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.
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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 paneling at Writefest this year. Here's my schedule if you want to come say hi! I'm also volunteering so you'll probably see me around putting out fires. Check out the full schedule of events here and don't miss the Saturday night social!
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I'll be attending Illogicon January 12-14th in Raleigh this year. I'd love to meet you if you'll be there!

I have a few events I'll be participating in coming up, so here's where you can find me in the next couple of months. (I'll update this as new dates arise.) 

• I'll be volunteering at Writespace's Writer's Family Reunion, Saturday, September 9th. 
• One of my poems will be showcased at the Art & Words Show in Fort Worth, Saturday, October 7th. 
• I'm attending World Fantasy Con, November 2-5. 
• I'm a guest at Illogicon, January 12-14, 2018 in Raleigh, N.C. 

​See you soon friends!

They wrote YA before YA was Cool
8-9 pm, Ballroom D

Poetry Thunderdome
1-2 pm, Southpark A

ST/TNG: A Generation Later
4-5 pm,  Southpark B

Reading, Yours Truly
9:30-10 pm, Room 102

What Shorter SF&F works should you have read this year?
2-3 pm, Ballroom F

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.

​I'm very excited to share with you a new project I'm a part of in October, Eastext, a collaboration with artist Pablo Gimenez-Zapiola. 

I met Pablo when one of our Writespace volunteers shared his call for poets for an upcoming art project. I've always felt pulled toward ekphrastic work - that which responds or interprets artwork in some way. In fact, this is one of the more effective prompts I use in workshops and in my own writing experience. I love to visit museums and galleries and see what poetry comes from viewing artwork. Through Arts & Culture Texas and ARTHouston, I've even had the pleasure of writing about art. So Pablo's project seemed like a great fit. 

After our conversation it became clear to me that my involvement needed to be more than just ekphrasis. Pablo reached out to me with an idea - to use my current fascination with erasure poetry as a response to some of the news coming out of Houston's east end. In this way, the poetry I will be presenting is part of not just my own love of ekphrasis, but also a blending of worlds - my own with that of the artist's. For this, I am very grateful to be involved. I'm also thrilled to be reading alongside local poets Eloísa Pérez-Lozano (who I've had the pleasure of publishing in Writespace's In Medias Res anthology), John Pluecker, Vanessa Torres, and Gwendolyn Zepeda. 

I'll be reading my poetry October 13, 20, & 27, at 6:30pm. Event locations are to be found at the link below. 

For more information click here. 

Read the article in Arts&Culture Texas
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I'll be teaching a Writespace jumpstarter workshop on September 10th! Register here. This is a great workshop for new writers, or established writers looking for a little boost and new ideas!

Workshop Description: ​
Feeling stuck? Have you not written in a while? Does the work you have accomplished seem stagnant? Join your fellow writers in a friendly, open atmosphere in which creative freedom is celebrated. Using writing prompts, visual inspiration in the form of images and props, and fun freewriting exercises, we will unleash your creativity so that you can get back on track and feel inspired again. The exercises we will share are intended to help spark new ideas, but they are also adaptable to works-in-progress, so feel free to come without a particular project in mind or with a current project you’d like to be excited by again.
TIME: Saturday, September 10th, 2-4 p.m.  
PRICE:  Early-Bird Price Until Monday, September 5th: $15 Members, $25 Non-Members. After September 5th: $25 Members, $35 Non-Members – Become a member here.
LOCATION: Writespace - PLEASE NOTE:  There is also a Silver Street event at this time, so please allow extra time to find parking.  Please see the map at this link for alternative parking information, if needed.
LEVEL: All Levels
CAP: Limited to 15 Writers

Poet David Biespiel advises that the entry to an idea starts with an irritation – something triggering our minds as writers and making us approach, even with caution. It could be a news story about a lost child, the opening of a flower to the sun, or the way the light looks in the afternoon. The fact that we keep returning to the same irritations means that while we become more successful, more accomplished, oft-published writers, within our dark hearts the artist-as-creature still resides.  

I spent last weekend in my home town, Austin, Texas, at Poets & Writers Live. The event, hosted by Poets & Writers Magazine, carried the theme of “Inspiration.” I returned to my new city of Houston refreshed and reminded of how significant connecting with other writers is to my life as a writer. We are not solitary monsters, burrowed in our holes with our pincers clenched. We are vessels, waiting to be filled, waiting to overflow. ​
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​I was impressed by the variety of writers participating as speakers. I found several new names that I plan to follow down a rabbit hole (probably adding to my TBR pile, which is so high it threatens to smother me in my sleep, but hey, it’s not a bad way to go.) Among those names I include Elizabeth McCracken, the self-proclaimed “crabby” keynote speaker, whose words made me remember that not every writer is cut out of the same cloth. We are different, and that is magical. As McCracken proclaimed, “Cultivate your own universe.” This should be our theme for 2016 writers! As Chuck Wendig often says, “You do you.” I find this advice particularly vital for speculative writers. Many new spec lit writers I meet are daunted by the task of world-building. I say – build your own writing life alongside new worlds. 

Other treats of discovery included Ben Percy, who sounds like a mix of Darth Vader and the guy who voices movie trailers, and read an essay about creating suspense that as my friend noted, did what it suggested (it managed to be suspenseful and also fulfilling). And oh yeah, he used a picture book as an example. 

Naomi Shihab Nye, guardian of the daily poem, believes that as writers, we need to use what we have given our time. I’ll be posting more on this topic soon, as I am fascinated by the range of “techniques” and “practices” different writers employ. 

Further writers I discovered include Saeed Jones of Buzzfeed, whose personal experience of finding the self in memoir gave me hope for the genre, and David Searcy, a CNF writer that I surprised myself by loving.  

The event culminated in a reading by Texas Slam Poet, Ebony Stewart. I had the pleasure to share the stage with Stewart at Write About Now's recent ladies mic, where she hosted with grace and hilarity. The experience of seeing her read her work in front of a crowd of people who may have never heard spoken word performed live felt exhilarating. Electricity filled the room as a group of writers responded to her work with a standing ovation. It was a moment I will not forget. (Video of her reading at Write About Now below for your viewing pleasure.) 

​I was reminded that quotations are not just for Tumblr and cloud-background memes. The wellspring of quotes at this event, not just by the speakers, but also by their mentors and the writers that inspired them, dazzled me. Here are a few that stuck with me: ​

I develop customs for writing events: I take copious notes. I save whatever folder I’m given, and I keep any notes and mementos all in the same folder so I can return to them later. I make note of people that interest me. I try to be less of a wallflower, sometimes without success, bringing home new business cards and handing out a few of my own. My latest habit is live tweeting (you can find my live tweets in the previous blog post.) If all else fails, I have a beer at lunch to clear my mind. It works best if it’s a local tap. 

Lastly, I try to approach the irritation with less caution. I tell myself that not every writer is the same. If my curiosity is peaked, I let myself plummet down the rabbit hole, with any luck dragging a few friends with me. 
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This weekend I attended Poets & Writers Live in Austin. The theme was "Inspiration". Below are my live tweets from the event in a handy-dandy list for your viewing pleasure. I will be posting a follow-up of my impressions of the event soon. 

Here's a list of events I'm involved in or will be involved in for 2016. Come hang out with me and learn some writing stuff. 

February 9th: Attendee, Poets & Writers Live, Austin, TX. 

February 13th: Workshop Leader, Idea Generator Writing Workshop, Writespace. Houston, TX.

February 22nd – 28th: Coordinator, Writefest. Houston, TX.
 
March 30th – April 2nd: Attendee, AWP, L.A., CA.
 
June 3rd – 10th: Attendee, Lighthouse Litfest. 

June 17th-19th: Panelist, Comicpalooza (More info TBA). 

I just got back from the Texas Book Fest last weekend, where I was promoting Writefest, a new literary journal fair and writer’s workshop in Houston, Texas, hosted by Writespace, the local grassroots literary center I work with. I spent the weekend on a whirlwind meet and greet with a fellow writer friend, and I think we may never recover. We hung out with other writers, met remarkable authors, and got some serious Writefest inspiration.
 
Here’s a few highlights from the trip, as if you needed more proof that Austin is a city of magical unicorns. 
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1. We met Margaret Atwood. She was overwhelming, forcefully devoted to the craft, and it was like standing next to the literary equivalent of some kind of really sweet, tolerant norse god. Or something. 
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​2. We met a slew of other new writers I hadn’t heard of but now am obsessed with, including Amelia Gray and Edward Carey, who both write wonderfully weird things that I now must go read. (And Edward Carey doodled in his signature. Who doesn’t love that?) By the way, Carey is reading at Brazos Bookstore Nov. 16th, so make sure you check him out. 
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​3. We met Kelly Link, and took an uber with her, and saved her wallet. How does this even happen? Oh yeah, and her panel with Edward Carey was delightful. 
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5. We met Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, and told him we skipped a second beer at the bar (Did I mention Shiner Cheer is back out again? It’s enchanted, and I think it may have contributed to the magic of the weekend) just to come to his panel, which I think he was slightly bemused by, however, he is hilarious. 
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