I'm stoked to once again be a panelist at Comicpalooza this year in Houston, Texas. Comicpalooza has grown to be a massive comic con with cosplay, celebrities, and of course literature panels! This year we host the mother of dragons, Emilia Clarke, and I for one will be waiting in line for her panel. 

If you see me around at the con, come say Hi! 

Panels for Comicpalooza 2019: 
​Art & Writing Crossovers, from Comics to Artist Collaborations
Room 370D
Friday May 10, 2019 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Art and literature have always inspired each other. How do visual art and writing inspire and reveal a creative process? What can emerge when one form is refracted through another? Has there been a different emergence of the combination in a reality that seems more visualized and surreal? Join us for a lively discussion of the mediums' crossover and influences.

Speculative Poetry Deathmatch!
Room 370D
Saturday May 11, 2019 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights.

No Right Way to Write: Techniques for New Writers
Room 370D
Sunday May 12, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm
There is no one correct way to write. One of the challenges of new writers is to find the way that works best for them. Some people require strict outlines. Others require just bullet points. And still others require nothing more than an idea and a few notes on a napkin. This panel is on writing techniques, from outline usage to writing organically, allowing your information to come out in a smooth fashion. Learn the way to write that is right for you!


 Beyond Earthsea: Ursula K. Le Guin's Writing Legacy
 Room 370E
Sunday May 12, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm
As one of the greatest science fiction writers, Ursula K. Le Guin explored politics, the environment, myth, gender, and their intersection with our reality. She was an advocate for social justice and women writers. Join us for a discussion celebrating and paying tribute to Le Guin's work and influence.

Here's my schedule for Comicpalooza 2018! 

The Uncanny Valley in Fiction: Writing the Nearly Human
Friday, May 25
3:30-4:30pm - 370D
Evoking the uncanny, as understood by Housman and Freud, is one of the most evocative ways to add a skin-crawling sense of horror to your fiction. This panel will focus on how the uncanny works, what its roots and motifs are, and how to use it. Examples will include works by Neil Gaiman, Salvador Dali, Susan Cooper and David Lynch.

Poetry of the Imagination: Offsite Reading
Friday, May 25
7:00-9:00pm - Kaboom Books
3116 Houston Avenue
Houston, TX 77009

2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Join SFPA President Bryan Thao Worra, along with Houston residents Holly Walrath (author of Glimmerglass Girl), Saba Razvi (author of Of the Divining and the Dead), T. Haven Morse (Flooded By, Beam Me Up Yoda), Kate Pentecost (Elysium Girls), and Deborah L. Davitt (Ave, Caesarion), along with Dallas-area poets Michelle Muenzler (The Hills of Meat, the Forest of Bone) and Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Strange Monsters), and Iowa poet Karen Bovenmeyer (Swift for the Sun) for an evening of speculative poetry. 

This event is FREE and open to the public! 

Character Springboard Workshop
Saturday, May 26
1:30-3:00pm - 370E
Drawing from popular television, movies, and books, this workshop explores how to create in-depth characters in your novels and short fiction. Feel free to bring a piece you are working on, or start something new using exercises from the workshop.​

Writing Violence in Speculative Fiction
Saturday, May 26
3:30-4:00pm - 370F
Good writing involves conflict, and conflict can involve violence. How do writers create violent scenes effectively without sacrificing world building and characterization? When is the hint of violence scarier, and more effective, than a fully realized attack or battle? Should violence be handled differently for different audiences (such as YA and senior citizens)? Does the current international political and military climate affect the way that writers shape violent scenes? Our panel will discuss these crucial questions for the genre writer.

Speculative Poetry Deathmatch! 
Saturday, May 26
4:30-5:30pm - 370E
Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights.
​

Below is a list of events I'll be participating in this year! Hope to see you around. Please come say hi - I love meeting other writers. 

May: 
Comicpalooza (Panelist and hosting the SFPA Poetry reading May 25th)

June: 
I'm the 2018 SFPA Contest chair. Submissions open June 1! 
June 26, 6:30pm: Reading Fix Coffee Bar hosted by Mike Alexander

July: 
Readercon (Panelist) 

August: 
Flash Fiction Retreat Breckenridge
​August 22nd-September 12: Writespace Writing Life 101 Workshop
August 25: Writespace Poetry of the Fantastic Workshop

September: 
September 29: Reading, Art & Words Show hosted by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

I'll be attending Comicpalooza this year as a guest of the literary track. Here's a list of the panels, workshops, and Q + A's on which I'll be presenting. I'm particularly excited to get to chat with Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy. 

Also, a little plug for my world-building workshop: There are still seats! If you attend Comicpalooza you can attend this workshop for free. I've been cooking up some fun anti-worldbuilding ideas to help you think about this from a new angle in your writing. See you there!

​2:30 - 4:00pm – Creative Community – Finding Your Tribe
They say it’s lonely at the top – but it’s pretty solitary down at the bottom too. Wherever you are in your creative career, the war against isolation, anxiety and self-doubt is never-ending. The good news is, you don’t have to go it alone. Let’s talk about joining, creating and/or maintaining a creative support system that will help you go the distance.
 
4:00 – 5:00pm – Speculative Poetry Death Match
Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match, in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights.

​11:30 - 1:00pm – Worldbuilding Workshop
Drawing from popular television, movies and books, this workshop explores how to create in-depth worlds in your novels and short fiction. Feel free to bring a piece you are working on, or start something new using exercises from the workshop (Saturday, 11:30 am).  Sign up and submit your work by emailing literature@comicpalooza.com
 
1:00 – 2:00pm – Boredom-Proofing Your Story
If too little is happening, your readers get bored. If too much is going on, they'll be confused. The art of crafting an irresistible page-turner lies in skillfully walking that narrow line - and we're going to talk about how to do exactly that.
 
4:00 - 5:00pm – Lev Grossman Q & A
Lev Grossman is the author of five novels including the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy, which has been published in 25 countries and is now an hour-long drama on the Syfy channel. The Magicians books have been praised by, among others, George R.R. Martin, Audrey Niffenegger, William Gibson, Kelly Link, John Green and Joe Hill. Grossman spent 15 years as a staff writer at Time magazine, where he served as the book critic and lead technology writer and wrote more than 20 cover stories. He has also written essays on culture and technology for Salon, Slate, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Lingua Franca, the Week, the Village Voice and the Believer, among many others. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and three children.

4:00-5:00pm – Wordsmith for Hire: All About Freelance Writing
Tired of writing as a hobby? Ready to turn your keyboard into a moneymaker? You can – but it’s not as easy as hanging out a “for hire” sign. In this panel, we’ll examine the different types of freelance writing, where and how to find work, and what you need to know to make yourself attractive to potential clients.