Capclave 2002
Tentative Program

Warning: This program is subject to change.

Panels are one hour with time between panels so they can run over, take extra questions, or continue the discussion.

Friday

Time	Room	Panel	Speakers
6-7	Council	Neglected Authors	Scott Edelman, Alexis Gilliland, Annette Klause, Bud Sparhawk (M)
We've all read Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke. Who are the authors who should be famous but aren't? Who should we be reading instead of dragging out the old familiar names?
7:30 - 8:30	Council	I Was an Analog Virgin	Robert Chase, John Hemry (M), Edward Lerner, Fran Van Cleave, Bud Webster
Analog writers talk about their first time - getting into Analog. What did you do, how hard was it, and what was it like to see your words on those famous pages? And is there a formula for writing an Analog story?
7:30 - 8:30	Severin	The Buffy Prophecy: What Should Happen on the Last Season and Then What?	Eric Jablow, Nicki Lynch, Jim Mann (M)
How do you provide a fitting climax to end a series when you've already killed the heroine twice? What do you think should be done in the final season? And then what should they do with this universe next? Fans prophesize the ending of Buffy.
9:00 - 10	Council	Space Opera and Space Adventures	Catherine Asaro (M), John Hemry, Eric Kotani, Hal Lanse, Michael Swanwick
Lately there's been a rethinking and reemergence of space opera and space adventure. What do you think is taking place in this field and why? What do authors gain by setting stories in space? What science do authors need to know to write space adventures?
9-10	Severin	WSFA Meeting	Judy Kindell
The Washington Science Fiction Association are your hosts for Capclave. WSFA meets on the first and third Friday of every month. Tonight is a third Friday so WSFA is meeting-in the middle of our own party. Come and see how you can have the fun of Capclave twice a month.
10:30 ->	Severin	Filking
Fans sing the music of Science Fiction.

Saturday

Time	Room	Panel	Speakers
10-11	Council	Influence of Your Day Job	Brett Davis, Mindy Klasky, Hal Lanse (M), Will Ludwigsen, Tee Morris
What do you do to pay the rent and how does that influence your writing for good or for ill? Is there a connection between what happens to you on the job and how productive you are in your writing? Does that evil alien in your novel bare more than a slight resemblance to your boss? And would you quit your day job if that novel becomes a best seller?
10 - 11	Severin	The Science Fictional Series	Michael A. Burstein, Brenda Clough, Edward Lerner (M), Lawrence Watt-Evans
Why are series so common in sf and fantasy (and mysteries) but rare in mainstream fiction? Is writing a series easier because you don't have to think up new backgrounds and characters or harder because you have to stay consistent? Do you know you are writing a series from the first story/book or do you finish a stand-alone and only later think you have more to say with these characters?
11:30 - 12:30	Council	Short Stories Are Good For You	Stephen L. Burns, Scott Edelman, David Hartwell, Will Ludwigsen, Michael Swanwick (M)
Why do authors write short stories (when they get more money for novels) and why do readers read them? What can you do in a short story that you can't in a novel? Why do some authors do better at short stories than novels? How do short stories reflect the health of the sf field?
11:30 - 12:30	Severin	SF Empowerment: Adolescent Angst or Human Commentary?	Brenda Clough, Brett Davis, Dave Theison (M), Bud Sparhawk, Fran Van Cleave
Many sf and fantasy is about people with special powers or more than human abilities ranging from comic book action and Lensman adventures to works like Dune and More Than Human. What is the line between wish fulfillment/adolescent angst and social commentary on the limits and definition of humanity? How does an author portray beings with powers and abilities far beyond those of mere human mortals?
11:30-12:30	Assembly	Reading	Annette Klause
1 - 2 PM	Council	Bored of the Rings: Non-quest Fantasy	Robert Chase, Alexis Gilliland, Mindy Klasky, Lawrence Watt-Evans (M), Tee Morris
We've all read the fantasy quest where a bunch of heroes gang up to find the magic orb of whatever while traipsing all over the map in the flyleaf so many times that (with apologies to the Lampoon) we're bored of the rings. Why is this so overdone? What alternatives exist and who should we be reading to see them?
1 - 2 PM	Severin	Bioscience	Stephen L. Burns, Kyle Kirkland, Jim Kling, Paul Levinson (M)
What are new advances in biology and how writers can use them in their work. What is the truth behind such sf concepts as cloning, modifying humans to fit alien environments, and creating designer humans? What new ideas would make neat sf stories? How do sf writers stay ahead of the science?
1 - 2 PM	Assembly	Reading	Bud Webster
2:30-3:30 PM	Council	25 Years of Stan	Michael A. Burstein, Scott Edelman, David Hartwell (M), Bud Sparhawk, Ian Randal Strock, Stan Schmidt (rebuttal)
Stan Schmidt has been editor of Analog for 25 years. What has he done with this time? How has his tenure changed science fiction? Stan's friends, writers, and peers share stories.
2:30-3:30 PM	Severin	Crossing the Genres	Catherine Asaro, Jack Chalker, Peter Heck (M), Paul Levinson, Lawrence Watt-Evans
You got mystery in my science fiction! No, you got science fiction into my fantasy! What happens when you mix the genres? Why do authors make life tough for bookstore clerks by doing this? Do you use different writing techniques when you write in just one genre than when you write in the other, and, if so, what happens when you combine them?
2:30-3:30 PM	Assembly	Reading	Michael Swanwick
4 - 5 PM	Council	GOH Speech	Stan Schmidt
5:30 - 7 PM		Dinner Break
7 - 8 PM	Severin	Future of Short Stories and Magazines	Paul Levinson (M), Stan Schmidt, Darrell Schweitzer, Bud Sparhawk, Ian Randal Strock
Are the science fiction magazines dying? Will the Internet and other alternatives to traditional digest magazines save the field? How can short stories recapture the attention of the science fiction reading public?
7-8 PM	Assembly	Reading	Michael A. Burstein
9 PM -> 12	Assembly	Special Autographing Party	Everybody
Party to celebrate Stan's 25-year reign, the cartoons of Alexis Gilliland, and all our guests and members. Party will feature cake and some surprises. Authors will autograph their books and stories.
9-10 PM	Severin	Filking Panel
Filking is the music of science fiction. Filkers discuss the relationship between filk and sf and sing examples from the history of filking.
10 ->	Severin	Filking
Filk until the voices run out.

Sunday

Time	Room	Panel	Speakers
10-11 AM	Council	Indistinguishable from Magic	Catherine Asaro, Michael A. Burstein, Jack Chalker, Jane Jewell (M), Kyle Kirkland
Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic. How can well known magic from fairy tales and stories be duplicated by current or near-future technology? How do you distinguish between magic and advanced technology in your fiction? Does a fantasy novel stop being a fantasy novel if the last page reveals it was all done through tech?
10 - 11 AM	Severin	The Appeal of Mars	Robert Chase, Eric Kotani, Ian Randal Strock (M), Dave Theison, Fran Van Cleave
From HG Wells to Bradbury to Robinson to Bova, what's the continual appeal of writing about Mars? How has the Mars novel changed? How realistic are the visions of settling on Mars?
11:30 - 12:30 PM	Council	SF Protocols	Brenda Clough, David Hartwell, Peter Heck (M), Michael Swanwick, Bud Webster
How is reading (or writing) an sf story/novel different from reading (or writing) a mainstream or mystery story/novel? Is sf read in a different way? Do authors make assumptions about what readers know from reading the field that make it difficult for a new reader to understand their work?
11:30 - 12:30 PM	Severin	Future Breakthroughs	John Hemry, Kyle Kirkland (M), Eric Kotani, Jim Kling
What would be the effects on society of cheap and portable desalination of water? Of life extension technology? Of human cloning? What plausible future scientific breakthroughs would have the greatest effect on society? If you could wish for one, what would it be and why?
11:30 - 12:30 PM	Assembly	World Fantasy Convention	Mike Walsh
Next year WSFA will be running the 2003 World Fantasy Convention in Washington DC. What is World Fantasy Con? Why should you attend? What do you want to see at a Fantasy convention?
1 pm - 2 pm	Council	Legacy of John W. Campbell	Peter Heck, Jim Mann, Stan Schmidt (M), Darrell Schweitzer
John W. Campbell was an extremely influential editor of Analog who almost singlehanded reshaped the science fiction field. Why was he so influential and does it extend into today? What are the positive and negative aspects of his legacy?
1 - 2 pm	Severin	How Do You Make SF Fans?	Jane Jewell (M), Annette Klause, Edward Lerner, Steve Stiles, Dave Theison
How can we take Harry Potter readers, Star Trek/Buffy viewers, and students who take classes on sf and turn them into lifelong readers of science fiction and fantasy? How can we keep our favorite literature alive for another generation?
1 - 2 pm	Assembly	Reading	Paul Levinson
2:30 - 4	Severin	BWSMOFs
Fan groups and conventions in the Baltimore and Washington area meet to talk about running conventions.
2:30 - 3:30 PM	Council	Mission Debriefing
Come tell us what you liked about the convention and what you would like changed for next year.

Please note, this is the tentative schedule. The final schedule will appear at Capclave.

Return to main Capclave page.

Return to main WSFA page.

This page was created 10 October, 2002. This page was last updated 12 October, 2002