Readercon—which has been my favorite convention for more than a quarter of a century—is right around the corner, running from July 9 through 12 in Burlington, Massachusetts. Here’s the programming where you’ll be able to find me.

Thursday, July 10, 9:00 p.m.
What Don’t We Read—and Why?
If all of the signals—the reviews, the blurbs, the cover, the author, the publisher—suggest you’d hate a particular book, is that sufficient reason to pass on it? Have you ever tried to read something you thought you’d despise and realized that you loved it? Do you give every book a certain number of pages to win you over, or feel obligated to finish any book you start? If a certain critic praises something, does that make you want to run the other way? We’ll discuss these and many other ways not to read a book.
with Stacey Friedberg, Natalie Luhrs, Sarah Smith (leader), and Patty Templeton.

Friday July 11, 4:00 p.m.
Reading
I’ll be reading my unpublished short story “The Pillow of Disappointment and What Was Found Beneath It.”

Friday July 11, 8:00 p.m.
Dealing with Discouragement
As writers, we learn very early on to handle rejection, but how do you handle it when a story you’re sure is good is rejected by 20 different publications? Or when your carefully crafted novel is shrugged off by five different agents? Or your self-published novella is bought by only 25 people, all of them friends and relatives? Or your fantasy novel disappears from public view after a couple of weeks? We’ll explore personal strategies to deal with disappointments, rejection, and other setbacks.
with Susan Bigelow, Michael J. Daley, Barbara Krasnoff (leader), and Shariann Lewitt.

And if you don’t catch me there, you can always find me hanging out in the halls or in the bar chatting non-stop. When I’m not in the audience watching the other programming, that is.

If you’d like to join me, it’s not too late. You can find more information here.

Hope to see you in two weeks!