Recent Publications from HMSeattle Members

The Isthmus Variation, from Kris Millering, appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Centzon Totochin, from Cat Rambo, appeared in Crossed Genres and Coyote Barbie in Expanded Horizons.

Messenger, from Julie Sidorova, appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine.

“Alienation”, from Katherine Sparrow, appeared in Destination Future, along with “Like Parchment in the Fire” in Bull Spec.

“Forcing Coin,” from Todd Vandemark, appeared in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.

Norwescon Schedule – Caren Gussoff

Thursday, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., Grand 2
Banquet
Rated: $
Dr. John G. Cramer, Cory Doctorw, Caren Gussoff, David Hartwell, Lelsie
Howle, John Jude Palencar, Vernor Vinge

Thursday, 8:00 p.m., Cascade 7
Testing the Limits of Urban Fantasy
What’s beyond all the vamps, werewolves, angels, and demons?  Having
explored all of the old tropes, what’s next?
Cat Rambo (M), Caren Gussoff, Jaye Wells

Friday, 11:00 a.m., Cascade 6
Independent and Small Press Publishing
Thinking about starting up a small press? What do you need to know? Where do
you find authors and artists? What niche do your books fill? Do you need a
million bucks, or will a couple hundred do? How do you get what you publish
into stores?  Are independent small press projects financially viable in
today’s market?
Caren Gussoff (M), Rosemary Jones, Rose O’Keefe, Mary Robinette Kowal

Friday, 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., Evergreen 1 & 2 (18+)
Fannish Fetish Fashion Show
We want. Flesh! Flesh for fantasy.
Surrender your flesh to your fantasies of delicious latex and lustful
corsets.  The Fannish Fetish Fashion Show is at it again!  This year there
is magic in the air, mystery around the corner, Tempting Tarts Burlesque and
a few surprises hidden up our sleeves (or is that tucked away snug under
that bustier?).   You know you want to take a peek…
Rated: A
Laurie Reynolds, emcee: Caren G.

Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Cascade 5
The Clarion West Writers Workshop
The Clarion West Workshop is in its 27th year of providing a six-week
workshop for writers of fantasy and science fiction. Graduates of Clarion
West will talk about their experience and answer your questions.
Leslie Howle (M), Greg Cox, Caren Gussoff, Jordan Lapp, David J. Williams

Saturday, 10:00 p.m., Cascade 6
Can We Change the World through Science Fiction?
The literature of speculative fiction provides the perfect oeuvre to hold a
mirror up to humanity and look at who we are and what we might become.  By
telling tales of “the other” we discover ourselves.  By projecting current
trends forward, we ask “what if?” and compare the world that is with worlds
that might be.  Fantastic fiction has long been the home of astute social
commentary and in-depth exploration of what it means to be human; but can it
be used as an art form to teach critical thinking?  Writers have long used
SF to tell allegorical stories that criticize political realties and
challenge us to question the status quo. How deep of an impact can
literature, or any art form, have on informing people’s thoughts and
behavior?
Leslie Howle (M), Caren Gussoff, Todd Lockwood, Ian McDonald, David J.
Williams

Sunday, 10:00 a.m., Cascade 6
Best Online Markets for Writers
What are the best online markets for short fiction in 2010?  Who is
publishing the best science fiction?  Who is publishing the best fantasy?
What’s new and exciting?  What are the best-paying markets?  We’ll discuss
the latest and greatest.
Cat Rambo (M), Caren Gussoff, Jordan Lapp, Eric James Stone

Sunday, 3:00 p.m., Cascade 6
Bloggers as Public Intellectuals
Is the blogosphere spawning a contemporary generation of important public
thinkers? Who are the ones you can’t afford to miss? What are they saying?
Caren Gussoff (M), Kurt Cagle, Cat Rambo, Derek Zumsteg

Norwescon Schedule – Cat Rambo

Thursday, 8:00 p.m., Cascade 7
Testing the Limits of Urban Fantasy
What’s beyond all the vamps, werewolves, angels, and demons? Having
explored all of the old tropes, what’s next?
Cat Rambo (M), Caren Gussoff, Jaye Wells

Friday, 1:00 p.m., Cascade 5
Working On Your Craft: Writing as an Evolving Process
As with any other art, writing requires practice; and a writer’s skill can
improve over time. Writers discuss techniques they have learned as they have
evolved and ways in which they gained new levels of expertise. How can you
tell when you’re improving? How can you judge your own progress as a writer?
Cat Rambo (M), Daryl Gregory, Eileen Gunn, Randy Henderson, Jack
Skillingstead

Friday, 4:30 – 5:00 p.m., Cascade 3
Reading: Cat Rambo
Queen of the Fireflies, Section from a horror novel, Rated: PG
Cat Rambo

Saturday, 1:00 p.m., Cascade 9
The Genre Divide
What are the differences between literature and genre fiction? Are they real
or artificial? What differentiates fantasy from horror? Does New York hate
what we do?
Cat Rambo (M), Greg Bear, Greg Cox, David Hartwell, Janna Silverstein

Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Evergreen 3 & 4
Autograph Session #3

Saturday, 5:00 p.m., Cascade 8
Narrative Structure
Most readers read for story; but a story has to hang from a structure, and
if the structure fails the story will collapse. The story’s structure
dictates where the story starts, where it ends, where each of the plot
elements fits, and charts the space in which your characters’ change and
developments take place. Structure more than anything else will keep the
reader’s eyes glued to the page to find out what happens next. Writers
share how they approach narrative structure and plot.
Leslie Howle (M), Daryl Gregory, Ian McDonald, Cat Rambo, G.Robin Smith

Saturday, 6:00 p.m., Evergreen 1
Surveillance in the 21st Century – is it Good or Bad?
This is the age of hidden cameras, X-ray scans, the e-mail trail, and the
illegal act caught on tape. Surveillance immediately conjures up images of
Big Brother and nefarious uses of eavesdropping technology. But it can have
its positive uses, including the detection of robberies. Surveillance is
everywhere, wanted or unwanted; is it good or bad? Where is surveillance
technology going – what are the technologies and the implications?
Cat Rambo (M), Cory Doctorow, Eileen Gunn, Ian McDonald

Sunday, 10:00 a.m., Cascade 6
Best Online Markets for Writers
What are the best online markets for short fiction in 2010? Who is
publishing the best science fiction? Who is publishing the best fantasy?
What’s new and exciting? What are the best-paying markets? We’ll discuss
the latest and greatest.
Cat Rambo (M), Caren Gussoff, Jordan Lapp, Eric James Stone

Sunday, 3:00 p.m., Cascade 6
Bloggers as Public Intellectuals
Is the blogosphere spawning a contemporary generation of important public
thinkers? Who are the ones you can’t afford to miss? What are they saying?
Caren Gussoff (M), Kurt Cagle, Cat Rambo, Derek Zumsteg

Norwescon Schedule – Keffy Kehrli

Thursday, 5:00 p.m., Cascade 8
Gadgets: Back to the Future
“I was promised flying cars! What happened to the flying cars?” What ever
happened to the neat gadgets of old-time SF? Weren’t we supposed to have
personal flying cars by now? Where are the atomic rockets (not to mention
the atomic automobiles)? Personal jet packs? Dinner-in-a-pill? Helicopter
flivvers? Visi-phones? Blasters? Are we doomed to a dull, mundane future?
Bart Kemper (M), Keffy R. M. Kehrli, Greg Paddock

Thursday, 6:00 p.m., Cascade 8
Tragedy, Comedy and Fantasy:
Should all fantasy be escapist and always end in ‘happily ever after?’ Of
course not. But how does a writer balance ‘happily ever after’ with ‘the
heroes paid a price for their triumph?’ How much reality do readers want in
fantasy, and when do real life consequences become a bummer at the end of
the story? The best told tales balance dark and light. What is the current
recipe for a book that both writers and readers enjoy?
Jean Johnson (M), Carol Berg, Keffy R. M. Kehrli, Kevin Radthorne, Garth
Upshaw

Saturday, 5:00 p.m., Cascade 7
Gender and Sexuality in SF/F
Does SF/F have a responsibility to work outside the gender norms? How do
SF/F authors play with gender and sexuality in their works? Are the works
of the early authors who played with gender, such as James Tiptree, Jr.,
still relevant? Up for discussion are the works of Tiptree, Jacqueline
Carey, and others.
Jean Johnson (M), Jake Ballin, Keffy R. M. Kehrli

Sunday, 10:00 – 10:30 a.m., Cascade 3
Reading: Keffy Kehrli
Daha’s Son, Epic Fantasy, Rated: PG
Keffy R. M. Kehrli

It’s my first reading! I’m excited, even if it is at 10am on Sunday.

Norwescon Schedule – Randy Henderson

Thursday, 6:00 – 6:30 p.m., Cascade 3
Reading: Randy Henderson
Incrediguy Meets Bartholomew P. Lovelace, What happens when Incrediguy attempts to save a pastor who refuses to believe in him?, Rated: PG
Randy Henderson

Thursday, 9:00 p.m., Cascade 8
The Living Dead
Forty years after George Romero gave us Night of the Living Dead, his zombies still walk among us in remakes, new films from Romero himself, and astonishing recent movies ranging from Shaun of the Dead to 28 Weeks Later. Zombies are cropping up in popular literature as well. Why is this SF/horror subgenre so enduring? What are its classic books and films and which are merely the walking dead?
Mark Henry (M), Daryl Gregory, Randy Henderson, Jack Skillingstead, Anthony van Winkle

Friday, 1:00 p.m., Cascade 5
Working On Your Craft: Writing as an Evolving Process
As with any other art, writing requires practice; and a writer’s skill can improve over time. Writers discuss techniques they have learned as they have evolved and ways in which they gained new levels of expertise. How can you tell when you’re improving? How can you judge your own progress as a writer?
Cat Rambo (M), Daryl Gregory, Eileen Gunn, Randy Henderson, Jack Skillingstead