Nick Sagan Online

New York Comic-Con

Anyone going to the New York Comic-Con?  I'll be there this Saturday.  Been to San Diego a few times, but this will be the first time I've checked out the NYC show, so I'm really looking forward to it.  You can find me in Room 1A14 at 6:15 pm for a panel discussion with Dr. Michio Kaku about science and science fiction.  Hope to see you there!

Where is the line between Science Fiction and Science Faction?

Date: Saturday, October 9th

Time: 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm

Location: Room 1A14

Track: NYCC/NYAF Panels

Description: Throughout modern history, fantasy has pushed and nudged reality opening new worlds of imagination and innovation. Advances in military, medicine, technology and intelligence gathering can often trace their roots to the writer's pen or director's vision. In this post Avatar world we live in, the wall between sci fi and sci fact continues to disappear. What does the future hold for these two worlds? Have we come to a time when the two are no longer separate entities but rather working hand in hand with one another? And what does that mean for our entertainment choices, our ethical code and society as a whole? City College Physic Professor and host of Science Channel's SCI FI SCIENCE, Dr. Michio Kaku is joined by award-winning writer and son of Carl Sagan, Nick Sagan to discuss these issues, review the tangled history of sci fi/sci fact and preview the latest in sci fi storytelling.

Shrapnel Signing

From left to right: me, Mark Long and Zack Sherman.

I'm Nifty!

The wonderful folks at Penguicon have invited me to join the fun as a "Nifty Guest." It's flattering to be invited as a Program Participant, and that "Nifty" title is a special upgrade which puts me in illustrious company. I'm honored. Here's the 411 on Penguicon:

Time again for the Linux/OSS and Science Fiction/Fantasy convention, Penguicon, in Troy, Michigan April 20 through April 22nd, 2007. This year's guests include Bruce Schneier, Charlie Stross, Christine Peterson, Steve Jackson, Randy Milholland, and Elizabeth Bear.

It's an anarchic hotbed of intelligence and creativity, a geek Woodstock, a true Nerdvana. At Penguicon, you can be discussing characters with your favorite author one moment, getting help installing Linux on your laptop the next, and enjoying a swordfighting demonstration in your spare time. Penguicon is where creative and technical dreamers meet the visionaries who are creating the future.

Should be a whole lot of fun, and hopefully no one will mind that I know very little absolutely nothing about Linux. I've signed up for a couple of panels, including one that's featured in the advertising:

SF authors John Scalzi and Nick Sagan, and the filker Tom Smith, and "The TRON Guy" Jay Maynard will give goofy films the MST3K treatment.

Epic, no? Two deranged science fiction writers, a master filker, and a veritable internet phenomenon. I'd like to see the goofy film this panel can't riff on.

All in all, I'm looking forward to panelling, hanging out with friends, signing books, meeting all kinds of new people, and drinking myself silly generally having a good time. If you're going to be in the Troy area, I hope you'll swing by and say hello.

2006 Worldcon

Okay, let's get the ball rolling again. Operation "reboot the blog" is in full effect. Over the next month I'll catch you up on all things Nick Sagan related and maybe even a little more besides. First things first: As promised, thoughts on my time in Anaheim.

The Big Picture
Well, I should preface this by saying I'm not a convention person. I have friends who loved science fiction conventions growing up, finding community and friendship and all that good stuff, and making a positive tradition of it year after year. Not me. Nothing against the cons; they just weren't my thing. You couldn't drag me. And so as an adult I've been a bit leery of these things, going in angst ridden about what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. Selling books? Making contacts? Filking? But at Forum Fantastico and this last Worldcon, I put all that aside and resolved to simply have a good time. Strangely enough, that's what I had. I treated it as fun instead of work, and nevertheless managed to sell books and shake hands along the way. (No filking though. That's where I draw the line.)

Hugo Awards
More fun than 2003 and 2004, I thought. (I wasn't in Glasgow and can't speak for 2005.) Connie Willis and Robert Silverberg were charming and polished in ways that most science fiction writers are not, and therefore perfectly suited to the task. They kept the tone light and playful, which meshed nicely with the inimitable Harlan Ellison, who got the crowd reacting as only Harlan can. Color me entertained. And many of the awards went to writers and artists for whom I'd been rooting, which was an added plus.

John Scalzi's Campbell acceptance speech impressed me as some of the classiest words I've heard spoken at the Hugos. Wonderful to see John win--he's that rare combination of great writer and great human being. Fear his greatness! And go read him if you haven't already. Why, The Android's Dream is out in stores right now...

Panels
You can't have a science fiction convention without panels. I asked. No, they're an essential part of programming, and they range from "wow, that was hugely entertaining and informative" to "man, I wish I could get those fifty minutes of my life back." The most fun I had: STARSHIP SMACKDOWN, a panel I wasn't even on. "The legendarily geekiest convention panel of all-time," it's promoted as, and yes, that's deservedly so. In essence, it's a question of who would win in a fight between this ship and that ship. The Enterprise usually wins--not this time. This time, it didn't even reach the finals, but here's a ship that did: The Starship Of The Imagination from Cosmos.

A huge outpouring of love for my father, which moved me, and the panel was funny and wildly clever, arguing whether or not this dandelion seed-shaped starship could take out famous vessels from science fiction's present and past--well, I laughed myself silly. The S.O.T.I. crushed all comers until it met the NSEA Protector from Galaxy Quest. There's something winning and good-hearted about that movie, so if the S.O.T.I. had to lose to a ship, I'm happy it was that one.

As for the panels I actually participated in, my favorite was IS ART THE INSPIRATION FOR MADNESS? Joe Haldeman to my left and Tim Powers to my right. I've been a fan of Joe's for a while now, and while I've yet to read any of Tim's work, I've resolved to pick him up--he's brilliant. The three of us went back and forth on whether novels should inspire, provoke, or simply entertain. Great, spirited disagreement there. Should writers not show how to do potentially dangerous and imitatable things? Like, let's say, make a bomb? Considerably less disagreement there. We told stories about how our work affected people, and the audience asked great questions. I had a terrific time.

WRITING SF FOR TELEVISION & MOVIES was a good one as well, but I've done it a few times before so there wasn't much new. POST-APOCALYPTIC SF I enjoyed, and it led to an unexpected subsequent NPR interview with myself and Elizabeth Bear. I don't know Bear well, but I like her--she's a talented, prolific writer and she seems like a very cool person. FRANKENFOOD TO FRANKENPEOPLE was somewhat disappointing. Informative discussion to be sure, but stiffer than I expected--with a name like FRANKENFOOD TO FRANKENPEOPLE I'd hoped it would be a little more fun. And the DESIGNING INTERACTIVE GAMES panel was great, though within the first few minutes I realized I was completely out of my league. I know a thing or two about game design, but my experience in videogames is primarily as a story writer--and that's not what this panel was about! That's me on the right with the far more knowledgable Scott Campbell, Mike Stemmle and Justin Lloyd.

On the last day of the con I was slated for WHY IS EVERYTHING SO DARK? I'd been looking forward to that one. Couldn't make it though--I hope it turned out well.

Readings
Sadly, I didn't have time to catch many readings this con, but I did get to hear Isaac Szpindel read his short story "From Gehenna." A different spin on the dybbuk story from Hebrew folklore. Innovative and well told, this, and I highly recommend it. You can find it in the DAW anthology, Slipstreams.

The Hat
Dig the hat?

Community
A woefully incomplete list of the cool folks I chatted, hung out, drank and/or generally absorbed the con with: John Joseph Adams, Tobias Buckell, Cory Doctorow, David Louis Edelman, Shaun Farrell, Deanna Hoak, Kay Kenyon, David Lloyd, Erin Maher, Louise Marley, Kay Reindl, Chris Roberson, John Scalzi and his family, Bob Skir, Isaac Szpindel, Scott Westerfeld, Doselle Young and Janine Ellen Young.

Photos
Me, drunk and spoiling for a fight. Well, pretending to be. Spoiling for a fight, I mean. I was pretty drunk.

I don't always photograph well, but I'm liking these:

And that's a sense of my 2006 Worldcon experience!

Worldcon Schedule

So I'll be attending LACon IV this week, boarding my flight west in (yikes) just a few hours. Not 100% sure I should be flying on Doomsday, but hey, what are you going to do? While I highly doubt my flight will run into any trouble, I suppose anything's possible so don't let me leave without thanking you all for your friendship and/or patronage. Deeply appreciated. And thanks for all the comments and email wishing my mother well. Very nice of you, and I've passed those sentiments on to her.

Here's my schedule for the convention:

thu 14:30
POST-APOCALYPTIC SF
John Varley said "We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them?" Why do we all love them? During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear annihilation was very real; today, the world is a different place, but the threat of annihilation is once again very real. Has the sub-genre changed? How are 21st Century post-apocalyptic stories different from those written during the Cold War era?
Panel: Elizabeth Bear(M), Ed Green, Takayuki Tatsumi, John G. Hemry, Nick Sagan

thu 17:30
IS ART THE INSPIRATION FOR MADNESS?
Writers are like gods. Whatever they want their characters to do, they do. If they want lightning to strike, the sky is shattered by electricity. Are they responsible for the themes, the ideas, and the actions in their works? Is there a responsibility not to show how to make a bomb? Should good always triumph over evil?
Panel: Lisanne Norman(M), Joe W. Haldeman, ElizaBeth Gilligan, Tim Powers, Nick Sagan

fri 14:00
AUTOGRAPHING
Nick Sagan

sat 10:00
DESIGNING INTERACTIVE GAMES
What makes for an addictive computer game? What is there about Doom or Halo that made you waste countless hours playing? Game designers discuss what they do.
Panel: Mike Stemmle, Justin Lloyd, Scott Campbell, Nick Sagan

sat 11:30
FRANKENFOOD TO FRANKENPEOPLE
Genetic modification from food to people; how far is too far?
Panel: Sam Scheiner, Nancy Kress, Cynthia Felice(M), Elisabeth Malartre, Nick Sagan

sun 14:30
WHY IS EVERYTHING SO DARK?
Batman has become the "Dark Knight". The X-Files is filled with conspiracies and people wearing dark clothes walking around in dark rooms. Before that, the great New Wave of SF, which called itself literary, was deeply pessimistic. Is this mature, childish, or the swing of a pendulum?
Panel: Adam-Troy Castro(M), Robert Vogel, Alan Rodgers, Bradley H. Sinor, Nick Sagan

Should be fun.

My internet access might be a bit spotty on the trip, so there's a chance you won't hear much from me here for a few days. If so, I'll come back afterwards with a full report. Bye now!

Update: Doomsday didn't happen.  I'm fine and well and blogging from the Hilton business center.  Off to my first panel...

Friday Update

Yikes, sorry for being so absent. It's been absolutely crazy this month, and the blogging has suffered. I blame society. Anyway, here's what I've been doing:

Writing

I'd hit a wall on the screenplay, so I doubled back to cut out what wasn't working, and now I'm much happier with it. There are two main characters, and one was getting lost in the plot, becoming increasingly incidental (just along for the ride). Fixed that. Now it's flowing smoother and better. And the novel idea I'd been tinkering with seems to have fallen into place. There's a joy in having one idea dovetail with another to create something new and stronger than either of its parts. That's what seems to have happened here. The concept is sound if somewhat insane, and I'm chomping at the bit to write it. Apologies for being vague here; I find that when I talk (or blog) about ideas I'm working on, it's sometimes counterproductive because when I sit down to write, I have a feeling of "didn't I already do this?" I promise I'll tell you more about these when I'm a little further in.

Smashing my PC with a polo mallet

Or wanting to, at least. I made the silly mistake of not updating my anti-viral software, and found my computer near death with multiple trojan horses. Really nasty infection. I'd thought I'd lost all my files but after repeated attempts at repair, I've at long last managed to recover everything I thought had been annihilated. The PC is spic and span now, thanks to a complete battery of anti-viral and anti-spyware troubleshooters. (Incidentally, if you're looking for a good program, Spyware Doctor seemed to be a cut above from the rest.) The lessons learned from this? Always back everything up, keep your anti-viral software current, and/or use a Mac. I was a bit slow to warm up to the Mac at first, but it's won me over with its reliability and ability to speak with Japanese cameras.

Watching the news

Scary time. I don't want this to become a political blog, so I'm reluctant to say much more than that.

Taking care of my WorldCon arrangements

My friends: "So you're coming to WorldCon?"
Me: "You bet."
My friends: "When are you getting in?"
Me: "Well, I haven't booked my flight yet."
My friends: "Where are you staying?"
Me: "Haven't booked the hotel either."
My friends: "But you're coming?"
Me: "Uh... Yeah."

Since then I've actually gotten my act together; I've booked a flight and paid for a hotel room. Woo hoo. So I will be there. And happily WorldCon knows I'm coming since they've got me on the list of confirmed program participants. I don't know what panels I'll be on yet, but when I have that info I'll post it here.

Guest lecturing a writing class at Cornell

Talking with up and coming writers about the process can be inspiring.

Feeling guilty about not blogging

And about not replying to my email over at MySpace. I hate feeling like I'm leaving anyone waiting for a reply and if I've ever done that to you, I hope you know it isn't my intention. The sense of support and community I feel online really helps me a lot, and I never take it for granted. I just get bogged down with work from time to time. And writing can be such a solitary process, there are times I feel like I have to be alone to find what I need creatively. Balance would have me "coming up for air" at intervals within that process to (among other things) post here. That's what I'm aiming for and, knock on wood, I'll get there.

Over the weekend, I'll post new Everfree reviews, a new interview, some sad news about an audiobook, another conversation with CHAOS, and the mysterious secret of why I look different in every photo. (Two words: Body doubles.)

Obrigado

Some reflections on the time I spent in Lisbon:

Editorial Presença couldn't have made me feel more welcome. Inês Mourão, Ricardo Sabino and especially Raquel Dutra went above and beyond what I'd anticipated, keeping my schedule filled with magazine, newspaper and TV interviews, and making the city come alive in the spaces in between. In the end, they may have done too good a job, as I didn't want to leave.

From beginning to end, Fórum Fantástico was tremendous fun, quite possibly my favorite convention to date. Perfectly organized by Rogério Ribeiro and Safaa Dib. Running one of these is a bit like directing a play; you're responsible for everything, and you're so busy making sure everything happens the way it's meant to, that you don't get to fully enjoy the performance yourself. Hopefully, they got to enjoy at least a portion of it. And Rogério, I'm so glad you made this happen.

A pleasure to meet the other guests. I had time in my schedule to attend Mark Brake's Workshop of Fantastic Writing, and to hear Edward James speak about Medievalism in Fantasy. Both are impressive speakers and extremely knowledgable about science fiction. Plus, they're fun to hang out with; I had a blast getting to know them over a few rounds of Super Bock. Fantasy author Inês Botelho and I shared an interview at SIC television; she struck me as very smart and charming, and I hope to someday improve my Portuguese to the point where I can read her work. Zoran Zivkovic is a Serbian author of over a dozen books, and quite fascinating. Here's a man who's written a novel longhand, without electricity, because his city was in the midst of a war. (I find it challenging enough writing on a laptop in a peaceful college town.) He was kind enough to give me one of his novels; I'm very much looking forward to reading it. As it turns out, Zoran has also translated a number of my dad's books into Serbian.

Briefly, I was able to meet one of my own translators, João Seixas, who skillfully turned Edenborn into Paraíso Virtual. Speaking of which, the book launch was very good, and my sore wrist at the end of it served as testament to the many copies I signed and personalized. The Portuguese fans were exactly what an author hopes for, asking excellent questions, treating me to applause after my reading, queuing up to buy copies, etc. I wish I'd had more time to get to know everyone better. With a long line, people often feel conscious of those waiting behind them, and the "I'd best keep the line moving" impulse tends to get in the way of the "I'd like to talk with the author" impulse. If you missed me, feel free to contact me on this blog or my website. Sometimes I miss a message; apologies for that, and you can always send me a follow up.

Anyway, I could go on and on about Portugal (and I expect to say a bit more about it in the weeks ahead), but I'm catching a flight tomorrow and had best turn in for the night. Before I do, a word of gratitude to the many people who helped make my journey so memorable and so much fun. Obrigado. Thank you, one and all.

Lisbon

Clinnette and I have been having a fantastic time here in Lisbon.  Fórum Fantástico has been a delight, and not the least bit bewildering thanks to all the hard work Rogério Ribeiro and Safaa Dib have done.  At the same time, Editorial Presença has been spoiling me rotten, setting up great interview after great interview with some of Portugal's top reporters, while also finding time to introduce the many sights this beautiful city has to offer.

I'm so glad I could come here; I wish I could stay longer.

I'll write more about my adventures in Portugal when I can, but right now I have to get back to Fórum Fantástico for the book launch and technological utopia/dystopia debate.  I hope to have some time tomorrow to blog about this, but if not it will have to wait until I reach London.

Fórum Fantástico

My dance card for Fórum Fantástico is already looking full: interviews, an autograph session, a writing workshop, a celebration of the Paraíso Virtual release, and a panel on technological utopias and dystopias. I'm looking forward to all of these, but this last happens to be one of my favorite topics, and the other panelists should all have interesting points of view.

Mark Brake will be moderating; he's a professor of science communication at Glamorgan University. João Barreiros and Paul J. McAuley are acclaimed science fiction authors, and Edward James is the editor of the Hugo award-winning Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Illustrious company all, and hopefully we can get a good debate going.

I've had good and bad times at past conventions. If they're well-organized, they can be wonderful, but if not they tend to be bewildering. Thus far, Fórum Fantástico looks to be very well planned, so I'm optimistic about how it's going to wind up. If you're in Lisbon from the 10th to the 13th, I hope you'll be a part of it. And if you see me, don't be shy; come say hello.