I was very kindly invited to the Readercon literary conference in Burlington, Massachusetts, and I’ll be there tomorrow and through the weekend! If you’re interested in genre literature, these folks really now how to put together a compelling program — just look at all the cool panels and presentations.
I’ll be involved in these in particular:
Friday, 12:00 PM : Writing Within Constraints. Scott Edelman, Elaine Isaak, Michael Aondo-verr Kombol, John Langan, David Malki ! (leader), Madeleine Robins. Whether it’s writing on a theme for an anthology, writing on assignment or commission, or simply imposing rules to jump-start your creativity, writing within constraints can be an incredible way to defeat “the tyranny of the blank page.” We discuss the rewards and challenges of starting with someone else’s idea.
Friday, 5:00 PM : Kaffeeklatsch with David Malki !, Delia Sherman.
Friday, 7:00 PM : True Stuff from Old Books. David Malki ! of Wondermark presents a slide show of fascinating, forgotten articles unearthed from Victorian-era newspapers and magazines. A man breathes fire! A steam-powered flying machine attempts its first flight! Inventors and adventurers dream big, and often die! And human nature remains unchanged through the ages.
Saturday, 11:00 AM : Autographs (and sketches!) with David Malki !, Barry B. Longyear.
Saturday, 2:00 PM : Tin Foil Hat Open Mike. Rose Fox (moderator), K.A. Laity, Shira Lipkin, David Malki !, Charles Platt, Eric M. Van, Harold Torger Vedeler. Bring your wildest and wackiest ideas to this open mike session. Each speaker gets five minutes, ruthlessly enforced, to try to convince the audience of an unprovable (and ideally undisprovable) theory related to speculative fiction. The viewers are free to applaud or heckle as they see fit. No handouts, no visual aids, no multimedia, no Q&As, no spitballs, and please, no politics or religion.
Sunday, 11:00 AM : Reconsidering Anthologies. Mike Allen, Leah Bobet, David Boop, Robert Killheffer, David Malki ! (leader). Anthologies are incredibly popular for writers to submit to and proudly display their work in — but who reads them? Why don’t they sell well? Is there some reason they occupy the same cultural mind-space as foreign films: culturally relevant, but rarely bothered with? David Malki !, editor of last year’s bestselling anthology Machine of Death, leads a discussion group about this outcast art form.
Sunday, 2:30 PM : Reading. David Malki ! reads from the parody Victorian novel series Dispatches from Wondermark Manor.
I believe memberships are still available at the door if you’re in the Boston area and would like to attend! I’m looking forward to it!!
You’ll be seeing nearly everyone from Readercon at worldcon in Reno :->