Program Grid

Every work of fiction has a setting.  This is especially true of science fiction and fantasy where the settings are imaginary – other planets and fantasy realms. How do writers decide on a setting and communicate it to the reader? What makes some settings seem real while others mere painted backdrops? How does society help to shape the world around it? What writers have effective settings and what techniques do they use?

How do you like your romance in science fiction and fantasy? Can you tell your paranormal romance and romantasy from your urban fantasy? How are these subgenres different from each other? Panelists will steer you toward the right combination of romance in your science fiction and fantasy.

Fantasy is full of prophesies and destiny. But when the main character is chosen by fate, do they have free will? Can they actually make a choice to be a hero if destiny says they will? And can they really experience true agency or risk if the results have already been written? And doesn’t this prediction make the story less interesting if everyone knows who will win? So what’s fantasy’s obsession with destiny? What works get destiny right or wrong?

Much science fiction depends on humanity going into outer space and living on other planets. But how realistic is such a goal? Whether solving challenges of terraforming or even finding worlds that support human life, colonization offers more practical and ethical problems than solutions. What scientific advancements or cultural shifts have to happen to make colonization  possible, and how long would it take? What books have the best colonization stories, and what have authors done to make settling worlds seem plausible?

While much of Military SF seems to support war and having bigger weapons, how do books like The Forever War point to alternatives?  What makes Military SF pro-war or anti-war? What does such more skeptical military SF have to say about troops?  About military strategy? Is anti-war SF still military SF?

Have we had enough of werewolves, dragons, faeries, and vampires?. What are some works with lesser known creatures and cryptids? Why are these less popular? 

Not all artificial intelligences (AI) are violent SkyNets. Some just want to rearrange your life to make you happier (perhaps in exchange for cat pictures).  What makes an AI benevolent? Can an AI understand humanity well enough to be really good for people? Can we depend on benevolent AIs? How can we be sure it will stay benevolent? Can a benevolent AI still be harmful? Let’s discuss the world of AI.

Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War has a long lineage in military SF, reaching back to Starship Troopers and forward to Old Man’s War and beyond. What influenced the book and what was influenced by it? Panelists will discuss its pivotal place in the history of military SF.

Many SF works that projected the Cold War into space rapidly became obsolete in 1991.  Even well into the 2000s, writers of science fiction failed to predict smartphones. How can writers avoid having works become outdated? Do you just shrug and say alternate world? Is this unavoidable when writing near future stories? Panelists discuss failures of SF prediction and what can be done to write around the issue.

John Ashmead presents on time crystals. 

Crystals we know: they are structures that are periodic in space, fun to look at, and very useful.

In 2012 Nobel prize winner, Frank Wilczek, came up with the idea of a “time crystal”, a structure that is periodic in time, that oscillates among a couple of different states. Forever. Without pumping energy in. Or losing energy. Not possible in classical physics, Second Law of Thermodynamics and all that, but according to the laws of quantum mechanics, just barely! What do these tell us about time? How do we build one? What uses might they have?

Capclave began 25 years ago. How did it come about and why?. Hear from some of the founders of the convention.

What are the best books, tv shows, and movies of 2025 so far? Our panel makes recommendations. Be prepared to share your own lists!

Editors tell all. What do editors do and why are they necessary?  How do different editors approach editing and how hands-on can (or should) they get? What are the best practices for editors and how do short story editors differ from book editors? What are editors looking for? How can a writer get the best possible editing? Writers and editors share their experiences with the editing process.

What are these subgenres and what distinguishes one from the other? Do writers start off with the intention to write one of these? Where do you draw the line (or is there no point in such a line)? What are some of the best recent Space Operas? Best Hard SF? Best MilSF?

Many writers have medical issues. Even those who don’t may face illnesses in their immediate family, troubles with a spouse/significant other, or various economic and social ills. How do you focus on writing during the bad times? What strategies do you use to keep writing despite everything? Please share your own personal stories.

Lord of the Rings was published in 1954-6. What makes so many people still consider it the Greatest Fantasy of All Time?  How did it become the template for such much of later fantasy? Why have all the other fantasies not surpassed it? What makes it still work today despite its age?

What do we think of the most recent era of Doctor Who? What worked and what didn’t? What would you have changed? What do you want to see in some future season?

Many series seem to go on forever.   How can the author avoid repetition? Can the characters keep growing without becoming too powerful? If the series goes on to 10 or even 20 volumes what can the author do to keep things fresh? How does an author determine when to end things? an author just cut it off?

Many say we are living in an increasingly dystopic world with overpopulation, dangers from global warming, and a growing number of totalitarian regimes where human rights are subservient to the state. How can science fiction help educate people about these problems? How can it provide ways for the voices of people in dystopias to be heard? How do we balance engagement versus entertainment? And how do you write about dystopian events while you’re living through them?

Everyone knows about The Forever War. But what about Joe Haldeman’s other works?  How did his fiction change as he matured? What are his special strengths and weaknesses? What do you think are his best books and why?

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey has been a staple structure of genre fiction. But not every main character has to be a loner, an orphan, or dysfunctional. People with support systems can still be heroes too. What about the accidental hero or the mature hero or the stationary hero? What about plots other than saving the world or the kingdom? What other paths are there for a protagonist? Panelists discuss alternatives roads and what books have the best ones.

Funny fantasy and humorous SF have long been a part of these genres, frequently in short-shorts ending in a groan-worthy pun. Then came writers like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett who made careers out of writing novels with laughter. How can writers use humor and satire as the main course of a novel, not just occasional comic relief? What is the role of humor in SF/Fantasy today and how is has it changed? Is there a reason why so many genre humorists are British? Is there still a stigma against writing humor?

Throughout history, humanity has grappled with the coexistence of religion and science as conflicting ways to explain the world around us. Can SF literature point us toward what the future might hold for spirituality and faith among increasingly technological humans? What happens to religion if we find intelligent life with their own religion(s) or none at all? What SF books have the best explorations of religion? What further questions could SF authors be exploring at the intersection of science and religion?

The Singularity is the idea that, at some point in the future, technological change will grow irreversibly beyond human comprehension and control., Its proponents  have predicted we are only one generation away for the last 50 or so years. But now with ever more powerful computers and the explosive growth of AI, are we perhaps actually nearing that particular event horizon?  Will the rise of deep-fakes and (hyper)realistic AI-generated videos mean that we can no longer trust our own eyes? How can we know what is real or true, when “reality” can be generated with a mere sentence prompt and click of a button? And with AI taking on more and more jobs, what will that mean for most humans who have to work to survive? What will that mean for the concept of work itself?

Genre is mostly a marketing tool, yet for many years, reviewers and academics saw genre fiction as inferior. They even denied that literary oriented SF was SF (such as 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale).  Is this still true? Has this changed since many respected literary authors are incorporating science fictional and fantasy elements? Is SF/Fantasy still in the literary ghetto?

Up to 9 players will work together with limited resources and time to infiltrate a bug defense point and neutralize the plasma bug battery, preventing SICON from initiating a low-level Tac-Fighter strike on a nearby bug hive. The Roughnecks must complete their mission within the allotted time frame, or SICON will be forced to scrub the mission, and they’ll have to beat feet back to base. Pregens of all 8 members of Razak’s Roughnecks and the CHAS unit will be provided, along with dice if needed. You’re dropping into the jungle, then you’ll advance on the enemy position. The objective’s simple. If it’s a bug, kill it.