• Derek has sold short fiction to Asimov’s Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, On Spec, Black Gate, sub-Terrain and Chilling Tales II, and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 
• Matt’s fiction has been published in print, online and audio magazines and anthologies like the Tesseracts Series, On Spec, the Drabblecast and AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review.  His story “Touch the Sky” was nominated for the 2011 Aurora Award and he is the Marketing Director of ChiZine Publications, an award-winning horror press in Toronto. 
• Hayden’s plays have been produced Alberta and Saskatchewan and on CBC radio and his short fiction has appeared in On Spec, TransVersions, Tesseracts6, Neo-Opsis, Challenging Destiny, Talebones, Gaslight Grimoire and on CBC radio. In 2008, he won the Aurora for his novella, “Like Water in the Desert,” and in 2011, he once again won an Aurora for his short story “The Burden of Fire.”  His novels “Defining Diana,” “Steel Whispers,” and “Stealing Home” received Aurora nominations.  “Stealing Home” was also a finalist in the 2011 Sunburst Award. He is currently he is editing a short fiction anthology, “Blood and Water,” for Bundoran Press. It will appear in August 2012.

The workshop will run from 10-5 on Sunday, 26 February, 2012, on the campus of the University of Ottawa (70 Laurier Ave E, Room 509, Ottawa) and is targeting writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror early in their careers who are looking to improve both their writing skills and knowledge of the publishing world.  The workshop will focus on writing short stories but lessons learned can also be applied to the novel.  We will use short lecture sessions, writing activities and group discussions.  Topics will include: 

• The writing life:
• • Finding time to write in a busy schedule
  • How to keep motivated despite setbacks and rejections
  • What publishing will look like in the years to come
• The premise and story – the big picture of plotting
• The Grail of Originality and tips for the quest
• Quick and obvious editing techniques to polish your writing
• Wrap-up: Where you can find resources and information to improve your writing and stay motivated

To see what Matt, Derek and Hayden write, please see:

Derek’s Fiction:

• “The God Thieves” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=182
• “Getting High with Thomas the Apostle” in sub-Terrain http://subterrain.ca/magazine/49/subterrain-issue-52

Matt’s Fiction:

• “Touch the Sky, They Say” in AESciFi http://aescifi.ca/index.php/fiction/35-short-stories/109-touch-the-sky-they-say
• “While Gabriel Slept” audio in Cast Macabre http://www.castmacabre.org/2011/01/cm30-while-gabriel-slept-by-matt-moore.html 

Hayden’s fiction:

• You can read “Iron Ties” (from Talebones) and “Symphony of Stones” (from Neo-Opsis) at www.haydentrenholm.com

The workshop will be limited to 20 participants, so reserve a spot early by emailing dkunsken (at ) hotmail . com.  The cost for attending the workshop will be $40 and all proceeds go to support Can-Con 2012, a science fiction convention in Ottawa in September 21-23, 2012, a meeting place of fans as well as pro and semi-pro writers, editors and publishers.  Check out Can-Can 2012 at www.can-con.org.

I really appreciate the early reviews. I paste a few below. 

“The God Thieves” by Derek Künsken

A sort of alternate history in which Christianity [the god that won't fight] has been mostly superseded by the use of ancient gods as weapons of war between the great commercial powers.

Genoa stole the secrets of domesticating the gods from the Venetians. The Venetians stole from Genoa. Always chasing. Always fleeing. Always hunting up new gods with which to destroy each other.

Mateo is one of Genoa’s top agents, but he is also a Christian who yearns for salvation, all the while knowing that his job imperils his soul. He is now being sent to Venice to steal the plans for the Enlil engine, with his own soul augmented by a dragon’s, a powerful weapon of magic itself. A lot of neat stuff in this scenario. I particularly like the soul-weighing scale. The story is a clear analogy for the perils of arms wars. While there is sufficient magical-agent action, the real emphasis here is on the religious issues, the struggle for personal salvation and the peril of the soul.  – Lois Tilton, http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/#bcs201112

The second short, “The God Thieves,” by Derek Kunsken is substantially longer. It is a historical fantasy that tells the story of Mateo del Monte Feltro, a Genoese spy sometime around the renaissance. The re-envisioning of Europe here is drastic. Venice and Genoa have become the seats of power, because they have mutually learned how to weaponize the powers of the gods. There is a bit of Lovecraft here; Kunsken described Odin, one of the gods weaponized by Venice as “a gibbering monster of overripe flesh and rudderless power.” If you get the Old Ones vibe, you’re onto something. Mateo is tasked with infiltrating the Venice Secret Police, where the ‘engines’ that harness the power of their captive guards are kept, in order to steal away the secret of Venice’s newest acquired power, the Sumerian god Enlil. Mateo doesn’t like this; he has recently converted to Christianity (in this world, Christ is “The God who Does Not Fight”), and struggles with where his loyalties lie: his city, and his daughter, or with the Christ whose powers may be subtle, but whom he believes can cleanse his soul. And there’s a catch to Genoa’s request of him: in order to infiltrate the Venetian vaults, he’ll have to have part of his soul amputated, in order to make room for a lobotomized dragon soul which will give him enough power to slip in unnoticed. You read that right. In Kunsken’s dark-aged, theo-nuclear Europe, spiritual surgery—and magical creatures—exist, and are important in the way of creating a better soldier. It’s a very interesting facet of the story, and it clearly bears resemblance to some of the experimenting the government performs on its own soldiers. It’s not nearly as exaggerated as the soldier-enhancement is in The Manchurian Candidate, but it is here in this short, and the dragon, Batu, is a wonderful character that Kunsken has realized with bright language. As Batu and Mateo attempt to infiltrate Venice, you learn a lot about this very intricate, arguably insane magical technology that might be the most interesting form of magic I’ve read of in a long time. It’s totally worth the read. Mateo’s conflict with his Christian faith and the demands of the state, and his need to protect his daughter, are very well realized, and drive the story far further, and much deeper, than I would have guessed from the first few pages. – Travis Knight, The Weaving Knight.

Derek Kunsken’s tale of Renaissance gods and magic, “The God Thieves,” is also a very good story, with first-rate worldbuilding. – Jonathan Crowe at http://www.jonathancrowe.net/2011/12/reading-short-sf-2.php.

Il y a aussi une petite discussion en France:

Encore une nouvelle remarquable dans ce numéro.
The god thieves par Derek Kunsken est une nouvelle de fantasy uchronique nous introduisant dans une renaissance italienne où la magie existe, où les dieux antiques ont été capturé et transformé en arme ou leurs âmes a servi à élaborer des dispositifs magiques. Nous suivons un héros agent secret dans une aventure digne de James Bond. Nous avons même droit aux gadgets mais ici ils sont de natures magiques et ont une nature très particulière. C’est une histoire qui va bien sûr à 100 à l’heure mais avec une réflexion sur l’âme, les sacrifices nécessaires… Bref la lecture est hautement recommandées. – Fabien Lyraud at http://www.elbakin.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=300093

My next story, “The Way of the Needle”, mixes the samurai ethos with life around a pulsar, and is the lead story in the March issue of Asimovs:

The action never lets up in our March lead story by newish author Derek Künksen. Life may have formed very differently in “The Way of the Needle” than it has on Earth, but the nature of conflict remains the same. – http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/nextissue.shtml

I hope everyone has a great year!

Derek

Out of 44 submissions, I made a single sale: “Ascension” to AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review. While thrilled, some of the rejections were to markets I really wanted to be a part of, namely Mike Kelly’s Chilling Tales II and Blood Bound Books’ Night Terrors II.

Perhaps that’s because this year was mostly a year of revisions. I didn’t turn out as many original stories as I would like, instead going back to older stories and revising them, using skills I have sharpened to fix mistakes I hadn’t realized I’d made. In retrospect, this was not the best strategy. Some of these stories are too long to be marketable, and others are still not at a level I am happy with.

But, I did post 59th items to my blog. I have also jumped on Google+ and created a Facebook page.

My career, however, gathered a lot of momentum.

In January, I was thrilled to hear Cast Macabre‘s version of my short story “While Gabriel Slept” (sold in 2010) after a number of other audio markets said they loved it, but didn’t know how to make it work. This rendition chilled me… and I wrote the story! (Download the MP3). Later in the year, Cast Macabre also accepted my ghost story “The Weak Son” (first published in Tesseracts Thirteen), but the site seems to be on hiatus and I don’t know when things will get rolling again.

In mid-2011, I learned “Touch the Sky, They Say,” published on AE, had been nominated for a Aurora Award. While I ultimately lost to my friend Hayden Trenholm, it was a great honour and great experience, especially the support D.F. McCourt from AE gave me. And my friends from ChiZine Publications Erik Mohr, Helen Marshall and Sandra Kasturi won Auroras for their work.

I also made a good friend in Adam Shaftoe, editor of the Page of Reviews site, who interviewed me twice for his podcast and ran reviews of my stories “Full Moon Hill,” “Touch the Sky, They Say” and “Ascension.” He also name-checked me in reviewing Contagion, using my thoughts on what makes a horror story (which was inspired by Gemma Files) to try to define the film.

Speaking of naming checking, Helen Michaud, non-fiction editor over at AE, called me out in her essay “Over the Transom: A Rose Without a Name is Not as Cool a Companion.” Her premise is that characters should be named. Trying to use nameless “he” and “I” and “you” in order to add a certain mystery to the story often falls flat. However, she used “Touch the Sky, They Say” and “Ascension” as exceptions that prove the rule.

In non-fiction news, editorials I wrote ran on AE (about “dark SF”) and The Page of Reviews (about whether we still need to vigoursly defend genre distinctions). Another editorial on the decline of science fiction and rise of fantasy, which I co-wrote with Adam, will appear in On Spec.

I attended Ad Astra, the World Horror Convention and SFCOntario, sitting on panels, catching up with friends and making new ones. Since attending Ad Astra 2008 as a nobody, I find myself run off my feet at these conventions, knowing so many people and often leaving with regrets I didn’t get a chance to talk to this person or that.

I am looking forward to 2012. I have learned a lot over this past year and hope to apply it in the year to come. My goal is to “bring the awesome” (as I am calling it). Not just writing what comes to mind, but telling chilling horror stories and thought provoking sci-fi.

In closing, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made me feel welcome, appreciated and a part of the wonderful speculative fiction community. I’m looking forward to spending more time with you in 2012.

The ChiZine Connection: Brett Savory, Sandra Kasturi, Helen Marshall, Laura Marshall, Sam Beiko, Brent Hayward, Bob Boyczuk, David Nickle, Gemma Files, Nick Kaufmann, Claude Lalumière, Derryl Murphy, Mike Rowe, Doug Smith, Paul Tremblay, Erik Mohr, Barry King, Kevin Nunn, Tristan Joseph, Rio Youers, Ryan McFadden, Corey Beep

Authors & Editors: Mike Kelly, Madeline Ashby, Suzanne Church, Matt Johnson, D.F. McCourt, Helen Michaud, Diane Walton, Adam Shaftoe, Julie Czerneda

The East Block Irregulars: Derek Kunsken, Peter Atwood, Marie Bilodeau, Hayden Trenholm, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Geoff Gander, Agnes Cadieux

See you all next year!

Bibliotheca Fantastica

Edited by Claude Lalumière and Don Pizarro, this anthology from Dagan Books is looking for

“Stories having to do with lost, rare, weird, or imaginary books, or any aspect of book history or book culture, past, present, future, or uchronic. Any genre. Although the fantastical is not essential per se, stories should evoke a sense of the fantastic, the unknown, the weird, wonder, terror, mystery, pulp, and/or adventure, etc.”

Full details on their site, but the basics are:

• Time Period = December 15, 2011– March 31, 2012
• Payment = 2 cents per word + contributor copies
• Length = 10K words max
• Response Time = Doesn’t say
• No reprints
• No sim subs
• 2 subs per author

Tesseracts Sixteen

From Edge Publishing, they recently released the guidelines for the latest volume in their speculative anthology, which will be edited by Mark Leslie. They’re looking for stories and poems that “focus on art, music, literature and cultural elements which are integral to the story. ” This anthology is only open to Canadians citizens (including ex-pats), landed immigrants (aka permanent residents) and long time residents.

• Time period = Now – February 29, 2012
• Payment = $20.00 for poems, $50 to $150 for stories (see guidelines for details)
• Length = 5K words max
• Response Time = ~15 days
• Accepts reprints, but a “hard sell”
• Accepts sim subs, but not recommended
• Only one story per author

Here Be Monsters Anthology

Here Be Monsters is seeking stories for their sixth issue, out in winter 2012. They will accept stories in any genre. This anthology is only open to Canadian residents.

• Time period = Now – January 16, 2012
• Payment = $30 (flat) + contributor copy
• Length = 10K words max
• Response Time = Doesn’t say
• No reprints
• Accept sim subs

[Please Note: I am not associated with any of these; just passing along the info. Please direct any questions to the editors/publishers.]

I have an article up on Adam Shaftoe’s Page of Reviews about the divisions and definitions in genre literature, and why it might be time for us to start thinking about what makes a good story rather than fighting over whether it is or isn’t sci-fi.

It begins:

In August, AE: The Canadian Science Fiction review published my short story Ascension, which is about the zombie apocalypse told from a zombie’s point of view. Some would say this alone makes it a horror story. Yet it also deals with mass consciousness and the transcendence of the physical to the purely mental―the zombie apocalypse as the singularity―topics normally found in science fiction.

So, is it then a sci-fi story?

My question is: does it even matter? And are these divisions hurting us as a community?

Head over to Page of Reviews to read it all and let Adam know you were there by leaving a comment.

It’s a short piece, so please give it a read.

Voting for the Auroras starts in June, so stay tuned for more information.

Not true really.  First impressions are seldom lasting ones and bad habits can always be amended.

But still, starting a new story is always tough.  A couple of weeks ago I finished my novel, Stealing Home.  It was not only the end of a novel; it was the final book in a trilogy.  I’ve got lots of ideas for more books and even had a deadline to finish a story for an anthology.  But it was a beautiful spring.  There were walks to be taken, gardens to plant, wine to drink. 

Plus, my last book was nominated for an Aurora Award.  Wait until that’s over, I thought, think how motivated you’ll be if you win.  Right.  And if you lose, no worries; all the other nominees are good friends.  And you’ve lost things before – more often than you’ve won.  Sure.

The weekend at KeyCon was great.  The nominees, calling themselves the Magnificent Basterds, held a joint party on Friday night that was a roaring success.  Programming was fun as usual and I had lots of positive feedback – people saying they loved my book and had voted for it.  Still, I tried to contain my optimism.  Then, Dan O’Driscoll won for Artistic Accomplishment for my novel’s cover!  Maybe, just maybe…

But no.  Robert J. Sawyer won for his excellent novel, Wake.  A deserving win (and besides Rob had already suffered a bigger disappointment – the cancellation of Flash Forward, the ABC TV series based on his novel).  I think I was gracious, smiled, hugged, said all the right things.  And I meant them too.

But I have to say, I shed a tear or two when I got back to my room.

And the next day, I had pretty much decided to give up writing.  I’d just see my third book launched and then take it easy for the summer – reading, gardening, travelling, drinking wine in my backyard.  The next day, I started planning a search for a new job – one that would pay a lot more and fill up those empty hours I normally spent writing.  That was the new me – a workaholic bureaucrat working 60 hours a week for the big bucks!

Then I thought about it.  I still had that anthology deadline.  So Saturday, having spent a couple of days working out the plot, I sat down to write.  God, it was painful.  The first hundred words took over an hour and by the end of the day, I only had a thousand words.

No, that was it.  No way.  I lost the drive, the zest, the skill.  I really was finished as a writer.

Sunday morning I avoided my office like the plague – quite literally since I’d come down with either the flu or a severe allergy attack.  There was no way… unless, maybe if I approached it this way.  By deadline day – Tuesday – despite frequent unpleasant interruptions, I had a five thousand short story.  Is it brilliant?  That’s not for me to judge – but it was certainly good enough to let the editors of the anthology make that decision for themselves.

So I guess I’m back in the saddle.  Oh, I still intend to enjoy my summer (we’re off to Europe in 18 days for a three week holiday) but I’m not looking for a new killer job.  And I’m not giving up writing.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll win an Aurora next year.

Even if you’ve been writing for years and have a stack of rejections taller than you, every now and then you submit to a market you’re convinced is perfect for your story, but 6 weeks later that envelope or email comes saying “Thanks for sending your story, but…”

You tell yourself it’s the process, it’s nothing personal and your story’s terrific, just not “right” for that particular market.

Yet all that rationalization doesn’t hold back those nasty thoughtsthat your story is crap, you’re a terrible writer and maybe it’s time to give up.

And you hate yourself for having those thoughts and doubts.

So how can you deal? Well, it’s important to understand what’s going on inside your head: you’re grieving. Those thoughts are part of a mental process we all go through. Best to let them play out and not do anything rash.

The Grieving Process

Usually, we talk about grieving when someone we love dies. “Grief” is a heavy, emotionally-laden word not used lightly. But grief can be used to describe any loss, including the lost hope of making that sale, regardless if it’s at pro rates to Asimov’s or the small antho that will pay one contributor’s copy.

Grieving has 5 steps:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Keeping the above in mind, consider the thought process we go throughwhen we get a rejection:

You read the letter, then read it again to make sure you understand correctly: You’ve been rejected. You read it one more time, looking for some glimmer of “Please revise and resubmit” or “We’ve rejected it, but still might buy it.” [DENIAL] But you realize it’s a flat out “no” and think “Damn it, three months down the drain when I could have sent it someplace else.” And it would have been nice if they gave some clue as to why it was rejected instead of a form letter. [ANGER] Maybe if you’d changed something—amp up the tension, better define the characters, tighten the dialogue. Or was there a typo in your cover letter? [BARGAINING] But what’s the use? It’s a crappy story that’ll take too long to fix… assuming you even have the skills to fix it. Maybe all these rejections are trying to tell you something. [DEPRESSION]

But after a while—half an hour, a few days—you calm down, realize it’s no big deal and send the story off to someplace else. [ACCEPTANCE]

Hopefully, you still have the story and haven’t wiped the hard drive in an outburst of self-pity.

So What Should You Do?

Understand that grieving is like getting nervous before an exam or interview—it has nothing to do with your preparation or competency. It’s how your body deals with stress. Grieving is the same: a process hard-wired into our brains.

When you get that rejection letter and feel angry, think of how you could have improved the story, and begin to question your skills as a writer—don’t fight it. Acknowledge you’re grieving, let your brain work through the process and don’t do anything rash. It’s just how your mind files away bad news.

Resist the temptation to madly revise the story, erase all your stories or announce you’re quitting the writing game. Be aware of the stages as they come, let your brain work, and hunker down until you’re back on an even keel.

You’ll get through it.

Friday

Arrived around 5:30 and got settled in, wandering the lobby and meeting friends I’d not seen since WorldCon in August or Ad Astra ’09.

I kicked off the con at 8, moderating the “Critiquing Groups” panel with old friends David Nickle and Suzanne Church and new friends Megan Crewe and Lorne Kates. This group was a lot of fun, with each panellists bringing a slightly different take on and experience with critiquing groups.

At 10, I moderated the “Grassroots on Virtual Soil” panel about using online tools to market yourself and make connections as a writer with Justine Lewkowicz, Cathy Palmer-Lister and CZP author Douglas Smith. Though it started a little slow (thankfully, I had an agenda to keep us going), we quickly picked up steam, covering different tools and tactics one can use online, and we ran about 10 minutes long—thankfully we were the last panel so no one came to kick us out.

I then retired to the Green Room, where a good chunk of the CZP family had taken over part of the room and stayed up to much too late.

Saturday

The 11 o’clock ChiZine Publications Panel felt a lot earlier than it was, but it was the first time CZP staff and authors have come together in such a large group. Representing CZP was:

• Brett Alexander Savory
• Sandra Kasturi
• Gemma Files
• David Nickle
• Claude Lalumière
• Douglas Smith
• Helen Marshall
• Laura Marshall
• Erik Mohr
• And yours truly

With Bob Boyczuk out in the audience.

After lunch with friends, I went for a swim with my wife and was then off to the 3 o’clock panel for The East Block Irregulars (Hayden Trenholm, Derek Kunsken, Elizabeth Westbrook-Trenholm, Marie Bilodeau, Peter Atwood and me). It felt a bit self-indulgent, but the EBI has been a strong and effective critiquing group and I think the audience learned a lot from how we’ve run ourselves.

After flaking out for a bit and supper with Doug Smith, the CZP Launch Party started at 7 with readings from David Nickle, Claude Lalumière, Gemma Files and Douglas Smith. I went up to the bar to grab a drink, but ran into the East Block Irregulars and stayed with them for a bit before heading back up to the Green Room, where again I stayed later than I should. But, I got to talk to some people I hadn’t had the chance to like Michael Rowe, Gemma Files and Michael Kelly.

Sunday

I passed the morning in the dealer’s room with Brett Savory, making rude jokes and talking about next steps for CZP (which are not mutually exclusive topics!). At noon, I moderated the “Writing & Time Management” panel with Suzanne Church, Sephera Giron, Eileen Bell and Michael Rowe. This panel, which I had pictured as being about “trying writing while waiting for the laundry to finish in the dryer” or “Set deadlines and stick to them” quickly evolved to something else: The idea that writers do have the time, but the internal critic tells them “This is a waste” and “You’re no good.” It’s hard to capture, but the panellist really got at the heart of what it means to be a writer. You have to want it and be willing to sacrifice other things. If you can do that, writers will find the time. Otherwise, if you don’t truly want to be a writer, you will keep making excuses.

The “Publicity – The Good, The Bad and the Bonkers” panel with Kelley Armstrong, Peter Watts and Carolyn Clink was a bit more upbeat, trading amusing stories of publicity gone wrong and publicity gone right.

When that panel wrapped up, I said some quick good-byes and was back on the road to Ottawa, where I managed to get some much-needed rest.

Rob Sawyer and Carolyn Clink generously offered Liz and I accommodation in their condo, along with Buffalo friends Herb Kauderer, Isabelle Fournier and Al Katerinsky.  Rob and Carolyn were staying at the Con hotel this year as he was one of the Guests of Honour.

Liz decided to spend the evening visiting her son, Steve, his wife, Amanda and their son James while I trundled off to the convention.  I only had one panel Friday evening: “The Electric/Alternative Car.”  My fellow panellists, Al Katerinsky and Stephen B. Pearl were lively and knowledgeable and we had great input from our audience of about 15 or so.  Then it was off to the party rooms where I had a chance to talk to lots of folks, including aurora-winning author Doug Smith, David Nickle (Monstrous Affections from Chizine Publications) and Chris Jackson, author of Scimitar Moon.

Saturday was a busy day and began with a panel called “Each Character’s Voice.”  I was joined by authors Grant Carrington, Karin Lowachee, Kate Story and Gregory A. Wilson.  I learned a few new techniques for keeping characters distinct and shared a few of my own tricks of the trade.  There was a good turnout for a Saturday morning and I think people generally were both entertained and informed.

I had a nice lunch with members of my writing group – Peter Atwood, Matt Moore Derek Kunksken and their partners/children.  After lunch I chatted with Rob Sawyer, Rick Wilber and Nick DiChario for fifteen minutes or so before heading off to my next panel, another science topic: “The Energy Mosaic: Why we don’t need to freeze in the dark.”  Al and Stephen from my first panel were joined by Don Shears.  The room was packed and the sun was shining through the south facing windows, so none of us had to worry about freezing that day!  The general conclusion was that we needed to move forward as quickly as we could with alternatives to fossil fuels (especially coal) but that success would largely depend on economics and government policy.

The most fun I had was participating in “The East block Irregulars,” which consisted of the six members of my Ottawa writing group, the three mentioned above plus Liz Westbrook-Trenholm and Marie Bilodeau.  We chatted to a small but enthusiastic crowd about the pros and cons of writing groups and how we think our formula – professional, ambitious and dedicated writers all at the same level with a focus on the writing rather than the group – works well for us.  It was a very comfortable session and reminded me again how much I like all these people.  An autographing session followed where I got to share a table with fellow Bundoran author, Matthew Johnson.  We both sold a few books and had some nice chats with fans.

That evening Liz and I had supper with Herb, Isabelle and Al, along with poet and punster, David Clink.  We ate at the Mongolian Grill and the food and the company were both great.  We checked in at a few parties – notably the one for the new Toronto Con, SFContario, which will take place this November.

Sunday started way too early with a 10am panel called “Writing the Future,” with Matthew Johnson and award-winning writer, Karl Schroeder.  Another good crowd listened while we described how we crafted credible futures by projecting current trends and predicting possible shifts in technology, economics, the environment or social mores.  Next, David Stephenson and I talked to a small group about the after math of the Copenhagen climate change conference.  My last event of the day and the Con was a reading (time shared with Marie Bilodeau) from my new novel, Stealing Home, the first public presentation of the material.  It was nice to see Nick Matthews who gave a great review to Steel Whispers. Then it was good-byes all around and the long drive back to Ottawa.