Since I’m locked away most of the year studying, it’s a real pleasure to get out and about and play author in the summer months. This is where I’ll be.
Edge Lit 3 Derby, Saturday 19 July
12:00pm – Science-fiction: How Much Science Do You Need?
Jaine Fenn, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Rod Rees, Tricia Sullivan
15:00pm – Tricia Sullivan workshop – Walking the Walk: Keeping Yourself Writing
This is mainly tricks, tips & ways of looking at things for people who have a lot of life to deal with on top of their writing. Which is most of us, come to think of it.
16:00pm: Branching Out: Writing in More than One Genre
Tricia Sullivan, Niki Valentine, Conrad Williams
Nine Worlds Geekfest 8-10 August in London
I have bought a membership and I plan to pop in for one day, either the Friday or the Saturday. I’ve joined late so it’s unlikely that I’ll be on the programme, but I will be floating around so do say hello if you’re there.
Loncon 3 I’ll be there from the 15th to the 17th and I’m on the following panels:
Exuberance and Experience Friday 18:00 – 19:00
Our societies are full of truisms about age: youth is seen as beautiful and vital, or feckless and short-sighted; old age is thought to bring wisdom and perspective, or intolerance and resistance to change. Are our genre’s characters similarly subject to stereotype? Are there particular types and the kinds of stories that older and younger protagonists tend to be associated with? How do factors like race and gender reinforce or cut across this?
Anna Davour (M), Wendy Metcalfe, Aidan Moher, Tricia Sullivan, Caitlin Sweet
I Can’t Do That, Dave: artificial intelligence, imagination, and fear Sunday 13:30 – 15:00
From the Minds of Iain M Banks’ Culture to Portal’s GLaDOS, artificial intelligences abound in sf, and not infrequently they turn on their creators. Whether as idealisation of reason or deadly threat – or both – why do AIs have such an enduring appeal? Where do fictional AIs stand in relation to the real-world science? And to what extent has sf explored the ethical questions surrounding the creation of sentience to better serve humankind?
Madeline Ashby, Tony Ballantyne, Justina Robson, Anthony Fucilla, Tricia Sullivan
I will also be joining a morning walk ‘Stroll with the Stars’ on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 10:00 am if anyone is up that early.
Bristolcon 25 October
Too soon to say anything about programme, but with a little luck there will be a Shadowboxer-related event the night before the main con. I’ll let you know.
Tricia Sullivan 