I’ll be at Readercon this year, July 17-20. Here’s my schedule:
Friday 11:00 AM, ME/ CT: Talk / Discussion (60 min.) Science Fiction as a Mirror for Reality. Robert J. Sawyer with discussion by Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael A. Burstein, Lancer Kind, Hildy Silverman, _et al_
Science fiction has always been a powerful vehicle for commenting on the here-and-now, letting us explore the burning issues of today in the guise of talking about tomorrow. Sawyer is currently under contract with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to host and co-produce a pilot for a web-based new-media series based on this idea. He’ll talk about sf as a mirror of reality, discuss the project, and brainstorm with audience members about recent sf that comments on the here and now and might be worth spotlighting should the CBC series go beyond the pilot stage.
Friday 6:00 PM, Salon F: Panel If All Men Were Tolerant, How Would You Shock Your Sister? Paolo Bacigalupi, Rose Fox, Barry N. Malzberg, James Morrow (L), Cecilia Tan
Once upon a time “a glimpse of stocking” was a dangerous vision. What is the future of transgression and the shocking in a society that prides itself on its ever-increasing tolerance? What value do shocking and transgressive texts have? How do they read once their shocking element becomes passé?
Friday 7:00 PM, Salon F: Panel Waking Up Sober Next to a Story Idea. Paolo Bacigalupi, Jeffrey A. Carver (L), David Anthony Durham, Kay Kenyon, Barry B. Longyear, Jennifer Pelland
Really, it seemed absolutely beautiful once upon a time. Now that you’ve had intimate knowledge of it (say, midway through the novel), you can see all the less-than-flattering sides. You may even wonder, _What the hell was I thinking?_ How do you recover enthusiasm for the work? Now that you see the flaws, how do you begin the process of fixing them?
Friday 9:00 PM, VT: Group Reading (60 min.) _Wastelands_ Group Reading John Joseph Adams (host) with Paolo Bacigalupi, Dale Bailey, Elizabeth Bear, John Langan, Jonathan Lethem.
Readings from the reprint anthology (subtitled _Stories of the Apocalypse_) edited by Adams and published by Nightshade Books in January.
Saturday 1:00 PM, Salon E: Autographing Paolo Bacigalupi; Kay Kenyon
Sunday 11:00 AM, Vinyard: Kaffeeklatsch Paolo Bacigalupi; Sarah Beth Durst
Sunday 1:00 PM, NH / MA: Reading (30 min.) I read either a new short story or an excerpt from my novel-in-progress.