I know, I know. Readercon’s more than a week behind me in the rear-view mirror, and I’m only just now getting around to posting my final video from the event. It violates Edelman’s Rule of Convention Reporting, which requires that all write-ups, photos, and videos be shared as contemporaneously as possible, to increase the schadenfreude of those who couldn’t make it.

But you’ll forgive me, won’t you? I’m hopeful this last bit of video will allow you to do so.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to capture this 10:00 a.m. panel, since Saturday night’s dinner (which I promise I’ll tell you about next) didn’t have me getting to sleep until around 2:30 a.m. But I forced myself awake because, hey, Readercon only comes around once a year, and it would be shame to surrender a panel to fatigue. So here’s “Books That Deserve to Remain Unspoiled,” featuring Jonathan Crowe, Gavin Grant, Gayle Surrette, Kate Nepveu, and Graham Sleight. Their mandate was—

In a 2013 review of Joyce Carol Oates’s The Accursed, Stephen King stated, “While I consider the Internet-fueled concern with ‘spoilers’ rather infantile, the true secrets of well-made fiction deserve to be kept.” How does spoiler-acquired knowledge change our reading of fiction? Are some books more “deserving” of going unspoiled than others? If so, what criteria do we apply to determine those works?

And here’s the panel itself!

After an hour of schmoozing and signing more books (for the first time ever, an equal number of copies of my zombie and science fiction collections were sold this weekend; zombie usually win), I attended David Shaw and B. Diane Martin’s presentation on the science of ice cream, which included—samples! (more…)

While visiting my mother in Florida today, I remembered that during a recent phone call, she’d mentioned the time my father had appeared on one of the magazine covers he’d designed when he was an art director for McGraw-Hill. Back when she’d told me that, I’d searched online for old issues of Coal Age and Engineering and Mining Journal, two magazines I knew he’d worked on, but no matter how many I could turn up—no Dad.

Luckily, something made me remember that cover earlier today, so I asked her about it, and …

Which explains why I hadn’t been able to find the cover. I’d never even heard of National Petroleum News!

Dad would have been around 44 years old there, and coming face to face with him in a photo I’d never seen before got me all choked up. In fact, I almost (but not quite) burst into tears.

It’s been more than five years since I lost Dad, but I still miss him.

And I’m not alone. As my search results show, I’m not the only one missing a father.

Will you be in London next month for Loncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention? I’ll be there from Thursday, August 14 through Monday, August 18—along with (if estimates are correct) more than 10,000 others.

The programming committee has just released the final schedule, so if you’d like to track me down in that wretched hive of scum and villainy, take note of my official appearances.

Don’t Tell Me What To Think: Ambiguity in SF and Fantasy
Friday 10:00 – 11:00, Capital Suite 1 (ExCeL)
What does ambiguity (of setting, plot, identity, and so on) bring to a work of fantastic fiction? How is ambiguity created, and what effect does it have? Does it always work? Can a story be too ambiguous? The panel will discuss stories by [THIS WILL BE SHARED LATER], exploring exactly how they achieve their effects, and asking what divides a satisfyingly ambiguous story from an unsatisfying one.
with David Hebblethwaite (M), Nina Allan, and Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Stroll with the Stars
Saturday 09:00 – 10:00, Front of Aloft (ExCeL)
This will be a nice morning stroll with some of our favourite Authors, Artists and Editors. (And we stress, “stroll” – def: a leisurely walk. This will not be a heart-pounding aerobic activity, it will be a stroll). Join us for some fresh air, a healthy stroll and some good conversation. A leisurely mile – which will take a little more than a half hour but less than an hour. Strolls will leave at 9AM from in front of the Aloft Hotel, and will return by 10AM, rain or shine.
with Edward James, Robin Hobb, John Chu, Bill Fawcett, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Jody Lynn Nye, Jeff VanderMeer, Ann Vandermeer

Old New Classics: The Off-Beat and Indie Comics of Yore
Saturday 13:30 – 15:00, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL)
When people discuss the Golden Age and Silver Age of Comics the conversation is often dominated by the emergence of the superhero in both DC and Marvel. However, from its inception comics were always a fertile breeding ground for fun, weird, and alternative stories. What influential, under-appreciated comics from the past deserve a higher profile today? What kind of comics would people like to see more of now, that were plentiful in the past? Are we more progressive in comics today, or re-learning to embrace the medium?
with Smuzz, Allan J. Sim, Peter Sutton, Barbara G.Tarn

In Space No One Can Hear You Ink: The Best SF Comics
Sunday 12:00 – 13:30, London Suite 2 (ExCeL)
What science fiction comic book titles have expanded the genre, given us gorgeous visuals, and memorable story lines How have sf comics developed from Flash Gordon, Dan Dare, Astro Boy, through to Akira, and The Ballad of Halo Jones, and what’s currently revving everyone’s rocket ship: Saga, Ghost in the Shell, 2000AD, Lazarus, etc.
with Jon Wallace, Adrian (Ade) Brown, Phil Foglio, Anne Ghesquiere Sakuya

Literary Beer: Scott Edelman
Monday 10:00 – 11:00, The Bar (ExCeL)

And as for my unofficial appearances … just keep trolling the bar and wandering the parties, and you’re sure to find me!

I’d meant to tell you about Readercon Saturday on Sunday, the same way I shared about Readercon Thursday on Friday and Readercon Friday on Saturday, because I like to be as contemporaneous as possible in my con reporting. But Readercon was so packed with panels I wanted to see and people I wanted to chat with—far more than other cons—that I was unable to do so. And yesterday’s reentry into real life left no time either.

Today, on the other hand …

I began Saturday by attending, “When the Other Is You,” which featured panelists Chesya Burke, Samuel Delany, Sabrina Vourvoulias (leader), Peter Dubé, Mikki Kendall, and Vandana Singh. This was their mandate, per the official description.

Being part of an underrepresented group and trying to write our experience into our work can be tricky. We might have internalized some prejudice about ourselves, we might not have the craft to get our meaning across perfectly, and even if we depict our own experience totally accurately (as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie observed in her TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story”), we do so while struggling against the expectation that our experience is or isn’t “representative” or “authentic.” How do we navigate the pitfalls and responsibilities of being perceived as spokespeople? What potentially pernicious dynamics allow us that dubious privilege in the first place? Which works make us cringe with their representations of us, and which make us sigh with relief and recognition?

And here, for those who couldn’t be there, is the panel itself. Well worth watching in full. (more…)

First thing I did yesterday was to post Thursday’s Readercon videos, because I’d hoped to encourage you to get here today, but don’t worry—I then got out of my hotel room and quickly dove into the thick of things.

First up was the morning panel “Empathy, Identification, and Stories,” which featured Matthew Kressel, L. Timmel Duchamp (moderator), Julia Rios, Andrea Hairston, and Walt Williams.

Here’s what they set out to discuss.

At a panel at Arisia 2013, Andrea Hairston said, “I can only tell you a story if you’re a human who can hear a story and imagine what it’s like to be someone who isn’t you.” Tannanarive Due added that access to stories matters: some children, for instance, can easily find books about characters like themselves, while others have to read books from outside a position of identification. Culture creates structures of identification and empathy; or, to put it another way, ways of feeling from within and ways of feeling from without. How do stories create structures of feeling, and how can writers and readers both benefit from awareness of these structures?

And for those who couldn’t make it to Readercon, here’s the panel itself. (more…)

Another July, another Readercon!

Readercon is my favorite convention. I’ve been to every one since 1987. Well, save one, which I missed due to a conflict with San Diego Comic-Con, though some of you might remember than in order to prevent despair, I sent a stand-in. A stand-up stand-in. This year, thankfully, I was able to make it in the flesh.

As has been usual for the past decade, rather than fly to Boston and bus it to Burlington, I flew to Providence, where I spent the afternoon with Paul Di Filippo and Deb Newton, who drove me to the con. But the con really began at Dulles Airport, because Michael Dirda was on the same flight, and we were able to discuss Forever Amber, Henry Huggins, and Rick Brant’s Electronic Adventures without the need of a moderator or microphone.

In Providence, he and I and Paul and Deb were joined by John Clute and Liz Hand (seen with me below), also on the way to Readercon. So there was much fun (and lobster rolls!) before the con proper even began.

Once we arrived at the con, we took part in a massive group dinner which also included Peter Straub, Gary Wolfe, Kit Reed, plus the organizers of the meal, David Shaw and Diane Martin. And then at 8:00 p.m., the programming began … (more…)

I’ve already told you about my panels at Worldcon next month, but there’s one other official event where you’ll be able to find me—Stroll with the Stars.

For several years now, Stu and Stephen Segal, realizing that attending a Worldcon can be a bit too sedentary, have organized gentle morning walks to start each day off right. To encourage those who might not be that into walking, different guests participate each day as an incentive. Come for a chance to stroll beside one of your favorite writers, editors or artists, get a little exercise as a bonus!

I volunteered again this year, so you’ll be able to stroll with me if you’d like on Saturday, August 16 at 9:00 a.m.

Here’s the full schedule.

Friday, 9AM, meeting in front of Aloft
Stroll Leader — Edward James
Jeanne Gomoll, GOH
Lauren Beukes
Pat Cadigan
Paul Cornell
Andy Duncan
Ellen Datlow
Mary Anne Mohanraj

Saturday, 9AM, meeting in front of Aloft
Stroll Leader — Edward James
Robin Hobb, GOH
John Chu
Scott Edelman
Bill Fawcett
Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Jody Lynn Nye
Jeff VanderMeer
Ann VanderMeer

Sunday, 9AM, meeting in front of Aloft
Stroll Leader — Judith Clute
Cory Doctorow
Farah Mendlesohn
Joe Haldeman
Gay Haldeman
Mary Ann Mohanraj
Tricia Sullivan
Jonathan Strahan

If you’re heading to Worldcon, I hope to see you there.

It’s that time of the month again. June is over, so I can look back and see what my subconscious was doing that month while I slept. Popping up in the dreams I reported on Twitter were Philip Seymour Hoffman, Walter White, Mindy Kaling … and, as usual, many of my old comic book friends.

June 2014

I dreamt I was checking into a hotel, but was weirded out that registration was a hospital nursing station. What kind of room would I get? Jun 30

I dreamt I was Louis C.K., and was hired by a mob boss to pitch a softball game. I suspected something bad would happen to the losers. Jun 29

I dreamt a movie in which Philip Seymour Hoffman and Helen Hunt were scientists on a satellite trying to stop a meteor from striking Earth. Jun 28

I dreamt I asked @MindyKaling on a date, only when I picked her up, she’d transformed into @KChenoweth dressed like Glinda the Good Witch! Jun 27

I dreamt my wife and I were at a banquet where only Italian food was served and everyone but us had thick New Jersey accents. But … why? June 27

I dreamt I got into a fight with a guy during which I hit him in the jaw with my shotgun. Machine parts flew from his mouth! He was a robot! June 27

I dreamt my son and I were in the Breaking Bad universe, about to get in a jam with Walter White. But my boy managed to talk us out of it. June 27

I dreamt that due to a natural disaster we hosted college students in our house. They were ungrateful, upset we didn’t give them chocolates. June 26

I dreamt we were on an alien world, and heard the screams of a massacre in the distance, so locked ourselves in a cage where we’d be safe. June 26

I dreamt I drove down an alley and discovered life-sized mannequins dressed like superheroes, including one of the Martian Manhunter. June 25 (more…)

In today’s Washington Post, Michael Dirda recommended a grab bag of books from horror and specialty presses—and one of them was The Monkey’s Other Paw, a recent anthology which contained a story of mine.

Here what he had to say.

“The Monkey’s Other Paw” (paperback, $13.95), edited by Luis Ortiz for Nonstop Press, offers stories in which 13 contemporary writers re-imagine or pay tribute to the work of various classic horror authors. Don Webb’s “The Doom That Came to Devil’s Reef” opens quietly: “Among Lovecraft’s papers at Brown University was a large manila envelope containing . . .” and then reveals what may be the true origins of “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” Scott Edelman’s “A Most Extraordinary Man” neatly imagines a sequel to Saki’s most famous and witty shocker, “The Open Window.” Set against the loneliness of New York City, and in homage to Dylan Thomas’s “The Followers,” Paul Di Filippo’s “Ghostless” focuses on a spectral matchmaking service for ghosts and mortals.

Nice to be name-checked—and positively—by a Pulitzer Prize winner!

Last week, I shared my tentative Readercon schedule. Since then, the committee’s finalized what’ll really be happening in Burlington, Massachusetts next month, so here’s my final agenda.

Being an Editor Who Writes
Friday July 12, 12:00 p.m.
Few people haven’t heard of the editor-as-failed-author stereotype. Being both an editor and an author means living with your own harshest critic—yourself. While some editors-to-writers avoid this pitfall by writing nonfiction, there are those who manage to straddle the line, and even find success as fiction writers. How do they manage to quiet the inner editor, and how do they know when to turn it back on?
with Michael Kandel, Sandra Kasturi, Barbara Krasnoff (moderator), Warren Lapine, and Ian Randal Strock

Kaffeeklatsch
Friday July 12, 2:00 p.m.

Reading
Friday July 12, 3:30 p.m.
I’ll read a new, as-yet-unpublished story, “And, Behold, It Was Very Good.”

The Shiny, Candy-like Zombie: Commoditizing the Undead
Saturday July 13, 1:00 p.m.
On Twitter, M. John Harrison wrote about the appeal of zombies: “You can hate them without feeling wrong. You can kill them like eating sweets. Then you’re hungry again & you can kill more. They’re fully dehumanised. There’s no off-season, no moral limitation. They’re the *enemy*. What’s not to love? They’re what we really want.” So do we like zombies because they’re the consumer-friendly, ambiguity-free face of implacable evil? Are they, in fact, the most perfectly commoditised monsters?
with Dale Bailey, Catt Kingsgrave, John Langan, and Sarah Langan (leader)

I hope to see you there!