I will be at Marscon in Minneapolis this weekend, March 10th through 12th. I will be selling books in Artist Alley with Queen of Sword Press and on various programming. This will be the convention I’ll work the hardest at this year, so it’s the perfect time to come see me in the wild and get your SFFH needs met with books, games, music, costumes,and all that fun stuff. Here is my programming schedule to make it easier to find me.
FRIDAY
10:30pm
What’s Woke Got to Do With It?
Ripley in Alien. Frank N Furter in RHPS. Blade in Blade. Mitch Downe in ParaNorman. Representative characters have been present in genre works for numerous decades, but over the past few years, some segments of fandom have claimed that our films and tv series have become “woke.” Even shows like Star Trek and Twilight Zone, which began as thinly veiled allegories for social justice issues have been branded with the dreaded W-word. Our panel examines what woke really means, and what-if any impact the concept has on both the content and fan communities.
T. Aaron Cisco, mod.; Michael Merriam, Jim Soo
SATURDAY
04:00pm
Michael Merriam Reading and Book Signing.
05:00pm
SF Writing Groups: The 2023 Scene
Since 1986, the Minnesota Imaginative Fiction writers’ Alliance has held an annual meeting—recently at MarsCon–at which solo science fiction/fantasy who are looking for a writing group get a chance to connect with SF writing groups that are looking for new writers.
Eric M. Heideman, mod.; Michael Merriam, G. David Nordley
06:30pm
Put Your Story Out There
You have a book, or a short story, or you’re working on one. What’s the best way to share it? There’s Kindle, Kobo, Substack, anthologies, magazines, fanfic sites, what’s the best home for your story? Can you actually make some money at this?
Karl K. Gallagher, Michael Merriam
SUNDAY
11:00am
A Writers’ Conversation
Informal conversation amongst authors.
P.C. Hodgell, Ruth Berman, Michael Merriam, T. Aaron Cisco
01:00pm
You Always Remember You First
What book or other work inspired you and started on your journey in SF/fantasy fandom? What stood out? What resonated with you? Come and share your firsts among friends.
Christine LaBounty, mod.; Karl Gallagher, Michael Merriam, Kathryn Sullivan