Capclave Dodo: "Where reading is not extinct"
I’ll be spending this Saturday and Sunday in Gaithersburg, Maryland at Capclave, the Washington, DC area’s longest running science fiction convention. It’s a books-centric convention with the motto, “Where reading is not extinct.” I attended my first Capclave back in 2003, six years before I moved to the area. It’s one of my favorite small, regional conventions.
I have a pretty light schedule in terms of panels and such. On Saturday, I’ll take part in the mass autographing session that runs from 8-9 P.M. On Sunday, I’ll be on a panel entitled “Mythpunk” from 11 A.M. to noon, along with Barbara Chepaitis, Jonah Knight, and Catherynne Valente. Lastly, from 2-3 P.M., I’ll be moderating a panel entitled “Stealing from the Best,” joined by Alethea Kontis, Sherin Nicole, and Lawrence Watt-Evans.
I’m looking forward to catching up with Darrell Schweitzer, Scott Edelman, Michael Swanwick, David Hartwell, Allen Wold, Leona Wisoker, and Jamie Todd Rubin (if I can manage to buttonhole them between their panels and whatnot). James Morrow should also be there; I missed him last year, when he was scheduled to attend but got snowed in by an early blizzard. Doesn’t look like that’ll happen this weekend.
Having such a light schedule myself means I should be able to actually sit and watch more panels and events than I usually have time for. I’d really like to listen to these:
“Will Books Survive–And in What Form?” (Saturday, 3-4, with Iver Cooper, David Hartwell, Ernest Lilley, Jamie Todd Rubin, and Elaine Stiles)
“Unsung Writer: An Appreciation of Murray Leinster (Saturday, 4-5, with Tom Doyle, Lawrence Watt-Evans, and Ted White)
“Making Fictional Cities Come Alive (Saturday, 7-8, with John Ashmead, Laura Anne Gilman, James Morrow, and Michael Swanwick)
“Writing Genre YA” (Sunday, noon-1, with Danny Birt, Alethea Kontis, and Carrie Vaughn)
I hope to run into a few of my blog readers at Capclave. If you’re in the area, please think about coming by. It’s a very well-run, welcoming, and reader-friendly small con. Hey, identify yourself as a reader of this blog, and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee (or grab you one from the con suite)!
Hey, Andrew. Sounds like a righteous Con! Pity I can’t make it. I’ll be attending PhilCon again this year, where I’ve been a panelist for the last five years or so, presenting things from a Fan-Friendly Shrink’s perspective (and trying to get some eyeballs on “Night Music,” of course). It would be great fun to match orbits with you, if you can make it up (November 18th – 20th).
In any case, hope you have a blast, and that you’ll chronicle some of your experiences.
Cheers;
Toby.
Hi, Toby. Thanks so much for the greeting. I won’t be making PhilCon this year; I’ll be heading down to New Orleans for the first-ever CONtraflow at the beginning of November, and that’ll deplete my con-going budget for a while. I’ll try to make PhilCon in 2012, though, when I should have some recent projects to market. I’ll certainly post on my Capclave impressions. Enjoy PhilCon!