I am, quite frankly, dazzled Diane Lacey. She and Debra Yeung are handling Programming for SFContario, and more than a week ago they had already sent me my schedule. Yeah, you read that correctly, they sent it out more than a month in advance!!!
They’ve found quite a lot for me to do too, lots of great panels with lots of interesting people, as you’ll see below. I’m going to be very tired after this convention, but it will be that good kind of tired.
Saturday, November 19th
11:00 – 12:00 (Ballroom BC) Canvention Guest of Honour Interview
I’ll be doing my best to channel James Lipton, and I expect Karl will be doing his best not to roll his eyes at me.
w/ Karl Schroeder
1:00 – 2:00 (Solarium) First Contact Without a Universal Translator
How do we establish a common conceptual base to communicate with another species? Sure, we have numbers and the hydrogen atom in common, but how far would that get us with a world of beings who share none of our sensory apparatus?
w/ Eric Choi, Lorne Kates(M), D.F. McCourt, Tony Pi
3:00 – 4:00 (Solarium) Linguistics for Fiction
From Tolkien to Game of Thrones writers and moviemakers have paid attention to the development of created languages. What goes into creating an authentic language? How do biology and psychology help determine language? This panel will introduce you to the study of languages on Earth and to what may determine the development of language on an alien world.
w/ Matthew Johnson(M), Alex Pantaleev, Karl Schroeder
Sunday, November 20th
10:00 – 10:30 (Gardenview ) Reading
Shamble in and begin your morning by listening to me read to you from the ongoing adventures of the Amazing Conroy!
11:00 – 12:00 (Room 207) Kaffeeklatsch
Pull up a seat, drink some coffee (I’ll be having a Diet Coke), and let’s chat about writing, publishing, psychology, linguistics, Klingon, hypnosis, or Gej the wonder dog!
12:00 – 1:00 (Ballroom BC) Show Me the Funny
Some of the most beloved science fiction and fantasy combines those genres with humour (for example: Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels). It is relatively rare, but, when done well, it can be very memorable. How does mixing these genres work? Why is it so rare? And, perhaps most importantly, what is the answer to life, the universe and everything?
w/ Richard Baldwin, Ian Keeling(M), Ira Nayman
2:00 – 3:00 (Bridge) Autographing
Come by, bring something for me to sign, or just stop in to tell me how you’ve enjoyed the convention.
w/ Douglas Smith, Sandra Kasturi
Naturally, Barry will be on hand (or, more accurately, on shoulder) for most of the convention. He’s very annoyed with me that he didn’t get to pose for photographs at the last convention we attended, so make a point of asking for a quick snapshot with him.
See you in Toronto!
Tags: Conventions
