It’s time for Philcon, Philadelphia’s oldest literary convention. It’s in New Jersey. (Look, it was cheaper, okay?)
I’ve been a guest at Philcon for years, and it’s always great to go back there and see so many of my friends. This year’s event will be on the weekend of November 22-24.
If I’m not on a panel, you’ll probably find me at the Fantastic Books table in the dealer’s room. Here’s my schedule:
Whose Line is it Anyway, SFF style! (Friday 7 pm): The panel where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter! Melody Cryptid (moderator), Abigail Welsher, Ian Randal Strock, Randee Dawn, Michael A. Ventrella, Odele Pax
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Con (Friday 9 pm): A place to share our favorite, funniest, or most tragic convention stories. Michael A. Ventrella (moderator), Ian Randal Strock, Brian T. Price, Roberta Rogow, Tony Finan
Meet the Pros and Art Show Reception (Friday 10 pm): The “Meet-The-Pros” is an informal get-together of our program participants on the promenade, and is open for anyone to attend.
Reading (Saturday noon): Three authors each perform a 15 to 20 minute reading of their work. Randee Dawn, Michael A. Ventrella, Phil Giunta
Autographing (Saturday 1 pm): A time to be sure to catch certain authors for autographs. Eric Avedissian, Michael A. Ventrella, Phil Giunta
Meet the Editors: Anthology Edition (Saturday 3 pm): Anthology editors discuss what goes into creating their publications, from the economics of staying viable in the electronic age to getting appropriate submissions. Michael A. Ventrella (moderator), Christine Norris, Ann Stolinsky, Storm Humbert, Alex Shvartsman
How Come the Humor in My Story Isn’t Working? (Saturday 5 pm): Because humor is subjective, it can be hard to explain how to make something “funny” to an audience at large. However, it can be a lot easier to explain why a joke may not be landing. So let’s workshop some laughter! Caitlin Rozakis (moderator), Randee Dawn, Michael A. Ventrella, Alex Shvartsman, Isabel J. Kim
Book Launch Party for Celestial Echo Press (Saturday 6 pm): Celestial Echo Press invites you to a reading and signing by many of the authors in “Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel”, Volume I and Volume II. Join us as we travel through time with some of your favorite authors, old and new. Ann Stolinsky (moderator), Carol Gyzander, Gordon Linzner, Ef Deal, Phil Giunta, Joanne McLaughlin, Michael A. Ventrella
Book Launch Party for eSpec Books (Saturday 8 pm): The eSpec Books Annual Launch Party – Please come help us celebrate our new releases with food, fun, prizes and loads of authors and their books. Danielle Ackley-McPhail (moderator), Carol Gyzander, Ty Drago, Teel James Glenn, Christine Norris, Hildy Silverman, Michael A. Ventrella, Ef Deal, Mike McPhail, Robert E Waters
Optimistic Futures That Didn’t Arrive (Sunday 11 am): There was a time when “the future” was the 1970’s, and it was assumed that by then everybody would have household robots and flying cars, and that mankind would expand gloriously into space, colonizing the moon, Mars, the outer Solar System, and proceeding to conquer the universe. Clearly, this future did not happen, and is no longer even our vision for the near future. Is this because the 1940s and 1950s were a more optimistic time, or was the science fiction of that era simply more given to wish-fulfillment? Michael A. Ventrella (moderator), Russell J. Handelman, Lawrence Kramer, Christopher Stout, Walter H. Hunt
Filed under: writing | Tagged: author, books, fiction, Philcon, writing | Leave a comment »
Michael A. Ventrella 