Are you coming to Readercon this weekend? If so, see you there! I have one event a day, it turns out.
NOTE: For the Friday, 6pm reading, the other BSPEC members and I have agreed to bring candy to share with our wonderful, possibly hungry audience.
8pm Secretly About Writing: Books That Are Not Obviously About Writing Books
Erik Amundsen, Gillian Daniels (moderator), Chandler Klang Smith, Cecilia Tan, Ann Tonsor Zeddies
In a 2013 Twitter conversation, James Francis Flynn wrote, "Lots of great movies are secretly about what it's like making movies. Trick is to hide it well." Books about writing books are usually pretty unsubtle—we're looking at you, Stephen King—but presumably some more subtly metaphorical novels are out there, including certain books in our genres. Is Dune really about the arid publishing landscape? Did Lovecraft's eldritch horrors begin as rejection letters? Our panelists will discuss works that they know (or guess) to be about writing, or possibly attempt to portray every single book as being secretly about writing.
Friday, July 14
6pm Boston Speculative Writing Group Reading
Gillian Daniels
The Boston Speculative Writing Group began in 2010. Its members write and critique fantasy, science fiction, and various YA works. Members include published novelists such as Kat Black, Natalie C. Anderson, and Lyndsay Ely and published short fiction writers such as Gillian Daniels, Andrea Corbin, and Victoria Sandbrook Flynn.
Saturday, July 15
1pm Round Robin Reading
Michael Blumlein, Gillian Daniels, Daryl Gregory, Ilana Myer, Cecilia Tan
We've gathered authors for a group reading, but rather than the traditional reading where each reads their own work, each will read the work of one of the other participating authors! A fun twist on traditional readings, inspired by Malka Older and Max Gladstone.
Sunday, July 16
1pm Filing Off the Serial Numbers
Gillian Daniels, Randee Dawn (leader), Catt Kingsgrave, Naomi Novik, Kenneth Schneyer
Many traditionally published works started life as fan fiction. Sometimes tales grow in the telling and veer away from fanfic; sometimes an author is deliberately modifying a completed fic to render it suitable for publication; and sometimes it's more complicated. What are the benefits and pitfalls of filing off the serial numbers, with regard to creativity, logistics, and reader reaction?
