My Boskone Schedule

This year, for the first time ever, I'll be at the renowned Boskone science fiction convention in Boston, which is coming up in just about two weeks. In case anyone else is going to be there, and wants to say hello -- or is interested in seeing me pontificating about things -- here's what I'm scheduled to do that weekend:

Sat 12:00 noon
Other neglected authors
Small presses are doing a good job getting a number of authors in print, yet some great SF authors, who everyone should read, are still neglected. Even authors who have some stuff in print can be considered "neglected." To start, each panelist will take one author and make a case for him or her. Some we might consider -- though that's up to the panel -- are Pangborn, Lafferty, Kornbluth, Leiber (yes, Leiber can now fairly be called that). Even Sturgeon probably qualifies. Gwyneth Jones, Joanna Russ.

Sat 3:00pm
The Fantastic and the Mundane: A Look at Urban Fantasy
What is urban fantasy? A discussion of definitions dealing with what is essentially another umbrella term: we have vampires, werewolves, wizards, elves, ghosts and more all falling under the concept of urban fantasy or authors identifying themselves as urban fantasy writers. Is
it new? Who is writing it? Some people self-identify as urban fantasy writers. Some think of themselves as something else. And some reject the categorization. Is Neil Gaiman urban fantasy? Margaret Atwood? Anne Rice? What makes them different or same as Simon R. Green, Jim Butcher or Laurell K. Hamilton?

Sun 2:00pm
The New Millennium: SF and Fantasy in the 21st Century
We're now more than five years into the new century. Who are the major authors writing SF and fantasy today? What are the major works so far in this century? And who will be the major forces and what will be the major trends in the next 10 or 20 years?