Dara, the boys, and I are heading off to Balticon this weekend. We’ll be there Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This will be our first Balticon, and we’re really looking forward to it.
The Balticon 46 hotel is the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031 (Phone: 410-785-7000). The at-the-door rates are $62/$31 (adult/child 6-12) for the full weekend, and daily rates range from a high of $44/$22 for Saturday to a low of $17/$9 for Monday.
Here is my line-up of programming. There is also a ton of kids programming at this convention, so Levi, Asher, and Judah should not get bored.
Saturday, 2:00 pm (50 Minutes) (Salon B)
A Cthulhu Out of the Hat
Writing Prompts for the Deranged, panelists and audience write
science fiction stories based on the items pulled out of a hat.
Panelists will read their stories at the end, audience members
will share their resulting stories at 11 PM on Sunday (Salon B).
(M): Andrew Fox, (S): Larry A. Reclusado, Gabe Fremuth, Cindy
Young-Turner, Hildy Silverman, Brandon (Brand) Gamblin
Saturday, 5:00 pm (50 Minutes) (Salon A)
Readers Ask Why
A changing panel of authors is on the hot seat as their fans ask
why their characters behave as they do, why the author chose
this sort of magic instead of another, why the world a book is
set in has certain dominant properties/elements. Once a panelist
(or moderator) answers a question, they’ll swap seats
with a panelist waiting in the first row to replace them. Audience
members who take over 30 seconds to ask their question
will get buzzed and must sit down and shut up with their question
unanswered! Panelists who take more than 2-1/2 minutes
to answer a question must take the moderator role and can
only answer another question after all the panelists at the table
when they took the moderator seat have swapped out. Oh!
And one more thing: Panelists who write SF/Fantasy/Horror
under more than one name can swap in again under their other
pen name IF they — literally — wear a different hat.
Starting Out: Moderator: Catherine A. Asaro; Panelists: John G.
Hemry, John C. Wright, Danny Birt, Steven H. Wilson
Panelists swapping in: Andrew Fox, Chuck Gannon, Nathan O.
Lowell, Janine K. Spendlove
Sunday, 9:00 am, (50 minutes) (Parlor 1041)
The Technology of Steampunk
A Roundtable Discussion. What does and doesn’t fit into a
steampunk world? How does the setting shape technology and
how people relate to it?
(M): Emilie P. Bush, (S): Elektra Hammond, Rebecca K. Davis,
Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Bernie Mojzes, C.J .Henderson, Andrew
Fox
Sunday, 5:00 pm (50 Minutes) (Parlor 304)
Philip K. Dick — Hollywood’s Favorite Author
A LOT of Phillip K. Dick’s work has ended up on the silver screen.
Panelists discuss what makes his work so Hollywood-sympatico
and talk about the ones that were great, not so great and, well,
blaghhh!
(M): D. Douglas Fratz, (S): Billy Flynn, Andrew Fox, Bernie Mojzes,
Daniel M. Kimmel, Marty Gear, Richard Allen Leider
Sunday, 7:00 pm, (1 Hour) (Maryland Foyer)
Autographing: David Allen Batchelor, Andrew Fox and
Veronica R. Giguere
Sunday, 10:00 pm (50 Minutes) Belmont Room
You Got Your Horror in My Fantasy!
Psychological horror as fantasy exploration. Panelists discuss
what they like and dislike about and what they think does and
does not work with this blending of sub-genres.
(M): Paul Elard Cooley, (S): Andrew Fox, S. Phil Giunta, Richard
Allen Leider, T. C. McCarthy
Monday 10:00 am (50 minutes) (Salon B)
The First Fast Food Joint on Epsilon V
What parts of our culture will we bring with us to the far
reaches of the galaxy and beyond? As we spread our wings
to the stars, what parts of our culture will journey with us?
What institutions and traditions will we carry to new worlds?
Will those cultural trappings be American or other? Or are our
cultural trappings tied to our current world and will we travel
outward without them?
(M): Andrew Fox, (S): Jody Lynn Nye (Guest of Honor),Noam R.
Izenberg, Patrick Scaffido, James Maxey
Monday, 11:00 am, (50 minutes) (Salon B)
Sci Fi In Comic Books Revisited
What is the relation of science fiction to comics? How have
the concepts been used? What shows’ plot points have been
adapted to comics and vice versa?
(M): Larry A. Reclusado, (S): Wayne Arthur Hall, Rebecca K.
Davis, Andrew Fox, Ray Ridenour
Monday, 1:00 pm (50 Minutes) (Pimlico)
Readings: Andrew Fox and Georgiana Lee
I hope to see some of you there!
