Continuum XII.

Continuum XII is fast approaching, and I'm really looking forward to it. Last year, due to circumstances, I was only able to spend one day there. This year I'll be present for the whole thing. As this will be my last Australian convention for some time, it'll be great to catch up with a whole bunch of people just before I go,

For those who don't know, Continuum is an annual fan run speculative fiction and pop culture convention. From science-fiction to epic fantasy and everything in between, Continuum 12 will celebrate the theme “Stranger Than Fiction”. Continuum runs every year on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. In 2016 the convention will be held between June 10-13 at the Hotel Jasper in Melbourne’s CBD.

I've been selected for five panels. Mostly writing themed, but with one on Star Wars. I know some of the panellists already, and they're a great bunch. I look forward to meeting those I don't yet know.

In addition George Ivanoff has asked me to be involved in one of his notorious activities. And although I immediately said yes, I'm now starting to wonder if it was a good idea to take part. I guess time will tell.

For those attending, come up and say 'Hi'. Offer me a drink. Tell me things I don't know. Oh, and don't forget that drink!

Hope to see you there!

My panels:

Worldbuilding  (Saturday  10-11am) 

• How to create an immersive world, how much detail is too much, how much should you tell the audience or keep in the background, how does trade fit in and how do you draw the damned map?

Writers and Doubt (Saturday 4-5pm)

• Dealing with Imposter Syndrome. A very real and quite sobering issue, join us for a discussion on how to deal with Imposter syndrome and what we can do to alleviate it.

Plotspirations (Sunday 4-5pm)

• From mashups to bets to eureka moments to messages in the sky, how do you get your ideas? Where do your plot ideas come from?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Monday 10-11am)

• Revolutionary film or redone cliche cashing in on nostalgia? Badass female heroine or boring Mary Sue? Potential interracial gay couple or just a big tease? We analyse the new movie for any trace of Midichlorians.

The Author is a Jerk! (Monday 1-2pm)

• How do the personal opinions and actions of an author affect the reception of their work and do we really care? Should an author’s personal and professional lives remain separate or should we boycott problematic authors?

Continuum 11.

It's that time of year. Continuum 11 is on next weekend, and the program is looking great.

For those who have never heard of Continuum, here's the description from their website.

"Continuum is an annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture fan convention celebrating creativity across genre and media. From hard-edge science fiction to high-flown fantasy, comic books to film noir, high culture to sub-culture … we sink our teeth into it all!

2015 marks our 11th convention, and we’re taking the time to celebrate Australia.  Not in a yellow-and-green-how-many-gold-medals-did-that-koala-get-in-the-sports way, but looking at Australia’s history and future, and also Australian genre and media, our fandom, and our people."

This will be my seventh Continuum. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I won't be able to attend the entire weekend as I usually do. I'm even unsure of when I can manage to drop in, But I will definitely be there Saturday afternoon.

I'm only on one panel this time, Religions in Spec Fic, alongside David McDonald, RJ Anderson, Alexandra Pierce and Stephanie Lai. 

Religions are portrayed as good and bad forces in specfic, but in Western SF there are certain long-standing traditions. What are "neglected" religions? Has the way religion been portrayed changed along with its changing role in society? What are some of the mistakes writers make when incorporating religion?

Come along to Continuum. Check out the Religions panel. And if you're not even sure you want to go, Friday night of the program is a gold coin donation entry.

You can't get anything better for that price these days.

Recent Activities.

Continuum X has been and gone. I can barely believe two weeks has since passed. I didn't write about it last week for two reasons. Firstly, I'd just written about Gitte Christensen, and I wanted to leave that on top for a few more days. Secondly, because I wasn't sure what to make of Continuum.

Jim C. Hines and Ambelin Kwaymullina were wonderful guests, and their speeches were challenging and inspiring. Certainly brilliant follow-ups to last year's guest, N.K. Jemisen. I returned home with new ideas and understandings of issues within SF. And a whole lot more questions about gender, race, culture and diversity. And that will, of course, bleed through to my writing.

I also had the opportunity to converse with Jim C. Hines. It was an important conversation for me, and he helped me out a whole lot more than he realises. Thank you Jim for your time and words.

It was an odd convention for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. I didn't feel spoiled for panel choice as I usually am, and that may have been part of it. The venue was different and the rooms were more spread out. That too may have been part of it. The bar prices were insanely high, which meant a lot of people didn't gather or linger, which I certainly felt played its part. My con-going buddy was missing this time, which may have played its part. Or maybe it was just me. Or, of course, all of the above in varying degrees of culpability.

And then there were a couple of situations/conversations at the convention which got me down. I'm not going to go into details, but I just can't believe these things are happening.

Overall? I enjoyed myself, and I look forward to next year's Continuum.

Since then I've been busy at work finishing up assessment and writing reports - every teacher's favourite task. I had a personal rejection for a story for which I'd had high hopes. (It's not you, it's us) Sigh. But I have a couple of other stories out which I think will probably sell. (Of course with my recent history in predicting these sales...... ) At least I've managed to get some words down this week, so I feel productive there. Which is (hopefully) good, as I have two deadlines at the end of the month.

But enough about me. It's back to work.

Cons For Everyone.

I only started going to Cons about five years ago. Until then, I wasn't even aware they existed. In the pre-internet days SF reading and fandom was a reasonably solitary existence, and I never really connected with too many people who were into the same books I was.

In many ways I wish I'd known about fandom much earlier, become involved when I was younger. Not only because I could have gone to more cons and met more people, but I think some of those older cons would have suited me more.

When I think of SF, I tend to think books. Very few SF movies have left the same impression on me as the printed word, and TV series, while enjoyable, have had a lesser impact. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's growing up in an era when SF TV was pretty hokey. Maybe it's the way I am, an avid reader and an able visualiser.

So cons, over the past few years, seem to have moved away from the books and towards the pop culture. Lots of vampires, anime, superheroes and TV series. And while I don't mind some of those (vampires), I simply cannot relate to others (anime and superheroes).

Now I'm certainly not mourning the passing of cons, or anything so dramatic. I recognise they have to change in order to survive. They need to reflect the interests of the membership. And with SF becoming a huge amorphous beast, those interests can be very wide ranging indeed.

I read a post during the week, some of which I agreed with, some of which I didn't, but it certainly reflected much of my recent thoughts. It's true you can't please everyone all of the time, and I have some of the concerns about the divisive behaviours and attitudes that some cons seem to engender.

It seems to me that we need to remember the wide variety of tastes and interests, and reflect that in the programming. We need to remember and enjoy the legacy of SF, whether the popular canon, the diverse or the forgotten. We must also remember that it's more than just what's cool, hip and young. Don't forget the access we have to those older, experienced heads who still have links to the past.

But mostly, don't forget what cons are about.

I'm personally not very interested in panels on politics, for example, or social justice (although it can have its place within the genre). I get enough of that in the rest of the world, in my past, in my workplace. When I go to a con, it's about escapism. Yes, I'm at a con to learn, to share, to meet with others, but mostly I'm there to have fun.

See You There.

Are you going to Continuum 9? 

Continuum 9: Contraindicators.

Have you signed up yet?

Continuum is an annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture fan convention celebrating creativity across genre and media. From hard-edge science fiction to high-flown fantasy, comic books to film noir, high culture to sub-culture… we sink our teeth into it all!

Continuum is run on a not-for-profit basis and all revenue goes towards venue and equipment hire, transport and accommodation for our guests, and other convention specific expenses. The Continuum conventions are supported by the Continuum Foundation and we are grateful for their support.

Continuum 9 will take place on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, June 7 — 10, 2013.

Our guests of honour this year are Waris Hussein and N.K. Jemisin. Supporting them will be a wide range of other speakers and panellists in a fabulous line up of panels, presentations and special events.

To contact the convention committee, please email info@continuum.org.au. They’ll make sure your query gets to the right person!

(And yes, I stole this from their website. It's ok, though - I'm on the committee.)

It's A Vibe.

Sunday morning, and it's latte and breakfast on Lygon Street. It's been a very, very long time since I've been down here this early, perhaps 25 years or more. A very different vibe to the evenings. Most of the customers are seated inside, but I'm out under the umbrellas. Me and one other customer - a guy who wouldn't be out of place on the set of The Sopranos.

Lygon Street is, after all, Little Italy.

Continuum is rocking along nicely. The panels have been great, but as any regular attendee knows, most of the best stuff happens elsewhere. Usually in the bar.

Had a great time last night, getting to know some new people and catching up with familiar faces. It's an absolute thrill when someone approaches you and introduces themself because they read your story, or your blog, or saw you on a panel or heard your name. I know I've introduced myself to a few people over the past few days for those very reasons.

And there's a vibe. A really cool, exciting vibe. The one thing I keep getting, from panels and conversations is this.

These are exciting times for Australian speculative fiction. The golden age of the small press. And we have some exciting writers emerging, some great projects happening and fun times ahead.

And remember, whatever happens on Con, usually ends up on the internet within minutes.

Craftonomicon.

Have you bought a membership and made your reservations yet?

June 8th is almost upon us and the community from around Australia will then gather for Continuum 8.  It was only a few years ago I discovered this whole writing/fandom event even existed. I signed up for my first convention without knowing anything about it. I was nervous about attending, I didn't know what to expect, didn't really know anyone there and felt as though I was intruding.

Of course that all quickly changed and I'm now a regular attendee and participant. I'm on three panels this time around and I must say I'm really looking forward to them. It'll be great to catch up with friends, meet new people and spend hours and hours talking complete crap with them.

The schedules have just been posted, and the panels look fantastic. I've also discovered I'll be doing a reading with David McDonald, Jo Anderton and Dirk Flinthart as 'FableCroft authors'. Exciting, and terrifying at the same time. I'm also very excited about the awards ceremony, as I'm on the ballots for my first Ditmar and Chronos awards. Simply being shortlisted is thrilling.

But whatever happens, the convention will be as valuable as ever.