My PhilCon 2014 Schedule

November 20, 2014

I’m PhilCon-bound this weekend and here’s my event schedule:

Fri 7:00 PM in Plaza III (Three) (1 hour)
SETTING UP A CROWDFUNDING PROJECT (1826)

[Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail (mod), Rob Balder, Neil Clarke, Gil Cnaan, Alex Shvartsman, Alyce Wilson]

Panelists discuss what worked, what didn’t and why. How can you  promote one to make sure it is a success

Fri 8:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour)
DEFYING THE SQUARE CUBE LAW (1796)

[Panelists: Alex Shvartsman (mod), Bob Eggleton, Lawrence Kramer, James Prego]

Consider really huge monsters. Sure we like ’em big and capable of stomping cities, but is there any way to make a Godzilla or Chthulhu plausible

Sat 10:00 AM in Autograph Table (1 hour)
AUTOGRAPHS – NEIL CLARKE, ALEX SHVARTSMAN (2022)

[Panelists: Alex Shvartsman (mod), Neil Clarke]

Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza V (Five) (1 hour)
DOES SCIENCE FICTION NEED TO LIGHTEN UP? (1771)

[Panelists: Alex Shvartsman (mod), Brian Thomas, Berakha Lana Guggenheim, Steve Miller, Robert C Roman, Lee Gilliland]

Has the genre become too serious and pretentious in recent years? Do too many writers feel they are philosophers and teachers?

Sat 6:00 PM in Executive Suite 623 (1 hour)
READING – APRIL GREY, ALEX SHVARTSMAN (2006)

[Panelists: April Grey (mod), Alex Shvartsman]

Sat 9:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
ELLO FACEBOOK, GET OUT OF MYSPACE. (1728)

[Panelists: Rock Robertson (mod), Gil Cnaan, Muriel Hykes, Suzanne Rosin, Alex Shvartsman]

Well, here we go again. Another social network rears its ugly head and everyone contemplates jumping ship. Discuss as former GEnie members nod wisely.

Sat 10:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour)
FUNNY HORROR STORIES (1769)

[Panelists: Brian Koscienski (mod), Darrell Schweitzer, Alex Shvartsman, Robert Corry, Brian Thomas, April Grey]

There is a fine line between horror and humor.  How do the successful examples of this work

#SFWAPro

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WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction

October 14, 2014

WSFAAward

I won! Eeeee!

OK, now that I got that out of my system, let’s try again:

This Saturday, at the award ceremony held at Capclave, I won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction. I won it for “Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma,” which also makes this a win for Intergalactic Medicine Show, its editor Edmund Schubert and his staff, because they accepted and published this story!

Small Press means everybody but the major publishers. So while Tor.com may be out, it still includes top-notch markets like Clarkesworld and Lightspeed (both of which had stories represented this year). The stories the  board considers are also read blind, so the author’s name won’t sway them–which makes it more likely the award finalists would be selected on merit rather than popularity.

I was very excited to be nominated but didn’t seriously expect to win. I mean, humorous short stories don’t win award any more often than comedies win the Oscars.  I’m incredibly thrilled and very thankful to the WSFA members who proved me wrong and voted for my story.

I was already having a great time at Capclave, which is rapidly becoming my favorite convention. It is relatively small and laser-focused on fiction (it doesn’t really have an anime track or a costuming track or much gaming, things that go hand-in-hand with science fiction conventions at most cons). Instead, you get a very distilled group of fans and professionals who love genre fiction.  Not that fiction is the only subject of merit. This past weekend I got to talk psychology with Lawrence Schoen, geopolitical implications of the Russia/Ukraine conflict with Chuck Gannon, and whether it is sin or virtue that hypothetically makes a soul more attractive to Satan with Max Gladstone (true story!). There were many other conversations like this, and seeing old friends, and making new ones. But, you can imagine, how I was having even more fun, clutching at the award!

When I got the nomination it took me about a week to come down. There’s no telling how long it will take now. That’s why I’m rambling incoherently in this blog post, instead of employing the level of snark you’re normally accustomed to. Seriously, I’m elated, and exhausted, and still a little sleep-deprived. But I wanted to post something before too long, and here it is.

I should also add that “Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma” can still be read for free at IGMS, so if you haven’t read it yet, check it out!

#SFWAPro

 

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Capclave 2014 Schedule

September 29, 2014

I’m back from the Baltimore Book Festival, but Capclave is right around the corner! Here are the panels, signings and other cool things where you can find me during this wonderful convention. If you are able to attend it, you really should.

Seems like I will have a very busy Friday and Saturday followed by a very relaxed Sunday. 🙂

 

Friday, 5pm – Rockville/Potomac

Humorous SF (Ends at: 5:55 pm)
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.

 

Friday, 9pm – Rockville/Potomac

Ending Stories – Bang or Whimper? (Ends at: 9:55 pm)
Panelists: Scott Edelman, Pamela K. Kinney, Dina Leacock, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock, Allen Wold (M)
So many short stories start out well but end abruptly or just trail off, leaving the reader to wonder, what’s the point. Why does this happen and how can writers avoid this fate? How do you determine your endings? Is a twist ending a cheat?

 

Saturday, 11am – Rockville/Potomac

Anthology Builder (Ends at: 11:55 am)
Panelists: Neil Clarke, Ron Garner (M), Robert Greenberger, David G. Hartwell, Mike McPhail, Alex Shvartsman
So you want to edit and publish an anthology. How do the stories get picked? How do you come up with a theme? What sells and what doesn’t? How do authors produce readable fiction in the straitjacket of an original themed anthology? How do you properly curate your anthology?

 

Saturday, 1pm – Frederick

Crowdfunding Dos and Don’ts (Ends at: 1:55 pm)
Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Bill Campbell, Neil Clarke, Jonah Knight, Alex Shvartsman (M), Lawrence Watt-Evans
So you have a fabulous idea or product and a shortage of funds – what do you do. Panelists will discuss successful and unsuccessful crowdfunding campaigns, either their own or those of other people. Topics include how to set reward levels, how to budget how much money you need and the merits of various crowd funding sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Pozible.

 

Saturday, 4pm

Author Table Maxey / Shvartsman (Ends at: 4:55 pm)
Authors: James Maxey, Alex Shvartsman

 

Saturday, 5:30pm – Frederick

Reading

 

Saturday, 7:30pm – Salon A

Mass Signing (Ends at: 8:25 pm)
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, Lawrence Watt-Evans
The Saturday evening mass autographing session.

 

Saturday, 8:30pm – Salon A

Awards Reception and Presentation (Ends at: 9:55 pm)

The WSFA Small Press Award winner will be announced. The Guest of Honor Gifts will also be presented.

#SFWAPro

 

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Baltimore Book Festival

September 24, 2014

bbf

I will be attending the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend. There will be panels, a reading, and lots and lots of signing (or, at a minimum, sitting around hoping to sign something). Here’s my schedule:

 

Friday 2:00-3:00 Writing about social justice in science fiction and fantasy.

Join our panel to talk about science fiction that revolves around issues of social justice here on Earth–and elsewhere. From Ursula Le Guin’s tour de force novel The Dispossessed to the works of MacArthur Fellow Octavia Butler through a plethora of other writers, science fiction and fantasy authors have never shied away from stories that tackled issues of social justice. Talk with our panelists about their favorite examples and yours.

Panelists: Anne K. Gray, Alma Katsu, Sunny Moraine, Alex Shvartsman, Fran Wilde

 

Friday 3:00-4:00 Signing

 

Saturday 1:00-2:00 Signing

 

Saturday 3:00-4:00. Short stories: What’s trending and who are the hot new authors in science fiction and fantasy?

The title says it all! Join our panel of writers to hear about the field of short fiction in SF and fantasy. Science fiction and fantasy have a rich history of short fiction and more ways than ever for readers to find stories.

Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Brenda Clough, Jim Johnson, John Maclay, Alex Shvartsman

 

Sunday 2:00-3:00 Signing

 

Sunday 4:00-6:00 Reading

(Note: I won’t be reading for 2 hours. There will be four authors, each reading for 30 minutes.)

 

Saturday 5:30 -7:00 Reception and Meet & Greet with authors, music, and food

Join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at our reception, autographing session, and Meet and Greet with our program participants at the Baltimore Book Festival.

Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jeanne Adams, Jill Archer, Catherine Asaro, Jack Clemons, Brenda Clough, Scott Edelman, Charles Gannon, Ronald Garner, Em Garner, Herb Gilliland, Anne K Gray, Elektra Hammond, Justina Ireland, Jim Johnson, Alma Katsu, Cheryl Klam, L. Jagi Lamplighter, John Maclay, Marrisa Meyer, Sunny Moraine, Christine Norris, Ellen Oh, Sarah Pinsker, Caroline Richmond, Don Sakers, Karen Sandler, Peggy Rae Sapienza, Rori Shay, Alex Shvartsman, Dawnyell Snyder, Bud Sparhawk, John Tilden, Mike Underwood, Jean Marie Ward, Fran Wilde, Ilene Wong, Karlo Yeager #SFWAPro

 

All of these events will be taking place in or near the SFWA tent. If you plan on attending the festival, please stop by and say hello!

 

 

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Video of the Kickstarter SF/F Editor Panel is Live

August 11, 2014

Last week I participated on the editor panel hosted at the Kickstarter HQ. It was moderated by Margot Atwell and featured five editors. Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld Magazine), Brian White (Fireside Magazine), Rose Fox and Daniel Jose Older (Long Hidden anthology), and me. It was a really fun event, and lots of intelligent things were said (mostly by the other participants!). The entire panel is now up on YouTube.

It’s an hour long, and it felt very much like a panel at a science fiction convention. If you don’t know what that’s like (or if you do, and enjoy those panels), you should watch the video.

#SFWAPro

 

 

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New Trends In Sci-Fi and Fantasy panel at Kickstarter HQ

July 30, 2014

kickstarter

Are you in the NYC area? Would you like to visit Kickstarter headquarters in Brooklyn and hear me and several other SF/F editors speak live in a FREE event?

Join us for a panel followed by some socializing and drinks this coming Thursday. Here are the details of this event:

 

Kickstarter Presents: New Trends In Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Thursday August 7 | 7 to 9:30pm

Kickstarter HQ

58 Kent Street

Brooklyn NY 11222

 

The line-up is:

Neil Clarke, editor of Clarkesworld magazine

Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, editors of the Long Hidden anthology

Alex Shvartsman, editor of the Unidentified Funny Objects anthology series

Brian White, editor of Fireside magazine

Margot Atwell (moderator), publishing community manager at Kickstarter

This is a FREE event, however there is limited seating available, so RSVP now to reserve a spot!

www.eventbrite.com/e/kickstarter-presents-new-trends-in-sci-fi-fantasy-fiction-tickets-12452635167

#SFWAPro

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Balticon 2014 Schedule

May 21, 2014

Balticon

I’ll be attending BaltiCon again this year over the Memorial Day weekend, and here’s my schedule:

FRIDAY

5pm, Parlor 1041 – Designing a Trading Card Game

7PM, Parlor 1026 – How to Submit A Story

SATURDAY

10am, Maryland Foyer – Autograph Session

7:45PM, Parlor 1041 – Kickstarter 101 for Game Players and Designers

SUNDAY

11am, Pimlico – Reading – J.R. Blackwell, Alex Shvartsman, Many Turzillo

MONDAY

8am, Salon C – The Short Fiction Market

11am, Derby – Games fantastic and futuristic

12am, Belmont – Beta Readers

#SFWAPro

 

If you are at BaltiCon, please say hello!

 

 

 

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LI-Con 2013

March 29, 2014

licon

I’m a guest at the fledgling LI-Con this year. All of my panels and the reading are tomorrow, but I stopped in today to check out the con and visit with friends. The convention is very compact but friendly, and all the panels I visited were well-attended. I look forward to speaking rather than just listening tomorrow. To that end, here’s my schedule:

Sunday, March 30:

10am – Salon D – My Inspirations – A. Shvartsman, K. DeCandido, R. Mauritsen, J. Nye, B. Fawcett
11am – Room 469 – Reading and signing
3pm – Salon E – An Alien Abducted My Homework – A. Belilovsky, A. Shvartsman
4pm – Salon C – Translator, Traitor: Translating Fiction – A. Belilovsky, A. Shvartsman, B. Fawcett

Details and directions to LI-Con can be found here.

#SFWAPro

 

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My LunaCon 2014 Schedule

March 13, 2014

lunacon

I’ll be attending LunaCon this Saturday and Sunday. I have a reading, a signing, and a bunch of panels. Please say hello if you see me at the con!

Saturday, 10amThe Real Cost and Problems of Self-Publishing
How do you plan, budget, publish, promote, and budget your time, all while trying to survive and have a real life?
Elijah Budd
Panelists: David Walton, Bianca D’Arc, Mikaela Barreee, Alex Shvartsman, April Grey, Marc Abbott

Saturday, 5pm
Help the Writers of the Weird Finish This Story
“I knew the dame was trouble when she slithered into my office” was the opening of a Round Robin story started several years ago on the private Google Group of the Writers of the Weird. See what happened next and help wrap things up.
Poplar
Panelists: Philip de Parto, David Sklar, Alex Shvartsman, Sarah Avery

Saturday, 6:30pm
Reading – Alex Shvartsman
Seymore Boton

Sunday, 10am
That’s really funny!
What’s the difference between a humorous story and a standard action-adventure tale? Are there differences in tone and structure between the two?
Port Chester
Panelists: Carol Pinchefsky, William Freedman, Dan Kimmel, Alex Shvartsman, Steven Savicki

Sunday, 11am
The Resurgence of Short(er) Story
So many collections, print and online magazines and other outlets — Is this a fad? Or, do readers really like short fiction again?Poplar
Panelists: Barbara Krasnoff, Neil Clarke, Sheila Williams, Alex Shvartsman, James Chambers, Ken Altabef

Sunday, 12pm
Autographing
Westchester Assembly
April Grey, Sarah Avery, Alex Shvartsman

Sunday, 1pm
Writing Groups and Professional Association
Writing groups? Professional Associations? Secret Society? SFWA, HWA, MWA, the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers and ____. All are writing organizations, either local or international. Do they really serve a purpose in our writing lives or are they another distraction from writing? Writers discuss their experiences.
William Odelle
Panelists: Matthew Kressel, Alex Shvartsman, Neil Levine, David Mercurio Rivera,  Bianca D’Arc,  Sarah Avery.

 

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PhilCon 2013 Schedule

November 5, 2013

I’ll be at PhilCon this weekend, participating on a variety of panels. I’ll also have a reading and a signing. This is my schedule:

#SFWAPro

    • Fri 7:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Three—“Ender’s Game”: The Book versus The Movie (1504)Just one week before Philcon 2013, Hollywood finally released a film version of the classic SF novel “Ender’s Game”. How did the movie differ from the book. Were the changes necessary, or did they change the tone and theme of the story? Did they do it right?

Andrew C. Murphy (mod), Andrew Breslin, Alex Shvartsman, Tim Souder

    • Sat 11:00 AM in Autograph Table—Autograph: Neil Clarke, Alex Shvartsman (1671)

Neil Clarke (mod), Alex Shvartsman

    • Sat 1:00 PM in Plaza III (Three)—Editing Anthologies: Beyond the Gimmick (1499)Anthologies are often sold on the basis of a gimmick or concept that connects the stories, such as “Killer Rutabagas from Space”. How do you get beyond the gimmick to a work of substance?

Elektra Hammond (mod), Brian Koscienski, Alex Shvartsman, Keith R.A. DeCandido

    • Sat 6:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two—Becoming a Full Time Writer (1496)How do you become a full time writer? Is that a good idea for you?

Alyce Wilson (mod), Alex Shvartsman, David Sklar, D.L. Carter, Thomas Willeford

    • Sun 11:00 AM in Executive Suite 623—Reading: Alex Shvartsman (1664)

Alex Shvartsman (mod)

    • Sun 2:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two—Meet the Editors Panel (1535)Magazine and book editors discuss the current fiction markets.

Marvin Kaye (mod), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock, Neal Levin, April Grey

 

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