I'm attending the Back to the Confusion convention in Detroit from January 16 to 18. ConFusion is a great convention, melding the literary focus of a smaller con with the fun and perks of a larger convention. This year's guest of honor is Karen Lord. Other attending authors include Ted Chiang, Joe Abercrombie, and Steven Erikson. If that line-up doesn't make you want to embrace the ConFusion, I don't know what will.
Below is my convention schedule. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
Friday 5pm: The Next Big Thing in YA
First, it was vampires. Then, it was dystopian future. What will be the next big topic to flood the YA market?
Friday 9pm: Where Batman Went Wrong
Many popular comic book characters have been with us for 50 or more years. Some have been reinvented multiple times to keep up with fads and changes in society. What makeovers have worked, and which have been deservedly short-lived. What characters are due for make-overs?
Saturday 12pm: Characters we Love to Hate (TEEN FUSION)
What characters have you read or watched that you really don't like but still want to know more about them?
Saturday 4pm: Mass Autograph Session
Sunday 11am: Science or Science Fiction?
Science fiction novels continue to impress with amazing technological advances in so many areas. What's more impressive, though? That some of them are reality! Come talk about some of the things you see on the news today that you first read about years ago in a book.
Sunday 1pm: Post-Binary SF
Non-binary gender exists—it is not new, it is not confined to people in one cultural or linguistic group. Non-binary pronouns are in use by real people. The future, whether it incorporates non-binary gender(s) or goes beyond the binary—and it will do one, or both, of these things, in reflection of the reality of non-binary gender—will see shifts in language. It is absurd for science fiction not to reflect this. It is especially absurd in a genre used to language invented for the story. How can we improve on this?
Sunday 2pm: Reading with Leah Bobet