Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I’m looking for alternate plans to get to Readercon. Anyone interested in a carpool? Shannon and I are looking to leave the Boston airport on Thursday morning or afternoon, and return to the airport early Monday morning. We’re happy to offer gas money. Please let me know if you can help. Thanks!

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I have been swamped and not posting here much. So here’s a bunch of writing news updates, which will soon appear on my site as well.

• “Break the Vessel” will be podcast at Pseudopod. I’ll let you know when it’s up. This is the “poop story.”
• Sybil’s Garage 6 is out now, and includes “Fulgurite.” This is the “unicorn cockroach sex story.”
• The Cinema Spec anthology is out, and includes “Starshow,” the “goddamn the universe is a lonely place” story.
• Phantom, a dark fiction anthology like Bandersnatch, will be out at Readercon. It contains “What President Polk Said,” aka the “insane Gold Rush miner” story. [Does anyone else have shorthand names for their stories like this?]
• Speaking of Readercon, I’ll be there. I’ll put my schedule in a separate post. I’ll also be at World Fantasy later this year (but not WorldCon, sorry).

Aaaand, two public readings of my fiction:

• Borderlands Books (San Francisco) on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:00 PM. I’ll be part of the Clarion Themed Reading with Amelia Beamer, Rachel Swirsky, and Tim Pratt. I’m not sure what I’m reading yet, but possibly either “Scar Stories” or “What President Polk Said.”
• Kilgore Books (Denver) on Friday, Aug 14 at 6:30 PM. I’ll be part of the Sybil’s Garage 6 reading with Jason Heller and Sean Markey. I’m reading “Fulgurite” and possibly also another story. I’ll have copies of Bandersnatch and Phantom available for sale.

I like frogs. Frogs are cute. Ribbit.

Also, the Write-a-thon continues! I’m grateful to everyone who’s sponsoring me; it really keeps me motivated. I feel like I have a firm commitment and I’ve got to make my time work for me. If anyone else wants to pledge, the link has all the information, including my project. I’m making a worldbuilding wiki for the novel I’m writing this fall. One sponsor will get to see the actual wiki.

Thank you for your generosity and support! And thanks for reading my news items.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

>>>>>   Readercon 20 Participant Schedule: Vylar Kaftan

Thursday 9:00 PM, Salon B: PanelYou Don’t Know Dictionary! Lila Garrott, Greer Gilman, Vylar Kaftan (L),
Sarah Micklem, Sonya Taaffe
** Leader (Participant / Moderator) **

There’s no need to make up new words when there’s so many great unknown
old ones.  Tolkien introduced many readers to the likes of “wain” and
“fell” (in the sense of fierce and cruel), while later writers such as
Greer Gilman and Gene Wolfe have gone much further in plumbing the depths
of unabridged dictionaries.  Our panelists share their adventures with
prodigious vocabularies and blank pages.  And for the reader, what are the
pros and cons of relying on context versus consulting the Book?

Friday 1:00 PM, Suite 830: Workshop (120 min.)

How Acting Techniques Can Enhance your Writing.  Inanna Arthen with
participation by Nick Antosca, Kathryn Cramer, Laurel Anne Hill, Vylar
Kaftan, Caitlin R. Kiernan
** Tentatively Scheduled — If you wish to not be listed in the Program
Guide (and hence not be expected / committed to show), please let us know
ASAP! **

Recent neurological studies have shown that readers’ brains react to
fiction as though they were experiencing the events. The line between
written and performed art is blurring more and more as young readers grow
up in the age of instant video, YouTube, and podcast fiction. Acting
training and awareness can thus be hugely helpful for successful fiction
writing in the 21st century. We’ll cover “four-dimensional writing” using
physicalization, pacing, dialogue flow, description, and setting the
scene. Wear comfortable clothes and expect to participate actively! (2
hrs)

Friday 6:00 PM, RI: Workshop (60 min.)

Speculative Poetry Workshop.  Mike Allen with participation by Leah Bobet,
Michael A. Burstein, Vylar Kaftan, Ernest Lilley
** Tentatively Scheduled — If you wish to not be listed in the Program
Guide (and hence not be expected / committed to show), please let us know
ASAP! **

What is speculative poetry? How do you write it, why would you want to,
and which editors will buy it? Come prepared to write on the fly.

Friday 8:00 PM, ME/ CT: Talk / Discussion (60 min.)

Annual Interstitial Arts (IAF) Town Meeting.  Ellen Kushner with
discussion by Liz Gorinsky, Theodora Goss, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Shira
Lipkin, Delia Sherman, John Shirley, Sarah Smith, Catherynne M. Valente
** Optional Extra Item — If you wish to commit to showing up and be
listed in the Program Guide as a discussant or participant, please let us
know ASAP! (Check the online Grid to see if it works!**

Interstitial Art falls in the interstices of recognized genres.  The
Interstitial Arts Foundation is a group of “Artists Without Borders”
fighting the Balkanization of art. They celebrate work that crosses or
straddles the borders between media, the borders between genres, the
borders between “high art” and popular culture. They are not opposed to
mainstream fiction or genre fiction, nor are they seeking to create a new
category. They are just particularly excited by border-crossing fiction
(and music and art), and want to support the creation of such works and to
establish better ways of engaging with them. The IAF has had a presence at
Readercon from its beginning. In 2007, in cooperation with Small Beer
Press, the IAF published Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial
Writing edited by Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss, and in fall 2009 they
will present Interfictions 2, edited by Delia Sherman and Christopher
Barzak. They are also doing a lot with visual arts.  Interstitial Arts is
an idea, a conversation, not a hard-and-fast definition-and it’s a
conversation you are invited to join.

Saturday 10:30 AM, VT: Reading (30 min.)

“Break the Vessel.”  [Actually, I think I'll have to read something else; Break the Vessel is too long.]

Saturday 2:00 PM, RI: Workshop (120 min.)

Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Improv for Writers.  Ellen Klages with
participation by Nick Antosca, Inanna Arthen, Jeffrey A. Carver, Craig
Shaw Gardner, Victoria Janssen, Vylar Kaftan, Shira Lipkin, Jennifer
Pelland, Chuck Rothman
** Tentatively Scheduled — If you wish to not be listed in the Program
Guide (and hence not be expected / committed to show), please let us know
ASAP! **

Remember when writing was fun? If you’re stuck, out of ideas, or if your
Editor/Critic keeps shutting down your muse-get out of your head and into
this class. We’re going to improvise, play with our imaginations, and
rediscover our creativity. We’ll explore characters, settings, plot
twists, and dialogue, all using simple theater games.  What bubbles up
will be the basis for a few short writing exercises. Wear comfortable
clothing, and come prepared to laugh. (2 hrs)

Sunday 12:00 Noon, Vineyard: Kaffeeklatsch [Journeyman Writers Meeting. A meeting for any writer with one or more SFWA-qualifying sales.  We'll talk business, craft, marketing, or whatever else people want.  If you're not sure if you're eligible, talk to me.]

Readercon programming gave me (and everyone?) less than 24 hours to respond to this schedule, so I couldn’t get them timely feedback.  I’ll try to attend everything that they asked me to, including the optionals.  For the reading…  hmm.  Maybe Scar Stories and What President Polk Said?  I might have time for a flash fiction story too.

Also, I’ll be reading at the blood drive from 1-2.  All flash fiction pieces, since I expect this to be Short Attention Span Theatre. Come give away precious bodily fluids while I stir your brainmeats into jelly!

See y’all there.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I almost forgot.  Hawaii pics.

If you don’t want to dig through them all, here’s my favorite. Though the picture of Shannon “after coffee” is pretty awesome too.

At the Fish Hopper