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    Wednesday, September 17, 2025

    Join me at Capclave

     


    Heading to the DC area this weekend? Have I got the event for you! Capclave, the con where reading is not extinct, will take over the Hilton Executive Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, September 19-21. There will be panels and guests galore, to say nothing of great programming.

    We’ll also be doing The Eye of Argon, but don’t let that deter you. Check out my other panels:

    Friday, 9 PM, Washington Theater
    Fractured Fairy Tales (Ends at: 9:55 PM)
    Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jim Freund, Michael Swanwick, Jean Marie Ward (M)
    From Disney to Alix Harrow to T. Kingfisher, people have twisted fairy tales into new works with new interpretations. What’s the appeal of reinterpreting Snow White and her peers? How can adaptation reinterpret traditional stories to provide new perspectives for new audiences and new times? What variants work and which ones have not? Is this a case of authors being lazy, relying on what others have done? Or is this using the power of fairy tales, and our connection to them forged in childhood, to make a greater statement?

    Friday, 10 PM, Washington Theater
    Eye of Argon (Ends at: 10:55 pm)
    Participants: Íde Hennessy, Ian Randal Strock, Jean Marie Ward
    The Eye of Argon is a story so bad it’s good. Legend has it that no one can read more than a page without exploding in laughter (or tears). Our bold assembly will attempt to read the story and act it out. Can they survive the reading? 

    Saturday, Noon, Adams
    Author Reading — Jean Marie Ward (Ends at: 12:25 pm)
    Author Jean Marie Ward reads from recent and upcoming work.

    Saturday, 3 PM, Jackson
    Book Promotion (Ends at: 3:55 pm)
    Participants: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Michael Capobianco, Jim Freund, Nate Hoffelder, Michael J. Walsh, Jean Marie Ward (M)
    What do writers really need to know about marketing? Podcasts, e-radio, BookTube, Kickstarter, Patron, and discount book sites are some of the ways you can promote your book. How can new writers tap into these options? What are some dos and don’ts? How much should writers invest in promotion and how do they measure results? 

    Saturday, 7 PM (Ends 8:55 PM)
    Mass Signing and Award Ceremony
    (Everyone is invited to participate in the Mass signing.  Participants should grab a name tent and pile any books for sale on a table. Everyone can bring books to be signed (or make our dealers happy and buy them here).  Then stay to learn the winner of the WSFA Small Press Award. 

    Sunday, 2 PM, Monroe
    Point of View (Ends at: 2:55 pm)
    Participants: Kel Coleman (M), Nicole Glover, Diana Peterfreund, Jean Marie Ward
    Writers can write in the first person (I did that), third person (John did that), and (rarely) second person (you did that). What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? When do writers decide what POV to use and why might they make that choice? Have you written a story in one person (or one POV) and rewrote it with a different one? Under what circumstances would you choose not to write in the typical third person? Are there some subgenres or markets that lend themselves to a particular approach?

    See you there!

     

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