This weekend, the rivers of speculative fiction will converge at the annual literary event known as Confluence. Launched in 1988 as a cooperative effort between the University of Pittsburgh science fiction club and Parsec, Confluence has grown from a one-day event to become one of the great regional SF conventions.
This year’s program will feature panels on a variety of genre-related topic, and I’m looking forward to joining three of them on Saturday. Here’s a rundown of what I’ll be up to:
WRITING FOR ANTHOLOGIES (1:00 pm)
How do anthologies work? How do editors select stories and decide the story order? Why do authors participate in anthologies, what’s in it for the reader, and how has Kickstarter touched off an anthology resurgence?
Moderator: Jamie Lackey
Panelists: Brian Kosciencki, Mike McPhail, Jeff Young, Lawrence C. Connolly, Michael Arnzen.
WORLD BUILDING WITH EXOPLANETS (2:00 pm)
The Kepler mission showed us that exoplanets exist. Now, what can SF authors do with them?
Moderator: Lawrence C. Connolly
Panelists: William H. Keith, Barton Paul Levenson, Rob Howell, Tom Peters.
SIX DEGREES OF TERMINATOR (6:00 pm)
Artificial intelligence, androids, time loops, political assassinations: what are the predecessors of 1984’s The Terminator?
Moderator: Kenneth B. Chiacchia
Panelists: Jeff Young, Lawrence C. Connolly, Mark Painter, Jay Smith
This year, Confluence is being held at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. If you love speculative fiction and live anywhere in the Pittsburgh area, you’ll want to be sure to check this one out.
More information is available at the official Confluence website.
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