Rogues In Saratoga Springs: World Fantasy 2015

I'll be on the road again this week and attending World Fantasy in Saratoga Springs NY, November 5th-8th. The con organizers have graciously put me on a panel the opening day-- Thursday, November 5th at 4pm. Here is a description along with the panel participants from WFC's website:

The Rogue
Assassins, thieves, rogues of all stripes, it seems that no quest party™ is complete without a wisecracking roguish sidekick. But is there more to the Rogue than that? 
Ellen Kushner (mod.), Alistair Kimble, Cinda Williams Chima, James Alan Gardner, Ryk E. Spoor

About World Fantasy:

The World Fantasy convention will always be special to me--I attended my first one in 2010 when it was held in Columbus, Ohio. This particular convention is less fan-oriented and more professional, by which I mean, this is a great place to hang out at the bar and meet writers, editors, and literary agents.  Another aspect of the con that I like is that the membership is capped, so one has to purchase their ticket early enough in the year to be sure of getting a spot, otherwise there is a waiting list.

So many of the friends I have in the writing community became friends of mine in Columbus back in 2010. That first convention was interesting, since I went by myself and decided to wing it. Given my day job and the fact that I get paid to talk to people made meeting others not that difficult--but even so, I sat at the bar and the other writers and professionals were friendly and didn't mind talking to a stranger. At that convention I realized the old saying about writers was true--they like to drink. But no one got out of control and I found all my interactions with others to be quite engaging and informative.  I've learned so much about the industry over the years simply by attending conventions--but especially World Fantasy.

Anyway, World Fantasy will always have a special place in my heart, and I'm really looking forward to attending this one and having a chance to hang out with friends.

World Fantasy Convention 2014

Next week I'll be heading to Washington, D.C. for World Fantasy.  Technically, it's being held at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, which is actually in Arlington, VA--but close enough, I suppose for them to say D.C.

The convention programmers have been gracious enough to have me on a panel (one we pitched to them).  Programming is at a premium at World Fantasy since they limit the number of panels, and convention goers are lucky if they are put on even one panel.  Many thanks to my good friend, Mark Van Name who persuaded convention programmers to allow us this panel--he was also gracious in offering his services as a moderator.

Here is a description of the panel which is going to be on the first night of the convention, November 6th:

Fantasy and the Reality of Law Enforcement
Time:  9:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m., Thursday, Fairfax
Panelists:  Mark L. Van Name (M), Griffin Barber, Alistair Kimble
Description:  Fantasy writers who are also law-enforcement workers discuss how fantasy fiction portrays law enforcement, and compare those practices to real-world law enforcement.  They will talk about where fiction differs from reality and discuss what works in stories and what really is fantasy.  In discussing such works as The City and The City (China Mieville), Finch (Jeff VanderMeer), London Falling (Paul Cornell), and Servant of Empire (Raymond Feist), they will contrast the real and fantasy worlds of law enforcement.

Here is a link to the entire programming schedule.