#balticon

so. wow. what a time.

All set up at Balticon! Stop by and say hi, show off your cosplays, and check out all the cool panels and the art show!

At Balticon, I purchased this mug for myself from DragonSpire Ceramics. The artist, Rita Llanso, pointed out that the sprites are from Spirited Away; the ones in Totoro don’t have arms and legs.

This artist doesn’t have an online store (I do not blame her for not wanting to individually ship stoneware), but some area boutiques carry her work:

Clay Coven in Savage Mill

The Crystal Fox in Laurel

Eastern Coral Company in Laurel Mall

Are you going to Balticon? Come see me! I'm on 3 panels, a signing, and a reading.

Sat 2:30pm - Love in Our Fiction (non-romantic relationships!)

Sun 10am - Signing!

Sun 4pm - Building Community to Survive Your Writing Journey

Sun 5:30pm - Reading!

Sun 7pm - Writing Spice and Smut

The US is celebrating Memorial Day this weekend, and all around the northern hemisphere, we’re enjoying the warming weather and the end of a lovely May!

And what better way to enjoy the end of the month than getting your book on?

For only the second time ever, people involved with Duck Prints Press – the independent press founded by fandom folks to publish the original work of fancreators, with an emphasis on works featuring LGBTQIA+ characters – will be attending cons and book events to (officially and unofficially) share more information about the Press!

Interested in learning more by meeting folks involved with the Press? Well, if you’re going to either of these events this weekend, you can!

The Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales, UK

Rachael L. Young, Press staff editor, will be attending The Hay Festival today, tomorrow, and Sunday! We have no official presence at the Festival, but you’ll know Rachael by her awesome Press swag, including several of our books, our pins, our bookmarks, and this amazing Dux tote bag she got custom printed! If you see her, stop by and say hi – and don’t forget to grab one of our business cards before you leave!

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Balticon, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Author Tris Lawrence is attending Balticon tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday, where she’ll be promoting her own work and her work with the Press, including participating in multiple panels and doing a reading from her novel Commit to the Kick. She’s also got several of our anthologies for you to take a look at, a pile of business cards, the last unsold print copies of the first print run of Commit to the Kick (we’ve got a reprint in the works, though…) and the debut of our first-ever entirely free Duck Prints Press zine, assembled by author and editor Alec J. Marsh!

Want to meet Tris? Here’s her panel schedule:

Sunday 11:30am – Spear Carriers and Background Characters

Sunday 2:30pm – Works I Wasn’t Ready to Write

Sunday 4:00pm – How to succeed as an ND (NeuroDiverse) creative

Sunday 5:30pm – Reading (with Elektra Hammond)

Monday 11:30am – Small press or self-publish?

If you’re going to either of these events, we really hope to meet you there!

Not able to attend either of these events? You’ll have other chances! We’re still fleshing out our 2023 convention schedule, but we know for sure we’ll have people – and tables! – at these events:

NordCon, Hamburg, Germany – June 2nd – 4th: Alessa Riel and possibly other German Press folks will be attending NordCon! We’ll have a table there, along with cards, stickers, and some other fun freebies.

FlameCon, New York City, New York, USA – August 12th – 13th: we might be attending FlameCon! We are on the waitlist for a small table, and if we’re able to get a table, we’ll be there with bells on (possibly literally). If not, we’ll skip this year, but we’re definitely going to try to make it next year!

FandomFest, Schenectady, New York, USA – August 26th – 27th: I (Nina Waters/unforth), Tris Lawrence, Catherine E. Green, Shea Sullivan, Willa Blythe, Nova Mason, and possibly other Press authors and contributors will be attending this convention, local to where the Press is based! We’ll have a vending table with merch and books for sale, and we’ll also be hosting a panel about transitioning from writing fanfiction to original fiction. We’ll post more about that, including scheduling, once the con organizers formally announce the schedule.

Albacon, Albany, New York, USA – September 8th – 10th: Tris Lawrence and I will be at Albacon in Albany, and we’ll be vending too! We don’t yet know about panels and readings, but we’re definitely looking to get involved. When the event is closer, we’ll absolutely be sharing more information.

We’re looking to expand our con attendance in the future, so be on the look out! And if you know a local con you think would suit us, do let us know!

Tips from the panelists sharing: 7 things to think of when writing a fight scene, Ways to differentiate fighters of diff skill levels, What pulls readers out of a fight, & Some favorite Iconic Fight Scenes! Any they missed? #writingTips #balticon2022

These notes are from the titular panel at Balticon 2022. The panelists were D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Brandon Ketchum, and Wen Spencer, with John Appel as moderator. The panel description was as follows: A good fight scene can improve the pacing of your novel, raise the stakes for your character, and add immediacy to your writing. But how do you do it well? How do you…

Heading out to a one-day pass at Balticon. Met most of my old friends (and ex-girlfriends) at Balticon and a handful of other Mid-Atlantic conventions back in the 80s when I was a college-age geek. Maybe some of them will be there.

I'll attend some programming, sweep the dealers room, and hopefully see Seanan McGuire at a panel. The last time I went to as con to see a specific author was 2004, also a Balticon. Unfortunately rushing to get to some programming, I went around a corner too fast, and nearly ran over this lady. I didn't hit her, but I hit the ground hard to avoid doing so. Someone helped me up, but whispered violently in my ear, "You asshole! You almost steamrollered the Guest of Honor!" Sorry, Lois. But Nancy Springer and C.J. Cherryh and David Gerrold will be there, so chances are excellent for interesting programming.

I'd been planning to do a one day pass for a while now. It was supposed to be yesterday, but I got to sleep too late Friday, and overslept. Yesterday was the Masquerade, and the filking. It's funny, i couldn't make a costume worth a damn back in the 80s, and now that I have the skills (years of helping my kids make anime cosplay), I don't get to enjoy it.

I think, though, I'm just going to be reminded that going reminded that going to cons alone is a whole lot of no fun. It's wonderful with a group of geeky-minded friends. I've lost touch with my old friends, and the one person that responded to my "Is anyone going to Balticon this year?" replied that he and his wife are not, as she's going through chemo. My wife thinks science fiction conventions are stupid and boring, and refuses to go with me. And as I'm basically not allowed to have my own friends, I'm going this alone.