I’ve participated in hundreds of panels during my decades of going to conventions, but the two I took part in yesterday at Awesome Con (sponsored by the Museum of Science Fiction) were a first, in that I can say, without fear of contradiction, that all the other panelists were far more qualified than me to speak on the topics at hand. They’re actual scientists, you see, dedicated to making real the technologies of which we spoke, while I’m but a writer of fiction, who takes what they’re doing in life and tries to imagine what implications their reality might have 50, 100, 1,000 years down the road.

My morning panel was 3D Printing: Replicating Success, on which I pontificated with Mason Peck, PhD (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University), Nathan Castro (PhD Candidate at GW’s Lab for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering), Lewis Sloter, PhD, PE (Associate Director of Materials & Structures at US Department of Defense), and Jamie Gurganus, PhD (Associate Director of Engineering Education Initiatives at UMBC).

See what I mean about feeling outclassed? (more…)

There were many wonderful moments during last weekend’s Balticon, such as my reading, and the podcast I recorded with Brian Keene (about which more later), but the panel I enjoyed most was Saturday’s “Tales from the Slush Pile,” during which I shared a few intriguing letters I received while editing Science Fiction Age from 1992-2000. (I almost wrote “amusing” rather than “intriguing,” but I was not at all amused by the writer who threatened that if I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d behave like Carlos the Jackal.)

One of those letters, a response to one of the approximately 800 rejections I was forced to send out each month, was not only my favorite such response, but was so popular with the audience I thought it worth sharing here.

And so, in the video below, you can hear me read the only response to a Science Fiction Age rejection I ever liked … as well as offer a few words of advice.

I wish I could have shared the laughter and applause as well which attended my performance of this letter Saturday night, but as they say, you had to be there.

I told you the other day where you’d be able to find me at Balticon, which is coming up this weekend, but there have been a few changes to programming, so instead of being able to catch me on three items Saturday and two Sunday, it’s now the other way around.

Here’s my new and improved agenda—

Tales from the Slush Pile
Saturday, May 23, 8:00 p.m.
Join our panel of editors as they read some of the worst stories to grace their desks.
with Scott H. Andrews, Rosemary Edghill, and Joshua Bilmes

What’s so Great About the Undead?
Saturday, May 23, 9:00 p.m.
A panel/roundtable discussion about why zombies and other undead creatures have such enduring popularity.
with Larry Hodges (moderator), Christiana Ellis, Gary L. Lester, and Jay Smith

Reading
Sunday, May 24, 2:00 p.m.
with Stephen Granade

Autographing
Sunday, May 24, 3:00 p.m.
with Rosemary Edghill and Tom Doyle

What Makes a Story Long-Lived?
Sunday, May 24, 6:00 p.m.
Discuss stories that are remembered, quoted, redone long after publication.
with Jack Campbell/John Hemry, Steve Lubs, Darrell Schweitzer, and Robert Waters

Hope to see you there!

Balticon is coming up this weekend at the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Will you be there? If so, here’s the programming on which you’ll able to find me.

Reading as a Writer
Saturday, May 23, 2:00 p.m.
How do writers interact with fiction they’re reading? How do you read not only for pleasure, but to improve your craft?
with Bugsy Bryant (moderator), Sarah Avery, Katie Bryski, Stephanie Burke, Jack Campbell/John Hemry, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Tim Dodge, Gary L Lester, Jack McDevitt, Sunny Moraine, Hugh J O’Donnell, Scott Roche, James Daniel Ross, Hildy Silverman, Jay Smith, Chris Snelgrove, Steven R Southard, Jean Marie Ward, and Trisha J Wooldridge

Tales from the Slush Pile
Saturday, May 23, 8:00 p.m.
with Scott H Andrews, Joshua Bilmes, Rosemary Edghill

What’s So Great About the Undead?
Saturday, May 23, 9:00 p.m.
A panel/roundtable discussion about why zombies and other undead creatures have such enduring popularity
with Larry Hodges (moderator), Stephanie Burke, and Gary L Lester

Autographing
Sunday, May 24, 3:00 p.m.
with Rosemary Edghill and Tom Doyle

What Makes a Story Long-Lived?
Sunday, May 24, 6:00 p.m.
Discuss stories that are remembered, quoted, redone long after publication.
with Steven R Southard (moderator), Jack Campbell/John Hemry, Darrell Schweitzer, Robert Waters, Jeff Young, and Steve Lubs

I hope to see you there!

I had such a great time at last year’s Awesome Con that I decided to do it all over again. So three weeks from tomorrow, on Saturday, May 30, I’ll be back at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. to pontificate at Awesome Con 2015.

I’ll be taking part in the following panels sponsored by the Museum of Science Fiction and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office—

3D Printing: “Replicating” Success
11:30 a.m.
The idea of a machine making what you want, when you want it, is common in science fiction. From The Diamond Age’s matter compilers to Star Trek’s replicators, the future promises the perfect cup of Earl Grey without waiting to heat the water. Scientists working at the cutting-edge of 3D printing technology (a.k.a. additive manufacturing) will discuss the real future possibilities of this science fiction trope. Perhaps we are a long way off from printing an entire being like in The Fifth Element, but 3D printing of organs and tissues for transplant is already under development. Astronauts and soldiers might not be ordering their favorite tea, but field-printed meals ready to eat (MREs) customized to a warfighter’s nutritional needs by way of a wearable sensor is already on the horizon.

Nanotechnology: Fact from Fiction
4:45 p.m.
Could Tony Stark really take a bullet in the face and be protected by transparent graphene? Could a ship heal itself without Cylon organic resin? Could nanobots repair my broken leg or would that rob the Universe of energy? These are the types of questions scientists will answer during Nanotechnology – Fact from Fiction. An integral part of this panel is allowing the audience time to engage with the scientists. As such, each panelist will discuss the reality behind nanotechnology-specific pop culture references. Then the real fun begins. Audience members can share their thoughts, questions, and expectations about nanotechnology with the experts.

And in-between those two panels, you can find me on the exhibit floor, where I hope to track down a few old Marvel Comics Bullpen buddies who I haven’t caught up with in decades, such as Ron Wilson.

I looking to seeing (some of) you there!

Sam Maronie continues to be my personal time machine. After turning up old cosplay photos of me bare-chested and wielding a broadsword, he’s now shared something far more horrifying.

I mean, would you take a look at that shirt!

I completely understand why Don Perlin, the artist for my Captain Midnight Action Book for Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, can be seen averting his eyes.

This pic is from the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention. I was 20 years old. Remind me to tell you sometime how a 20-year-old kid ended up in charge of programming and putting together the program book for Marvel’s first convention …

I’ve shared photos of a much younger, costumed me before, but considering the recent brouhaha stirred up by Pat Broderick’s denunciation of cosplayers, which was followed by other comics pros, such as Marv Wolfman, supporting cosplay and offering their own costumed pics, I figured it was time to give you another glimpse of my broadsword and my bare chest.

Sam Maronie, who runs the always entertaining site Sam Maronie’s Entertainment Funhouse, took a ton of con pics in the old timey days, which is surprising, because I’d’ve thought my mug would have broken his camera. In any event, he recently sent along some images of me as a generic barbarian from the 1974 Creation Convention at New York’s Hotel Commodore. (more…)

It’s been two weeks since Capclave, which means I’m violating Edelman’s First Rule of Convention Reporting by waiting this long to tell you about my experience. You remember the rule, don’t you? It’s that all convention reporting has to take place while a con is still happening, not merely after the fact, because it’s not enough that I be having a wonderful time—you’ve got to know that I’m having a wonderful time and be grumbling because you’re not with me having a wonderful time, too.

But bandwidth around here being what it is, I had to wait until the following weekend while I was traveling to upload my Capclave videos, and then we had friends visiting this week who only just left, which means it’s a rule that in this instance had to be broken.

Anyway, here’s what the weekend of October 10th through the 12th was like for me …

On Friday, my first panel was at 4:00 p.m.—”The League of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five”—during which we were to talk about the B- and C-level superheroes we loved, and I arrived about a half an hour before it was to begin. The ones I reminisced about the most were The Prankster, a one-shot back-up feature from Charlton with overtones of Harlan Ellison’s “”Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman,” and Brother Power the Geek, about a mannequin brought to life and given superpowers after being struck by lighting, who then lives among hippies. But I also talked up Matter-Eater Lad as well, a hero after my gastronomic heart.

My next panel wasn’t to be until 9:00 p.m.—”Ending Stories – Bang or Whimper?”—and you’d think that would leave me enough time for dinner. But instead, dinner didn’t leave me enough time for my panel! I went with friends to a nearby restaurant where the service was so slow that a meal which should have taken less than two hours took more than three. And since I was a passenger for this outing, rather than a driver, it meant I didn’t arrive back at Capclave until 15 minutes before that panel was to end. Thanks to Twitter, I was able to send out an alert using the Capclave hashtag that I wouldn’t be joining the panel, but still, I felt bad. I guess I learned my lesson—no more dinners at the Golden Bull on Friday nights!

My final panel that day was at 11:00 p.m.—”Why Do We Like Being Scared?” (And no, it’s not the latest panel I’ve ever done. Sometimes I’ve pontificated past midnight.) There was much talk of zombies. I also put out there that it might be my luck in having had a happy, untraumatized childhood which allows for me to be scared without being triggered. It’s a privilege I’ll have to consider in more depth later.

A little past midnight, I headed home. I rarely stay overnight at local cons such as Capclave and Balticon, preferring to pay for hotels only when the event isn’t drivable, even though that can lead to commutes of anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. So I arrived home around two in the morning, and then by 10:30 a.m. Saturday, I was back on the road again … (more…)

Capclave begins two weeks from today, and a preliminary draft of the program has just been released. If you can spare time from following around the three Guests of Honor—Paolo Bacigalupi, Holly Black, and Genevieve Valentine—and would rather see me pontificate, here’s where you’ll tentatively be able to find me—

The League of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five
Friday, October 10, 4:00 p.m.
While many people are familiar with Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, the X-Men, and the Justice League; Marvel and DC have many other second and third tier superheroes. When DC started the Vertigo line, they had some success with reviving more obscure characters in a newer, darker, often antiheroic persona. This brought them both success (Sandman) and failure (Kid Eternity anyone?). Which more obscure and or silly DC and Marvel superheroes would you like to see revived and revamped? For instance, the Head of Programming believes it’s time for a revival of ‘mazing man, Queen’s own superhero.
with Robert Greenberger, L. Jagi Lamplighter, James Maxey, and Jay Smith

Ending Stories – Bang or Whimper?
Friday, October 10, 9:00 pm
So many short stories start out well but end abruptly or just trail off, leaving the reader to wonder, what’s the point. Why does this happen and how can writers avoid this fate? How do you determine your endings? Is a twist ending a cheat?
with Pamela K. Kinney, Dina Leacock, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock, and Allen Wold

Why Do We Like Being Scared?
Friday, October 10, 11:00 pm
Fear probably developed as a survival mechanism. We fear things that might hurt us. Yet many read horror, go to slasher films, ride roller coasters, and climb cliffs. Why? What does this say about us and our psyches?
with Holly Black, Annette Klause, Dina Leacock, and Jon Skovron

Mass Signing
Saturday, October 11, 7:30 pm

Reading
Sunday, October 12, 1:30 pm
At which I’ll try to read my most recently sold story without crying …

Hope to see you there!

And be warned that at some point during the convention, there will be durian.

As I was preparing to add my photos from Loncon3 to my Flickr albums, I realized I still hadn’t uploaded last month’s Readercon pics. And so …

… if you’d like to see me with David Kyle, who attended the first science fiction convention in 1936, as well as 42 other photos, you can check them out here.

And just in case you’re worried—no, you won’t be forced to look at food pics!