Category Archives: Chessiecon

Chessiecon 2021 in Review

Had a frantic, but fun-filled weekend at Chessiecon 2021. Chessiecon, named for the sea monster lurking in the Chesapeake Bay, is a science fiction and fantasy convention held each year during the Thanksgiving weekend. For the second year, they made it a virtual conference. And free!

I find it energizing to be in the company of other authors. Their different perspectives on the activity we love always inspires new story ideas. I’ll summarize the seven panels for you.

How to be a panelist / moderator / presenter at SF/F cons

Author DH Aire did a fine job moderating this panel, consisting of Yakira Heistand and me. We shared our experiences, good and bad, and some valuable tips for serving as a panelist, moderator, or presenter at Chessiecon or other cons.

Underwater Cities. Is there merit to this idea?

I moderated this panel, with help from Linda Adams and John Monahan as panelists. Together we held a wide-ranging, informative discussion of the implications and likelihoods of underwater cities of the future. I’m ready to move to one now!

Why Read the Classics?

A rather heavy topic for a Saturday morning, but we did our best to keep it light and fun. Though I moderated the topic, Melissa Scott and Thomas Atkinson needed little help or direction from me as they spoke about classic literature they enjoyed, its impact on their lives and writing, and the lasting importance of the classics.

Why Aren’t They Writing Like They Used To?

Yakira Heistand moderated this panel, with Linda Adams and me as panelists. Science Fiction has certainly changed over the decades, and we explored the differences between stories then and now, and the reasons for them.

Pandemics Throughout History, and Their Effects on Literature

If we’d done this panel two years ago, nobody would have showed up. Suddenly everyone’s interested in pandemics. I served as a moderator for this panel, with Melissa Scott and John Monahan as expert panelists. If you take the list of pandemics in history, and the list of stories about pandemics, you can match them up pretty well. Moreover, there’s an evolution of the types of stories, from straight reporting of actual plagues as facts of life, to stories of made-up diseases, to tales focusing on the race for cures and vaccines, to viruses from space, to man-caused pandemics, and, most recently, to diseases with bizarre symptoms.

Worldbuilding in Your Story

Basically, we taught attendees how to play God for fun and profit. Once again, I moderated, with Cathy Hird (who posts a weekly column in the Owen Sound Hub), Melissa Scott, and John Monahan as my esteemed panelists. They did a great job conveying the fun of building your own fictional world, with instructions and warnings about the pitfalls.

What Did I Do to Survive the Great Pandemic?

Held late on Saturday night, this panel surprised me. I thought nobody would show up. Worse, Chessiecon hadn’t designated a moderator. There I was, along with Yakira Heistand and John Monahan, scheduled to talk about surviving a pandemic. Not only did people show up, but we invited them into the discussion and they contributed fascinating stories of how the pandemic changed their lives.

All in all, a wonderful time. It’s not every weekend that I can enjoy the company of authors, fans, and a sea monster, without once leaving the home of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 28, 2021Permalink

My Chessiecon 2021 Schedule

You’re invited to join me at a virtual science fiction and fantasy convention this weekend. Give me a second while I find out what they’re charging for admission to this thing…wait…ah, here. No, that can’t be right. It’s free?

I guess so. You can listen all weekend to my inciteful and inspiring ideas for nuttin’. Nada. Zero dollars and zero zero cents. (Well, you’re invited to make a donation.) Here’s the Chessiecon website where you can register to attend.

Anyway, I’ve listed my schedule below, which is subject to change. All times are Eastern time zone.

Date/TimeTitleDescription
Fri 4:30 PMHow to be a panelist / moderator / presenter at SF/F consNew to trying to herd cats? Not only does a moderator need to encourage panelists, stop one panelist from taking over the whole shebang, but also a moderator needs to be able to read the audience.
Fri 9:00 PMUnderwater Cities. Is there merit to this idea?What are the Engineering, Social, and Environmental limitations to expanding the areas of earth’s surface that people can inhabit?
Sat 10:00 AMWhy Read the Classics?Do they still have something to teach us, or are they just not something of interest to a 21st-Century audience?
Sat 2:30 PMWhy Aren’t They Writing Like They Used To?We all know the trope that s/ff has always has at least overtones of politics; but what other things have changed or not changed in the field?
Sat 4:00 PMPandemics Throughout History, and Their Effects on Literature2019-2021 is not the first regional, continental or even global pandemic in history.  How have these events affected literature, be it fantasy, speculative or science-fiction literature?
Sat 8:30 PMWorldbuilding in Your StoryPhysical characteristics, societies, geography, languages, and what else might fit. And how this affects your stories
Sat 10:30 PMWhat Did I Do to Survive the Great Pandemic? How our panelists muddled through, and yet, still somehow are not zombies. Note: may be slightly delayed if the chorus runs over slightly.

I’ll be moderating the Underwater Cities panel, the Classics panel, and the Worldbuilding panel. I’ll be a panelist for the rest.

Here’s that website one more time: www.chessiecon.org.

How many opportunities do you get to listen to me for free? Heck, I don’t even get that deal. I charge myself admission, and I pay up, ‘cause I’m worth it.

But you don’t have to pay a cent to listen to seven sensational sessions this Friday and Saturday when you’ll hear the portentous pontifications of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 25, 2021Permalink

Virtually the Best SciFi Conference Ever!

Me, as I appeared to conference attendees. Just hanging out in my submarine.

Just wrapped up a wonderful weekend attending Chessiecon, the scifi and fantasy conference named for the sea monster of the Chesapeake Bay. This year they held it online, which made it easier in some ways, and more difficult in others. The programming team kept me busy, with five panels and a reading. In case you missed it, here’s the recap:

How to Get Published, with Meg Eden, Linda Adams, Nate Hoffelder, and Steve Kozeniewski. I served as moderator for this panel. Everyone provided great advice, making it a real how-to panel for beginning writers.

Humor in SF/F Writing, with Steve Kozeniewski, Don Sakers, and the Chessiecon Guest of Honor, Charlie Jane Anders. I moderated this panel as well. It was an hour filled with wonderful and funny advice on how to write humor. Writing humor is difficult to do, and the panelists handled did a good job explaining how to go about it. The audience asked inciteful questions and I thought the panelists really addressed those well. The ‘after-party’ post-panel discussions in Discord were hilarious.

Making an Unlikeable Person a Likeable Character, with Mary Fan, Steve Kozeniewski, Valerie Mikles, Karen MacLeod, and me. Here I served as a panelist while Mary Fan moderated. It was a fascinating subject for a panel, as it really got into how writers create and develop characters that change and learn. Mary Fan did a super job moderating the session and I learned a lot from the other panelists.

My reading was well-attended. I read “Reconnaissance Mission” which appeared in Not Far From Roswell, by Pole to Pole Publishing. I challenged the audience to write down all the Edgar Allan Poe references they caught in my story, which made it a little more fun.

How to Ruin a Revolution, with Ted Weber, Cathy Hird, and Don Sakers. I moderated this one, but the panelists were all so knowledgeable and cited so many historical and fictional examples, I think the audience was blown away. We covered revolutions, protests, and coups, both historical and fictional, with special mention of Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. We should have offered college course credit for that 1-hour session.

Humans are the Same, with D.H. Aire, Susan de Guardiola, and Meg Nicholas. I served as moderator and the discussion was wide-ranging, comparing people today with our ancestors and exploring the few ways in which people have changed. We discussed what historians leave out, and what misconceptions we have about those who came before.

Overall, I miss in-person conferences, but there are advantages to online cons. Attendees don’t have to dress well, or even leave their house, to attend. Attendees get more close-up views of books that authors hold up, and they can simply copy and paste book and story titles so they can more easily buy the books they’re interested in.

I know, I know, you don’t have to say it. The only books you’re interested in are those by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 29, 2020Permalink

Chessiecon, Day 3

Chessiecon, the science fiction conference held on Thanksgiving weekend just north of Baltimore, concluded today.

Chessiecon Panel — When DId Sci Fi Become So Political?

I joined other panelists in a session titled “When Did Sci Fi Become So Political?” In the photo, from left to right (locational left and right, not political) are the moderator, Mary Fan, and panelists Linda Adams, Lanthir Calendae, and moi.

What a great panel topic and a fine group (including the audience) to discuss it! We covered the politics of early science fiction, of Star Wars, of Star Trek, of more modern authors, and our own fiction. We agreed that politics, which one may define as the activities associated with governance and power, is inherently part of all science fiction, and perhaps all fiction, to some degree.

Overall, it was a fine conference. Always inspired and energized after weekends like this, I’m—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 25, 2018Permalink

Chessiecon, Day 2

Yesterday was a busy day for yours truly at Chessiecon, the science fiction conference being held just north of Baltimore.

Chessiecon panel — Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 200th Anniversary

First, I spoke as a panelist on the topic of “Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 200th Anniversary.” From left to right in the photo, that’s me, Jo Miles, C.S. Friedman, Steve Kozeniewski, and moderator Carl Cipra. What a great way to honor Mary Shelley’s titanic achievement. How many science fiction or horror works written today will have bicentennial celebrations in 2218?

Me, reading at Chessiecon

Later, I read my story “The Unparalleled Attempt to Rescue One Hans Pfaall” from the newly released anthology Quoth the Raven.

Chessiecon panel — Good Art, Problematic Artist

After that, I served on a panel speaking on the topic “Good Art, Problematic Artist” exploring how and whether one can separate good art or literature from its flawed creator. Don Sakers (left) moderated, and the panelists were Scott Edelman (who brought donuts!), Margaret Carter, and me. The topic verged into touchy areas, but Don, Scott, and Margaret handled it capably and the audience got something out of it.

The next panel was titled “It’s OK to Not Like Things” dealing with how and whether to express dislike for a story or movie everyone else loves. Sadly, the picture came out blurry, but Sarah Sexton, I, Valerie Mikles, and Timothy Liebe delved into every aspect of that subject with a very interactive audience.

Chessiecon – me at the group signing

That evening, I set up my table as part of a group signing. Probably twenty authors sat at tables around a large square, making it convenient for potential readers to roam from table to table. It’s fun to engage with readers and they love it when you sign the first page of your story in an anthology they’re buying.

One more day of Chessiecon to go. Make sure you attend, or you’ll miss the 12:30 panel, another great discussion that will include—

            Poseidon’s Scribe

November 25, 2018Permalink