Only 10 days before this year’s Capclave kicks off, where in addition to recording several episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast, I’ll be on five programing items.

If you’ll also be in Rockville next weekend, here’s where you’ll be able to find me!

Great Over-Expectations: Do authors assume too much of their readers?
Friday, October 2nd, 5:00 p.m., Monroe
Genre fiction often assumes its readers have certain knowledge/experience with select tropes from its readers, but does this limit their audience?  Are writers missing an opportunity to attract more sporadic spec-fic readers by assuming everyone knows about FTL or what a faun looks like? How can writers include enough information for readers new to the genre without boring experienced readers? Or should there be starter lit for those new to the genre? 
with Drema Deòraich, Jack Campbell, Melissa Scott, and Cerece Rennie Murphy

What tangled webs we weave …
Friday, October 2nd,, 8:00 p.m., Eisenhower
Love is never as simple as people like to think. Monogamy and other traditional relationship structures are coming increasingly under critical review today in the 21st century, and we are seeing a growing acceptance of non-traditional relationships and families.  With the rise in acceptance for polyamory and other forms of ethical non-monogamy, along with found families, how do you adapt traditional romantic arcs and tropes to reflect, and extrapolate these trends in SFF?  What works do it well and which don’t
with Apurva Desai (M), Jennifer R. Povey, and Zack Be

Experimenting with New Forms of Writing
Saturday, October 3rd, 10:00 a.m., Monroe
There is more than one way to tell a story. Angel Down is considered a horror novel, it just won the Pulitzer Prize, and it’s all one ongoing sentence. What are some ways for writers to rethink story structure? How can writers experiment with different forms without it getting in the way of the story?  Are readers willing to read literary experiments? Are genre readers more or less willing to experiment than are readers of “literary” fiction? And how would publishers/agent market stories written in new formats?
with Dominick Rabrun, Nino Cipri, Zach Be, and Lawrence M. Schoen

Stories that Aren’t or Are They?
Sunday, October 4th, 11:30 a.m., Monroe
Must a story have a plot? Is it critical to have some form of conflict that’s resolved by the end of the story in order for it actually be a story? Some published stories are just lists of various things with description. Must a story have characters? What about action? What makes something a story instead of just a collection of words and how far can writers push those boundaries? Why are these “maybe” stories becoming mainstream? What makes them attractive to readers and get them nominated for awards?
with Scott H. Andrews (M), Matthew Kressel, Nino Cipri, and Joshua Palmatier

Author Reading
Sunday, October 4th, 1:30 p.m., Wilson
Perhaps I’ll read a piece of my upcoming Lightspeed story.

I hope to see you there!