Category: familiar

name tag and lanyard

My first appearances of 2026 have been scheduled! Some of these are still preliminary and may change, but I wanted to get them out in time to share in my January newsletter.

At Arisa 2026 (January 16-19), I am scheduled to moderate one panel and serve on four others:

Manga 101: Introduction to Japanese Comics
Kendall Square Saturday, January 17, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Don’t Know Much About Geography–But You Should!
Porter Square A Saturday, January 17, 2026, 5:30 PM EST

Artist, Craftsperson, Maker, Crafter, Hacker – What’s in a Name?
Central Square Saturday, January 17, 2026, 6:45 PM EST

Your Fat Friends
Porter Square A Sunday, January 18, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Isekai 101: Surviving Your Time In Another World (moderator)
Harvard Square Monday, January 19, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

There is still a chance I will get an opportunity to read at Arisia. The schedule is still being finalized.

On January 31, I have been selected to read from A Familiar Problem at the Straw Dog Writers Guild Author Showcase at 4pm at the Forbes Library in Northampton. I will also be bringing copies of my books to sell!

Later in the year, I’m tentatively planning to attend Watch City, the Nebula Conference, and Readercon again. I’m also proposing myself to be a participant at Worldcon. I’ll post further updates as we get closer!

name tag and lanyard

Back in July, I pitched a panel for LOSCon. It turns out that my panel was accepted! On Saturday, I will moderate a group of panelists to discuss Poetry and Songs in Speculative Fiction. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve got some idea for questions. I reached out to the panelists, but haven’t gotten much back yet. I think it will be easy to talk almost endlessly about the theme. It’s a fascinating topic.

On Friday, I will be a panelist discussing Biology in Science Fiction and Real Space. I was nicely prepped for this one by the recent presentation on Worldbuilding 101 by James Cambias. And, of course, if you stick a microphone in front of me to talk about biology, I can babble endlessly.

On Sunday, Developing a Creative Habit. This is kind of a funny topic for me, since my pitch is really the anti-habit. I wanted to talk about how, while many authors love to develop a habit to be productive, I would rather just let my creativity happen randomly. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t.

My publisher is going to have a table in the dealer room. My new book, A Familiar Problem, is scheduled to come out Dec 9, 2025 — too late for the convention. But there’s a chance a few copies will arrive in time. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

I usually suck at meeting people at conventions. But I’m going to make a particular effort to meet people involved with organizing the coming Worldcon in Los Angeles. Or, rather, Anaheim. Wish me luck!