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I’ll be at Arisia, New England’s Largest and Most Diverse Science Fiction Convention (or so they tell me), in Cambridge, MA, on January 15-18.

The con is at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel, on Mem Drive.

My panel schedule is fairly light. On Monday. I’ll be on the “Ask A Geek” panel and two panels about both licensed tie-ins/sequels produced by other people, as well as derivative art. It should be fun!

R&P Books, on Dealer’s Row, will be carrying The Science of Heroes, and I’ll be stopping by regularly.

Pi-Con was delightful!

I’m always amazed at conventions by the people I meet. On panels, sure: it’s a pleasure and privilege to chat with the other panelists about the topic of the hour, and I’m not surprised to meet smart, accomplished, articulate panelists. But the people I talk to in the hallways, the vendors, and the folks who end up going out to dinner together are, as often as not, also smart and articulate and accomplished. One gentleman at the convention — I never did get his name — is a math historian, who had just published a book about math in the Americas in the 1500s. How is that for a fascinating subject? [Edited to add: Michael suggests that this was Bruce Stanley Burdick.]

My favorite panel was undoubtedly the “Alternative Energy” panel, which I shared with Drew van Zandt, Ed Bishop, and Tom Wysmuller (who endeared himself to me by not only preparing a short subject-appropriate slideshow, but also by bringing along his own projection equipment just in case). One hour is too short for such a broad topic, but we hit on low-energy- and resourse-consuming houses, what a non-fossil-fuel-based future might look like, the need for better batteries (and electric transmission technologies), research on safer and more efficient fission by the Generation IV International Forum, and the challenges of energy for driving cars. (While we were chatting about it, the participants in the Boston Greenfest 1-gallon challenge were attempting to drive from Greenfield MA to Boston on a single gallon of gas.)

Tom also has been getting out the word on how global warming is changing the artic — keep an eye out for his presentations.

I was bowled over by the writing of horror writer Joy Marchand (I don’t read horror as a rule, but I may have to make an exception! If only to discover what happens at the end of “Black Annis”, published in the anthology Unspeakable Horror). I also learned quite a lot about podcasting technologies from Morven Westfield (who podcasts Vampires, Witches, and Geeks). Also: I met some open source software heroes and learned a tremendous amount about American foxhunting from a woman named Margaret. It was really pretty fascinating.

PS. The image is a Wordle. Click on it for a bigger, clearer, image.

My agent for “The Science of Heroes” was Kim Lionetti at BookEnds LLC.  She was excellent to work with, and did very well by me.  BookEnds in general has a great reputation as good book agents.

Check out their blog at BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency.

Wow, I’ll be busy at Pi-Con! The organizers have scheduled me for a variety of serious and fun panels, as well as useful and wacky ones, with some really great panelists.

Blogging 101 with Hugh Casey, Katherine Toomajian, KT Pinto, Dusti Lewars, and Yvonne Carts-Powell (I’m moderating, and more than a little concerned about trying to keep bloggers in check). Friday (August 21) 5 pm in Venice.

Media Tie-ins with Terri Osborne and Keith R. A. Decandido, and Yvonne Carts-Powell (I’m moderating — which in this case largely means leaning back and letting Keith get on with it. Very funny guy.) Friday (August 21) 6 pm in Venice

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies reading with Joy Marchand, Jennifer Williams, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. (Fun!) Friday (August 21) 9 pm in Somers

Ask a Geek: Science, computers, tech with Drew Van Zandt, Mitch Morris, Eric Weimer, Tiffany M., and Yvonne Carts-Powell. (I’m moderating, and looking forward to getting our geeks on.) Friday (August 21) 10 pm in Venice

Will humans speciate? with George Claxton(M) Erin Whittey, Ed Bishop, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. Friday (August 21) 11 pm in Somers

Alternative Energy with Drew Van Zandt, Tom Wysmuller, Ed Bishop, and Yvonne Carts-Powell (I’m moderating. This is immediately after the Tai Chi session in Venice.) Saturday (August 22) 11 am in Venice.

Neuroscience of Zombies with Tiffany M., Ed Bishop, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. (Brains!) Saturday (August 22) 12 noon in Florence

Raising Fen Trisha Wooldridge, Vicky Weimer, Eric Weimer, David Sklar, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. (I’m moderating. And this looks like fun! We get to talk about our kids!) Saturday (August 22) 3 pm in Ellington

Gender in SF/F/H Fiction Lauren Burka, Joy Marchand, David Sklar(M), K.A. Laity, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. Saturday (August 22) 4 pm in Agawam

Reading with Joy Marchand(!) and Yvonne Carts-Powell. I’m looking forward to hearing Joy read from her work. Sunday (August 22) 10 am in Ellington

Science in Science Fiction with Mitch Morris, Erin Wittey, Allen Steele, Daniel Hatch, and Yvonne Carts-Powell (I’m moderating). Sunday (August 23) noon in Venice

10 Ways to Polish Your Writing with Raven Kaldera, Keith R. A. Decandido, Joy Marchand, Daniel Hatch, and Yvonne Carts-Powell (I’m moderating). Sunday (August 23) 2 pm in Somers

Fanfic Panel with Jennifer Williams(M), Julia Burton, Inanna Arthen, Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe, and Yvonne Carts-Powell. (Should I be scared?) Sunday (August 23) 3 pm in Somers

Also, The Science of Heroes will be available in the dealer’s room during the con.

Schedule subject to change

The con organizers bill it as “An Event for Geeks, Nerds, and Dorks” so how could I resist?

I’ll be at 4Pi-Con on the weekend of August 21-23, in Springfield, MA.

I’ve also been listening in on the panel-organizing committee, and they’ve got some pretty interesting ideas. Not only will I be reading and signing from The Science of Heroes but I’ll also be one of the readers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

Alas, no Conbust for me this year. If y’all are going, have a fabulous time, and say “hi” to Randall Monroe for me!

All in all, I’m ready for a weekend at home, between

• reporting on (but not attending) Pittcon (which is like Disneyland of analytical instruments — even more so than the American Vacuum Society meetings) , and
• attending (but not yet reporting on) Lunacon (which is like a state fair for science fiction and fantasy fans, not to mention being as close to being trapped in an Escher drawing as I ever want to get).

I’ll spend the time putting in order my thoughts about powers displayed by Matt Jr. and Micah and Tracy from this past week’s episode.

I’ve also got a post brewing about how we use stories to understand reality, how we demand a ridiculous amount from stories in the mass media, except in the ways that we don’t demand nearly enough. (You can see why I’m not ready to post yet.)

In March, I’ll be speaking and signing The Science of Heroes at both

Lunacon (March 20-22, Rye Brook, NY — at the famous Hotel Escher)

and then the next weekend at

Conbust (March 27-29, Smith College, Northampton, MA)!

I’ve just returned from Boskone, which was lovely! (The con suite had seemingly limitless supplies of tea, conversation, and — especially useful to the over-socialized — many free books and old issues of Asimov’s and Analog.)

Among the panels, I enjoyed running a writing workshop on flashfiction — and as promised, I’m adding a flashfiction workshop page:Rejoice in the Tyranny of the Clock!

More soon!

Going to Boskone? Come have a beer with me on Saturday, 5 pm. Or come write multiple stories with me in a 50-minute-long workshop.

My preliminary schedule is:

• Friday 6pm Science on TV: Good or Evil?
  Is science on the tube portrayed as being a source of salvation or satanic destruction. Looking at the treatment of science on TV (Eureka, Heroes, Dr. Who, Fringe, Primeval, Stargate and what it says about the networks’ (and public) attitudes towards science in this modern age. With: Greg Bear, John Farrell, Daniel Kimmel, and Jim Mann, Yvonne Carts-Powell, moderated by Anthony R. Lewis.
• Saturday 10am Autographing the Science of Heroes (but I’m not sure where, yet). Yvonne Carts-Powell
• Saturday 2:30pm Reading from the Science of Heroes Yvonne Carts-Powell
• Saturday 5pm Literary Beer! Yvonne Carts-Powell
  You know, for a professional writer, I don’t hang out in bars nearly as much as the movies of my youth led me to expect. And when I do, I’m more often singing or folkdancing than chatting (we haven’t been banned from many pubs, honest!). As long as nobody shows up with tavern pipes and a fiddle, we should have a physically sedate but mentally lively chat. (Patricia Bray is also scheduled to be in the bar, so if science pales, we can always talk up monks and magic.)
• Sunday 10am Cool Britannia: Why We Love British TV SF
  Dr. Who. Primeval. Torchwood. Etc. Just what *is* it about British SF on TV? With Patricia Bray (again!), Vince Docherty, Jim Mann (again!), and Jennifer Pelland. I (Yvonne Carts-Powell) am moderating. (Warning: I start and end panels on time.)
• Sunday 11am Superheroes
  Are there any superpowers left that we haven’t seen? That we’d rather not see? Participants will explore these themes, and more. With Michael A. Burstein, Matthew Jarpe, Alisa Kwitney Sheckley. Yvonne Carts-Powell. Moderated by Daniel P. Dern.
• Sunday 2pm Write a Story Now
  There’s no time to agonize over word choice (or anything else!) when you are writing flashfiction. Bring your netbooks or pen and paper and enjoy a low-risk writing workshop. Yvonne Carts-Powell

In other news, I’m confirmed as a guest at ConBust March 27-29, Smith College, Northampton, MA.

Vericon was lovely! I’m still a bit fried, but, in point form:

• Kim Stanley Robinson had a lot of smart things to say, and now I’m fired up to read his Mars novels,
• Greer Gilman (the author of “Moonwise” — which is a brilliant book, pretty much what Ulysses might have been if James Joyce had been a folkie. And female. And, you know, from New England.) has a new book coming out this spring!
• Robert Redick’s reading was delightful, and I wish his books were already available in the US. (Check out Redick’s blog.)
• The panels were a blast! I enjoyed chewing on the subjects with Catherynne Valente, Allen Steele, Paul Di Filippo, and Don D’Ammassa as well as the aforementioned Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert Redick.
• I heard all sorts of good things about Conbust, the Smith College convention.

So a sincere thank you, to Jason and John and the rest of the Vericon staff — Oh, and especially to Nora, who ran the (quite good) art show.