Judging an Editor’s Work (Panel) (Moderator), Sat 10:00 – 10:50, Salon D
With Martin Berman-Gorvine, Ally Bishop, and Trisha J Wooldridge
What qualities do a good editor bring to the writing process? How can a reader working with a Hugo ballot or an aspiring author looking for a publisher determine an editor’s strengths and weaknesses based on the work they’ve helped produce?
Writing Diverse Characters: Archetypes vs. Stereotypes (Panel) (Participant), Sat 11:00 – 11:50, Derby
Jennifer R Povey (M), Day Al-Mohamed, Stephanie Burke, Sunny Moraine, Don Sakers, Melissa Scott
[It’s not clear whether I’m still scheduled for this panel. In the draft schedule grid I was emailed, I’m on it. In the version posted on the Balticon website, I’m not.]
A panel on handling diversity in fiction for less experienced writers, dealing with things like avoiding tokenism, learning confidence in presenting ‘different’ characters.
Reading as a Writer (Panel) (Participant), Sat 14:00 – 14:50, Pimlico
With Bugsy Bryant (M), Tim Dodge, Hugh J O’Donnell, Mark L Van Name
How do writers interact with the fiction they’re reading? How do you read not only for pleasure but to improve your craft?
What Can We Learn From Bad Writing? (Panel) (Participant), Sat 21:00 – 21:50, Tack
With Tim Dodge (M), Meriah Crawford, Judi Fleming, Alessia Brio
We all like to make fun of it, but what makes bad writing bad? How can we use this to improve our own work?
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading I and II – Sunday 12:00-13:50, Concierge Lounge
(A sampler of short readings from many members of a writers’ organization dedicated to promoting fantasy, science fiction, and horror literature by women. We’ve got two hours’ worth of readers, at 8 minutes each.)
Autograph – Sunday 14:00 (Autographs) (Participant), Sun 14:00 – 14:50, Autograph Table (HVI)
(I’ll be sharing the autograph table with Darrell Schweitzer and Martin Berman-Gorvinne. I’m really looking forward to it. Schweitzer is one of the old guard, who has known everyone and worked the field in every capacity. He actually does know as much as he thinks he does, and he’s very generous with younger writers and editors who want to pick his brain. Martin is an old friend from writing summer camp, and here we still are, writing approximately the kinds of things we said we wanted to when we were in our early teens. Oh, and if anyone shows up looking to get their books autographed, that’ll be cool, too.)
Reading – Sunday 16:00-16:50, Chesapeake
With Katie Bryskie and Sarah Pinsker
(Sarah Pinsker’s work is always a wonder to hear. Last year at Balticon, I got to hear her read all of “The Low Hum of Her,” and it was my best short fiction experience of 2014. I’m not familiar with Katie Bryskie yet, but I’m looking forward to finding out why the programming volunteers put us together. From what I’ve seen on the schedule so far, they seem to have put some real thought into their groupings.)
Dark Quest Launch Party – Sunday 19:00-18:50, Frankie and Vinnie’s
With Danielle Ackley-McPhail (M), Mike McPhail, Neal Levin, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christine Norris
(I’ll be here to help out, as the usual suspects at Dark Quest helped out when I had a book to launch. Also, Danielle always arranges impressive amounts of free food. This year I’m not actually launching any titles, and there probably won’t be readings if it’s the same room I think it is — we tried readings in that space last year, and the acoustics were impossible. So this is a good time to find me if you just want to hang out and converse.)
