Wednesday 3 May 2017

Ad Astra 2017

I will be at Ad Astra from May 5 to May 7th.

I'll be a panelist this year, for the first time. I'm scheduled for two:

Starting Them Young: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Picture Books: Nearly everyone who is a fan of genre will look to things like Narnia, the Hobbit, Redwall, or Ender’s Game as their introduction to SF/F, but how much earlier could one be introduced to such things? How do you define what makes a picture book scif-fi or fantasy? What are some examples, classic or new, that illustrate this?
Saturday 2:00 PM – Newmarket: with Brandon Draga, Charlotte Ashley, Deanna Laver, Alisse Lee Goldenberg, Carolyn Charron

Disrupting the Narrative: Science fiction and fantasy has the potential to transform our worldview. The inclusion of alternate perspectives and diverse characters help us to re-examine the past, present or future, in our universe or beyond. Inserting new experiences into old narratives shows the limitless potential of stories to inspire us. This panel will look at stories that shake up our perspective, from Steampunk and alternate history to dystopian fantasy.
Sunday 11:00 AM – Richmond CD: with Rebecca Diem, Charlotte Ashley, Eli K.P. William, Cathy Hird, Vanessa Ricci-Thode, Carolyn Charron


I'll also be doing my first reading (nothing like throwing myself into the deep end my first time out!)
I'll be reading a favourite story of mine, Crossroads. Written for Genius Loci it was turned down a few times and the feedback I received from various venues taught me a lot about how to structure a story for an anthology and still have a vivid piece. It will be appearing in an anthology later this year.

Reading: Markham B Sat. 8:30pm

Hope to see you there!