My Schedule for Dragon Con 2019

Where did the year go? Dragon Con is here. This week, and I’m not WORTHY—I mean READY!!! But my schedule is. Hope you’ll come and join the fun in Atlanta, August 29 – September 2. Looking forward to seeing you and your cosplay there!

Title: Killjoys: Reboot after the Loss
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: M302-M303 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: The Lady turned the world (or at least Westerly) upside down, & we'll see just how our intrepid band sort themselves out & figure out just how to wrap up this far-ranging battle from one dimension to the next.
Panelists: Kevin Bachelder, Bethany Kesler (M), Jean Marie Ward, Neisha Mulchan, Kitty Chandler

Title: The Haunting of Shirley Jackson
Description: A discussion about the works of Shirley Jackson, whose fiction ran the gamut from examinations of domestic life to chilling tales of terror.
Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: Peachtree 1-2 - Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel 
(Tentative Panelists: Jonathan Maberry, Clay Gilbert, Cecilia Dominic, Amanda DeWees, Jean Marie Ward)

Title: Fighting in Space: Planning a Space Battle
Description: How do you plan a space battle? It's a whole lot more than just saying "a lot of missiles get sent to blow something up."
Time: Sat 07:00 pm Location: Embassy AB - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel 
(Tentative Panelists: David Weber, Jack Campbell, Jean Marie Ward, David Afsharirad, Michael Chatfield, Charles E. Gannon)

Title: Dragon Con Short Takes:
Description: Bite-sized readings from some of your favorite authors, featuring those you know and love—and those you haven’t discovered yet.
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: Kennesaw - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel 
(Tentative Panelists: Jean Marie Ward, Gail Z. Martin, Clay Griffith, John G. Hartness, Jeanne P Adams, James Nettles, Trisha J. Wooldridge)

Title: Courtesans, Mistresses & Madams: History's Most Famous Working Women
Description: History has a lot of unsung heroes, specifically in this profession. Contrary to what you may have read, some of the most notorious and celebrated madams and ladies of ill repute have shaped and often guided our history. This survey panel showcases some you should know about.
Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: Macon - Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Cat Rambo, Gail Z. Martin, Cecilia Dominic, Jean Marie Ward)

Title: From Purgatory and Into the Light: A Wynonna Earp Fan Panel
Description: The Earp curse was broken, Peacemaker is now a sword, and almost everyone has disappeared from Purgatory. Oh, and the fandom spent 132 days with the show on the brink of never-coming-back. It's safe to say there will be lots to talk about in this moderated fan-panel discussion.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Chastain 1-2 - Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Kevin Bachelder, Jean Marie Ward, Lisa Manifold, Stuart Jaffe, John G. Hartness)

Title: Win, Lose, or Draw
Description: The traditional end-of-Con game show. Put your drawing & guessing talents to work for wonderful prizes.
Time: Mon 01:00 pm Location: Embassy AB - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel 
(Tentative Panelists: Jean Marie Ward)

My 2019 RavenCon Schedule

The 2019 con season has arrived, and my opener is a great one: RavenCon. Come join us in Williamsburg, Virginia, April 5-7, for panels, gaming, music, art and a great Masquerade. And if you decide to check out a few of my panels, I won’t object. Heck, I’ll make it easier by listing them all. Hope to see you there!

Friday

8 - 8:50 PM Reading Room 4

Valerie J. Mikles, Jean Marie Ward

10 PM (Panel) Alt-History with a Fantastical Flair / Room 8

Alternate history often has a military basis and a near-future, SF flavor… but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our panel considers alt-history that leans to the fantastic. Panelists: Doc Coleman (Moderator), Cass Morris, Jean Marie Ward, John C. Wright

11 PM (Panel) This Is Halloween / Room L

All Hallow's Eve, Samhain, All Souls' Day, Dia de los Muertos, Mischief Night… Whatever you want to call it, we’ll discuss the history of Halloween, its various traditions, and how it’s influenced our favorite books and moviesAll Hallow's Eve, Samhain, All Souls' Day, Dia de los Muertos, Mischief Night… Whatever you want to call it, we’ll discuss the history of Halloween, its various traditions, and how it’s influenced our favorite books and moviesAll Hallow's Eve, Samhain, All Souls' Day, Dia de los Muertos, Mischief Night… Whatever you want to call it, we’ll discuss the history of Halloween, its various traditions, and how it’s influenced our favorite books and movies. Panelists: Richard Groller (M), Jeanne Adams, Syrinx, Jean Marie Ward

Midnight (Panel) Dream Narratives / Room 8

From William Shakespeare to Lewis Carroll to Neil Gaiman, ambitious authors are addicted to dreams as a narrative device. What's going on when we're asleep that is so terribly compelling to fantasy writers? Panelists: Jeanne Adams (M), Emily Lavin Leverett, Pat O’Keefe, Jean Marie Ward

Saturday

2 PM - 4 PM (Reading) Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading / Room F / Moderator

Join members of Broad Universe—an organization dedicated to women in genre fiction—for a whole bunch of really short readings crammed into one panel. Jean Marie Ward (M), Jeanne Adams, Margaret L. Carter, Paige L. Christie, Jason Gilbert, Laurel Anne Hill, Amy Kaplan, Dina Leacock, Emily Lavin Leverett, Gail Z. Martin, Melissa McArthur, Margaret S. McGraw, Nancy Northcott, Jennifer R. Povey, Leann Rettell, Joan Wendland, Leona Wisoker

6 PM (Panel) Writing Ancient Cultures / Room F

We weren’t there, but we want to make our readers feel like they are. How do we manage to accurately and adequately set the stage? Learn how much research is necessary, how much is too much, and where to go to get the best sources. James P. Nettles (M), Cass Morris, Jean Marie Ward, Robert Waters

7 PM Female Friendship in SFF / Room 8

In attempting to write strong female characters, many authors strip these characters of close personal relationships and supportive friendships. How can authors address this and who is getting it right? Panelists: Nancy Northcott (M), Paige L. Christie, Cass Morris, Jean Marie Ward

9 PM (Panel) Crime and Fantasy / Room 8 / Moderator

From vampire assassins to wizard private eyes to undead thugs, crime has been mixing it up with fantasy for years. What is it about crime, noir, and the paranormal that's so appealing? Also, what are some really good titles? Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (M), R.S. Belcher, John C. Wright

"The Wrong Refrigerator" Happy Dance

It's official. (I mean it's in Locus Magazine. You can't get more official than that, right?) I can now happy dance in public. "The Wrong Refrigerator" is one of the finalists in the novelette category of this year's Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Readers Awards! I still can't quite believe it. Big thanks again to Sheila Williams for believing in the story. For those of you who didn't catch it the first time around, here's a link to the PDF, courtesy of Asimov's. And if the story inspires you to nominate it for one of those awards I mentioned yesterday, why I'd have no objection at all. ;-) If not, that's cool, too. I'm grateful to everyone who thought enough of the story to name it in their Readers Poll ballot. It's an honor to be on the same list with Nancy Kress, Ian R. MacLeod, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Allen Steele.