Tag Archives: sfpa

MileHiCon 51 Schedule

By lytspeed Posted in Conventions, Gaming, Geek, Poetry, Reading, Writing Leave a reply

MileHiCon 51 is happening this weekend, and I’ll be appearing on six panels! Please see below for my schedule.

Friday, October 18, 2019

2 P.M., Mesa Verde A — Moderator 101 (M) — I’m honored to be moderating the Moderator 101 panel to kick off the convention. If you’ve never been a panel moderator before, come join us to get a rundown of the dos and don’ts of moderating a MileHiCon panel.

3 P.M., Mesa Verde A — Fannish Civility and Kindness — Genre fans are passionate, but that doesn’t mean those passions have to get in the way of general kindness or civility. This panel is a reminder that we’re all here for the same geeky reasons, despite differences between Hogwarts houses or Federation factions, and a little respect goes a long way.

5 P.M., Mesa Verde B — Project in a Drawer (M) — A discussion of what projects our experts have lurking in basement file cabinets and whether (or when) they might see the light of day.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

12 P.M. Wind River B — The Edward W. Bryant Memorial Panel, 2019 Edition (M) — A discussion of the life and works of the writer Edward W. Bryant, the upcoming Retrospective of his career, his appearance as Memorial Guest of Honor at the 2019 ReaderCon, and other miscellaneous items related to this terrific writer, fan, critic, and human being. Featuring Jean-Philippe Gervais, the publisher of the forthcoming three volume Retrospective of Ed’s work.

5 P.M., Mesa Verde B — SF Poetry Slam (M) — A tradition at MileHiCon, it’s once again time for the SF Poetry Slam/panel. Generally, this is more of a reading than a traditional poetry slam. We will be featuring at least three members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, and anyone else who wishes to read their SF-related work is welcome to join in.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

10 A.M. Mesa Verde B — Gaming as a Way of Exploring Identity — Roleplaying games, whether tabletop or online, have always been a good way to explore identity and gain different perspectives into oneself and one’s beliefs. This panel digs deep into using roleplaying games to explore self-identity.

Reflections on 2018

By lytspeed Posted in Conventions, Fiction, Lyrics, Music, Non-Fiction, Pets, Poetry, Writing Leave a reply

When I look back at 2018, I have a generally good feeling. A couple of difficult personal events happened toward the end of the year, but overall, it was a good year, and a year of firsts for me. Let’s dig in.

Challenges

We’ll get the rough stuff out of the way first. November was definitely the most challenging month, with a storage unit fire early and the passing of a longtime pet near the end.

The remains of the storage unit fire (L), and Sophia, the Bewilderbeast (R)
(Like you couldn’t tell.)

About half my possessions were in the storage unit, and most burned up or were damaged beyond repair from fire and water, including a number of family heirlooms. Every few days, I think about something that I haven’t seen for a while, and realize I’ll probably never see it again. That stings a little, but it’s actually fairly easy to acknowledge that feeling and move on, since there’s no chance of recovering anything. As time goes on and the fire becomes more distant, it’s actually becoming something of a positive, because some of the items in that storage unit triggered painful memories, and resolving them through fire seems appropriate.

Continue reading →

MileHiCon 50 Announcement

By lytspeed Posted in Conventions, Poetry Leave a reply

Fifty years is a long time. MileHiCon, Colorado’s premier literary science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention turns 50 this year, and the organizers have pulled out all the stops. 

For the golden anniversary, organizers invited all surviving prior guests of honor to return, an impressive list of writers, artists, and fans. As of 10/15/2018, the following names are confirmed to be appearing:

Mario Acevedo — Paolo Bacigalupi — Steven Brust — Liz Danforth — Shaenon K. Garrity — Barbara Hambly — Stephen Graham Jones — Chaz Kemp — Ed Kramer — Jane Lindskold — Theresa Mather — Wil McCarthy — Jack McDevitt — Robert J. Sawyer — Jeanne C. Stein — John E. Stith — Michael Swanwick — James Van Pelt — Robert E. Vardeman — Carrie Vaughn — KathE Walker — Connie Willis — Courtney Willis — Lawrence Watt-Evans — Lubov Yegudin 

I will be moderating a couple of special events at this con, namely a 40th Anniversary SFPA / MileHiCon 50 poetry panel and, like last year, a panel remembering Edward W. Bryant, Jr. and his legacy. Publisher Jean-Philippe Gervais will be on hand to discuss and announce his seven year work in progress, the Complete Works of Edward W. Bryant, 1968-2018, a three volume compendium of Ed’s writing, authorized by Ed himself before he passed in early 2017.

My MileHiCon 50 appearance schedule is below. As usual, MileHiCon is being held at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center location. The dates are October 19-21, 2018.

Friday, October 19, 2018
2pm — Tips on Being an Awesome Panelist (Wind River B) — A discussion ranging from how to improve your chances of becoming a panelist at MHC to ways to prepare to wow the audience. With Wil McCarthy (Moderator), Carrie Vaughn, Goth Hobbit, Meg Ward, Stace Johnson.

3pm — Roundtable: Finding Your Tribe (Bristlecone/Other) — Fandom, a subset of fandom (anime, gaming) or something completely different … how do (or did) you find your tribe? With Nonir Amacitia, Stace Johnson (Moderator).

Saturday, October 20, 2018
1pm — MHC Poetry Slam & 40th Anniversary SFPA Celebration (Mesa Verde A) — Celebrating 50 years of MHC and 40 years of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Bring genre poetry to share — whether your own or some Rhysling winners penned by others that you love. All attendees will receive a theme-appropriate gift (while supplies last.) With Carina Bissett, JD Harrison, David Lee Summers, Stace Johnson (Moderator).

Sunday, October 21, 2018
11am — Ed Bryant’s Memory and Legacy (Mesa Verde C) — Friends of Ed, including the editor of the Bryant retrospective anthology, share memories and discuss the status of some projects related to Ed. With Jean-Philippe Gervais, John Stith, Stace Johnson (Moderator).

2pm — Bye Bye Net Neutrality (Wind River A) — What are the real-world effects of the FCC ruling, and what are the best and worst-case scenarios of what will happen? With Tim Anderson, Arlen Feldman (Moderator), Goth Hobbit, Stace Johnson.