A workshop for prospective writers to learn what small publishers (and even the big guys!) are looking for from writers. Bring a sample of your work (first three chapters) for consideration. Informal Q & A with Cannon Publishing hosted by J.F. Holmes.

Brent Friedman will host a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill - 2hrs

Come hear our authors read from their works.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Copyright, which will have dramatic effects on creative people of all kinds. There was a new Supreme Court case on copyright fair use last summer - Warhol v Goldsmith. Between that case and the encroachment of AI changing some of the ways of Fair Use, there are impacts to both creators and derivative artists. Emory University Law Professor Courtney Lynn Sarnow presents.

Jack Friedman will host a game of Ticket to Ride - Europe

Guest of Honor Brunch Banquet / Guest of Honor Speeches

"Build the Village, Create the Heroes, Defeat the Dungeon. This is a card based adventure game where you build up your village, recruit and level up heroes in any of four classes, and ultimately try to defeat trials the heroes encounter in three levels of dungeon rooms. Each round players will add new buildings, use village actions, and take quests into the dungeon itself! End game victory points will come from village cards, hero values, and progress thru the dungeon. Choose your starting village and let the questing begin!" Rich Garber, GM.

For science fiction productions, there is an implied bargain between the screenwriter and the audience: suspend your disbelief on one or two fantastic notions, and the rest of the story will be grounded in the believable. So the genre is predicated on the expectation of one or two key inaccuracies per story. In recent years, though, experts and fans have been nitpicking even the main story conceits of films like "Gravity", "Interstellar", and "The Martian". From the "anything goes" storytelling approach of the 1950's and 1960's sci-fi, Dr. Kevin Grazier explores whether or not the science accuracy pendulum of audience expectation has swung too far in the other direction.

Julie Frost moderates this fascinating discussion on lycanthropy in modern SF and Fantasy and the new wave of authors that traffic in shapeshifters.

Autograph sessions will be directly in front of the Dealer's Room. Authors will cycle through hourly. Limit 5 books (if you bring more, get 5 signed and go to the back of the line.)

Genre writing has its own tropes, and combining genres can be tricky. For the Western genre and the Science Fiction genre, is Weird Wild West the best of both worlds? Jim Curtis moderates.

The 5 Horsemen of the A"PUN"calypse. The audience scores our jokesters by groans for the worst dad jokes and puns. David Weber moderates.