Tag: conventions

You got fantasy in my reality!

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
January 4, 2013
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The latest installment in my “The Space-Time Continuum” column on science fiction and fantasy that appears in Freelance, the newsletter of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild; inspired, as you will see, by a panel I attended at the World Fantasy Convention in Toronto. There are, broadly speaking, three kinds of fantasy tales. There is the kind …

The Space-Time Continuum: You got science in my fantasy!

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Fiction Columns
November 17, 2011
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As I write this, I’m about to fly off to the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego, where I’ve been assigned to moderate a panel entitled “You’ve Got Science in My Fantasy!,” featuring fellow writers Gregory Benford, Yves Meynard, Brent Weeks and L.E. Modesitt. The panel is described this way: “In Operation Chaos, Poul Anderson’s shapeshifters’ …

Here’s what I’ll be doing at VCon…

By Edward Willett in Blog
September 19, 2010
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I’ll be attending VCon 35 in Vancouver (well, Richmond, really, but close enough) the first weekend in October. And if you’ll be there, too, here’s my schedule…say hi! Tense Viewpoint – Friday 3pm Science Fiction And Comedy – Friday 4pm Book Launch – Friday 7pm How Did That Get On My Book Cover? – Saturday …

Montreal WorldCon: the science column

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
August 12, 2009
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Every now and then I attend a science fiction convention, and when I do, I like to talk about it in this column, as part of my ongoing evangelical campaign to raise the profile of science fiction and win the genre new readers. Well, I just finished a doozy of a convention, the grandaddy of …

My schedule for WorldCon in Montreal

By Edward Willett in Blog
July 21, 2009
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Here’s my finalized (for now, anyway) schedule for Anticipation, the World Science Fiction Convention coming up August 6 to 10 in Montreal. Only one panel, plus a play-reading, a Kaffeeklatsch (if anyone signs up) a joint reading, a signing, and, of course the Aurora Awards ceremony: When: Thu 17:00 Location: P-516E Title: Teen Reporter: The …

TorCon3: The 2003 World Science Fiction Convention

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
September 4, 2003
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See my photos of TorCon3 here. I was sitting at a table at the front of an ordinary room in the Toronto Convention Centre a few days ago, along with three other writers of children’s books. We had just begun a panel discussion on “Writing For Children” when in strolled a massive troll, gray as …

Invading Mars

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
August 13, 2002
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One of the prototypical science fiction novels is H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, in which invaders from the Red Planet successfully conquer the Earth, only to succumb in the end, not to humanity’s feeble efforts, but to the attacks of Earth’s microbes, against which they have no defense. Wells may have been the first SF …

Con-Version XVIII

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
August 15, 2001
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I spent the past weekend deeply involved in discussions ranging from whether the Harry Potter books teach witchcraft to children to whether technology can save the world. In between, I participated in the improvisational writing of a short story, sang songs by J. R. R. Tolkein, and photographed Dirk Benedict, former star of Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team. …

ChiCon: The 2000 World Science Fiction Convention

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
September 11, 2000
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As I mentioned last week, 6,000 people recently gathered in Chicago for the 58th annual World Science Fiction Convention, myself among them. Mention “science fiction convention” to most people and they immediately think of a Star Trek convention. However, science fiction fans have been getting together long before Star Trek penetrated the public consciousness. At …

“Is real science killing science fiction?”

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
September 23, 1999
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We live in a science fiction world. Desktop computers, the World Wide Web, genetic engineering, cloning, space stations–they were all the stuff of science fiction not very many years ago. This poses a problem for today’s science fiction writers. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to write “hard” science fiction, based on real, plausible scientific thought …

Con-Version XVI

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
August 9, 1999
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A couple of weeks ago my wife and I had the pleasure of once again attending ConVersion, the annual science fiction convention held in Calgary. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re picturing a bunch of oddballs in Star Trek and Star Wars costumes, sitting in the dark watching videos and yelling out the dialog in time with …

Con-Version XIV

By Edward Willett in Blog, Columns, Science Columns
July 21, 1997
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I just attended a convention in Calgary. I listened to and participated in panels on topics as diverse as dinosaurs, communicating the process of science to the general public, Mars, and the social responsibility of novelists. What kind of convention deals with such a wide range of fascinating topics? Only one: a science fiction convention. …