In 1975, when I was working in the Bullpen at Marvel Comics, I flew to Toronto to appear on a panel at CosmicCon along with Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, and … someone whose name I no longer remember.

Neither does Marv.

And since the reason I dug out this photo was as part of my mourning process for Len, we’ll never know if he might have remembered.

When I recently shared the image on Twitter and Facebook in the hopes someone could identify the face at the far right, suggestions included Bernie Wrightson and Howard Chaykin (I blame the sideburns), but … it wasn’t either of those two.

If you happen to know who that is, please let me know!

UPDATED 9/26/2017: Thanks to Ron Kasman, who wrote this article about the history of CosmicCon, I learned that’s Jim Craig, who worked for Atlas Comics at the time, and went on work for Marvel on such titles as Master of Kung Fu and The 3-D Man.

Here’s a photo of him which appeared a couple of years later in FOOM.

Thanks, Internet, for solving this mystery!

Three weeks from today, I’ll be at Balticon, which means that if you’ll also be at Balticon, we’ll be able to see each other.

Here’s where you can find me—

Saturday, May 27

Tales from the Slush Pile
11:00 AM
with Scott Andrews, Erika Pryor, and Joshua Bilmes

Writing Interesting and Effective Short Stories
Saturday May 27 12:00 PM
with Hildy Silverman, Sarah Pinsker, Jean Marie Ward, and Fran Wilde

How to Incorporate Critique
Saturday May 27 05:00 PM
with Joshua Bilmes, James Minz, Sarah Pinsker, and Malka Older

How to Self-Edit That Lousy First Draft
Saturday May 27 06:00 PM
with David Keener and Sarah Avery

Sunday, May 28

Kaffeeklatsch
10:00 AM

Reading
Sunday May 28 11:00 AM
with Mattie Brahen and Amy Kaplan

Being a Fan of Problematic Things
Sunday May 28 12:00 PM
with Martina Fetzer, Chris Lester, Holli Mintzer, and Nobilis Reed

But remember—those aren’t the only places to find me. If you spot me in the halls, the dealers room, or the bar, be sure to say hello!

There’s only one more convention I plan to attend before the end of 2016, and it’s not the World Fantasy Convention, since I decided to give that stop on the circuit a pass this year. Instead, you’ll be able to find me at Chessiecon, which was highly recommended by this year’s Guest of Honor, Sarah Pinsker. And since I trusted her enough to invite her to be the first guest on my Eating the Fantastic podcast, I figured I could trust her on that as well.

If you make it to Timonium, Maryland at the end of November, here’s where you’ll be able to find me … aside from when I’m wandering the halls or hanging out in the bar, that is.

Reading
Saturday, November 26, 2:15 p.m.
I plan to read an excerpt from my short story “101 Things to Do Before You’re Downloaded,” which will appear in the upcoming anthology You, Human.

Stupendous Bollocks
Sunday, November 27, 1:45 p.m.
Our host asks obscure questions which exist not as much to be answered as to encourage panelists to tell us what they know (or what they can make up) about the subject. Points are awarded for interesting answers, regardless of their correctness or relevance to the original topic.
with Carl Cipra, Heather Rose Jones, Steve Kozeniewski, Elizabeth Schechter

I have no idea what that second item on my agenda will be like, but I look forward to finding out together. Hope to see you there!

MidAmeriCon II, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, begins two weeks from today, and the programming committee last night released the event’s final schedule. There have been a few changes since I told you I’d be there. And guess what? A few of them involve me.

So … here’s my new and improved final schedule. Though you never know what might happen between now and then …

Reading
Wednesday 1:30 p.m.
What will I read? I might leave that up to the audience!

Movies and Monsters
Thursday 10:00 a.m.
Let’s talk monsters! Taking a somewhat scholarly look at the great monster movies of the past. Which monsters still resonate with today’s society? Panellists dissect what it means to be a monster then dig into the great monsters of the past and their modern day descendants.

Remembering the Futurians
Thursday 1:00 p.m.
Jack Robins, who died last year, was a founding member of the Futurians. The Futurians were instrumental in not only laying the groundwork for many fannish traditions, but also included the authors of many of the seminal works in the field from Asimov to Pohl, Kidd, and others. Let’s take a look back at their influence during a magical era with the future of science fiction and fandom was taking off.

Autographing
Friday 2:00 p.m.

Fast then Slow! Pacing in Comics and Graphic Novels
Friday 4:00 p.m.
Panelists discuss what it takes to create atmosphere, drama and tension in comics, and then how to take it down a notch. What are some of the most exciting ways to create dynamic stories that fly off the page, and how do you evoke stilness when it’s needed? Our panelists weave their way through some key ideas and experiments.

Magazine Group Reading: Escape Artists, Inc.
Saturday 2:00 p.m.
Our Magazine Group Reading Series continues with a special group reading that features authors from the family of Escape Artists magazines.

Kaffeeklatch
Saturday 3:00 p.m.

Writers Workshop
Sunday 10:00 a.m.
(Note: This session is a closed preassigned workshop.)
with Jim Doty

Horror Comics, Old and New
Sunday 2:00 p.m.
The pulps were full of horrible tales and weird happenings, but horror is a persistent topic in comics, from Locke and Key to Black Hole, and spanning diverse comics from the Horror Manga genre to our persistent love of zombies. Our panelists discuss some of the changes that this genre has seen, as well as stories and tropes that keep on returning to shock us.

So there you have it—a brand spanking new agenda! I also hope to record five episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast while there, but I’ll tell you about those later.

I look forward to bumping into (some of) you at MidAmericon II!

If you plan on being at Readercon 27 this weekend and hope to bump into me, there’s one more thing you need to know beyond what I’ve already told you—an item has been added to my schedule.

So if you’d like to get up close and personal, check out my Kaffeeklatsch timing below.

Thursday, July 7, 8:30 PM
Reading
I will read “The Man Without the Blue Balloon and the Woman Who Had Smiles Only for Him” … unless I see the audience filled with people who already heard me read an excerpt during Balticon.

Friday, July 8, 2:00 p.m.
Challenging the Coercive Muse
All writers have seen, and many have said, variations on the theme of “I write because I can’t not write.” Something mercilessly drives us to put words on the page even when we find the act of writing difficult, unpleasant, or onerous. If the muse were a real person who existed outside of the writer’s mind, we would call this behavior coercion and find it deeply troubling (as Stephen King so aptly depicted in Misery). In this open discussion, we will challenge the idea that our muses must necessarily be bullies, and explore other ways of experiencing and responding to creative urges and getting through the hardest parts of writing while valuing and prioritizing our own consent and happiness.
with Maria Dahvana Headley (leader), Marissa Lingen, Kate Maruyama, Gregory Wilson

Friday, July 8, 5:00 p.m.
Non-Explanation in Fiction
“Never complain, never explain,” said the Lady Mendl, and “Fuck the exposition,” said David Simon, “just be,” but as Junot Díaz said, “Motherfuckers will read a book that’s one third Elvish, but put two sentences in Spanish and they think we’re taking over.” What are the pleasures of writing for an audience that already gets it—and the dangers of assuming they’ll understand? What can you get from reading works that don’t cater specifically to you? And how can refusing to spell it out bring depth to the fantastic?
with John Chu, Kameron Hurley, Kenneth Schneyer (leader), Ann Tonsor Zeddies

Saturday, July 9, 12:00 p.m.
Kaffeeklatsch
with Keffy Kehrli

I hope to see you there!

Readercon 27, which will run from July 7-10 at the Quincy Marriott in Quincy, Massachusetts, has just sent around a tentative program to the participants. While the dates and times of the following items in which I’ll participate might shift, with the con kicking off in only nine days, I thought it best to share the info now.

If anything changes, you can be sure I’ll let you know!

Thursday, July 7, 8:30 PM
Reading
I will read “The Man Without the Blue Balloon and the Woman Who Had Smiles Only for Him” … unless I see the audience filled with people who already heard me read an excerpt during Balticon.

Friday, July 8, 2:00 p.m.
Challenging the Coercive Muse
All writers have seen, and many have said, variations on the theme of “I write because I can’t not write.” Something mercilessly drives us to put words on the page even when we find the act of writing difficult, unpleasant, or onerous. If the muse were a real person who existed outside of the writer’s mind, we would call this behavior coercion and find it deeply troubling (as Stephen King so aptly depicted in Misery). In this open discussion, we will challenge the idea that our muses must necessarily be bullies, and explore other ways of experiencing and responding to creative urges and getting through the hardest parts of writing while valuing and prioritizing our own consent and happiness.
with Maria Dahvana Headley (leader), Marissa Lingen, Kate Maruyama, Gregory Wilson

Friday, July 8, 5:00 p.m.
Non-Explanation in Fiction
“Never complain, never explain,” said the Lady Mendl, and “Fuck the exposition,” said David Simon, “just be,” but as Junot Díaz said, “Motherfuckers will read a book that’s one third Elvish, but put two sentences in Spanish and they think we’re taking over.” What are the pleasures of writing for an audience that already gets it—and the dangers of assuming they’ll understand? What can you get from reading works that don’t cater specifically to you? And how can refusing to spell it out bring depth to the fantastic?
with John Chu, Kameron Hurley, Kenneth Schneyer (leader), Ann Tonsor Zeddies

I hope to see you there—after I survive Escape Velocity, of course!

A new convention debuts in D.C. next month from the folks behind the Museum of Science Fiction, and they’ve dubbed it Escape Velocity.

They’re trying to make it more than just a con, but rather “a micro futuristic world’s fair.” Don’t worry, though—there’ll be plenty of the expected panels as well. And I’ll be on two of them—

Star Wars: Then and Now
Sunday July 3rd 12:30
An open-ended discussion on the Star Wars universe following the inclusion of The Force Awakens to the series. How has the universe changed? How has it stayed the same? How did the returning cast do after so many years away?

Strangers in a Strange Land: What is ‘Science Fiction’ and Where Is It Going?
Sunday July 3rd 3:00
A free-wheeling discussion between panelists and the audience about what does—or does not—count as science fiction. Are there common misconceptions about what qualifies? Or are we too limited in our thinking? What does the vox populi consider to be science fiction versus that of science fiction aficionados? Ultimately, who’s to say what is or is not science fiction?

If you make it to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center for Escape Velocity, be sure to say hi!

Balticon’s coming up next weekend, and it’s not just any Balticon—it’s the 50th Balticon. And this year the committee has gathered together as many former Guests of Honor as possible from previous incarnations of the convention.

Who else will be there?

Me!

If you’ll be there, too, here’s where to find me.

Gimungous Autograph Session
Saturday 2:00-3:15 p.m. (Kent)

The Fine Art of Rejection
Saturday 5:00-15:50 p.m. (Parlor 9059)
Editors answer the hard questions. What are your deal-breakers? How do you winnow that mountain down into the select few choices? What makes your task harder? How do you decide when a story deserves more than a form rejection?

Readings: Christiana Ellis, Scott Edelman, Christopher Rose, Don Sakers
Saturday 16:00-16:50 (Parlor 9059)

How to Give and Get Critiques
Monday 11:00-11:50 a.m. (Parlor)
What goes into being a good critiquer. How to listen to others’ critiques of your work. Where to find critique partners, online and in person.

What’s Hot in Short Fiction?
Monday 12:00-12:50 p.m. (Parlor 8029)

See you there!

During this year’s Nebula Awards weekend in Chicago, I allowed a (how shall I put it?) indiscreet photo of myself to be taken, and have been waiting since early June for it to appear online. Now that is has, some background seems to be in order.

It all began when Steven Silver approached attendees and asked them to pose with a towel to promote WindyCon 42. Why a towel? Those of you familiar with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy already know the importance of towels to science fiction. (The rest of you should head over here.)

So I held up the towel, smiled, let what was probably quite a mundane photo be taken, and figured that was that.

Until later on during the weekend when I saw Mary Robinette Kowal posing like this …

Well, not exactly like that, as I was behind Mary, and so privy to the truth of the illusion she was presenting to the camera. (Yes, illusion. Sorry to spoil your fantasies, folks!) (more…)

Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, begins four weeks from Wednesday, and if you’ll be there, too, and would like to track me down, here’s a tentative list of programming items on which you’ll be able to find me.

As the schedule isn’t 100% finalized yet, I’ve left off the names of the possible co-conspirators who’ll be joining me at each event. But if you’re hoping to see me in Spokane, pencil these in and check back later for the full details. (more…)