It’s that time of the year again. Time to dust off the lanyard and hoist the black flag, because we’re going to Libertycon! (probably)

This year’s schedule is packed. I’m busy from the moment the con opens at 1:00PM Friday afternoon until closing ceremonies on Sunday. I will be out and about like a madman and hopefully will be able to see everyone I plan on seeing.

If you see Chris Smith and I with out heads together talking and taking notes, please leave us be. We have a book due soon and, uh, we kinda sorta have a rough outline. Of the third act.

Without further ado, here is my schedule for Libertycon XXXI. My comments and personal feelings follow in italics for those of you here for the first time.

 

Fri           01:00PM             Black Tide Rising Roundtable

Come join John Ringo and his motley crew of authors for their roundtable on the Black Tide Rising anthology. Will be followed by a mass autograph session. Gary Poole, Mod.

Location: Ballroom F

Jason Cordova

Kacey Ezell

Eric Flint

Robert E. Hampson

Sarah A. Hoyt

Mike Massa

Jody Lynn Nye

Gary Poole

John Ringo

Chris Smith

Michael Z. Williamson

(90 min)

Fri           02:30PM             Black Tide Rising Mass Autograph Session

Black Tide Rising Mass Autograph Session immediately following the Roundtable

***Me: This is an easy one to describe. The Black Tide Rising universe is still one of the more popular creations by John Ringo. It’s not at the selling level of Ghost or his Prince Roger series but it’s still very well done. We’ll be talking about a lot of stuff including just what is in the pipeline for John and Mike Massa.

Fri           03:00PM             The Resurgence of SF in YA Fiction

Jason Cordova moderates this discussion exploring how science fiction is making a comeback in young adult literature.

Location: Meeting Room 8

Michael J. Allen

Jason Cordova

Stephen J. Simmons

David M. Weber

(60 min)

**Me: be afraid, for they put me in charge of a panel. In all realities, I asked for this panel because with the rise of Ready Player One and the arrival of LitRPG it only makes sense to talk about the rise of SF in young adult. 

 

Fri           05:00PM             Opening Ceremonies

Opportunity to meet the LibertyCon Guests and Staff

Location: Ballroom

(60 min)

**Me: will they boo me? Cheer me? Shoot me with NERF guns? That last one was oddly specific…

 

Fri           07:00PM             What’s New From Copper Dog Publishing

Publisher Michael Hanson and his authors talk about what’s new this year from Copper Dog Publishing / Moondream Press, the folks that bring you the Sha’Daa series.

Location: Ballroom F

Lou Antonelli

Jeff Barnes

Paul Barrett

Joseph Capdepon II

Rachel Cates

Jason Cordova

Kacey Ezell

Rich Groller

Michael H. Hanson

Robby Hilliard

Cecilia Star Kachina

Dina Leacock

Terry Maggert

Edward McKeown

William Joseph Roberts

Benjamin Tyler Smith

Chris Smith

Marisa Wolf

(60 min)

**Me: I hate competing against panels where you KNOW everyone else is going to be at.

 

Fri           08:00PM             Author’s Alley

Come by the Author’s Alley to chat, buy a book or get an autograph!

Author’s Alley (M: Plaza Ballroom Mezzanine)

Michael J. Allen

Brett Brooks

Jason Cordova

Rob Howell

Rich Weyand

(60 min)

**Me: still competing against a massive popular panel. Oh well, at least I get to make fun of Rob for a bit.

Fri           09:00PM             Author’s Alley

Come by the Author’s Alley to chat, buy a book or get an autograph!

Author’s Alley (M: Plaza Ballroom Mezzanine)

Brett Brooks

David (D.J.) Butler

Jason Cordova

Rob Howell

Cedar Sanderson

(60 min)

**Me: Looks like Rob took my advice and booked the table for two solid hours. I do this every year and I typically do very well. Granted, it’s also usually in the middle of the day, but eh…

Sat         10:00AM             The Four Horsemen Roundtable

Chris Kennedy moderates The 4 Horseman Roundtable: Readings, Q&A, Discussion and Mass Autograph Session

CC: Ballroom E

Charity Ayres

Jason Cordova

Doug Dandridge

Jonathan Del Arroz

Kacey Ezell

Robert E. Hampson

Rob Howell

Kevin Ikenberry

Chris Kennedy

Terry Maggert

Thomas A. Mays

Stephanie Osborn

Jon R. Osborne

Chris Smith

Kal Spriggs

Mark Wandrey

Philip Wohlrab

Marisa Wolf

Chris Woods

James Young

(90 min)

**Me: Saw this and initially got excited. The Four Horsepersons of the Baenocalypse have ret– oops, no, it’s one of the SF universes I write in. Still, should be fun, and damn it who scheduled me for another 10:00AM panel?!?!?! Fun fact: I have never NOT been on a 10:00AM panel at Libertycon. It’s like they know I hate waking up early or something…

 

 

 

Sat         04:00PM             The Sha’Daa: TOYS Roundtable

Q&A and Readings from Sha’Daa: TOYS by the authors, followed by a Mass autograph session.

CC: Ballroom E

Lou Antonelli

Jeff Barnes

Paul Barrett

Joseph Capdepon II

Rachel Cates

Jason Cordova

Kacey Ezell

Rich Groller

Michael H. Hanson

Robby Hilliard

Cecilia Star Kachina

Dina Leacock

Terry Maggert

Edward McKeown

Mike Resnick

William Joseph Roberts

Benjamin Tyler Smith

Chris Smith

Marisa Wolf

(90 min)

**Me: I’ll be here and ready to sign and talk about my inspiration for the story. It involves trains.

Sat         05:30PM             Sha’Daa: TOYS – Mass Autograph Session

Mass Autograph Session following Readings from Sha’Daa: TOYS

 

Sat         09:00PM             Copper Dog Publishing / Moondream Press Book Launch/Room Party

Moondream Press Book Launch Party for Sha’Daa: TOYS

Party Alley (M: 16th Floor)

**Me: one of the two simultaneous parties I’m going to at. Fair warning: I’ll probably be at this one a little less, because I have a book being released soon after Libertycon by the publisher at the other room party.

Sat         09:00PM             Seventh Seal Press & Rob Howell Present Chris Kennedy Publishing Book Launch Party

Seventh Seal Press & Rob Howell present the Chris Kennedy Publishing combined Room Party and Book Launch for a new anthology set in the Four Horsemen Universe.

Room Party        Party Alley (M: 16th Floor)

**Me: this is the other room party I mentioned.

Sun        10:00AM             Kaffeeklatsch

Have coffee / continental breakfast and chat with the pros

M: Tennessee River Room

 

 

**Me: Coffee. Pros. Lots of people. It’s fun but again, 10:00AM is the bane of my existence. I promise to use grown up speak and not resort to grunting and pointing this year.

 

Sun        11:00AM             What’s New in 1632 / Grantville Roundtable

Eric Flint moderates this panel on what is new in the 1632 / Grantville universe in all it’s alternate history glory, with a mass autograph session to follow.

CC: Ballroom F

Griffin Barber

Rick Boatright

Joseph Capdepon II

Anna Grace Carpenter

Jason Cordova

Kary English

Karen Evans

Kevin Evans

Eric Flint

Charles E. Gannon

Thomas A. Mays

(90 min)

**Me: Every year there’s one panel that I really don’t belong on. This year it’s the 1632 panel. I haven’t submitted a story to the universe in almost 4 years, with the last one being published in 2015. I’ll sit there, nod, be polite, and probably be lost since I’m wayyyyy behind in the series as well.

Sun        12:00PM             Chris Kennedy Publishing – The Year Ahead

Join Chris Kennedy and his crew of writers as they discuss what the next year holds in store!

Event    CC: Ballroom E   Charity Ayres

Jason Cordova

Doug Dandridge

Jonathan Del Arroz

Kacey Ezell

Robert E. Hampson

Rob Howell

Kevin Ikenberry

Chris Kennedy

Terry Maggert

Thomas A. Mays

Stephanie Osborn

Jon R. Osborne

Chris Smith

Kal Spriggs

Mark Wandrey

Philip Wohlrab

Marisa Wolf

Chris Woods

James Young

(60 min)

Me: this is probably one of the ones where I’ll be talking a lot, since outside of Chris and Mark, I’m pretty sure I have the most books coming out in the coming 18 months. Still, it’ll be nice to talk about some of the upcoming projects, as well as the proposed anthology set in my Kin Wars universe.