Hey there!
I’m going to be a panelist at this year’s CanCon, a convention on Canadian content in speculative fiction. It’s in Ottawa, and it’s going to be happening from October 30th to November 1st.
(Halloween at an SF/F convention? This is going to be so awesome! There’s even going to be a Halloween party with ChiZine Publications, which I’m sure will be epic.)
If you’re in the Ottawa area and want to discuss books, tea, and everything in between with me, hop on over to the Ottawa Sheraton hotel. I’ll be taking part in the following panels:
Friday, October 30th
Why Do We Love Time Travel Stories? Time travel stories are a staple in science fiction and fantasy (and even some romance). Why do we love them and which ones are your favourites? Su Sokol, Cenk Gokce, Agnes Cadieux, Matthew Johnson, Christina Vasilevski (moderator) (8-9 PM)
Here’s a confession: this is the first time I’ll have ever been a panelist at any convention. And I’m moderating! Come on down if you want to talk about time travel paradoxes and (possibly) see me make a damned fool of myself. (I’m only kinda joking, there.)
Saturday, October 31st
The Role of Editorial Voice in Acquiring Stories, with editorial staff from Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Lightspeed, Apex/Dragon Moon Press, Bundoran Press: The assembled editorial staff are pursuing very different stories for their magazines and anthologies. They discuss the alchemy of looking for stories to match their editorial voices. Participants: Trevor Quachri, Nicole Lavigne, Christina Vasilevski, Hayden Trenholm, Gabrielle Harbowy, Derek Künsken (moderator). (1-2 PM)
If you want to learn more about how Lightspeed does its thing, this is the place to be! I’ve been reading slush for them since January 2014. There are some biiig heavy hitters in this panel. Eep!
Naming Exoworlds: Why call a planet “Fomalhaut b” when you could name it “Leisurely Fish” instead? Authors have been naming their planets for decades, but now the IAU is taking online votes to rename some exoplanets. Is this a good way to get people more interested in astronomy, or is it just a sideline? Do you have any ideas for names that should have been considered, but weren’t? Should we really take the chance of naming a pulsar “Rock’n’Roll Star?” What is the best way to name a planet, anyway? Participants: S.M. Carrière, Christina Vasilevski, Andrew Barton (moderator) (5-6 PM)
Andrew Barton is a good friend of mine, so it’s exciting to be able to sit on a panel that he’s moderating. Come! We’ll talk about comics and SF and funny planet names!
Sunday, November 1st
Science Fiction Novels: A Readers’ Panel: Our panelists discuss what works of science fiction they’ve enjoyed and you ought to be reading. Participants: Scott Delahunt, Christina Vasilevski, Ira Nayman (moderator), Evan May, Peter Halasz. (10-11 AM)
I’ve been reading up on a lot of recent science fiction in preparation for this panel. Reviews of the books I’ve been reading to prepare for the panel will be up in the next few weeks.
Reviewers and Reviewing: How much do they shape the dialogue, direct readers to works, and implant positive or negative first impressions? Participants: Jonathan Crowe, Christina Vasilevski, Amal El-Mohtar (moderator), David Hartwell, Amy Sisson. (1-2 PM)
Holy crap, you guys, this is the CanCon panel I’m most excited about. I’ve got this rinky-dink little blog with a tiny readership on a small corner of the internet, and yet they’re letting me sit with Amal El-Mohtar, who reviews books for freaking NPR??! No way. No. Fucking. Way. **glee**
Check out the full schedule and panel right here. I can’t wait to attend, and if any of you readers will be at CanCon too, let me know in the comments!