My first convention of 2016, and my first following the release of Barsk, will involve a train trip to New England (assuming the weather cooperates) as I make a long overdue return to Arisia. It’s a four day convention, but most of my programming happens on Saturday so I should have a lot of downtime. Look for me in the Westin’s lobby bar.
Here’s my schedule of what I’ll be doing, where and when:
Saturday, January 16th
10:00 a.m. (Bulfinch) Constructing Languages
Many SF/F worlds have their own languages, Elvish and Klingon being two of the best known. How do you create languages that make sense? From etymology to grammar to culture, there are many aspects to consider. How does a language reflect the identities of its speakers? How do we make our languages and vocabularies believable?
With John Chu, Anne Nydam, and Cecilia Tan
11:30 a.m. (Burroughs) Star Trek at 50!
Fifty years ago, Gene Roddenberry introduced us to the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Since then, the crew has boldly gone where no human had gone before in five live-action TV series, one cartoon, ten movies in the “original” universe, and two movies in rebooted universe (with a third due out this year). Join us as we celebrate one of the most iconic and important science-fiction franchises of all time.
With Glenn Hauman, Woodrow Hill, Cassandra Lease, Liz Salazar, and Ken Schneyer
01:00 p.m. (Marina 2) Shifting the Language of SF
Very few SF authors of the many who set stories in the far future ever speculate what language may sound like in following centuries and distant stars. Some formative works, like Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Orwell’s 1984 include this as a theme. Who else? What are the dangers of speculating vernacular? How might the language our descendants speak differ from ours? What works in SF imagine how the kids talk in the far future?
With Heather Albano, John Chu, Debra Doyle, and Greer Gilman
Monday, January 18th
10:00 a.m. (Hale 1) Reading
Arisia does readings a bit differently. Come join me and three other authors as we dazzle you with selections from our fiction. I’ll be reading from my newly released novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard,and you know you don’t want to miss that!
With John Chu, Nalin Ratnayake, and Ken Schneyer
If you have any pull with the weather gods, please put in a good word for me. Not only do I need to arrive in Boston on the 15th, but I have to get back to Philadelphia late on the 18th so I can go to the Day Job the next morning, attend my formal book launch downtown on the 20th, and board a plane the morning of the 21st for a convention and bookstore signings in Michigan. Ah, the life of an author!
See you at Arisia!
Tags: Appearance, Barsk, Conventions, Traveling
