Capclave starts tomorrow! Where did the year go? It seems to have filled up like…well, like my Capclave schedule, which is nothing if not exciting. That’s okay. I like exciting.
Hope to see you there–there being the Hilton Washington, DC North/Gaithersburg in Gaithersburg, Maryland. And as always, there will be chocolate…
Friday
5 PM, Rockville/Potomac Room
Humorous SF
Panelists: John Ashmead (M), Norm Sherman, Alex Shvartsman, Jean Marie Ward
It’s easy to name the funny fantasy books, but what about the funny SF books and short stories? For instance, Unidentified Funny Objects was an entire anthology of funny SF.
8 PM, Rockville/Potomac
No Means No
Panelists: Inge Heyer, Natalie Luhrs, Emmie Mears, Jon Skovron, Jean Marie Ward (M)
There is a great disturbance in science fiction and fantasy. As fans and writers you have the right to expect respect.
9 PM, Bethesda
Don’t Go There. Unless You Really Want To.
Panelists: Brenda W. Clough, David G. Hartwell, Shahid Mahmud, Jean Marie Ward (M)
Taboo subjects in fantasy and science fiction. Are there any? What lines won’t you cross? What lines should you cross?
11 PM, Salon A
The Appeal of King Arthur
Panelists: Tom Doyle, Max Gladstone, Robert Greenberger, David G. Hartwell, Darrell Schweitzer, Jean Marie Ward (M)
What makes so many writers from Twain to Mary Stewart to Lerner and Lowe produce their own takes on ‘the matter of Britain’? Why do King Arthur books thrive while other legends like Robin Hood get far less attention? What are the best takes on the Arthurian legend?
Saturday
2 PM, Bethesda
Smart Women Foolish Television
Panelists: Barbara Krasnoff, Sherin Nicole (M), Janine Spendlove, Genevieve Valentine, Jean Marie Ward, Fran Wilde
We all have those shows we watch and love and maybe love to pick on because they are our guilty pleasures. We revel in their cliches and inconsistent writing and leaps of logic. Or in their bizarre yet internally consistent alternate realities (even if they’re supposed to be based in the real world). Ahistorical historical shows and why we love their anachronisms.
7:30 PM, Salon A
Mass Signing
Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sarah Avery, Paolo Bacigalupi, Holly Black, Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen, Neil Clarke, Tom Doyle, Andy Duncan, Scott Edelman, Jim Freund, Charles E. Gannon, Max Gladstone, David G. Hartwell, Alma Katsu, Pamela K. Kinney, Barbara Krasnoff, Dina Leacock, James Maxey, Will McIntosh, Mike McPhail, Sunny Moraine, James Morrow, Sarah Pinsker, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Lawrence M. Schoen, Darrell Schweitzer, Alex Shvartsman, Jon Skovron, Alan Smale, Bud Sparhawk, Janine Spendlove, Genevieve Valentine, Michael A. Ventrella, Jean Marie Ward, Lawrence Watt-Evans
The Saturday evening mass autographing session.
11 PM, Bethesda
Eye of Argon
Panelists: Walter H. Hunt, Sarah Pinsker, Ian Randal Strock, Michael A. Ventrella (M), Jean Marie Ward
Our panelists read the worst fantasy story ever written, mistakes and all, and if they laugh or read it incorrectly, they are forced to act out the story. Just try not to fall over laughing! At some point, volunteers from the audience can participate and discover firsthand the author’s contentious relationship with spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Sunday
12 PM, Rockville/Potomac
Can A Small Town Elf Make it in the Big City?
Panelists: Holly Black (M), Jim Freund, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Emmie Mears, Jean Marie Ward
It’s an Urban Fantasy panel. Favorite authors, current trends, what’s the next supernatural creature to hit it big now that vampires, zombies and angels have all had a turn in the spotlight?
4 PM, Bethesda
The Darker Side of Fae
Panelists: Holly Black, Pamela K. Kinney, Janine Spendlove, Jean Marie Ward (M)
Not everyone can be Tinkerbell (who wasn’t all sweetness and light), sometimes the world is a little less clean and pure. Both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are best avoided if at all possible.