This, for those of you who will be at MidAmericon II, is where you can find me during the conven­tion. I’m really looking forward to crawling out from under a rock and seeing people :)

Gateway Reading: Getting New People into Science Fiction and Fantasy

Wednesday 14:00 — 15:00, 2209 (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

So… you want to engage a reader who is new to our genre. What factors should you consider? Which books or short stories, classic or recent, make the best entry points, and which should be avoided?

Michelle (Sagara) West, Don Sakers, Mrs. Jen Midkiff, Arthur Chu (M)

Writing Major Minor Characters

Wednesday 16:00 — 17:00, 2210 (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Do you ever read a book and come across a char­acter that is so wonderful you want to know every­thing about them, yet you know you never will because they aren’t the main char­acter? Such char­ac­ters add immea­sur­ably to our reading expe­ri­ence and yet they are very hard to write. This session discusses how to do just that.

Michelle (Sagara) West (M), Julia Mandala, Connie Willis, Rose­mary Kirstein

Reviewing the Reviews

Thursday 11:00 — 12:00, 2208 (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

The internet makes it easy to find reviews of just about any book published. But not all reviews are created equal. How can you find reviews of value, that offer depth and analysis? Which review sites are better than others? Do Amazon reviews really mean anything?

Gary Wolfe, Michelle (Sagara) West, Rich Horton

Kaffeeklatsch: Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Jerry Pournelle, Michelle (Sagara) West

Thursday 14:00 — 15:00, 2211 (KKs) (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Ann Leckie, Jack McDe­vitt, Jerry Pour­nelle, Michelle (Sagara) West

Female Friendships FTW

Friday 11:00 — 12:00, 2502A (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Female friend­ships are increasing in genre TV with nary a chat about boys in sight. Friends like Peggy Carter and Ana Jarvis, Laurel Lance and Felicity Smoak from Arrow. We ask whether this changes the flavor of tele­vi­sion. Does having female friend­ships in the fore­front change soci­etal percep­tions? Are females as platonic hero­ines and friends on the rise or is tele­vi­sion still predom­i­nantly domi­nated by male characters?

Aurora Celeste, J.R. Johansson (M), Jessica Guggen­heim, Chelsea Mueller, Michelle (Sagara) West

The Place of Bookstores

Saturday 10:00 — 11:00, 2204 (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Rather than failing, book­shops are allegedly on the rise, but is this the case for all kinds or just a special few? Current and former book­store managers, owners and users discuss the real­i­ties of selling books in an online and e‑book world.

Lauren Roy, Carrie Vaughn, Cynthia Ward, Neil Clarke (M), Michelle (Sagara) West

Reading: Michelle (Sagara) West

Saturday 15:00 — 16:00, 2203 (Read­ings) (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Michelle (Sagara) West

Autographing: Sarah Beth Durst, Arnie Fenner, Jerry Pournelle, Cerece Rennie Murphy, John Scalzi, Ferrett Steinmetz, Michelle (Sagara) West

Saturday 17:00 — 18:00, Auto­graphing Space (Kansas City Conven­tion Center)

Sarah Beth Durst, Arnie Fenner, Jerry Pour­nelle, Mrs. Cerece Rennie Murphy, John Scalzi, Ferrett Stein­metz, Michelle (Sagara) West

Stroll with the Stars: The Hugo Hangover

Sunday 08:30 — 09:30, Marriott Lobby (Marriott) (Kansas City Marriott Downtown)

As we recu­perate from the pageantry of the Hugo Awards join authors, artists, editors, fans and scien­tists as we look for the perfect hang­over cure. We will be walking for a leisurely mile and the route is fully acces­sible and expected to take a little less than an hour. We hope you will join us for great conversation.

Jeff Orth (M), Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman, Cat Rambo, Tex Thompson, David Brin, Eva L. Elasigue, Carol Wolf, Perri­anne Lurie, Michelle (Sagara) West, Mr Alan Stewart