Monumental Confusion: Full Schedule

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10:00am EST

Missing Stairs and Bad Actors

Sunday January 26, 2025 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Since fandom began there have been bad actors and predators in it. A
frustratingly storied tradition exists for using tools like gaslighting, sexual
harrassment, logrolling, plagiarism, and other kinds of eminently unethical and
unprofessional means to get ahead, and as progressive and mutually supportive
as genre fandom seems, we're in no way immune. So let's talk about how to
actually provide support to emerging writers, how to spot and avoid bad actors
so we can ensure more people get lifted up instead of stepped on.

Speakers

Anna

1/7 of a ConChair, Treasurer

You may have met her many moons ago as an energetic teen who was brought to her first con by Bahb, Son of Bob. You may have been there when she got engaged to her now husband, Ryan, during an elven toast. Maybe you attended one of many epic room parties she hosted or listened in as... Read More →

A.L Deleon

A.L. DeLeon

A.L. DeLeon is the author of the fantasy novel Song of Life, originally published with Dragon Moon Press, 2020. Song of Life earned 2nd place in epic fantasy at the Spring 2023 Bookfest Awards. A.L. is currently working to finish the entire Song of Life Series set, release date, tbd... Read More →

E.D.E. Bell

Author, Editor, Atthis Arts

E.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) is a quiet fantasy writer and small press editor. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Eir works are quiet and queer and often explore conceptions of identity and community, including... Read More →

Marsalis

Marsalis was born in 1989. He spent his childhood composing illustrated epics and giving lectures. At the age of 17, he published his first novel, March of the Libertines. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Marsalis published works in every literary style and genre... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 10:00am - 10:50am EST
Ballroom C Access via the Ballroom Assemble Hall.

Literature

10:00am EST

Writers retreat

Sunday January 26, 2025 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Manitou

This is an open space for Writers to brainstorm, workshop, or have some quiet space.

Sunday January 26, 2025 10:00am - 10:50am EST
Manitou Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature, Writers Retreat

11:00am EST

Author Reading W E.D.E and Patrick

Sunday January 26, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EST

Keweenaw

Listen to your favorite author read from their work.

Speakers

E.D.E. Bell

Author, Editor, Atthis Arts

Patrick Tomlinson

Sunday January 26, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EST
Keweenaw Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature

11:00am EST

Writers retreat

Sunday January 26, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EST

Manitou

This is an open space for Writers to brainstorm, workshop, or have some quiet space.

Sunday January 26, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EST
Manitou Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature, Writers Retreat

12:00pm EST

Author Reading W JD Deluizo and Storm Humbert

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST

Keweenaw

Listen to your favorite author read from their work.

Speakers

Storm Humbert

JD DeLuzio

JD DeLuzio's novel, The Con appeared to positive reviews in late November 2020 while 2022 saw Live Nude Aliens and Other Stories, a collection of previously-published and new fiction. He is currently shopping a new novel and working on a non-fiction book, with the artist D.S. Barrick... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST
Keweenaw Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature

12:00pm EST

Writers retreat

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST

Manitou

This is an open space for Writers to brainstorm, workshop, or have some quiet space.

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST
Manitou Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature, Writers Retreat

12:00pm EST

Writing as resistance

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST

Ballroom C

Stories help us build the ideas for better worlds. Discuss works of art that are resistance and how we find creativity and resistance in these times

Moderators

Sarah Hans

Sarah Hans is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher whose stories have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Apex Magazine, Love Letters to Poe, and Pseudopod. Her debut horror novel, Entomophobia, was released in 2022. You can read Sarah’s short stories in the... Read More →

Speakers

Christian Klaver

This author of Science Fiction and Fantasy lives in the suburbs just outside the sprawling decay of Detroit, Michigan. There he resides with his wife (Kimberly) his daughter (Kathryn) and a group of animals he refers to as 'The Menagerie'. He has been selling short stories since... Read More →

Jim C. Hines

Pro Guest

Jim C. Hines has been attending ConFusion for almost as long as he’s been writing. It’s one of his favorite cons, at least in the blizzard-free years.While he has written serious fiction on occasion, Jim is best known for more humorous fare, beginning with the Goblin Quest trilogy... Read More →

Catherine Stein

Author, Catherine Stein

Award-winning author Catherine Stein believes that everyone deserves love and that Happily Ever After has the power to help, to heal, and to comfort. She writes sassy, sexy romance set during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Her books are full of action, adventure, magic, and fantastic... Read More →

Stephanie Lorée

Writer & Copy Editor

Born and still based in Ohio, Stephanie Lorée writes fantasy fiction and occasionally moonlights as a rock star. Her stories have appeared in places like Abyss & Apex and as tie-in fiction for the Pathfinder RPG. In 2013, she was a finalist for the Writers of the Future award... Read More →

Steph Campbell

owner, TTRPGkids

Steph C (they/them) is the founder, owner, and writer for TTRPGkids.com, the 2023 ENNIE awarded resource for youth-related tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). They have written over 350 articles providing tips, game reviews, reading lists, and more, all focused on TTRPGs for kids and teens. Steph has self-published over 50 digital TTRPG titles for all-ages that focus on social-emotional... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EST
Ballroom C Access via the Ballroom Assemble Hall.

Literature

1:00pm EST

Author Reading W EC Wolf and Steph Campbell

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST

Keweenaw

Listen to your favorite author read from their work.

Speakers

Steph Campbell

owner, TTRPGkids

Erin Lightfoot (writing as EC Wolfe)

Author

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST
Keweenaw Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature

1:00pm EST

Legitimate uses of Neural Network AI

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST

Ballroom C

ChatGPT is the best known AI, but it's only one of thousands of AI's in daily use, ranging from Expert Systems to help diagnose your ailments to the algorithms that balance your investment portfolio. We all agree (at least should agree) that stealing copyrighted work to write your novel is bad, but what are legitimate uses you can make of an AI? Even ChatGPT?

Speakers

Eric McGlohon

Wayland Smith

Author, Gamer, Fandom

Wayland Smith is the pen name for a native Texan who has lived in Massachusetts, New York, Washington DC, and presently makes his home in Virginia. His rather unlikely list of jobs includes private investigator, comic book shop owner, ring crew for a circus (then he ran away from... Read More →

Storm Humbert

Ray Tabler

Author, Science Fiction You Can Enjoy

My aim is to write science fiction you can enjoy. So far that's manifested as what I call Light Space Opera. Imagine Starship Troopers, hijacked by Monty Python, or space opera as produced by Gilbert and Sullivan, while bankrolled and bullied by Flo Ziegfeld. Additional links:Ray's... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST
Ballroom C Access via the Ballroom Assemble Hall.

Literature

1:00pm EST

Writers retreat

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST

Manitou

This is an open space for Writers to brainstorm, workshop, or have some quiet space.

Sunday January 26, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EST
Manitou Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature, Writers Retreat

2:00pm EST

Author Reading W Creative GOH Stephan L

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST

Ballroom D-BIG TOP

Listen to your favorite author read from their work.

Speakers

Stephen Leigh

Steve has published 31 novels and over 50 short stories, both under his own name and the pen name S.L. Farrell. His most recent novel was BOUND TO A SINGLE SUN (Astra Publishing, Feb. 2022. Publisher's Weekly has said this about his work: "Exploring big ideas about interplanetary... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST
Ballroom D-BIG TOP Access via the Ballroom Assemble Hall.

Literature

2:00pm EST

The Business of Episodic Storytelling

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST

Isle Royale/ Leelanau

Serialized fiction has experienced a renaissance in the age of the internet.
Our panelists discuss the business side of episodic storytelling-- What are the
trade-offs between self-publishing and going with a publisher like Realm?
How do you pitch serialized projects to a publisher? Which self publishing platforms work best for serial works?

Speakers

Jason Sanford

Author

Jason Sanford is an award-winning author of short stories, essays, and articles. A two-time finalist for the Nebula Award, Jason has published more than a dozen stories in the British SF magazine Interzone, which also devoted a special issue to his fiction. He has also published numerous... Read More →

Chris Bell

Managing Editor, Atthis Arts, LLC

Chris Bell (he/him) is Managing Editor for Detroit-based indie publisher Atthis Arts. With a particular fondness for speculative fiction, Atthis Arts strives to publish quality books that honor the authentic and artistic voice of authors while striving for social responsibility. An... Read More →

Dan Stout

Dan Stout lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he writes noir with a twist of magic and a disco chaser. Dan's stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Nightmare. He is the author of The Carter Archives, a series of noir fantasy novels from DAW... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST
Isle Royale/ Leelanau Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature

2:00pm EST

Writers retreat

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST

Manitou

This is an open space for Writers to brainstorm, workshop, or have some quiet space.

Sunday January 26, 2025 2:00pm - 2:50pm EST
Manitou Located on 2nd floor, to the right as you exit the elevator or stairs.

Literature, Writers Retreat