Starting Friday, I’ll be attending FOGcon (website) in Walnut Creek, which is a local convention for speculative fiction writers and enthusiasts. It runs March 6-8 this year, and yes, it is still on despite the coronavirus threat. As I am not in a high-risk population, I plan to attend.
You can buy a membership for a full day’s events at FOGcon whether you come Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or all of the above. It’s a small con, but that’s part of the reason why I enjoy going so much–there’s so much opportunity to check in with other writers and fans that live locally.
These are the panels and readings I’ll be appearing at:
-Food in Genre Fiction, panelist, Fri, 3:00–4:15 pm. Inspired by Mary Anne Mohanraj’s latest publication being a cookbook, let’s think about food and its place in genre fiction! In stories where a stranger visits a new culture, we often hear about their food choices (Becky Chambers’s “Record of a Spaceborn Few” comes to mind). Food can be a marker of similarity or difference between people, and ultimately, it is a necessity. When our worlds change, what happens to the food in them?
-Choosing Your Own Adventures, panelist, Sat, 10:30–11:45 am. For many of us, the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books were an early exposure to speculative fiction — and we remember them with fondness. They are also experiencing a pop-culture resurgence. Panelists will discuss some of their favorite examples, what is different about the books (both the experience of writing and reading them), and their influence on the wider culture.
-People Aren’t Food: Cliches in Description, panelist, Sun, 10:30–11:45 am. Her heart-shaped face. His chiseled jaw. He’s ruggedly handsome. Her rose-colored complexion. The women are stunningly beautiful or haggardly ugly. Her cinnamon visage, his coffee-colored arms. He stared stonily. Women sob. Men weep. What are better ways to describe actual people and what they do, without falling into gendered and racialized tropes?
-Reading #10, Sun, 1:30–2:45 pm, reading with Elwin Cotwin, Jr., and Andrea Stewart. During this event, I’ll giving away a copy of Wings Unseen, and Andrea will also have a few books for audience members to hopefully win! Enticements for coming to the last reading of a convention are always appreciated.
And you can often find me hanging out in the lobby bar. Come say hi! Wings Unseen will be available in the vendor’s room (or ask me if they run out!).