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Preliminary Program GridThis is the Preliminary program schedule with the program items we’re planning on having. New things may emerge, and any of these may disappear in puff of logic, all without warning. The program will be updated as information changes, but please check for official notifications during the convention. |
Grid of Scheduled Events
(NOTE: All events are subject to change. Please check back often.)
2024-09-27 Friday | ||||||||||
Eisenhower | Washington Theater | Jackson | Monroe | Truman | Adams | Atrium | Wilson | Lincoln | Upstairs Library | |
3:00 pm | FOREST SHUFFLE Demo | |||||||||
3:30 pm | ||||||||||
4:00 pm | Oh My Isekai | An Offline Discussion of Online Events | Author Reading: Michael Capobianco | Tell Your Story With a 1-Page TTRPG | ||||||
4:30 pm | Author Reading: Lawrence M. Schoen | |||||||||
5:00 pm | Is There Still a Self Publishing Stigma? | Apocalyptic and Anti-Apocalyptic Fiction: Left Behind or Laughing? | Is My Story Actually a Game? | The Future of Cinema | Author Reading: Alex Shvartsman | Delver’s Guide to the Beast World: Fiammetta’s Grand Prix | ||||
5:30 pm | Author Reading: Jennifer Brinn | |||||||||
6:00 pm | Cat Tales! | What Is a Small Press? | 1984, Is It Here? | Author Reading: Karlo Yeager Rodriguez | ||||||
6:30 pm | Author Reading: Leslye Penelope | |||||||||
7:00 pm | The Secondary Character Steals the Show | They Can’t Do That | Streaming SFF Discussion | Blog This! | TINY EPIC DINOSAURS/ HAPPY LITTLE DINOSAURS Demo | Author Reading: Danielle Ackley-McPhail | ||||
7:30 pm | Author Reading: Bjorn Hasseler | |||||||||
8:00 pm | So You Want to be a Writer | This One Time… | Fix the Hugos | Audiobooks Accessibility | Author Reading: Joshua Palmatier | |||||
8:30 pm | Author Reading: Paul Haggerty | |||||||||
9:00 pm | Relationships and Sex in Fantasy and Science Fiction | Crafting in Your World | Apocalypse Now | Author Reading: Charles Gannon | ||||||
9:30 pm | Author Reading: Darrell Schweitzer | |||||||||
10:00 pm | Hold My Beer | George, Howard, and Gardner Show rerun | Late Night Filk Friday | |||||||
10:30 pm | ||||||||||
11:00 pm | ||||||||||
11:30 pm | ||||||||||
2024-09-28 Saturday | ||||||||||
Eisenhower | Washington Theater | Jackson | Monroe | Truman | Adams | Atrium | Wilson | Lincoln | Upstairs Library | |
10:00 am | The Future of AI | Introduction to Hypnosis | Chengdu from Those Who’ve Been There | Food for Thought | Author Reading: Barbara Krasnoff | Chat and Craft | ||||
10:30 am | HOLOTYPE Demo | Author Reading: Miguel O. Mitchell | ||||||||
11:00 am | Arming Your Characters | Music as Muse | Cooking Up Fiction | Author Reading: Andy Duncan | Writing Retreats for Fun and Profit | |||||
11:30 am | Author Reading: Sarah Avery | |||||||||
12:00 pm | How Much Is Enough? | 50 Years of Satellite-Based Earth Observation | The Future of Currency | Audiobooks | Author Reading: John Hartness | Starfinder: Mechaggedon | ||||
12:30 pm | Author Reading: Meridel Newton | |||||||||
1:00 pm | GOH Interview: Sheree Renée Thomas | The Privatization of Space | Truck-kun will send you anywhere: The beginners guide to Isekai | Next Story Up | Author Reading: Michael Alan Ventrella | Speculative Poetry Workshop | ||||
1:30 pm | Author Reading: Suzanne Palmer | |||||||||
2:00 pm | What’s Happening with Print Magazines | Tyrannosaurus Next | Teens Talk About Technology, Texting, and Life | Translation and you | Author Reading: A.C. Wise | |||||
2:30 pm | Author Reading: Adeena Mignogna | |||||||||
3:00 pm | GOH Interview: Matt Dinniman | Important Rituals | Local Clubs, Conventions, and Events | Author Reading: Danian Jerry | Advanced Worldbuilding: A Soup-To-Nuts Primer | |||||
3:30 pm | All Reality is Virtual | DINOSAUR ISLAND Demo | Author Reading: J.L. Gribble | |||||||
4:00 pm | Short Stories Are Where It’s At | No, Make It a Series! | Sportsball | Author Reading: Kel Coleman | ||||||
4:30 pm | Author Reading: Mark Roth | |||||||||
5:00 pm | What Is This LitRPG Thing? | The Life Cycle of Stars with Hubble and Webb | 1632 Continues | Author Reading: Ken Altabef | Anime 5e: Carousel Obscura | |||||
5:30 pm | Author Reading: Martin Berman-Gorvine | |||||||||
6:00 pm | Author Reading: Tom Doyle | |||||||||
6:30 pm | ||||||||||
7:00 pm | Capclave Trivia | PALEOVET Demo | Mass Signing and Awards Ceremony | |||||||
7:30 pm | ||||||||||
8:00 pm | ||||||||||
8:30 pm | Necrobiotic (1) | |||||||||
9:00 pm | Evolution and Climate | Late Night Filk Saturday | ||||||||
9:30 pm | ||||||||||
10:00 pm | ||||||||||
10:30 pm | ||||||||||
11:00 pm | ||||||||||
11:30 pm | ||||||||||
2024-09-29 Sunday | ||||||||||
Eisenhower | Washington Theater | Jackson | Monroe | Truman | Adams | Atrium | Wilson | Lincoln | Upstairs Library | |
10:00 am | Who You Gonna Call? | Self-Editing for Fiction Writers | Oh, the Horror! | Author Reading: Randee Dawn | ||||||
10:30 am | WINGSPAN Demo | Author Reading: Joan Wendland | ||||||||
11:00 am | The Future of Translated Works | So You Want to Be an Editor | Awards and What They Really Get You | Miniatures Painting | ||||||
11:30 am | Author Reading: Jennifer R. Povey | |||||||||
12:00 pm | Superhero Fiction | Public Versus Private Faces | Why a tweener | This Was the End | Necrobiotic (2) | |||||
12:30 pm | Author Reading: Elektra Hammond | |||||||||
1:00 pm | History: The Ultimate Source Document | In Defense of the Standalone | Author Reading: Jean Marie Ward | Writing Fight Scenes That Matter | ||||||
1:30 pm | DRAFTOSAURUS Demo | Author Reading: Sheree Renée Thomas | ||||||||
2:00 pm | Companions, Pets, and More | Writing with Your Opposite | Author Reading: L. Marie Wood | |||||||
2:30 pm | Author Reading: Scott Edelman | |||||||||
3:00 pm | Feedback session | |||||||||
3:30 pm |
Items are sorted by Category, Date/Time, Room and Event Name
(NOTE: All items are subject to change. Please check back often.)
Panel
Friday 4:00 pm | Eisenhower | Oh My Isekai (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Logan Beard, Bill Lawhorn (M), Wednesday Mourning, Sherin Nicole A discussion of how an anime trope became a mainstay of LitRPG and its relationship with portal fantasy. |
Washington Theater | An Offline Discussion of Online Events (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Andy Duncan, Morgan Hazelwood (M), Sarah Mitchell, Jean Marie Ward Costs are rising, volunteers are hard to get, and people are firm in their beliefs. A few years removed from the rise of online and hybrid events, panelists discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and future of events. |
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Friday 5:00 pm | Eisenhower | Is There Still a Self Publishing Stigma? (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Ken Altabef, John Hartness , Nate Hoffelder, Leslye Penelope (M), Diana Peterfreund For years many readers and reviewers have assumed that if a self-published (aka independent) book was any good it would have been published by a professional press. Many say that self-published books are poorly edited and proofed. But younger readers have less of a bias and services such as Kindle Unlimited allow readers to try books before paying for them. Is there still a stigma against self-publishing? What can their authors do to create a more positive image for these books? |
Washington Theater | Apocalyptic and Anti-Apocalyptic Fiction: Left Behind or Laughing? (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Tom Doyle (M) The 1990s saw the dramatic rise of apocalyptic fiction like the Left Behind series, which some book marketers dubiously labeled Christian science fiction. During the same time, a counternarrative within science fiction and fantasy became popular: the anti-apocalyptic story, which took its structure from the Christian plotline but avoided the usual tragic outcome in a humanistic manner: e.g., in the book Good Omens. Tom Doyle will discuss the common forms and implications of these conflicting narratives, and look at where they are now.
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Jackson | Is My Story Actually a Game? (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Dustin Patrick Blottenberger, Mike McPhail, Joan Wendland (M), Brigitte Winter The opportunities that interactive fiction provides are unique. Some stories, when told with prose, feel fundamentally different to a reader than when told with an even more interactive medium. From video games to choose-your-own-adventure fiction to tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, interactive fiction lets you tell stories you can’t tell anywhere else, There’s a tradeoff: telling your story this way also closes some of those dungeon doors as well. So how do you know if your story is actually a game? |
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Monroe | The Future of Cinema (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: David Bartell, Randee Dawn (M), Shahid Mahmud, Sherin Nicole Movie theaters are struggling. There are new release models, which include direct to streaming. The studios seem to prefer to retread old stories rather than break new ground. What stories are in the works to break those models? Is there a way to save the theater experience? Is there anything worth going to see in the next few months? |
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Friday 6:00 pm | Eisenhower | Cat Tales! (Ends at: 6:55 pm) Participants: Matt Dinniman, Elektra Hammond (M) Stories from Cat Shows featuring Matt Dinniman and Electra Hammond. They’ve raised, judged, and shown cats. Now hear their stories. |
Washington Theater | What Is a Small Press? (Ends at: 6:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Shahid Mahmud, Adeena Mignogna, Joshua Benjamin Palmatier (M), Ian Randal Strock As Capclave and WSFA continue to honor short fiction in small presses, does the current definition need to be updated to fit different models? Is the number of publications a good fit? How do you fit in author collectives? |
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Jackson | 1984, Is It Here? (Ends at: 6:55 pm) Participants: Martin Berman-Gorvine, Jennifer R. Povey, Mark Roth, Joan Wendland (M) Big Brother is watching, but it isn’t always the government. How terms like doublethink, thoughtcrime, and newspeak fit our modern world. Do some of these actions fit the gatekeepers of fandom as well as our political tribalism? |
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Friday 7:00 pm | Eisenhower | The Secondary Character Steals the Show (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Ken Altabef, Randee Dawn, Paul Haggerty, Barbara Krasnoff (M), Wednesday Mourning Come for Carl but love Princess Donut. Although she may argue that she is the main character, the series is named after Carl. A show-stealing secondary character is not new. And there have been other characters who become more popular than the main. Why does this happen? Do authors know that a secondary character may become more when they are writing the story? |
Washington Theater | They Can’t Do That (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Jack Campbell, Charles Gannon, Mary G. Thompson, Christopher Weuve (M) Bending bullets, noise in space, and other things which can’t happen. Authors discuss the physics defying action in stories. |
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Monroe | Blog This! (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: J.L. Gribble (M), Morgan Hazelwood, Nate Hoffelder Panelists discuss the evolution of blogs from diaries to vlogs. What platforms have been the most effective for sharing information? How has the monetization of online content affected blogging? What is the future likely to hold? |
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Friday 8:00 pm | Eisenhower | So You Want to be a Writer (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Doc Coleman (M), Matt Dinniman, Danian Jerry, Suzanne Palmer Authors talk about the triumphs and other notable moments of being a writer. They discuss what to look out for as well as other advice. |
Washington Theater | This One Time… (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Morgan Hazelwood, Ian Randal Strock, Michael A. Ventrella, Jean Marie Ward (M) It may not have been at band camp, but we are involved in stories our whole life. From a young age to the current day, something is almost always happening. Panelists tell brief funny stories from their life, career, and friends. |
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Jackson | Fix the Hugos (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Brick Barrientos, Michael Capobianco, Perrianne Lurie (M), Jennifer R. Povey There have been several controversies over the years. There have been emergency fixes and overreactions. What should be done to fix some of the long-term issues? Or should they just be left alone? |
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Monroe | Audiobooks Accessibility (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Elektra Hammond, John Hartness , Mary G. Thompson (M), Martin Wilsey Audiobooks open up the world for many people who need to hear a story. Some people have long drives and commutes, which are a perfect time to listen to a story. A discussion of the best of audiobooks. From the sources to the content panelist discuss how audio affects their lives. |
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Friday 9:00 pm | Eisenhower | Relationships and Sex in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Ends at: 9:55 pm) Participants: Kel Coleman, Tom Doyle, Jim Freund, J.L. Gribble (M) A late night discussion of interpersonal connections in genre fiction. Everything is on the table. How are traditional setups being altered? How much on scene sex is enough? Is polyamory discussed fairly? What is taboo? |
Washington Theater | Crafting in Your World (Ends at: 9:55 pm) Participants: Scott H. Andrews (M), Jennifer Brinn, Bjorn Hasseler, Michael Swanwick, Joan Wendland Authors often talk about building their worlds and honing their craft. In a little switch, panelists will discuss how crafting works in their worlds as well as how important crafting is to the worlds they develop. |
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Jackson | Apocalypse Now (Ends at: 9:55 pm) Participants: Doc Coleman (M), Randee Dawn, Mike McPhail, Meridel Newton, David Walton It’s the end of the world! What talents allow people to survive at the end? Based on the type of the ending, panelists discuss what skills will help. Disease, nuclear war, alien invasion, the implementation of a system world? |
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Friday 10:00 pm | Eisenhower | Hold My Beer (Ends at: 10:55 pm) Participants: Danian Jerry, Jennifer R. Povey, Sheree Renée Thomas, Michael A. Ventrella, Jean Marie Ward (M) Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any stranger, this happened. A discussion of the current world. No topic off the table. Trigger Warning. |
Washington Theater | George, Howard, and Gardner Show rerun (Ends at: 11:55 pm) Participants: Michael J. Walsh (M) At the 2013 Capclave, three great friends spent a couple of hours entertaining the convention. To honor the memory of Howard Waldrop, we’re rerunning the panel. Hear their stories and laugh once more. Special introduction and tribute by 2013 Capclave Chair Michael Walsh. |
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Saturday 10:00 am | Eisenhower | The Future of AI (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: John Ashmead, Elektra Hammond, David Walton, Christopher Weuve (M) Artificial intelligence (AI) is spreading throughout the world affecting many jobs and industries. AI submissions have come to SFF and clogged inboxes. It has “helped” people research. Just where is AI going? Do we need to find John Connor? These questions and more will be discussed. |
Jackson | Chengdu from Those Who’ve Been There (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Neil Clarke, Bill Lawhorn (M), Suzanne Palmer Authors and fans who have experienced Chinese SFF conventions and events discuss their experiences, the fans, and everything else. |
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Monroe | Food for Thought (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Ingeborg Heyer, Mary G. Thompson, A.C. Wise (M) When someone is hungry, very little else matters. What are the biological effects of hunger? Food as a motivation? Using food to drive action? It isn’t always about taste, but sometimes it is. |
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Wilson | Chat and Craft (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Kel Coleman, Sarah Mitchell (M) Wake up and gather round to knit, crochet, and chat. |
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Saturday 11:00 am | Eisenhower | Arming Your Characters (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Mike McPhail, Leslye Penelope (M), Rosemary Claire Smith, Christopher Weuve The weapon needs to fit the situation. A ray gun is great until you have an energy shield. Part of worldbuilding is knowing the technology available and how they interact and offset. This information is then conveyed to readers. Panelists will delve into how to chose a weapon and why sometimes a lesser known weapon might be just the right choice. |
Jackson | Music as Muse (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Tom Doyle, Danian Jerry, Miguel O. Mitchell (M), Sheree Renée Thomas Storytelling has many inspirations, but music offers its own melodic origins for many a tale. Come gather with creative writers discussing their favorite music and songs that inspired some of their works. Hear some fun techniques that might spark new stories and adventures inside of you. Personal playlists are welcome from music and writing fans alike. |
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Monroe | Cooking Up Fiction (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Randee Dawn, Diana Peterfreund, Mark Roth, Michael Swanwick, Karlo Yeager Rodriguez (M) People love to eat. Descriptions of meals and meal creation can drive a lot of storytelling. Sometimes the meals go well, other times they end up burnt and in the trash. What are some meats, veggies, and other concoctions which drive people’s interest? From Klingon Blood Wine to dinosaur skewers a discussion of making a great meal in a story. |
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Saturday 12:00 pm | Eisenhower | How Much Is Enough? (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Charles Gannon, Joshua Benjamin Palmatier, Suzanne Palmer, Darrell Charles Schweitzer, Karlo Yeager Rodriguez (M) Describing location, setting, clothing, food, and actions can be an important part of telling a story. But when does detail become overwhelming? The data dump is real, but is it necessary, and how do you know when it is needed? Panelists discuss balancing descriptions. |
Washington Theater | 50 Years of Satellite-Based Earth Observation (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: David Bartell (M), Adeena Mignogna In the next few years there will be several new space telescopes launched from a multitude of agencies. From the early days of the Cold War to cooperative endeavors, what have we learned and what more is to come? |
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Jackson | The Future of Currency (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Elektra Hammond, Shahid Mahmud, Jennifer R. Povey (M), Ian Randal Strock Money makes the world go round. A discussion of the future of currency from cold hard cash to electronic options. What are the benefits of each? How does it affect transactions and taxation? Will paper money go back to being backed by precious metals rather than the full faith and credit? |
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Monroe | Audiobooks (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Jack Campbell (M), Matt Dinniman, Tom Doyle, Jim Freund, Joan Wendland The story might be the same, but the delivery is something else. A discussion of audiobooks and prepping for their release as well as why they work better for some people and times. |
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Saturday 1:00 pm | Washington Theater | The Privatization of Space (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Andy Duncan, J.L. Gribble (M), Ingeborg Heyer With public and private companies launching crafts, the world is very different from the 50’s and 60’s space race. What should we expect to see in the coming years as well as a discussion of what the role is for government? |
Jackson | Truck-kun will send you anywhere: The beginners guide to Isekai (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Join the HanaCon team as they discuss the fun, ridiculousness, overpowered, and sometimes cruelty of the isekai genre. Someone’s trash is another person’s treasure.
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Monroe | Next Story Up (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Paul Haggerty (M), John Hartness , Alex Shvartsman There are often submissions to the WSFA Small Press Award from anthologies. Editors discuss their future anthologies. What types and lengths of stories work the best? |
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Saturday 2:00 pm | Eisenhower | What’s Happening with Print Magazines (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Sarah Avery (M), Neil Clarke, Andy Duncan, Bjorn Hasseler, Barbara Krasnoff Printing and mailing costs continue to rise. Hugo nominations are down. Circulation numbers are a fraction of what they once were. What’s happening to the print magazines and are they really dying this time? What can be done to save traditional print magazines? |
Jackson | Teens Talk About Technology, Texting, and Life (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Diana Peterfreund (M) A panel of local teens discuss what it is like growing up in the current world with a focus on how they interact with others and technology. They will discuss how the pandemic affected them and their interactions.
Featuring Noah App, Leo Peterson, Hoshi Rinehart, Eli Sullivan |
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Monroe | Translation and you (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Alex Shvartsman (M) A presentation on the role of translators in publishing and on working with translators as well as breaking into the literary translation game. |
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Saturday 3:00 pm | Jackson | Important Rituals (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jennifer Brinn, Larry Hodges, Leslye Penelope, Karlo Yeager Rodriguez (M) Religion often revolves around rituals, but so do societies and groups. Sheldon Cooper knocked three times in a specific manner, each time including a name for a reason. How can these little bits develop a world? What are some common rituals seen everyday? Which rituals deserve more attention? Which should go away? |
Monroe | Local Clubs, Conventions, and Events (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Sarah Avery (M), Cathy Green, Morgan Hazelwood, Ingeborg Heyer, Perrianne Lurie They may not have a fan table, but you can still learn about some local organizations and events. |
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Saturday 3:30 pm | Washington Theater | All Reality is Virtual (Ends at: 4:25 pm) Participants: John Ashmead (M) Virtual reality is (virtually) everywhere today but what do we mean by virtual reality (VR)? where is VR being used? and where is it likely to go? For that matter, what we mean by reality has a strong element of the virtual in it: we do not see individual particles of light, we “see” Grandma, we do not hear sound waves, we hear her “Hello!”. What is the relationship between the elaborate constructions of our minds and the underlying “real” reality, whatever that is? We’ll look at where virtual reality is today, what the philosophers from Plato to Professor Farnsworth of Futurama fame have to say about it, and what VR means for the future of literature. |
Saturday 4:00 pm | Eisenhower | Short Stories Are Where It’s At (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Ken Altabef, Scott H. Andrews (M), Jennifer Brinn, Ian Randal Strock, Sheree Renée Thomas All these authors writing their long toe-breaking novels have it wrong. The ultimate form of writing is the short story. Panelists discuss why short stories are the best form of fiction. Does this stem from the roots in oral histories and campfire tales? |
Jackson | No, Make It a Series! (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Sarah Avery, Doc Coleman, Jim Freund (M), Joan Wendland A standalone novel is too limiting. Multiple books are needed to really tell a truly epic tale. Some stories seem to be complete in one novel, but then there is more to tell. A discussion of the series that are loved because they can’t be contained in one book. |
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Monroe | Sportsball (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Brick Barrientos, Andy Duncan, Elektra Hammond, Sarah Mitchell The Lions Win the Superbowl and other improbable tales. Sports can be an interesting and inspirational story. From the ball diamonds to the rinks and links, there are great stories, some of which border or full-on dive into genre fiction. Field of Dreams tells of the redemption of players who still love the game. The Twilight Zone had robot boxers. In LitRPG there are stories about managing superhero level teams. Panelists will discuss what makes a good sports story. |
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Saturday 5:00 pm | Eisenhower | What Is This LitRPG Thing? (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: John Ashmead (M), Matt Dinniman, Sarah Mitchell, Joan Wendland From games to fantasy worlds, a discussion of the various subsegments of LitRPG. How does it fit into general SF and Fantasy taxonomy? |
Washington Theater | The Life Cycle of Stars with Hubble and Webb (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Ingeborg Heyer (M) Stars have a cycle of life, just like anything alive does. The difference is that stars’ cycles take millions and often billions of years. We will follow this cycle from the beginning that all stars have in common to the diverse possible ends, as visualized by the latest results from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. Come join us for this astronomical journey! |
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Jackson | 1632 Continues (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Charles Gannon, Bjorn Hasseler (M) The long-running shared 1632 Universe is continuing. Ring of Fire authors discuss the future of this alternate timeline. |
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Saturday 7:00 pm | Washington Theater | Capclave Trivia (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Brick Barrientos (M) A trivia contest on science fiction, fantasy, and other fantastic fiction. Emphasis is on written works, but there will be plenty of material on movies, television, gaming, and other geeky interests. Players play as individuals on a buzzer system. Feel free to drop in anytime during the program. We have badge ribbons for the top players, all participants, and even spectators. |
Atrium | Mass Signing and Awards Ceremony (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sarah Avery, Martin Berman-Gorvine, Jennifer Brinn, Jack Campbell, Michael Capobianco, Neil Clarke, Doc Coleman, Randee Dawn, Matt Dinniman, Tom Doyle, Andy Duncan, Jim Freund, Paul Haggerty, Elektra Hammond, Bjorn Hasseler, Larry Hodges, Danian Jerry, Barbara Krasnoff, Bill Lawhorn (M), Mike McPhail, Meridel Newton, Joshua Benjamin Palmatier, Jennifer R. Povey, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock, Sheree Renée Thomas, Jean Marie Ward, Joan Wendland The annual gathering of Capclave attendees with presentation of the Guest of Honor Gifts, the WSFA Small Press Award, and the Baltimore Science Fiction Society’s Amateur Writers Award. |
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Saturday 9:00 pm | Eisenhower | Evolution and Climate (Ends at: 9:55 pm) Participants: John Ashmead, David Bartell, Martin Berman-Gorvine, Jack Campbell (M), David Walton Evolution takes time and so does climate change. What traits are likely to be developed to adapt to a warming world with less open land? What can we expect in the short term as well? Which traits are likely to make survivability harder for some species? |
Sunday 10:00 am | Eisenhower | Who You Gonna Call? (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Jennifer Brinn, Leah Cypess, Andy Duncan, Morgan Hazelwood (M), Diana Peterfreund It was all going so well, then a problem arrived. There is no simple solution, and Holly Black isn’t available. Who you gonna call to fix that problem? Some people are better at helping others work out their problems — who are they and what do they do? Even the best plotters can get trapped as well. What tricks can be used to limit writing yourself into a corner? |
Washington Theater | Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: J.L. Gribble (M) A writer’s job isn’t done after they write “the end.” This presentation can help writers of all skill levels develop strategies for timing your self-editing and techniques to craft the best story possible. And learn how to work in conjunction with their beta readers and other editors throughout the post-production process. |
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Monroe | Oh, the Horror! (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Martin Berman-Gorvine, John Hartness , Darrell Charles Schweitzer, A.C. Wise (M), L. Marie Wood If being frightened to death gives you life or you just live for that traditional sense of creeping dread, join other hollow-eyed horror fans as we gather to discuss some of the recent years’ best horror works (TV/film/books/podcasts/games). Bring your own salt, red brick dust, and holy water, and don’t forget your list of faves as we try to scare the living daylights out of each other. |
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Sunday 11:00 am | Eisenhower | The Future of Translated Works (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Martin Berman-Gorvine, Neil Clarke, Lawrence M. Schoen (M), Alex Shvartsman How is the translation market changing? What are the challenges publishers face as well as translators? How do writers balance their own work with translations? |
Washington Theater | So You Want to Be an Editor (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Scott H. Andrews, Kel Coleman (M), Joshua Benjamin Palmatier, Sheree Renée Thomas, Michael A. Ventrella Well, it can be a lot of fun, but it isn’t for the fainthearted. You have to bring big vision, big heart, discipline, and helluva a lot of patience and time. Come with your questions and ideas for future projects (is there an anthology you’ve always wanted to read? A chapbook or chapbook series you’ve long wanted to create? A magazine or indie zine you’d love to edit with kindred spirits and friends?) If you can imagine you, you can create it. Let’s go! |
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Jackson | Awards and What They Really Get You (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sarah Avery (M), Andy Duncan There are many awards for genre fiction including the Hugos, World Fantasy, Locus, Compton Crook, WSFA Small Press, and many others. This is a discussion of what to expect when you win an award. |
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Sunday 12:00 pm | Eisenhower | Superhero Fiction (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sherin Nicole (M), Jennifer R. Povey, Mark Roth, Sheree Renée Thomas Superhero fiction has been with us for over 100 years. What skills or powers are the most useful? What are the challenges in the modern world with modern technology? What is the best base story? Does there need to be an arch nemesis? How important are storyline resets as well as updating characters to the modern world? |
Washington Theater | Public Versus Private Faces (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Ingeborg Heyer, Barbara Krasnoff, Michael A. Ventrella (M), L. Marie Wood Time to put on the game face. That statement signals that a person needs to take on a public persona contrary to their private lives. How does one manage the difference? What do you do when you don’t want to be in public but the moment requires it? |
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Jackson | Why a tweener (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Leah Cypess, Diana Peterfreund, Mary G. Thompson (M) Classifications are done by publishers and don’t always make sense to authors, but you roll with it. What are some of the characteristics of a middle grade versus YA novel? Are they changing? Should they change? |
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Monroe | This Was the End (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Scott Edelman, Shahid Mahmud, Alex Shvartsman, Ian Randal Strock *Former* editors/publishers of SFF magazines that were forced to shut down talk about what went wrong, what they learned, and what could be done better. |
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Sunday 1:00 pm | Eisenhower | History: The Ultimate Source Document (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Jack Campbell, Charles Gannon, Bjorn Hasseler (M), Larry Hodges, Rosemary Claire Smith Many authors mine the past to create good stories. What are some of the best untapped eras and sagas? Is there a limit on who can tell the story? Ultimately stories diverge from history, why and how much? |
Washington Theater | In Defense of the Standalone (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Scott Edelman, Mark Roth, A.C. Wise (M), L. Marie Wood Too many stories develop into series. How does a standalone novel advance the craft? Do we love them or hate them and why? Can a series be a standalone novel such as Connie Willis’ All Clear and Black Out? |
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Sunday 2:00 pm | Eisenhower | Companions, Pets, and More (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Jennifer Brinn, Randee Dawn (M), Matt Dinniman, Miguel O. Mitchell, Jean Marie Ward Princess Donut, Lassie, and Big Dee each play a roll in moving the plot forward. What is the role of the animal character? How do you convince readers of their animal nature even while they develop beyond the simple impulses of their origins? |
Washington Theater | Writing with Your Opposite (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Leah Cypess (M), Larry Hodges, Adeena Mignogna, Diana Peterfreund, Martin Wilsey A plotter and a pantser write a story. One has a plan, one plans to figure it out on the way. How can writers using these opposed philosophies to write a great story? Is this more difficult than writing with someone of a different political ideal? Is there a middle ground or balance point? |
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Sunday 3:00 pm | Washington Theater | Feedback session (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Bill Lawhorn (M) Come discuss the just finished Capclave and make suggestions for the future. |
Workshop
Friday 4:00 pm | Lincoln | Tell Your Story With a 1-Page TTRPG (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Dustin Patrick Blottenberger, Nat Mesnard, Brigitte Winter (M) While not every writer dreams of designing a Table-Top Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) and not every designer loves writing prose, the overlap between these worlds is significant, particularly in the SFF space. Join Indie TTRPG small press Scryptid Games to learn what makes the stories that come from TTRPGs so special and how you can lean into the unique storytelling possibilities that only interactive fiction and games can offer. In the first half of this session, you’ll discover new opportunities for SFF writers in this imaginative and ever-expanding space, and then make your own 1-Page TTRPG! We’ll help you quickly decide on a compelling concept that is uniquely yours. In the second half, you’ll play your TTRPG with other writer-designers and convention attendees! Finally, you’ll explore your ability to make and publish games after the workshop, armed with a packet of useful resources provided by a small press that is constantly pushing the boundaries of what storytelling looks like. |
Saturday 11:00 am | Lincoln | Writing Retreats for Fun and Profit (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Martin Wilsey (M) From a solo writing vacation to an organized group event, a writing retreat can be a great way to focus on your work. Some authors swear that writing retreats are responsible for their success. In this session, Martin Wilsey, a veteran writer who schedules two writing retreats every to boost his productivity, will discuss some of the ways he’s discovered to get the most out of his retreats. He’ll also detail some ways to make luxury retreats far cheaper than you might expect. |
Saturday 1:00 pm | Lincoln | Speculative Poetry Workshop (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Miguel O. Mitchell (M) In this workshop, we will practice writing speculative poetry and share our creations. First, I will explain several types of poetic forms and we will read examples that have science fiction, fantasy, or horror themes. Then using writing prompts, you will have opportunities to write short speculative poems that fit into specific forms, and we will discuss them. In addition, I will talk about the myriad speculative poetry markets for individual poem publication and the resources of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). This workshop embraces all those who want to try their hand at writing speculative poems, so kindness and respect should emanate from each suggestion regarding a poem. |
Saturday 3:00 pm | Lincoln | Advanced Worldbuilding: A Soup-To-Nuts Primer (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Charles Gannon (M) Who doesn’t enjoy wielding infinite power and telling stories and getting paid for doing them at the same time? But that’s not just a catchy intro: it’s a deadly serious question. Because, unless you are immortal, infinitely wealthy (or, ideally, both) creating planets and cultures that both immerse readers in their believability and naturally give rise to the exact stories you want to tell, you’re going to need more than extraordinary creativity and work ethic. You’re going to need a good helping of interdisciplinary knowledge and a keen sense of time-to-profit task planning to make sure you get the world you want in the time you’ve allotted to create and refine it. For instance, what makes a desert or an ocean world? What about worlds with many moons—or none at all? How are different environments (heavy or thin atmosphere, more or less gravity, freezing cold, burning heat) likely to shape species, and even the intelligence that might evolve from them? The objective is to help you create the best—and most natural—planets on which to set your stories. But without a clear plan, that process could consume a great amount of time. So the second part of our focus is to be able to accomplish that in the time and energy you have available? We’ll start with a few key tricks of the planet-creating trade, move on to some familiar examples, but the real fun starts in the second half of the session, where we’ll give all that information a test run . . . in a workshop where you get to create (or enrich) the planet and people you want to use for your stories. |
Sunday 11:00 am | Lincoln | Miniatures Painting (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Zenlizard (M) This is a hands-on workshop: bring yourself, and a desire to learn painting techniques for fantasy or military miniatures. You need bring only yourself: there is no materials fee, and at the end, you will take home the mini you’ve painted. Zenlizard will go over the steps towards painting your miniature, from primer to finish. |
Sunday 1:00 pm | Lincoln | Writing Fight Scenes That Matter (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: David Keener (M) Does your story come to a screeching halt every time there’s a fight scene? Do readers think your fight scenes are…tedious…instead of exciting? How realistic should your fight be? Discover how real people react to violence, and how you can use this information to make your conflict more believable. Learn how to craft fight scenes that engage your readers, advance your plot, and reveal character. |
Lecture
Saturday 2:00 pm | Washington Theater | Tyrannosaurus Next (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. (M) What’s new in our understanding of the world’s most famous dinosaur? Paleontologist Thomas Holtz discusses recent research on Tyrannosaurus — its origin, diversity, growth, locomotion, feeding, and intelligence. |
Interview
Saturday 1:00 pm | Eisenhower | GOH Interview: Sheree Renée Thomas (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Sherin Nicole (M), Sheree Renée Thomas Sherin Nicole interviews Capclave Guest of Honor Sheree Renée Thomas. |
Saturday 3:00 pm | Eisenhower | GOH Interview: Matt Dinniman (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Matt Dinniman, John Hartness (M) A conversation with Guest of Honor Matt Dinniman and John Hartness. |
Reading
Friday 4:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Michael Capobianco (Ends at: 4:25 pm) Participants: Michael Capobianco Michael Capobianco reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 4:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Lawrence M. Schoen (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Lawrence M. Schoen Lawrence M. Schoen reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 5:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Alex Shvartsman (Ends at: 5:25 pm) Participants: Alex Shvartsman Alex Shvartsman reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 5:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Jennifer Brinn (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Jennifer Brinn Jennifer Brinn reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 6:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Karlo Yeager Rodriguez (Ends at: 6:25 pm) Participants: Karlo Yeager Rodriguez Karlo Yeager Rodriguez reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 6:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Leslye Penelope (Ends at: 6:55 pm) Participants: Leslye Penelope Leslye Penelope reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 7:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Danielle Ackley-McPhail (Ends at: 7:25 pm) Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail Danielle Ackley-McPhail reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 7:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Bjorn Hasseler (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Bjorn Hasseler Bjorn Hasseler reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 8:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Joshua Palmatier (Ends at: 8:25 pm) Participants: Joshua Benjamin Palmatier Joshua Palmatier reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 8:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Paul Haggerty (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Paul Haggerty Paul Haggerty reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 9:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Charles Gannon (Ends at: 9:25 pm) Participants: Charles Gannon Charles Gannon reads from new and upcoming works. |
Friday 9:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Darrell Schweitzer (Ends at: 9:55 pm) Participants: Darrell Charles Schweitzer Darrell Schweitzer reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 10:00 am | Adams | Author Reading: Barbara Krasnoff (Ends at: 10:25 am) Participants: Barbara Krasnoff Barbara Krasnoff reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 10:30 am | Adams | Author Reading: Miguel O. Mitchell (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Miguel O. Mitchell Miguel O. Mitchell reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 11:00 am | Adams | Author Reading: Andy Duncan (Ends at: 11:25 am) Participants: Andy Duncan Andy Duncan reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 11:30 am | Adams | Author Reading: Sarah Avery (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Sarah Avery Sarah Avery reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 12:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: John Hartness (Ends at: 12:25 pm) Participants: John Hartness John Hartness reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 12:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Meridel Newton (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Meridel Newton Meridel Newton reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 1:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Michael Alan Ventrella (Ends at: 1:25 pm) Participants: Michael A. Ventrella Michael Alan Ventrella reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 1:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Suzanne Palmer (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Suzanne Palmer Suzanne Palmer reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 2:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: A.C. Wise (Ends at: 2:25 pm) Participants: A.C. Wise A.C. Wise reads from recent and upcoming works. |
Saturday 2:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Adeena Mignogna (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Adeena Mignogna Adeena Mignogna reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 3:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Danian Jerry (Ends at: 3:25 pm) Participants: Danian Jerry Danian Jerry reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 3:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: J.L. Gribble (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: J.L. Gribble J.L. Gribble reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 4:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Kel Coleman (Ends at: 4:25 pm) Participants: Kel Coleman Kel Coleman reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 4:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Mark Roth (Ends at: 4:55 pm) Participants: Mark Roth Mark Roth reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 5:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Ken Altabef (Ends at: 5:25 pm) Participants: Ken Altabef Ken Altabef reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 5:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Martin Berman-Gorvine (Ends at: 5:55 pm) Participants: Martin Berman-Gorvine Martin Berman-Gorvine reads from new and upcoming works. |
Saturday 6:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Tom Doyle (Ends at: 6:25 pm) Participants: Tom Doyle Tom Doyle reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 10:00 am | Adams | Author Reading: Randee Dawn (Ends at: 10:25 am) Participants: Randee Dawn Randee Dawn reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 10:30 am | Adams | Author Reading: Joan Wendland (Ends at: 10:55 am) Participants: Joan Wendland Joan Wendland reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 11:30 am | Adams | Author Reading: Jennifer R. Povey (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Jennifer R. Povey Jennifer R. Povey reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 12:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Elektra Hammond (Ends at: 12:55 pm) Participants: Elektra Hammond Elektra Hammond reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 1:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Jean Marie Ward (Ends at: 1:25 pm) Participants: Jean Marie Ward Jean Marie Ward reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 1:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Sheree Renée Thomas (Ends at: 1:55 pm) Participants: Sheree Renée Thomas GOH Sheree Renée Thomas reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 2:00 pm | Adams | Author Reading: L. Marie Wood (Ends at: 2:25 pm) Participants: L. Marie Wood L. Marie Wood reads from new and upcoming works. |
Sunday 2:30 pm | Adams | Author Reading: Scott Edelman (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Scott Edelman Scott Edelman reads from new and upcoming works. |
Scheduled Game
Friday 3:00 pm | Truman | FOREST SHUFFLE Demo (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Perrianne Lurie (M) In Forest Shuffle, players compete to gather the most valuable trees, then attract species to these trees, thus creating an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna. To start, each player has six cards in hand, with cards depicting either a particular type of tree or two forest dwellers (animal, plant, mushroom, etc.), with these latter cards being divided in half, whether vertically or horizontally, with one dweller in each card half. On a turn, either draw two cards — whether face down from the deck or face up from the clearing — and add them to your hand, or play a card from your hand by paying the cost, then putting it into play. During set-up, three winter cards were placed into the bottom third of the deck. When the third winter card is drawn, the game ends immediately, then players tally their points based on the trees and dwellers in their forest. Whoever scores the most points wins. |
Friday 5:00 pm | Upstairs Library | Delver’s Guide to the Beast World: Fiammetta’s Grand Prix (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Yoshi (M) Mightiest Delvers, Your prestigious exploits in the Dungeon have reached ears in the south, and they need no recounting. Now, we offer you the chance to prove your mastery of delving and wagon arts against crews from around the world. We humbly invite you to enter your mighty landcraft in the test race for Fiammetta’s Delver Wagon Battle Grand Prix. Victory will earn you the lead entry in the coming Grand Prix, the acclaim of your peers, and ten thousand pieces in the Allemagnian gold standard. We’ve arranged your expenses for the journey to the city of Ponte Carro. See you soon. Long live love, Fiammetta
Pregens will be provided |
Friday 7:00 pm | Truman | TINY EPIC DINOSAURS/ HAPPY LITTLE DINOSAURS Demo (Ends at: 8:55 pm) Participants: Zenlizard (M) In Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, breakthroughs in modern science have dinosaurs and humans existing side by side. This has allowed for a lucrative industry. Dino Ranching! Independent ranchers have begun farming dinosaurs to sell to the highest bidders for use in their high thrill theme parks. You are one of those ranchers. Do you have what it takes to out ranch your opponents and operate the most successful dinosaur farm!? Lately, it feels like we’re all just dinosaurs trying to avoid the falling meteors. In this game, you’ll try to dodge all of life’s little disasters. You might fall into a pit of hot lava or get ghosted by your dino date, but the dino who survives it all wins the game! In Happy Little Dinosaurs, the first person to reach 50 points, or be the last Dinosaur standing, wins the game! During each round, you’ll flip a Disaster card featuring a Natural, Predatory, or Emotional disaster. Each player will play a Point card in hopes of collecting points and avoiding the disaster. |
Saturday 10:30 am | Truman | HOLOTYPE Demo (Ends at: 12:25 pm) Participants: Perrianne Lurie (M) A fast-paced light-strategy worker placement board game about paleontology for 2-5 players. Players use their Paleontologist, Grad Student and Field Assistant workers to gather fossils, do research and publish new Dinosaurs and Marine Reptiles as Holotypes. Personal and semi-collaborative Global Objectives feature modern paleontology concepts such as cladistics and taxonomy. The player with the most Victory Points from publishing Holotypes, completing Personal Objectives and contributing to Global Objectives wins. |
Saturday 12:00 pm | Upstairs Library | Starfinder: Mechaggedon (Ends at: 3:55 pm) Participants: Yoshi (M) On a rugged planet crawling with colossi―terrifying kaiju that demolish cities with fearsome power―courageous mech pilots battle monsters to protect the world’s people. As the war for control of planet Daimalko rages on, a mysterious third power plots to use an ancient artifact to purge the planet of all life. It’s time for Daimalko’s defenders to suit up against a new threat!This 184-page hardcover campaign tells the story of rookie mech pilots on Daimalko, starting out as city defenders and venturing to the stars as the heroes become galactic celebrities. This epic campaign spans levels 3 to 18 and features new mechs, bonus adventures designed to slot into the campaign as interludes or stand on their own as one-shots, mech-sized maps, and more. Mechageddon! is an exciting introduction to mech combat and the Starfinder RPG, packed with adventure content and new rules you can use to build the ultimate mech campaign! Players will be creating their characters during set up using the Starbuilder 1e app available on Android and IOS (if you wish to make your character prior to game, level 3 is the starting level) |
Saturday 3:30 pm | Truman | DINOSAUR ISLAND Demo (Ends at: 5:25 pm) Participants: Zenlizard (M) In Dinosaur Island, players will have to collect DNA, research the DNA sequences of extinct dinosaur species, and then combine the ancient DNA in the correct sequence to bring these prehistoric creatures back to life. Dino cooking! All players will compete to build the most thrilling park each season, and then work to attract (and keep alive!) the most visitors each season that the park opens. Do you go big and create a pack of Velociraptors? They’ll definitely excite potential visitors, but you’d better make a large enough enclosure for them. And maybe hire some (read: a lot of) security. Or they WILL break out and start eating your visitors, and we all know how that ends. You could play it safe and grow a bunch of herbivores, but then you aren’t going to have the most exciting park in the world (sad face). So maybe buy a roller coaster or two to attract visitors to your park the good old-fashioned way? |
Saturday 5:00 pm | Upstairs Library | Anime 5e: Carousel Obscura (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Yoshi (M) Blellow Community College, a small school largely overshadowed by its sister Spectra University, its as a bastion of order among the long dormant factories that dot the town of Blellow’s periphery. Here students can pursue education in the sciences, literature, arts, and occasionally saving the world. Or for five intrepid students, two worlds. As if struggling through exams, Professor Devere’s lectures, and surviving small-town drama wasn’t enough. Now they’re expected to not only save their world, but another in danger of colliding with theirs! Our heroes must balance not only their secret second lives, but their studies as they struggle to keep two worlds from crashing together in a potentially catastrophic merger.
Pre-Gens will be provided |
Saturday 7:00 pm | Truman | PALEOVET Demo (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Bob Oliver (M) We’ve brought dinosaurs back to life, but who will care for these magnificent and dangerous beasts? In Paleovet, you take the role of a paleo-veterinarian, drafting dinosaur cards from a central river, then rolling dice and spending icons for various effects, most notably curing sick and injured dinosaurs. At the start of each turn, you remove a sleep token from each dinosaur in your hospital, which is bad, of course, as these patients need forced rest! If you have an empty bed of the four in your hospital, draft a dino from the five available, then roll your dice. You start with three dice that show the three treatments needed to cure dinosaurs, a tranquilizer dart, and a wild icon. Spend treatment icons to heal your dinos; each one needs 1-5 treatments as depicted on their card. Any two matching icons can be used to acquire a single-use wild token or an upgrade card that provides a permanent beneficial effect; spend three matching icons to acquire more dice. If you have tranquilizers and bed space to spare, you can take more dino cards into your hospital. However, if a dinosaur isn’t fully cured and has no sleep tokens on it, it wakes up and leaves the hospital — and if it’s a carnivore, it takes another dinosaur with it when it goes! Cured dinosaurs move from the hospital to your victory pile, netting you the point value on the card. When one of the three card stacks is empty, complete the round, then see who’s scored the most from their veterinary efforts. |
Saturday 8:30 pm | Upstairs Library | Necrobiotic (1) (Ends at: 11:25 pm) Participants: Mitchell Wallace (M) In a broken world where the dead are machines that do the heavy lifting for us, we are just a cog in the social engine, alive at first and forever once dead. The greatest good is to protect human life, at any cost. Nothing is worth more: not the body’s sanctity, nor mental sanity. In Necrobiotic, you can taste the whole spectrum of emotions, from the deepest horror and the bitterest melancholy to the most moving compassion and the lightest laughter, in a continuous celebration of life and a rediscovery of its fragile uniqueness. The original illustrations will drag you into the alleys of a wounded Florence, among human corpses with tanned leather hides, eternal monuments, and coarse foggy streets. The original game system is based on deck-building mechanics with a standard deck of playing cards, though Tarot cards can also be used. Players will always know what they can do alone or together, and the game’s mechanics will easily push the player’s roleplay toward the character’s features, highlighting everyone’s specialties. Necrobiotic is a dark celebration of life where survival is paramount. It features unique and emotional art along with a new card system that will draw your players into our grim future.
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Sunday 10:30 am | Truman | WINGSPAN Demo (Ends at: 12:25 pm) Participants: Bob Oliver (M) Wingspan is a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games. It’s designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and features over 170 birds illustrated by Beth Sobel, Natalia Rojas, and Ana Maria Martinez. You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth: Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice towerLay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colorsDraw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play themThe winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.
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Sunday 12:00 pm | Upstairs Library | Necrobiotic (2) (Ends at: 2:55 pm) Participants: Mitchell Wallace (M) In a broken world where the dead are machines that do the heavy lifting for us, we are just a cog in the social engine, alive at first and forever once dead. The greatest good is to protect human life, at any cost. Nothing is worth more: not the body’s sanctity, nor mental sanity. In Necrobiotic, you can taste the whole spectrum of emotions, from the deepest horror and the bitterest melancholy to the most moving compassion and the lightest laughter, in a continuous celebration of life and a rediscovery of its fragile uniqueness. The original illustrations will drag you into the alleys of a wounded Florence, among human corpses with tanned leather hides, eternal monuments, and coarse foggy streets. The original game system is based on deck-building mechanics with a standard deck of playing cards, though Tarot cards can also be used. Players will always know what they can do alone or together, and the game’s mechanics will easily push the player’s roleplay toward the character’s features, highlighting everyone’s specialties. Necrobiotic is a dark celebration of life where survival is paramount. It features unique and emotional art along with a new card system that will draw your players into our grim future.
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Sunday 1:30 pm | Truman | DRAFTOSAURUS Demo (Ends at: 2:25 pm) Participants: Perrianne Lurie (M) Your goal in Draftosaurus is to have the dino park most likely to attract visitors. To do so, you have to draft dino meeples and place them in pens that have some placement restrictions. Each turn, one of the players roll a die and this adds a constraint to which pens any other player can add their dinosaur. Draftosaurus is a quick and light drafting game in which you don’t have a hand of cards that you pass around (after selecting one), but a bunch of dino meeples in the palm of your hand. |
Participatory Event
Friday 10:00 pm | Adams | Late Night Filk Friday (Ends at: 11:55 pm) Participants: Zenlizard (M) Open Chaos filk. |
Saturday 10:00 am | Washington Theater | Introduction to Hypnosis (Ends at: 11:55 am) Participants: Lawrence M. Schoen (M) Join this introduction to hypnosis. Learn how and why it works, and some of the things you can do with it to utterly transform your life, your health, your productivity, and your happiness. Also completely fat free and likely to improve your sex life. Advanced signup near registration. No entry after the scheduled start time.
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Saturday 9:00 pm | Adams | Late Night Filk Saturday (Ends at: 11:55 pm) Participants: Zenlizard (M) Open Chaos filk. we’ll go until people aren’t interested anymore. |
Discussion Group
Friday 7:00 pm | Jackson | Streaming SFF Discussion (Ends at: 7:55 pm) Participants: Perrianne Lurie (M) Let’s meet to discuss our favorite streaming SFF shows of 2024. |
Page Update: October 1, 2024 |