Ad Astra!

Toronto’s literary SFF convention, Ad Astra, is coming up this weekend, and I’ve got my programming schedule in hand. If you’re hitting the convention, here’s where I’ll be!

Friday, April 29

8:00 pm The Medium is the Message: Plays, Screenplays, Novels, and Other Media — Newmarket
Jen Frankel, Leah Bobet

As a writer, you may have considered writing that novel. But what about that screenplay? That play? That board game? That web series? How can you make a living as a writer or create that great work of art while thinking outside the box of simply words on a page? This panel is about transitioning between various mediums to create the universe that lives in your mind, some of which you maybe never even considered, and how to approach each one differently.

Saturday, April 30

2:00 pm The Impact of Social Networks and Online Communities on Human Experience — Oakridge
Adam Shaftoe, Ira Nayman, Leah Bobet

Between the Arab Spring, the “year of outrage,” and the heating up of the culture wars politically and within fandom, the last few years have been a tumultuous time. At the heart of this conflict has been the ubiquity of social networks and media, and the ease with which we can communicate publicly what would have previously been very intimate opinions. For some, the online world represents a utopian globalization in which everyone has access to a wealth of opinions, ideas and information. For others, the online world has only divided, creating separate bubbles of opinion and thought that have led to the growth of hate organizations, public shaming and anger, doxxing and the proliferation of junk science and faulty arguments. How have social networks and online communities impacted human experience? Have they made us, effectively, telepathic? And what might the impact of this be on humanity going forward?

Sunday, May 1

11:00 am Sunday Morning Fantasy Reading — Oakridge
Chadwick Ginther, Leah Bobet, Sarah WaterRaven, Vanessa Ricci-Thode

Join authors Chadwick Ginther, Leah Bobet, Sarah WaterRaven and Vanessa Ricci-Thode for selected readings in the genre of Fantasy.

12:00 pm Surviving as an Artist — Markham A
Erik Buchanan, Leah Bobet, Marie Bilodeau

So you want to make a living as an artist of some kind. That science degree isn’t doing it for you. Maybe everyone is telling you that you’re going to starve! Come to this panel and hear how some of the artists in literature, music and art have found a way to “make it” and find out what making a living as an artist or writer actually means to you.

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I’ll also be putting in some solid hours behind the Bakka-Phoenix Books table, so the Dealer’s Room will be a great place to look if you’d like to say hi!

Hope to see you there!

Originally published at Leah Bobet. You can comment here or there.