007 Yokohama Worldcon, where I was introduced to her by former guest of the podcast Ellen Datlow as one of the students she’d met at Clarion West, which Maura had attended after receiving the Gordon R. Dickson Scholarship. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Jabberwocky, Doorways, Paradox, Goblin Fruit, and other magazines. She also writes comics, the most recent of which was The Dead Run, a five-issue Judge Anderson: PSI Division story for Judge Dredd Megazine. In 2015, she won Best Irish Writer of comic books in The Arcade Awards. She also published a book on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me through the Midnight Movie Monograph series from Electric Dreamhouse Press and PS Publishing. Her most recent short story collection The Boughs Withered (When I Told Them My Dreams) launched at the Dublin Worldcon.

Do you notice anything unusual about the photo of Maura from our brunch at Herb Street? Look closely.

I took half a dozen shots of Maura, and did not notice until later in the day that in every one of the images she’d been photobombed by previous guest of the show Sarah Pinsker, who was just finishing up her lunch in the same restaurant with another previous guest of the show, Sheila Williams.

Maura and I discussed how the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop sometimes makes people realize they shouldn’t be writers (and why that can sometimes be a good thing), how having lived in both Ireland and the U.S. affected her life and her writing, whether her attraction to dark fiction was ever a choice, what it was like getting to create comics in the Judge Dredd universe, how she decides whether ideas that pop into her head get transformed into comics or prose, her recent art project inspired by the works of Simone de Beauvoir, why she doesn’t speak much about works in progress on social media, what she learned pulling together the selections for her first short story collection, why Twin Peaks fascinated her so much she wrote a book about the show — and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at Herb Street — (more…)

It’s time to return to Dublin for the second of four mealtime conversations recorded during the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, following up on my dinner last episode with the Nebula Award-winning writer Lisa Tuttle.

This time around, you’re invited to lunch with Cheryl Morgan, who’s a four-time Hugo Award-winning science fiction critic and publisher — first as the editor of Emerald City, which won for Best Fanzine in 2004, followed by another for Best Fan Writer in 2009. She has also been the non-fiction editor of Clarkesworld magazine, for which she won her third and fourth Hugo Awards in 2010 and 2011. She is a director of San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions Inc., and a founder of the short-lived Association for the Recognition of Excellence in SF & F Translation. She is a co-chair of Out Stories Bristol and lectures regularly on both trans history and science fiction and fantasy literature. She’s also a Director of The Diversity Trust for whom she run trans awareness courses. She’s the owner of Wizard’s Tower Press.

We snuck away from Worldcon to Mr. Fox, which appeared not only on Eater’s list of the 38 Essential Dulbin Restaurants, but on Conde Nast Traveler’s list of 15 Best Dublin restaurants as well.

We discussed the only science fiction she was allowed to read in school as a kid, why she preferred American Marvel Comics over the British comics of her youth (and how she considers Jean Grey her big sister), the way Dungeons & Dragons made 10 years of her life disappear, how helping out on a Worldcon bid led to her meeting one of the most important people in her life, the reason deciding to go digital infuriated fanzine fandom, the legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, how she hid behind the sofa while watching the first episode of Doctor Who (and which was her favorite Doctor), the unfortunate reason she stopped publishing her Hugo Award-winning fanzine, why I’m to blame (in part) for her first encounter with science fiction, whether the Retro Hugo awards do what they’re intended to do, the pre-history of robotics before R.U.R., the difficulties in judging the best translated work — and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at Mr. Fox — (more…)