My CapriCon Schedule

Here's a lot of what I'll be up to for the weekend of February 9th to the 12th, at CapriCon! Note that I will be on panels with Cory Doctorow, Gene Wolfe, and many other excellent writers! If you're within reach of the Chicago area, why not stop by?

Retro-futurism Sure Beats the Boring Truth! - Thursday, 02-09-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Birch B

A celebration of looking backwards to look forwards. Steampunk, the Jetsons, and NASA all had cooler ideas about how the future looked than it really did. Why is our imagined future so much hipper than the one we live in?

Tim Akers, Kerri-Ellen Kelly, Nayad Monroe (M), W. A. (Bill) Thomasson, Michael Z. Williamson

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Dystopia Now - Thursday, 02-09-2012 - 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)

The Dystopian sub-genre of Science Fiction has seen a resurgence over the last few years. Why does this bleak sub-genre remain so popular? What are the definitive dystopian works?

Cory Doctorow (M), Paul McComas, Nayad Monroe, Gene Wolfe

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You Are Not Alone: Writers Groups and Critique - Thursday, 02-09-2012 - 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm - Birch A

Many SF/F writers, from Asimov to Tolkien, have belonged to writers groups or benefited from critique partners. How do these groups help an author hone her craft? Some members of writers' groups discuss their experiences.

Tim Akers, Eileen Maksym (M), Nayad Monroe, Michael D. Thomas

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Reading: Nayad Monroe - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm - River C (Cafe)

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Religion in Worldbuilding - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)

Authors too frequently just change around the fixtures on a real world religion and insert it into their fantasy world. These writers will talk about how they go about creating original religions, and how the use of religion can drive worldbuilding and shape the story's narrative.

Tim Akers (M), Alex Bledsoe, Phyllis Eisenstein, Nayad Monroe, Gene Wolfe

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Welcome to the Glamorous World of Writing - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)

Every writer began in the same place with some ideas and a blank page or screen. In this panel, SF/F writers discuss their origins and give advice to people who are just beginning their journey in the glamorous world of writing.

Phyllis Eisenstein, Roland J. Green, E.E. Knight (M), Holly McDowell, Nayad Monroe

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The SF/F Short Fiction Club Scene - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)

The SF/F short fiction markets have been described by author Elizabeth Bear as a "club scene" where authors experiment and bat ideas back and forth. These SF/F professionals talk about the current state of the short fiction markets and some of the exciting things happening in the medium.

Richard Chwedyk, John Klima, Mary Anne Mohanraj (M), Nayad Monroe, John O'Neill, Lynne M. Thomas