‘Sign – Science Fiction’
courtesy of ‘Wootang01’
If you’re a science fiction nerd aficionado like me and a fan of getting autographs & rubbing elbows with the pixel-stained wretches then your nerdvana is almost upon you – a crazy large list of SF authors are going to be in town for a conference and they’re going to have an open-to-the-public event at the Washington Hilton up above Dupont on Friday May 20th.
The biggest challenge is going to be getting all the signatures you want in 90 minutes if you’re widely read. The current list – in full below the break or at the SFWA website – was so long that I pasted it into my editor and looked at the line count rather than count them by hand. Forty-two authors total (which is awesome and it’ll break my heart if they add or delete any) and I only recognize a quarter of the names.
Of those I can only pick out a few whose books or work I remember I have read and liked – Paolo Bacigalupi who wrote The Windup Girl, Chris Claremont of X-Men fame, Joe Haldeman who wrote The Forever War and my favorite, coincidentally a former local, John Scalzi and his fantastic Old Man’s War and the follow-up books in that universe.
Personally I’m not much for autographs – most ink rubs off my kindle and their signatures are the least interesting things these folks write in my opinion. But I’ll admit that in my greener youth I did have some very nice conversations with authors when I waited in their signature lines. Vernor Vinge was a particularly nice fellow, and while I’m sure it irked the people behind me I found the conversation we had to be delightful.
Friday, May 20, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00p.m
The Washington Hilton,
1919 Connecticut NW
full announcement below the jump
From the SFWA announcement as of May 11:
A mass book signing will be held on Friday, May 20, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00p.m.
The books of the authors participating in the signing will be available to be purchasednear the Nebula Awards Weekend registration area in the Terrace Foyer throughout theweekend. See below for the tentative hours of The Book Depot.
The people who have currently indicated they would like to participate in the booksigning are:
- Catherine Asaro
- Paolo Bacigalupi
- Christopher Barzak
- J. Kathleen Cheney
- Chris Claremont
- Brenda W. Clough
- Aliette de Bodard
- Tom Doyle
- Scott Edelman
- Timons Esaias
- Cynthia Felice
- Andrew Fox
- Laura Anne Gilman
- Anne Groell
- Joe Haldeman
- Peter Heck
- M.K. (Mary)Hobson
- Vylar Kaftan
- David Keck
- John Kessel
- Alethea Kontis
- Mary Robinette Kowal
- Geoffrey A.Landis
- Allen Lewis
- Tom Lewis
- Lee Martindale
- James Morrow
- Catherine Petrini
- John Scalzi
- Lawrence Schoen
- Abby Sexton
- Lansing Sexton
- Bud Sparhawk
- Allen Steele
- Eric James Stone
- Michael Sullivan
- Michael Swanwick
- Judith Tarr
- Brandie Tarvin
- Mary Turzillo
- Michael Whelan
- Connie Willis
Tentative location and hours for The Book Depot:
Terrace Lobby: Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Near Mass Signing: Friday 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Terrace Lobby: Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Terrace Lobby: Sunday 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
