Con Report

Roundtable 

Nick Mamatas Guest Post–“Influence Without Anxiety Or, What’s That Sneaking Around in the Corner of the Novelist’s Mind?”

admin 4 Comments ,

I suppose I wear my influences on my sleeve — most of them anyway. My most recent novel, the dipsomaniac zombie story The Last Weekend, is a tribute to some of them. Mike Berry at the San Francisco Chronicle nailed it: “it is the shades of Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, John Fante and other hard-drinking scribblers who haunt the pages.” One boozy author most everyone has missed so far ...Read More

Read more
Roundtable 

Interview with Nancy Kress and Jack Skillingstead

admin 0 Comments ,

Here’s one final interview from ICON 38, with two guests of honor, Nancy Kress and Jack Skillingstead.

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro] What’s been the high point of ICON 38 for you?

[Jack Skillingstead] I liked DreamCon, the workshop for high school and college students. It was fun sitting there talking to the students. I also liked getting to know Ellen Datlow better. I’vet met her a few times, but hadn’t spent a ...Read More

Read more
Roundtable 

Interview with Joe Haldeman

admin 0 Comments ,

Last month I had the pleasure of attending ICON 38, Iowa’s long-running science fiction convention. After closing ceremonies, I sat down with SFWA Grand Master and ICON co-founder Joe Haldeman, and his wife Gay, and asked him some questions.

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro] How has ICON changed over the last 38 years? Has it changed?

[Joe Haldeman] It has. Oddly enough, not the people. The people are the same. But it’s ...Read More

Read more
Roundtable 

Italcon 39: Before, During, and After: A Personal Perspective by Michael Bishop

admin 6 Comments
An unexpected invitation

On February 12 of this year, Armando Corridore, owner and publisher of the firm Elara Libri in Bologna, Italy, e-mailed me an invitation to attend Italcon 39 – “the annual Italian congress of fantastic literature” – as its sole American literary guest.

Armando explained that the convention would be held in Bellaria, “a quiet seaside town on the Adriatic coast,” from May 23 – May 26. It ...Read More

Read more
Roundtable 

A Journey to Remember

admin 0 Comments

Christopher Kastensmidt was born and raised in Texas but has resided in Porto Alegre, Brazil for over a decade. He was a Nebula Award finalist for his novelette “The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard van Oost and Oludara”, the first story set in the Brazilian fantasy world entitled The Elephant and Macaw Banner. Christopher has participated in the production of 30 published video games and was once a Creative Director for ...Read More

Read more