If you love books and bookstores, you must absolutely meet Boskone 54’s Special Guest Maryelizabeth Yturralde. Coming to Boston from the sunny shores of San Diego, Maryelizabeth is returning to Boskone after more than a decade away. Let’s hope she brings some of that delicious California sunshine with her!

Bio: Maryelizabeth Yturralde last attended Boskone in 1984, and spent the next decade working in chain bookstores. Maryelizabeth co-founded independent genre bookstore Mysterious Galaxy in Southern California in 1993; she is a regular contributor to programming at literary conventions all over the country, including Comic-Con International San Diego and New York Comic Con; and she is a regular writer of non-fiction, including critical and biographical essays, and reviews for Mysterious Galaxy, as well as Publishers Weekly. She is passionate about connecting readers and stories.

Visit Maryelizabeth on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Maryelizabeth’s Schedule at Boskone:

Friday 3:00 PM (free to public)
The Origins and Impact of the Original Star Trek TV Series
Linda Addison, Melinda Snodgrass (M), Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Justine Graykin
Harbor III · 60 min · Panel
Fifty years after Kirk and Spock transported into our lives, the franchise is launching yet another TV series. What do we owe to Lucille Ball? And how have science fiction, the realm of entertainment, and our everyday world been influenced by the original Star Trek series?
50th Anniversary: Star Trek

Friday 5:00 PM (free to public)
The Year in Young Adult and Children’s Fiction
Maryelizabeth Yturralde (M), Christine Taylor-Butler, Emma Caywood, Juliana Spink Mills, Bruce Coville
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Last year was another great one for young adult and children’s fiction. While the explosion of new authors in these genres may be stabilizing, the number of well-written, top-shelf stories continues to soar! Join our panelists for a lively discussion about what you absolutely must read from 2016 — and what we’re looking forward to as 2017 continues.

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Saturday 11:00 AM
Special Guest Interview: Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Dana Cameron
Harbor II · 60 min · Interview
Boskone’s Special Guest, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, joins us from a Mysterious Galaxy far, far away. From running a bookstore to helping to plan programming for Comic-Con International, M’e (as her friends call her) has been a part of the various forms of fandom for … well, let’s just say for a significant amount of time. Join author Dana Cameron and M’e for a lively discussion between old friends.

Saturday 1:00 PM
Remembering Buffy the Vampire Slayer — 20 Years Later
Christopher Golden, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Dana Cameron, Erin Underwood (M), Deirdre Crimmins
Marina 2 · 60 min · Panel
“Becoming” Parts 1 and 2, “The Body,” “Once More With Feeling,” “Hush,” and “Graduation Day” are among the best-loved episodes of the series. Our panelists discuss the episodes they love the most, and why the show itself continues to be so memorable and rewatchable — 25 years after the movie, and 20 years after the TV show debuted.

Saturday 3:00 PM
100 Years of Shirley Jackson
Maryelizabeth Yturralde (M), John Langan, Jack M. Haringa, F. Brett Cox, Grady Hendrix
Marina 4 · 60 min · Panel
Happy birthday, Shirley! Born 100 years ago and dying aged only 48, the author of “The Lottery” and other modern Gothic tales remains one of the most important — and possibly most underrated — American authors of the last century. What writers have felt her unsettling influence? Why can she still send a chill down the spines of today’s readers? Let’s celebrate Shirley Jackson’s first century, and the lasting and dramatic effect her work has had on our fictions.

Sunday 10:00 AM
Kaffeeklatsch: Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Harbor I · 60 min · Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 12:00 NOON
Brick and Mortar: Bookstores Then, Now, and Tomorrow
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Robert Howard, Joe Siclari (M), Ian Randal Strock, Lauren Roy
Marina 4 · 60 min · Panel
Despite surges in online and ebook sales: at least for now, bookstores are here to stay. Our panelists share their favorite stories about the printed matter palaces they love, how to support them, and what continued life they’re finding in today’s publishing world. How can we make better use of our bookstores? What purpose do they serve for authors, publishers, and readers? If they ever disappear, whatever will we do?

Sunday 1:00 PM
Best Book EVER!
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Walter Jon Williams (M), Emma Caywood, Richard R. Horton
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Some books are good. Some books are great. And some are the BEST BOOK EVER! Let’s dish over the works that stand out — that changed the way we think about reading — as well as those that fed our appetite for fine fiction and made us hungry for more. What does it take to top your list of all-time great reads?

~

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

Since Boskone can’t take everyone to Scotland, we are pleased to bring science fiction author Ken MacLeod from Scotland to Boskone. This year, Ken is Boskone’s NESFA Press Guest, and we are eager to see him in Boston again. It’s always nice to see an old friend return!

Bio: Ken MacLeod was born in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland and lives in West Lothian. He has Honours and Masters degrees in biological subjects and worked for some years in the IT industry. Since 1997 he has been a full-time writer. He is the author of fifteen novels, from The Star Fraction (1995) to The Corporation Wars: Dissidence (Orbit, May 2016), and many articles and short stories. His novels and stories have received three BSFA awards and three Prometheus Awards, and several have been short-listed for the Clarke and Hugo Awards. He is currently working on a space opera trilogy, The Corporation Wars (forthcoming 2016-2017).

In 2009 he was Writer in Residence at the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum at Edinburgh University, and in 2013 and 2014 was Writer in Residence at the MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University.

Visit Ken’s blog (The Early Days of a Better Nation) and follow him on Twitter.

Ken’s Schedule at Boskone:

2:00 PM (free to public)
First Contact/Close Encounters
Christine Taylor-Butler, Ken MacLeod, Charles Stross, JeffWarner (M), Garen Daly
Harbor III · 60 min · Panel
What will it be like if and when we encounter our first aliens? Let’s celebrate the 40th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s classic alien meetup movie by looking at first contact issues through its lens. Is Close Encounters of the Third Kind a realistic representation of how first contact is likely to go? Does the film stand the test of time? How about one of our newest cinematic favorites, Arrival?

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Saturday 12:00 NOON
Fiction From Abroad
Robert J. Sawyer (M), Ken MacLeod, John Chu, Milton Davis
Marina 3 · 60 min · Panel
International fiction is a wonderful thing! Let’s celebrate some of the great genre fiction being written beyond the borders of the United States. What should we be reading? What do we want more of? And … where can we get it?

Saturday 2:00 PM
Autographing: Debra Doyle, James D. Macdonald, Ken MacLeod, Charles Stross
Charles Stross, Debra Doyle, James D. Macdonald, Ken MacLeod
Galleria · 60 min · Autographing

Saturday 3:30 PM
Reading by Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod
Griffin · 30 min · Reading

Saturday 5:00 PM
Kaffeeklatsch: Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod
Harbor I · 60 min · Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 11:00 AM
NESFA Press Guest Interview: Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod, Charles Stross
Harbor III · 60 min · Interview
Charles Stross interviews our NESFA Press Guest, Ken MacLeod. Will we hear about Scotland, zoology, and biomechanics, or the intersection between socialist ideologies and computer programming? Come and find out!

Sunday 2:00 PM
Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars
Priscilla Olson (M), Melinda Snodgrass, Ken MacLeod, John Langan, Paul Di Filippo
Marina 1 · 60 min · Panel
You stare at the Red Planet as it drifts through the sky … and if you’re lucky, you’ll find yourself on Mars. Revisit Barsoom, and meet up with Thuvia, the Master Mind, savage Green Martians — and (of course) the incomparable Dejah Thoris.

~

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

 

Juliana Spink Mills

Juliana Spink Mills was born in London, England, but moved to São Paulo, Brazil at the age of eight, which probably explains her love of stories that take the reader through rabbit holes or wardrobes and into strange, new worlds. She grew up bilingual and bicultural. Now living in Connecticut, she writes mainly young adult and middle grade fantasy and science fiction. Her recent work includes short stories in two upcoming anthologies (Aliens, Tickety Boo Press, UK; and Journeys, Woodbridge Press, Canada). Heart Blade, her first novel, will be published in February 2017 by Woodbridge Press. Heart Blade is book 1 of the Blade Hunt Chronicles, a young adult urban fantasy series. Juliana is a member of the SCBWI and NESFA, and part of the interview team at SFFWorld.com. Find her online at her website and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

At the moment I’m working on Night Blade, the second novel in my young adult Blade Hunt Chronicles series. It’s wonderful and exciting to get a chance to expand the world I introduced in book 1, Heart Blade. At the same time, it’s been a challenge to keep things fresh and new, without losing track of all those plot threads. With two more books planned for the series, I also have to make sure I leave enough room for the story to grow.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

Boskone was the first SF/F convention I ever attended. That first year, I was really nervous about going to a convention by myself, without knowing anyone, but I was very quickly set at ease. I love the friendly atmosphere, the great conversation and, of course, the excellent programming.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

C.S. Lewis’ Lucy Pevensie was my first ever favorite and I still love her to this day. She’s brave, loyal, and always ready to stick up for others and do the right thing, no matter how scared she may be.

 

Tom Kidd

Tom’s publishing clients include William Morrow, Harper Collins, (for whom he produced cover of HG Well’s War of the Worlds), Ballantine Books, Del Rey Books, Doubleday Books, Penguin Books, Warner Books, MacMillan & Co., St. Martin’s Press, Marvel Comics, Random House and Reader’s Digest. In the design field he has worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Universal Studios, Landmark Entertainment, Franklin Mint, and International Robotics.

He has exhibits of his work at the Canton Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, Society of Illustrators, Words & Pictures Museum, RSVP Dreams Competition, and NASA Future Art. Find him online at his website and Facebook.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Something I hope to finally have completed by World Fantasy Con in 2018, my illustrated book “Gnemo.” I’ll be their guest artist that year so it seems like a nice challenge to make that deadline.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

It’s not science fiction, and it wasn’t yet written when I was a teenager, but its importance is that it filled in a gap in my mathematical education.:The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. If science fiction, then my older teenage self has already told my younger teenage self to read The Dying Earth for its sheer beauty.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Dr. Susan Calvin, Asimov’s robot-psychologist. I liked how complex a problem could be with just a few basic elements and how difficult it was to solve those problems. Calvin’s ability to break it all down to those simple restrictions is not unlike how the rules of physics make the universe.

 

Trisha J. Wooldridge

Trisha J. Wooldridge has been a freelance editor, copywriter, journalist, and author for over thirteen years. She’s edited over fifty books, three online courses, four tutoring manuals, several issues of Massachusetts Horse magazine, mutual fund resource information, and the text for the Dungeons & Dragons: Stormreach, massive multi-player online role playing game. As a journalist, she’s reviewed restaurants, wine, beer, and whiskey; she’s covered international food trade and controversy over migrant tomato workers; and she’s spotlighted over two dozen horsewomen and horse rescues throughout Massachusetts. Her fiction includes over a dozen short stories and poems, including pieces in the EPIC award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries anthologies and the Stoker award-nominated New England Horror Writer anthologies. Under the name T.J. Wooldridge, she’s published three middle grade novels: The Kelpie, The Earl’s Childe, and Silent Starsong. She is the former president of Broad Universe, as well as a member of New England Horror Writers, the Horror Writers Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Because she has belief issues when it comes to free time, she also does event coordinating for Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester and teaches Tarot classes at a local apothecary. Find her online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

How would you describe your work to people who might be unfamiliar with you?

Dark, whimsical, and fantastical. I like to explore stories, excavate and observe them with the tools of science. And I like stories as ways to explore the limits of what we assume we know in science. I do a lot of research, though it doesn’t always show up on the page. I love faery tales, myths, and folklore – and the philosophies and psychologies that go into those stories. Most of all, I love the people who populate stories. If I’m not interested in the person, I won’t care about their stories…so while I have a lot of science, folklore, research, and such woven into my work, they are all very character-driven.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

“Confession: This interview popped into my email in perfect time to procrastinate on my NaNoWriMo project… so, when not procrastinating, I’m working on a new children’s book, age/reading level of Graveyard Book or Coraline, in which the escaped fragments of our dreams are living beings who find each other and create their own societies – traveling circuses under our beds.

This idea struck me some time ago – it’s one that I don’t have a definite “”a-ha”” spark that I can remember. I’ve always had lucid dreaming, waking dreams, physical effects from dreams, and remembered my dreams. Mixed into that is the “”666 Rules”” song from The Devil’s Carnival, a rock-opera, fable-exploring movie by Terrance Zdunich and Darren Bousman.

So, these little beings, these “”Figments””, have a set of rules to protect them. Though they know the Dreamers created them, they are very aware of how many ways the Dreamers can destroy them: being seen by a fully grown Dreamer, being burnt by sunlight, or hit with the beam of a lamp or flashlight… They protect each other in adopted families and the families form communities. And everything is going fine until one young Figment is captured by a Dreamer child. The circus family must decide between keeping each other safe by following the rules, or breaking them to rescue their child.

What intrigues me most is exploring the world and culture of the Circuses. They have a very different view of the world, of how they define themselves, and what their purpose for existing is… and when how so many things change when what they “”know”” to be true is challenged.”

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the DragonLance Chronicles. I was absolutely fascinated by the kender culture created in these books – their dangerous curiosity, their…unique…sense of property, their fearlessness, and the particular mix of frightening insight and total obliviousness both when reading the people with whom they interact. It was the first secondary world race that, I felt, was really different from other things I read – and also completely identifiable to me. As for Tas, himself, he had all those traits of his race/ethnicity, but they worked within his individual personality. Despite the extent of impossibility in his culture’s existence, he was a very real character and it was his fault (or rather, authors Weis’s and Hickman’s fault) that I first felt the horrifying thrill of throwing a book across a room and damaging a wall.

Welcome to our latest round of mini interviews! Can you guess which Boskone 54 program participants cite Sherlock Holmes as their favorite fictional character? Read on to find out!

James Moore

James A. Moore is an award winning author of over twenty-five novels, including the critically acclaimed Serenity Falls trilogy and the Seven Forges fantasy series and the Aliens novel Sea of Sorrows. His recurring anti-hero, Jonathan Crowley has appeared in half a dozen novels with more to come. His most recent works include City of Wonders and The Silent Army, as well as the forthcoming mosaic novel Indigo (with Chuck Wendig, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, Charlaine Harris, et al.) You can find him at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I am working on the sequel to The Last Sacrifice. It’s a very different project for me, there’s a great deal of movement of characters and changing of the world as the story progresses, and it’s rather like solving a three dimensional puzzle every few chapters to keep up with the shifting power structures.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Sherlock Holmes. He is the perfect example of a flawed hero. hew has many issues, many flaws, but he continues on and uses his mind as a weapon and as a source of detection. He is the model for so very many of his predecessors.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

The general feeling that I am with my tribe. Everyone at Boskone loves the genre and it shows.

 

Leigh Perry (Toni L. P. Kelner)

Leigh Perry writes the Family Skeleton mysteries. The Skeleton Haunts a House is the most recent. As Toni L.P. Kelner, she’s the co-editor of paranormal fiction anthologies with Charlaine Harris; the author of eleven mystery novels; and an Agatha Award winner and multiple award nominee for short fiction. No matter what you call her, she lives north of Boston with two daughters, two guinea pigs, and one husband. Find her online at her website and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m trying really hard to finish my fourth Family Skeleton mystery. The big challenge is to continue a series while ringing enough changes that it’s still interesting for the reader.

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

Talking to other people about books! Writing them, reading them, collecting them! BOOKS!!! And Doctor Who.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Sherlock Holmes. He can be interpreted and reinterpreted, and it never gets old.

James Patrick Kelly

James Patrick Kelly has written novels, short stories, essays, reviews, poetry, plays and planetarium shows. His short novel Burn won the Nebula Award in 2007. He has won the Hugo Award twice: in 1996, for his novelette “Think Like A Dinosaur” and in 2000, for his novelette, “Ten to the Sixteenth to One.” His fiction has been translated into eighteen languages. With John Kessel he is co-editor of a series of anthologies including Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology.

He has two podcasts, James Patrick Kelly’s Storypod on Audible.com and the Free Reads Podcast. He writes columns for Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine and for Mothership Zeta is on the faculty of the Stonecoast Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine. Be on the lookout in 2017 for Mothership, his first novel in decades. Find him online at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m working on a new novel based on my Fay Hardaway series. Fay is a hardboiled PI and she works in a world where aliens have disappeared all the men in order to “improve the human race.” This has led me to interrogate almost all of my assumptions about gender.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

I was very impressed by Charlie Jane Anders All the Birds in the Sky  last year and I expect it will be an awards contender. I like how it starts as a coming of age story and goes way, way beyond. Also it features one of the happiest marriages of fantasy and science fiction in the history of the genres.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Since I am writing a hardboiled PI genre I have to tip my Red Sox cap to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Why? The language. “He was the kind of cop who spits on his blackjack every night instead of saying his prayers.”

Boskone 54’s Featured Filkers are sure to delight … and will make you laugh like crazy because they are FUNNY! The Fabulous Lorraine (aka Quiche Me Deadly, aka Lorraine Garland) and Lojo Russo are incredibly talented musicians who are full of surprises. You’re going to love them. We promise.

Bio: The Fabulous Lorraine aka Quiche Me Deadly has been a musician for simply yonks now. Starting way back in the dawn of time with Emma Bull in the Flash Girls, where she performed songs from a variety of authors including Emma, Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Dave McKean and many others she has no doubt forgotten. She’s currently playing with a guy named Paul in the excitedly named band “Paul and Lorraine” and has for the moment retired from Roller Derby but that could change at any time.

Fabulous-Lorraine-Quiche worked for 20 years as Neil Gaiman’s Assistant before deciding to go back to Skool and get AODA/Spanish/English/Librarian Assoc/BA/Masters degree thing. She and Neil remain best friends, Skool is wonderful fun except for the whole wearing pants thing and she’s still funny as hell.

Visit Lorraine on her website, friend her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Bio: Lego LojoLojo Russo has been orbiting the ‘Con biospheres since her first days in the awesomely, classic-jam-rock quintet known as, ‘Cats Laughing’.  Three of the original members of ‘Cats Laughing’ – Emma Bull, Steven Brust and Adam Stemple – are best known for their wonderfully crafted SF/F novels. A fourth member wrote ‘blue novels’ under the pseudonym, “Anonymous”. Russo retains the dubious distinction of being the only non-published author of that group.

Somewhere along this timeline she also fell in with the Fabulous Lorraine and has remained both friend and confidant as well as one part of the peculiarly remarkable twosome, Mogg. (aka; Moggenahf, Mogguffaw, the “other” Flashgirls)

From those humble beginnings Lojo Russo has continued to provide soulful, fanciful and farcical music to her enduring fan.  Her novelty album, Sweet Tooth, contains the ‘Con-inspired hits, ‘Orbital Groove’ and ‘Blame It On the Jello’.  She enjoys long walks on the beach, the smell of Hi-Karate and the way bandaid packets spark when you open them.

Visit Lojo on her website, friend her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Lorraine’s & Lojo’s Schedule at Boskone:

Friday 6:00 PM
A Cataclysm of Cats! Redux
Lorraine Garland, Esther Friesner, Bruce Coville, Steve Davidson (M)
Harbor III · 60 min · Panel
Some suspect that cats (instead of dinosaurs, space cowboys, pirates, or even aliens) are taking over the world. To avert this pending kitty conquest, our panelists hatch some clever plots that just may save us from the ascendency of our feline overlords. While they’re at it, they’ll also discuss how our furry friends are used for the good of all in SF/F writing. Or is this really just subterfuge? Meow …

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Friday 9:00 PM
Featured Filkers Concert: The Fabulous Lorraine & Lojo Russo
Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo
Marina 1 · 60 min · Event
The Fabulous Lorraine (aka Quiche Me Deadly) and Lojo Russo, longtime friends and coconspirators, have come to Boskone to entertain us with their fanciful and farcical music — which has yet to disappoint anyone, including themselves.

Saturday 11:30 AM
Reading by Lorraine Garland
Lorraine Garland
Griffin · 60 min · Reading

Saturday 1:00 PM
Song Writing With Featured Filkers Lorraine Garland & Lojo Russo (Kids Only)
Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo
Galleria · 60 min · Children – DragonsLair

Saturday 3:00 PM
Song Sequitur
Benjamin Newman, Roberta Rogow, Gary Ehrlich, Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland
Lewis · 60 min · Filk
Join our panel of performers for this impromptu round robin, where every song must “follow” the previous song … somehow.

Saturday 5:00 PM
Great Ghost Stories
Lojo Russo, E.J. Stevens, Gillian Daniels (M), Rob Greene, Paul Tremblay
Harbor III · 60 min · Panel
We’ll look for and at the best stories that take place on the fringe: stories in which the living and the dead intersect, bringing out the drama, tension, and atmosphere that are the hallmarks of a well-told ghost story. (One darkly shining exemplar: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.) Join us for an unsettling discussion of what makes a good ghost story great, and why some tales become enduring classics while others … don’t.

Saturday 8:00 PM
Lojo & Lorraine: Making Music
Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland
Harbor II+III · 30 min · Event
Join Boskone’s Featured Filkers Lorraine Garland and Lojo Russo for a short concert that kicks off our Saturday night programming with a bang!

Saturday 9:00 PM
The Play’s The Thing!
Laurie Mann (M), Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland, David G. Grubbs, Erin Underwood (M), Jane Yolen, Bruce Coville, David Anthony Durham, Darlene Marshall
Harbor II+III · 90 min · Event
Boskone’s theatrical extravaganza features a live reading of a faux-Shakespearean play that is based upon an Empire far, far away that has striketh back against an intrepid group of friends who are “forced” to confront the dark side. There will be capes and a lighted saber (or two) and shenanigans to entertain audiences of all ages!

Sunday 10:00 AM
Autographing: Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Trisha Wooldridge, Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen, Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland, Trisha Wooldridge
Galleria · 60 min · Autographing

Sunday 12:00 NOON
The Princess Bride Then, Now, & Tomorrow
Dan Moren (M), Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Lojo Russo, Ginjer Buchanan
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Compared to today’s film standards, The Princess Bride’s lack of diversity is apparent and the female roles aren’t nearly as strong as their male counterparts. But it’s a classic and continues to be loved by people of all ages, sexes, and races. There is something about this film that we key into as story-lovers that continues to keep The Princess Bride on our “favorites” list. Why do we love it? Why have these characters stayed with us for so long? What parts of the movie may have failed us over time? Do we think this will remain a classic 10, 20, or even 50 years from now?
30th Anniversary: The Pricess Bride (film)

Sunday 1:00 PM
Kaffeeklatsch: Lojo Russo and Lorraine Garland
Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland
Harbor I · 60 min · Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 2:00 PM
Cat Songs Sing-Along
Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Gary Ehrlich
Lewis · 60 min · Filk
Come sing along to some of our favorite filk and folk songs about cats! Lyrics will be projected.

~

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

Boskone is widely known for its spectacular speculative fiction art show. Every year, artists from all over the country, some from across the sea, come to Boston in the dead of winter to show their art in the Boskone Art Show, participate in panels, to see who wins the Gaughan Award, and to visit with their friends and other art enthusiasts.

This year’s Art Show will showcase original works by Official Artist Dave Seeley as well as dozens of artists from  New England and beyond. The Art Show will have 100 panels, plus about a dozen tables for 3-D work. For an up-to-date listing of confirmed artists, please visit Boskone’s Artists/Art Resellers page.

For those interested in taking a piece of original art home, the Art Show hosts a silent auction which runs throughout the weekend, closing at noon on Sunday. Winning bids and art show sales occur from 1-3pm on Sunday.

---

Boskone’s Official Artist: Dave Seeley

Official Artist Dave Seeley shares a sneak peek for his upcoming exhibit as Boskone. Why summarize or write something from scratch when Dave says it so well? Here’s the text from Dave Seeley’s Facebook post.

Here’s my preliminary art show layout for my Art Guest of Honor appearance at Boskone 54 at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel in two short weeks = February 17-19. Each row represents an art show bay of three 4′ tall x 6′ long panels in a U shape plan. The third row is an endcap with two of those panels side by side. The last two rows are print shop bays in U again. If you’re a collector and want to see a particular original at the show, I’d be happy to bring it along, no strings attached (just hanging wire). Check here for available paintings: http://www.daveseeley.com/p245060177

Thanks to Erin Underwood and Gay Ellen Dennett for having me at the show… fun to be the Goh at my home town Con. Feels like graduation?

I’ll be doing programming at the Con, including a Saturday 2 hour demo on using SketchUp for 2D SF&F artists, at 10am… (here’s a gallery of images utilizing Sketchup = http://www.daveseeley.com/p522028751) …and then a Sunday talk about The Art of Dave Seeley, the monograph, the art, and whatever peeps attending WANT to talk about. More informal coffee table chat at 2pm.

Bill Niemeyer is screening his Documentary = Art of the Fantastic on Saturday at 2pm, and there will be a Q and A panel immediately following! Hope to see all my peeps at the show!!!

Come see the work of, and meet the Artbuds Michael Raymond Whelan, Bob Eggleton, Marianne Plumridge, Rick Berry, Greg Manchess, Irene Gallo, Alan Beck, Jim Zaccaria, Ruth Sanderson, Wendy Snow-Lang, Omar Rayyan, Sheila Rayyan, Carly Janine Mazur, Max Martelli, Gary A. Lippincott, Tom Kidd, Ingrid Kallick, Linda Graves, Kirbi Fagan, Vincent Di Fate, Kristina Carroll, Scott Bakal, and Armand Cabrera.

Ping me if I missed you on this link-o-rama…

Not sure if Scott Grimando knows he’s coming yet, but he….will. But I’ll be a mess, because I want to have a beer with every one of em…

---

The Art Show & Art Programming

Boskone’s Art programming includes a wide variety of panels, demos, and discussions. You can even check out Marianne Plumridge-Eggleton doing a live painting in the Artists Corner of the Galleria on Saturday, February 19th from 10:30-4:00 pm.

We also have a selection of programming highlights A few art program highlights for art fans and enthusiasts to enjoy!

Friday 6:00 PM
The Art of Panel-Based Storytelling
Brianna Spacekat Wu (M), Jon Hunt, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple
Marina 3 · 60 min · Panel
You may know what a comic book is, but what’s a storyboard? Are they as similar as they seem? Do these two panel-based storytelling art forms overlap or clash? What kind of training can you find for either? Panelists discuss what it takes to relate a story in each medium. Here’s your chance to find out how to dip your pens into the comic book and/or storyboarding professions.

Friday 8:15 PM
Boskone 54 Reception & Opening Ceremony
Milton Davis, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Ken MacLeod, Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, David G. Grubbs (M), Erin Underwood (M), Gay Ellen Dennett (M)
Galleria – Art Show · 105 min · Event
Connoisseurs and philistines alike: welcome to the Boskone Art Show! Join us in the Galleria for an upscale social mixer. Meet our program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Friday 10:00 PM
Pictionary with the Pros
Bob Kuhn (M), E. C. Ambrose, Erin M. Hartshorn
Burroughs · 60 min · Panel
They can write, but can they draw? They can paint, but how quickly can they convey an idea? Come with your examples of speculative fiction works (books, movies, TV shows, etc.) for our two teams of pros (writers, artists, secret-masters-of-fandom … ) to attempt to convey in drawings — without symbols from any lexical system (no heiroglyphs, Chinese characters, dollar signs), and faster than their opponents.
Write down your ideas and hand them to the MC, who might also insert fiendish ones of his own.

Saturday 10:00 AM
SketchUp as a Tool for 2-D Artists: Art Demo by Official Artist Dave Seeley
Dave Seeley
Marina 1 · 120 min · Demonstration
Dave Seeley incorporates a variety of tools and methods in his work. Using the free software SketchUp, Boskone’s Official Artist shares how he builds and renders artistic elements within his 2-D illustrations.

Saturday 12:00 NOON
What Inspires the Artist?
Rick Berry, Tom Kidd, Vincent Di Fate, Ingrid Kallick, William H. Niemeyer (M)
Marina 1 · 60 min · Panel
Our artists shine light on the inspiration behind the fantastic worlds they and their peers create. Learn about their artistic influences, imagery, and styles. They’ll talk about the people, art, events, etc., that inspired them as artists — and how those inspirations helped them to grow and branch out into trying new things. Do artistic trends emerge from common inspiration? How do one’s own art and style evolve?

Saturday 1:00 PM
Sketching With Charcoal: Art Demo by Kristina Carroll
Kristina Carroll
Marina 1 · 60 min · Demonstration
Award-winning illustrator and artist Kristina Carroll demonstrates the use of charcoal and the mastery of black-and-white imagery.

Saturday 2:00 PM
Art of the Fantastic: A Journey Into Creation (Documentary)
William H. Niemeyer (M)
Harbor II · 60 min · Film/TV/Media
Join us for a special viewing of Art of the Fantastic, by writer/director William Niemeyer. This artful documentary focuses on imaginative realism: its creative process, historic importance, and widespread influence. The film also covers the influences on imaginative realism itself, from the caves of Lascaux, to the likes of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, and through the centuries to more contemporary artists of the genre including Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Michael Whelan, Bob Eggleton, Donato Giancola, and Dave Seeley, just to mention a few. (Followed by a live panel discussion.)

Saturday 3:00 PM
After Art of the Fantastic: A Journey Into Creation (Discussion)
William H. Niemeyer (M), Alan F. Beck, Bob Eggleton, Dave Seeley
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Following the viewing of William Niemeyer’s documentary, several of Boskone’s artists join us for an in-depth discussion of fantastic art — touching on the themes, artists, and art history covered in the film.

Saturday 3:00 PM
Discussing Painting Techniques
Tom Kidd, Ingrid Kallick, Vincent Di Fate (M), Kristina Carroll, Michael Whelan
Marina 1 · 60 min · Panel
How are different media and styles of painting utilized? Which are most appropriate for what uses? How does working with oils differ (in terms of product, how it is approached, and how the artist actually feels about the work) from acrylics, watercolors, and so on? The panel may discuss painting on paper or canvas … or even on panel.

Saturday 5:00 PM
Creativity and Cognition: Let Art Think
Rick Berry
Burroughs · 60 min · Solo Talk
Award winning artist, Rick Berry is internationally recognized for his powerful “expressionist figurative” works. Blending mythic and visionary themes, his art provokes narrative. Berry has produced countless covers for books, comics, games and is credited with the first digital painting for a novel worldwide, Neuromancer by W. Gibson. Berry’s oil paintings are in collections of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and George R.R. Martin. Executed without preliminary drawings or references, his unique process is based on cognitive science. Berry “uses art to think”; and shares how one can foment creativity for any endeavor.

Saturday 5:00 PM
Using Watercolors: Art Demo by Alan F. Beck
Alan F. Beck
Marina 1 · 60 min · Demonstration
Artist Alan F. Beck shares tips and techniques associated with handling watercolors while doing a live demo — featuring a new fantasy mouse portrait!

Sunday 9:30 AM
Oils and Brushes: Art Demo by Bob Eggleton
Bob Eggleton
Marina 1 · 90 min · Demonstration
Here be dragons! Hugo Award-winning artist Bob Eggleton gives a live painting demonstration.

Sunday 10:00 AM
Kids’ Tour of the Art Show
Dave Seeley, Persis Thorndike
Galleria · 60 min · Children – DragonsLair

Sunday 11:00 AM
Official Artist Presentation: The Long Journey to The Art of Dave Seeley
Dave Seeley
Harbor III · 60 min · Solo Talk
Dave promises to tell us, “a story of how disparate contacts and planting seeds along the way, not a popularity contest, eventually led to the publication of my art monograph.” Although the resulting big, beautiful 2014 book is pretty popular around these parts …

Sunday 11:00 AM
Entering the Speculative Fiction Art World
Ingrid Kallick, Kirbi Fagan, Tom Kidd, Brianna Spacekat Wu (M), Michael Whelan
Marina 2 · 60 min · Panel
New to the SF/F/H art world? Looking to work as an illustrator for books, magazines, comics, or the web? Our artistic panelists share their experiences as well as their advice on breaking into the genre — from building a portfolio to making sales, and everything in between.

---

100 Years of Black and White SF&F Illustration
by Joe Siclari & Edie Stern

When we think of science fiction and fantasy art, we normally remember the beautiful covers that we see on books, magazines, posters and calendars. Too often, the art inside these publications is ignored. The interior illustrations can be elegant in their style and imagination; a simple line drawing can be exquisite in its execution.

In this year’s Boskone art exhibit, we aim to provide a representative sampling of science fiction and fantasy illustration from both genre and non-genre sources. Ranging from comic strips to advertising, from children’s literature to horror, from the everyday working artist to some of the most celebrated of the field, the exhibit will cover every decade since 1900.

At Boskone 54, the black and white art on display will feature a wide variety of styles and subjects. Artists represented will include: Rick Berry, Hannes Bok, Chesley Bonestell, Thomas Canty, Edd Cartier, Vincent Di Fate, Leo & Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Ed Emsh, Virgil Finlay, Kelly Freas, Mel Hunter, Greg Manchess, John Picacio, Frank R. Paul, Hubert Rogers, J. Allen St. John, John Schoenherr, Lawrence Sterne Stevens, Wally Wood and dozens of additional artists, both classic and modern.

Join us as we explore the last 100 years of black and white illustration, which we’ll see (as always) through the collections of local artists and enthusiasts.

---

Special Preview Exhibit of The Golden Key

Award-winning artist Ruth Sanderson brings George MacDonald’s beloved classic children’s fairytale to life with her exquisite black and white illustrations.

This year, Boskone’s Art Show offers an artistic treat for art lovers of all ages. Come view our special preview featuring some of Ruth Sanderson’s art from this exciting new edition of The Golden Key.

---

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

 

Boskone 54’s Science Speaker Milton Davis is coming to Boskone to talk chemisty, science fiction, fantasy, writing, and much more! Help us give Milton a warm Boston welcome as it’s likely to be a little cooler here than back home in Atlanta.

Bio: Milton Davis is currently a Research and Development Chemist for Chemtronics, a company specializing in chemicals and coating used for reworking and repairing circuit boards. Milton has been a research chemist for over thirty years specializing in polymer coatings. He is a 1983 cum laude graduate from Fort Valley State University with a B.S. Degree in Pure Chemistry with a Math Minor. Milton has utilized his skill to develop polymer compounds for the textile, janitorial, and computer industry. In 2004, Milton received a U.S. patent for his Cleaning Solvent and dispenser pen designed to remove conformal coatings and adhesives from circuit boards and other electrical equipment.

In addition to being a research chemist, Milton Davis is a speculative fiction writer and owner of MVmedia, LLC, a micro publishing company specializing in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Sword and Soul. MVmedia’s mission is to provide speculative fiction books that represent people of color in a positive manner. Milton is the author of Changa’s Safari Volumes One, Two and Three. His most recent releases are Woman of the Woods and Amber and the Hidden City. He is co-editor of four anthologies; Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology and Griot: Sisters of the Spear, with Charles R. Saunders; The Ki Khanga Anthology with Balogun Ojetade and the Steamfunk! Anthology, also with Balogun Ojetade. Milton Davis and Balogun Ojetade recently received the Best Screenplay Award for 2014 from the Urban Action Showcase for their African martial arts script, Ngolo. His current projects include The City, a cyberfunk anthology, Dark Universe, a space opera anthology based on a galactic empire ruled by people of African American descent, and From Here to Timbuktu, a steamfunk novel.

Milton resides in Metro Atlanta with his wife Vickie and his children Brandon and Alana.

Visit Milton on his website, friend him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter.

Milton’s Schedule at Boskone:

Friday 5:00 PM (free to public)
Autographing: Brandon Sanderson, Milton Davis
Brandon Sanderson, Milton Davis
Galleria · 60 min · Autographing

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Saturday 12:00 NOON
Fiction From Abroad
Robert J. Sawyer (M), Ken MacLeod, John Chu, Milton Davis
Marina 3 · 60 min · Panel
International fiction is a wonderful thing! Let’s celebrate some of the great genre fiction being written beyond the borders of the United States. What should we be reading? What do we want more of? And … where can we get it?

Saturday 2:00 PM
Afrofuturism in Speculative Fiction
Errick Nunnally, Christine Taylor-Butler, William Hayashi (M), Milton Davis
Marina 2 · 60 min · Panel
The New York Times defines it as a “social, political, and cultural genre that projects black space voyagers, warriors, and their heroic like into a fantasy landscape.” Rihanna and Beyonce are onboard; so, it seems, are the Black Panther and the newest wearer of Iron Man’s mantle. However, Nnedi Okorafor says, ““I understand the uses of it, but I do not consider myself an Afrofuturist.” Let’s briefly discuss the labels, then move on to the literature. What are its origins? What recent work shouldn’t be missed? How is Afrofuturism influencing science fiction, fantasy, and horror today?

Saturday 4:00 PM
“Chemistry Is Everything” — Science Speaker Presentation by Milton Davis
Milton Davis
Harbor II · 60 min · Solo Talk
Milton Davis, Boskone 54’s Science Guest, talks chemistry. What is it? Why is it important? Why is chemistry, well, everything? From polymers to global warming, the magic of chemistry binds matter together — or breaks it apart. Milton dives into fundamentals as well as specifics, with a special focus on acrylic polymer chemistry … A research and development chemist who’s specialized in acrylic polymer coatings for 30 years, Milton Davis is an industry expert in floor finish technologies, and holds a patent in electronic circuit board cleaning technology.

Saturday 5:00 PM
Kaffeeklatsch: Milton Davis
Milton Davis
Harbor I · 60 min · Kaffeeklatsch

Saturday 6:30 PM
Boskone Book Party
Galleria – Stage · 60 min · Event
Join us for Boskone’s Book Party! See what’s just out from authors you love, and discover new favorites. The book party will include E. C. Ambrose ( Elaine Isaak ), Neil Clarke, LJ Cohen, Milton Davis, Grady Hendrix, Carlos Hernandez, Jeremy Flagg, Kristin Janz, Hillary Monahan, Cerece Rennie Murphy, Ian Randal Strock, Christine Taylor-Butler, and more!

Saturday 8:00 PM
Open Mic: Villains!
Kenneth Schneyer (M), Linda Addison (M), C. S. E. Cooney, Kate Baker, Milton Davis, Ada Palmer, Vincent O’Neil, Don Pizarro, Tom Kidd, Julie C. Day, Emma Caywood
Galleria · 90 min · Event
Live from Boskone … enjoy the unsavory stylings of our program participants and audience members. They share their open mic skills in the second annual Boskone Open Mic, which this year features our favorite fictitious villains! Each person gives his/her best 5-minute villainous performance — story, poem, song, skit, interpretive dance, or whatever!

Sunday 10:00 AM
Chemistry: Spec Fic’s Critical Compound
Milton Davis, Kristin Janz, Mark L. Olson (M), Justine Graykin, Steven Popkes
Marina 2 · 60 min · Panel
It’s got a long history within speculative fiction, but it’s often overshadowed by biology, physics, and astronomy. From transmutating metals to creating fuels, gunpowder, poisons, and (in The Martian) oxygen, chemistry is often the unsung science of our genres. We’ll discuss chemistry’s practical aspects, and how they are successfully applied within a story. We’ll also look at a few bang-up examples where the science went wrong …

Sunday 12:00 NOON
Mythologies of the World
Ken Altabef, Ada Palmer (M), Max Gladstone, Milton Davis, Peter Muise
Burroughs · 60 min · Panel
From the Norse to the Inuit, cultures around the world have developed complex and intricate mythologies. How have those mythologies found new life in modern fiction? How do authors like Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan and others incorporate myths and mythological creatures into their work while honoring the originals?

Sunday 2:00 PM
Reading by Milton Davis
Milton Davis
Griffin · 30 min · Reading

~

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

We are very excited to bring your Boskone 54’s Guest of Honor, Brandon Sanderson. It has been an honor to work with him and his staff over the last several months as we pulled the schedule together, and we hope you will all enjoy what we have in store.

Please help us welcome Brandon to Boston and to Boskone, showing him the best of what Boston fandom has to offer.

Bio: Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. By junior high he had lost interest in the novels suggested to him, and he never cracked a book if he could help it. Then an eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Reader, gave him Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly.

Brandon was finishing his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written. In 2005 Brandon held his first published novel, Elantris, in his hands. Tor also published six books in Brandon’s Mistborn series, the most recent being The Bands of Mourning, along with Warbreaker and then The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, the first two in the planned ten-volume series The Stormlight Archive. Brandon was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series; the final book, A Memory of Light, was released in 2013—the year that his novella The Emperor’s Soul won a Hugo Award. That year also marked the releases of YA novels The Rithmatist from Tor Teen and Steelheart, the first book in the Reckoners trilogy from Delacorte, which concluded in 2016 with Calamity. The fifth book in his middle-grade Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series is also a 2016 release from Starscape (Tom Doherty Associates).

Currently living in Utah with his wife and children, Brandon teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. He also hosts the Hugo Award-winning writing advice podcast Writing Excuses with Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells.

Learn more about Brandon Sanderson by visiting his website or following him on Facebook and Twitter.

Brandon’s Schedule at Boskone:

Friday 3:00 PM (free to public)
My Toughest Book
Brandon Sanderson, Charles Stross, Walter Jon Williams, Darlene Marshall (M), Allen M. Steele
Burroughs · 60 min · Panel
What makes a book difficult to write, or difficult to write well? Is ignorance of the subject matter a barrier? Is knowing too much? We’re always told to “write what you know, ” but can this be a trap? How about troubles with plot, character, dialog, or pacing? Our panel of authors recall which of their works had the most arduous gestation.

Friday 5:00 PM (free to public)
Autographing: Brandon Sanderson, Milton Davis
Brandon Sanderson, Milton Davis
Galleria · 60 min · Autographing

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Saturday 11:00 AM
Mistborn: House War Game Demo
Joshua Bilmes, Brandon Sanderson
Harbor I · 60 min · Gaming
Game on! A semi-cooperative resource-management game, Mistborn: House War is set during the events of Mistborn: The Final Empire, the first novel in the bestselling fantasy series by Boskone Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson. Join agent Joshua Bilmes for an early look at this exciting new board game — launching this spring!

Saturday 1:00 PM
Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson: Building a Career
Brandon Sanderson, Joshua Bilmes, Moshe Feder
Harbor III · 60 min · Dialog
Even a prodigiously talented author doesn’t become a success alone, or overnight. Boskone 54’s Guest of Honor, Brandon Sanderson; his agent, Joshua Bilmes; and his editor, Moshe Feder, discuss how they have worked together to sculpt and craft the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, “Brandon Sanderson,” that we know today. All three luminaries share their stories of navigating the shoals of the publishing world as they built friendships and careers within the speculative fiction industry.

Saturday 4:00 PM
Boskone Book Club: The Rithmatist
Bob Kuhn (M), Brandon Sanderson
Marina 4 · 60 min · Discussion Group
The Boskone Book Club continues! Join us for a conversation that brings con-goers together to consider one noteworthy work at length. This year we are reading The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson (our Guest of Honor). Boskone’s own Bob Kuhn will lead the discussion; Brandon Sanderson will join the group halfway through for a Q&A. To participate, please read the book and come ready with your observations on style, plot, character, setting, vision, geometry?

Sunday 12:00 NOON
Reading and Q&A with Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson
Harbor III · 60 min · Reading
Boskone Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson reads a short selection of his work and answers questions from the audience.

Sunday 1:00 PM
Autographing: John Langan, Brandon Sanderson, Robert J. Sawyer, Dave Seeley
Robert J. Sawyer, Brandon Sanderson, John Langan, Dave Seeley
Galleria · 60 min · Autographing

~

Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

Happy Friday, Boskone fans! We’re only a few weeks away from this year’s convention and it’s going to be a treat! Get in the mood by catching up with our new group of mini interviews.

Kate Baker

Kate Baker is the Podcast Director and Non-fiction Editor for Clarkesworld Magazine. She has been very privileged to narrate over 350 short stories/poems by some of the biggest names in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Since joining the Clarkesworld staff in 2009, she has narrated over 300 stories (1 Million+ words) and the Clarkesworld Podcast has been downloaded over 2 million times. She has been nominated for a Parsec Award, and a World Fantasy Award.

Kate won the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine in 2011 and 2013, the British Fantasy Award for Best Magazine in 2014 and the World Fantasy Award for Special Award: Non Professional in 2014 alongside the wonderfully talented editorial staff of Clarkesworld Magazine. Kate has also read for various other audio venues such as The Dark, StarShipSofa, Escape Pod, Nightmare Magazine, Mash Stories, The Drabblecast and Cast of Wonders. Kate is currently situated in Northern Connecticut with her first fans; her wonderful children. She is currently working as the Director of Operations for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Find Kate online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

I’ve been to a lot of conventions in my life, but it was really Boskone that pulled me into this particular community. I had dressed up as Dana Scully and attended an X-Files convention when I was a teenager and went to a few Star Trek conventions too, but Boskone is where I really fell in love with consuming all sorts of science fiction and fantasy again. The programming has always been engaging and the whole convention is really well-run.

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

I don’t believe in that one, magical defining moment. We are the sum of all them. From making a choice to join a popular MMO and meet a future best friend, recording their short story effectively launching this narration career, to reaching out to a few favorite authors and professionals for advice–I do notice a trend. These moments tend to happen when I took a deep breath and jumped in despite being nervous or afraid.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Aside from my narration work for Clarkesworld Magazine, I’ve jumped back into writing again. I sold my first qualifying story a few months ago with publication imminent and have several others that I’m going to release onto the world. I’m truly excited because I believe that skills translate across many professions. My time as a narrator has helped me be a better writer in terms of flow, plot, and structure.

 

Ada Palmer

Ada Palmer’s first science fiction novel Too Like the Lightning (volume 1 of Terra Ignota, from Tor Books) explores how humanity’s cultural and historical legacies might evolve in a future of borderless nations and globally commixing populations. Its sequel Seven Surrenders comes out a few days after Boskone, so there are hopefully copies in the dealer’s room.

 

Ada teaches in the University of Chicago History Department, studying the Renaissance, Enlightenment, classical reception, the history of books, publication and reading, and the history of philosophy, heresy, science and atheism, and is the author of Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance (Harvard University Press). She often researches in Italy, usually in Florence or at the Vatican. She composes fantasy, SF and mythology-themed music, including the Viking mythology musical stage play Sundown: Whispers of Ragnarok (available on CD and DVD), and often performs at conventions with her vocal group Sassafrass. She also researches anime/manga, especially Osamu Tezuka, early post-WWII manga and gender in manga, and worked as a consultant for many anime and manga publishers. She blogs for Tor.com, and writes the philosophy & travel blog ExUrbe.com. Find Ada online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

The incredible gathering of authors, editors, publishers and other professionals that come every year. So many amazing industry people come to Boskone, I would say that only Readercon and Worldcon itself can rival it as places to hear groups of people with their fingers on the pulse of the industry talk about the latest trends, themes and ideas. Even the conversations that happen in the lobby are often more exciting than panels at many other cons!

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

I was 16, squatting on the floor of the library going through the complete works of Freud. We had just read Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents in class, and I read about his concept of the “Death Instinct” and remembered thinking about a documentary I’d seen about WWI and it felt to me like he wouldn’t have had such an idea before WWI. So I went to his complete works and searched and searched the pre-WWI stuff and, indeed, the “Death Instinct” wasn’t there. It was the first time I had really seen how events influence ideas, how even the most important fundamental concepts that we all depend on in daily thought have a history, and came into being, not out of raw speculation, but because of specific historical events influencing specific people. That was the beginning of my fascination with the history of how events and ideas shape each other, which came to be both why I became a historian, and how I go about my world building, thinking about what the major concepts of the world are and what events must have happened to shape them that way.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Rock Holmes (aka. Makube Rokuro), a character from the works of God of Manga by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka’s universe has a modified Buddhist reincarnation-based metaphysics, so he has his characters reincarnate in different stories, so the actions of one have karmic consequences in another. Rock appeared in more than 90 different Tezuka stories, from “Astro Boy” to “Phoenix” and “Black Jack” and over the course of them Tezuka creates an amazing series of parallel lives in which Rock comes face-to-face with the cruelty of the metaphysics and has to choose whether to try to rebel against it. It’s an amazingly intricate structure for a multi-story story, and once you have seen ten or so versions of Rock his story is so powerful that sometimes Tezuka can have him appear only in a single panel and you can fill in the whole rest of his life before and after that moment from your knowledge of his character. It’s an amazingly trusting kind of storytelling, working with the reader’s knowledge and memory, very unlike anything else I’ve seen done with reincarnation or multiple versions of a character. And I LOVE metaphysics, the more the better!

 

Victoria Sandbrook

Victoria Sandbrook is a fantasy writer, freelance editor, and Viable Paradise XVIII graduate. Her first story appeared in the anthology, Swords & Steam Short Stories (Flame Tree Publications, 2016). She is an avid hiker, sometimes knitter, long-form talker, and initiate baker. She is often found loitering around libraries, checking out anything from picture books to monographs. She spends most of her days attempting to wrangle a ferocious, destructive, jubilant tiny human.

Victoria, her husband, and their daughter live in Brockton, Massachusetts. She reviews books and shares writerly nonsense at victoriasandbrook.com and on Twitter at @vsandbrook.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

Boskone has always been the place where my family, friends, and passion intersect, and because of that the conversations–on panels and elsewhere–are what keeps me coming back. There are very few times of the year when I can talk the latest Netflix binge, out-of-print pulp fiction, this year’s award nominees, and how my writing sprints went last week all at once. And there are equally few times during which I see most of my local writer friends, fellow workshop alums, authors and editors I admire, and my family all in the same space. It’s like my geek version of the perfect, 3-day long dinner party.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’ve got a few short projects in the works, but the big thing I’m tackling is my novel in progress, a gaslamp fantasy novel set in an alternate 1869 New Hampshire. Botany, fairies, steampunk tech, and Mount Washington. I think the challenges of this book have been the high points, really. My main character is a scientist who finds out that fairies are real: that alone makes it much different than the fantasy novel I set out to write. But I’ve also had to do my homework. I’ve researched everything from Abenaki history, language, and culture to cell biology to early 19th-century botany and patents. This isn’t a book I’ve wanted to do half measure, so even the tough spots have had their own value.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

There are so many books and series I wish I’d gotten to when I had the time to do nothing but read. But I think Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle would have been the one that I’d have gushed over most unabashedly. As it stands, I didn’t read it until after I’d been introduced to the movie in my early twenties (though it’s never too late to enjoy either version of that world, IMHO). I think seeing Sophie’s version of reluctant heroism would have inspired me as a reader and as a young writer. And I would have found a whole vein of fantasy books that I didn’t discover until much later. And, admittedly, I’d have had the biggest crush on Howl…

The Flash Fiction Slam is back! The Boskone Flash Fiction Slam is fast becoming a Boskone staple and you don’t want to miss out!  Be one of the 11 writers to dazzle the judges and the audience with an original story that can be read in under 3 minutes.

 

 

Sign up in advance for one of eight (8) reading slots on a first-come, first-served basis via this online form. Please put “Flash Fiction Slam” in your email’s subject line. To secure one of the remaining three (3) slots, sign-up onsite at Program Ops in the Galleria additional openings. A waiting list will also be available.

 

Judges

• James Patrick Kelly
• Bruce Coville
• Leigh Perry ( Toni L. P. Kelner )
• Dana Cameron

Moderated by Rob Greene

Flash Fiction Slam

• Day: Sunday
• Time: 9:30-10:50 a.m.
• Room:  Marina 4