Worldcon interview, Conjecture and Uncle Remus

Karina Fabian uploaded the interview she did with me at Worldcon last week. Is my nose really that big?



I went to Conjecture last weekend. Conjecture is a very intimate little con. It's friendly and well organized. As someone who had back to back panels, a little time between them would have been nice. They pretty much go to the top of the hour and the next one starts about five minutes late. Not such a big deal, though when all the panels are on one small floor. In fact, I kept saying, "Down in the dealers room," because it usually is in a lower floor. But the dealers room and art show are also on that small floor. And the con suite. There's no green room.

The panels were loads of fun, though, with lots of interesting people and everyone playing nice.

I wish I had gone to the iron hack panel. Sounded like a hoot. I sat on a similar panel at SpoCon 2008. I still think Mark Ferrari and I can make that story into something worthwhile.

I actually had an audience for my reading, which is always a plus. I read a new story that has only just received one rejection (as soon as I got home) and "Troll Games", which is always so much fun to read. I've pretty much got the troll voice down.

One of the absolute highlights was finding a Song of the South DVD in the dealers room. I've been wanting it for ages. It's not available in stores in the States. Now Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah is stuck in my head. And I haven't even had time to watch it yet.



Another regret regarding the con was its location in the butt end of town. I could have been anywhere for all of San Diego I experienced. The only thing it was close to was a mall. I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I hate shopping.

I did get to see most of Eytan Kollin's grossly abbreviated medieval weapons demonstration. It's usually opposite a panel I'm on.



Next con for me is OryCon in Portland, OR. Meantime, I'll be emceeing and reading at a Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading in Santa Rosa, CA at the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 24th. It's a great event, not to be missed if you're in the county or an adjacent one. They block off a section of downtown for the one-day event.

Opportunities abound - including a trip to space!

In honor of its 50th Anniversary, the Seattle Space Needle is sending some lucky space-lover into space! They have lots of other prizes. Entering the contest gains you access to the grand prize of a private (as in not NASA, not by yourself) rocket ride into the heavens - a sub-orbital jaunt, really. But how cool is that? Find out more here.



Phoenix Pick's free ebook for September is A. A. Attanasio’s Radix . This from Phoenix:

This particular edition of Radix is scheduled to be taken off the market
during January 2012 (due to contractual reasons), so this may be one of
your last chances to get this, what the author considers, his favorite
edition of the book.

Readers will also have the option of purchasing other books of the Radix
Tetrad at a substantial discount when downloading the free ebook
(instructions will be given on the download page).

A young man's odyssey of self-discovery in a world eerily alien, yet
hauntingly familiar.

Set thirteen centuries in the future, A. A. Attanasio meticulously creates
a brilliantly realized Earth, rich in detail and filled with beings
brought to life with intense energy.

In this strange and beautiful world, Sumner Kagan will change from an
adolescent outcast to a warrior with god-like powers and in the process
take us on an epic and transcendent journey.

Carl Schirmer spontaneously transforms into light. Then, 130 billion years
later, when all of spacetime is collapsing into the vast nothingness of
the cosmic black hole, Schirmer is remade from the remnants of his light.
He is reborn in time’s last world, the strangest of all—the Werld.

“An instant classic.”—Washington Post

“RADIX is sheer pleasure to read: brimming with living characters,
splendid adventures...It is an exhilarating novel.”—Minneapolis Tribune

The Coupon Code for September is 9991421 and will be good from September 2
through September 30, 2011. Instructions and download link, as usual,
through our online catalogue at http://www.PPicking.com

**end PR**

And if you're anywhere near San Diego, attending Conjecture will give you a multitude of opportunities to hear from yours truly! This year's theme is Incredible Worlds and their GOH is Allen M. Steele.

Here's my so sweet schedule of panels for this small, but long-running con in beautiful San Diego.

Friday 2PM Post Apocalyptic Fever
Friday 5PM Care and Feeding of Writers' Groups
Friday 6PM Are There Any New Stories?
Friday 7PM Reading

Saturday 3PM Alien Libraries
Saturday 5PM A Feudal Future: SF as Fairy Tale
Saturday 7PM How Will We Feel When We're No Longer Made of Meat?

Sunday 11AM Comedy in SF & F

I can't wait! I'm going to make sure to hit Seaworld and the beach while I'm there, too!



And though Renovation is over, look what's in store for Worldcon 2013 after Chicon (Chicago 2012):

LoneStarCon 3 wins 2013 Worldcon bid for San Antonio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 20, 2011

RENO, Nev. – The World Science Fiction Convention will return to Texas for the first time since 1997 after voting results announced Aug. 20 at Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon, awarded the right to host the international conference to the Texas in 2013 bid. LoneStarCon 3–the 71st World Science Fiction Convention–will be held Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2013, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. The Mariott Rivercenter and Mariott Riverwalk will serve as the host hotels.

The guests of honor list for LoneStarCon 3 includes Ellen Datlow, James Gunn, Norman Spinrad, Darrel K. Sweet and Willie Siros, with Paul Cornell serving as toastmaster and featuring special guests Leslie Fish and Joe R. Lansdale.

**PR truncated**