Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport
July 21-23, 2023
Updated 7/18/23
Guest of Honor: Ada Palmer
Featured Music Guest: Sassafrass
Writing Workshops: Timons Esaias
Featured Artist: Susan Dexter
Convention Information
Registration/Autographing/PARSEC Sales: Grand Ballroom Lobby
Dealers: Grand Ballroom 3/4
Art Show: Grand Ballroom 2
Program/Events/Music: All other 1st floor function rooms
Con Suite: 908
KaffeeKlatches: 225
The PARSEC Sales table is adjacent to Registration in the Grand Ballroom Lobby, across from Grand Ballroom 2 (Art Show) and is open similar hours during the day.
Most items are 55 minutes long, readings are 25 minutes long.
(M) - session moderator
Most items do not require advance sign-up, but some do:
Check our websites for information on PARSEC and Confluence.
At the con, check the Registration area for signs listing late schedule changes or check online for late changes. Anything that changes in the schedule after the Pocket Program is printed will be flagged in red in this online schedule.
Saturday Schedule * * Sunday Schedule * * Return to the Confluence Program page
2:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration opens | ||
3:00pm | ||
Commonwealth West: Forgotten Classics: Science Fiction and Fantasy from the 1950s through the 1980s that You Should Have Read but Probably Haven't | ||
What are the classic novels and short works and great authors that rarely get mentioned these days? Are newer readers familair with Henry Kuttner? Andre Norton? Patricia McKillip? Who else should be remembered? | ||
Jim Mann (M), Grant Carrington, Mark Tiedeman, Susan Dexter | ||
4:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Filk Mad Libs | ||
Commonwealth East: What Do You Mean, “We?:” The Divided Structure of a Single Show's Fandom | ||
Phil recorded every follower-following relationship on a fan-fiction website for a single TV show, clustered them into groups of readers with similar tastes, and gave a survey to study the difference between them. The results show not a unified fandom, but isolated communities divided along the usual genre lines. | ||
Phil Getz | ||
Commonwealth West: The Writing Life: Continuing to Write through Good Times & Bad | ||
Joshua David Bellin, Susan Linville, A.J. Smith, Brandon McNulty (M) | ||
908: Con Suite Opens | ||
5:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Pegasus Awards Brainstorming Discussion | ||
Grand Ballroom 3/4: Dealers Room Opens | ||
Commonwealth East: Short Fiction Is Alive and Well | ||
Short fiction was once the center -- almost the only part -- of the SF field. While novels get more notice, short fiction is often still the most vibrant part of the field, a form popular with both established and new authors. What makes short fiction so vital? What are some great recent pieces and where do you find your favorite short fiction. | ||
Michael Swanwick, Timons Esaias (M), Lawrence C. Connolly, Elyse Russell | ||
Commonwealth West: Rewriting the Future: Hopepunk, Solarpunk, and Optimistic SF | ||
The panel looks at optimistic SF and how it can change the future SF imagines and impact our own future. | ||
Susan Kaye Quinn (M), Ada Palmer, Vera Brook, Scot Noel | ||
6:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Greg Stone | ||
Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show Opens | ||
Commonwealth West: The New Good Stuff: The Best of Recent SF and Fantasy | ||
The 21st century has given us a number of new SF, fantasy, and horror writers. The landscape is broader and more diverse than ever. Who are the best new writers, and who are some that aren't as well-known but perhaps should be. | ||
Stephen C. Fisher, A.J. Smith (M), Barbara Doran, Brandon Ketchum | ||
7:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Opening Ceremonies | ||
Ada Palmer, Rhiannon's Lark, Kevin M. Hayes, Randy Hoffman | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration Closes | ||
8:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Rhiannon's Lark | ||
Grand Ballroom 2 & 3/4: Art Show & Dealers Room Close | ||
Commonwealth East: Poetry Reading | ||
Show up if you want to read poetry or listen to poetry. Participants can chose the moderator. | ||
Commonwealth West: Live Improv Drafting: An "A Many Tale" Experience | ||
Published weekly, A Many Tale follows a mouseling hero cursed to blip through realities and realms in episodic short fiction format. This live writing session will bring the audience into the improvisational sketchbook-style storytelling as author Jacob John White drafts a canon episode live. | ||
Jacob White | ||
908: Registration reopens in the Con Suite | ||
9:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Triforce Quartet | ||
Commonwealth West: Putting Poetry and Music into Your Fiction | ||
Clif Flynt | ||
225: Beer Tasting | ||
It's Christmas in July. This year we're tasting a selection of winter beers. | ||
James Walton, Jim Mann, Mary Tabasko, John Schmid, Heidi Pilewski | ||
10:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Open Filk Song Circle | ||
Commonwealth West: The Roots of Horror: Ghost Stories from M. R. James to Today | ||
Ghost stories are one of the oldest -- maybe THE oldest -- form of horror story. The panel looks at the history of ghost stories, and at who the great writers were and are. | ||
Alan Irvine, Brandon McNulty, Lawrence C. Connolly (M), Amaya Tenshi | ||
908: Registration Closes | ||
Midnight | ||
908: Con Suite Closes | ||
Friday Schedule * * Sunday Schedule * * Return to the Confluence Program page
8:00am | ||
908: Con Suite Opens | ||
8:45am | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration Opens | ||
9:00am | ||
Equinox: Writing Exercises: If You Build It, They Will Come (and Go): Exercises for Writing About Place | ||
Attendees will focus on strategies for constructing physical and emotional spaces in speculative worlds. Exercises will include world-mapping and developing the connection to place so important to character development. Attendees should bring their favorite writing implement (whether pen or laptop) and a sense of adventure as we take off for the far reaches of the possible and impossible. | ||
Joshua David Bellin, M. Christine Benner Dixon | ||
9th Floor--Club Lounge: Writers Workshop: Getting Conflict on the Page and Getting Yourself Through the Muddle in the Middle This workshop runs until 11:50am. Writers Workshop is full. | ||
Timons Esaias, Greg Frost | ||
10:00am | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Workshop by Rhiannon's Lark: Geeky Guided Meditation | ||
Grand Ballroom 2 & 3/4: Art Show & Dealers Room Open | ||
Lobby: Stroll with Geoff Landis & Mary Turzillo | ||
Commonwealth East: New Directions in Young Adult and Middle Grade SF and Fantasy | ||
Rigel Ailur, Vera Brook, Barbara Doran | ||
Commonwealth West: The Social Science of Worldbuilding | ||
Maybe you can create a convincing physical world. But how do you create convincing societies to populate your worlds? How do you build things like economies, histories, cultures? | ||
Marie Vibbert, Frederic Durbin, Charles Oberndorf, Mark Tiedeman, Alan Irvine (M) | ||
Equinox: Pitch Session 1 | ||
Pitch your novel to Claire Eddy (virtually), executive editor at Tor Books--one of the leading publishers of science fiction (SF), fantasy, and horror! Pitch session is full. | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Barton Paul Levenson | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Scot Noel, Herb Kauderer | ||
10:30am | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Brandon McNulty | ||
11:00am | ||
Ballroom 1: Workshop by LEX the Lexicon Artist: Adding Meaning to Songs about Pop Culture | ||
Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show: Beginner's Guide to Nalbinding (2hr) | ||
Make a small pouch the way the Vikings made mittens! Using a single needle, learn to use knots to create fabric with this stash-busting craft. Needles and hand-spun wool yarn provided. Limit: 10 people, materials cost TBA. Session runs until 12:50pm. | ||
Nancy Janda | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Amaya Tenshi | ||
Commonwealth East: Time Travel Then and Now | ||
Time travel has been a staple of science fiction, at least since H.G. Wells's The Time Machine. How has the treatment changed over the years? Have these changes been due to literary reasons or evolving scientific understanding (or both)? | ||
Albert Wendland, Joshua David Bellin (M), Michael Swanwick, Stephen C. Fisher |
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Commonwealth West: Disability in SF and Fantasy | ||
How has SF handled issues of disability over the years? What are good (and bad) examples? | ||
Rigel Ailur, JL Gribble, Brandon Ketchum | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Susan Dexter | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Charles Oberndorf, A.J. Smith | ||
11:30am | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Scot Noel | ||
Noon | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Summer Russell | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Albert Wendland | ||
Commonwealth East: Realistic Martians and Elves? Creating Believable Non-Humans | ||
Writers discuss how they go about creating non-human characters. | ||
Grant Carrington, Frederic Durbin, Mary Turzillo, Ken Chiacchia (M) | ||
Commonwealth West: Matriarchy in SF and Fantasy | ||
Marie Vibbert (M), Susan Kaye Quinn, Cathy Seckman | ||
Equinox: Pitch Session 2 | ||
Pitch your novel to Becky LeJeune, an agent at Bond Literary Agency, a Denver-based agency run by Sandra Bond. Pitch session is full. | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Barbara Doran | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Brandon Ketchum, Brandon McNulty | ||
12:30pm | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Donald Firesmith | ||
1:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Bard City | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Greg Frost | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration | ||
2024 early-bird memberships go on sale! $50 full adult & $25 full child for 2024 if you buy at Confluence. | ||
Commonwealth East: The Future of Medicine and Public Health | ||
Bernadette Harris, Marianne Porter, JL Gribble (M) | ||
Commonwealth West: 50 Years Ago: The Best SF and Fantasy of 1973 | ||
In 1973, Clarke's Rendevous With Rama won both Hugo and Nebula awards, beating out, among other nominees, Time Enough for Love, The People of the Wind, The Man Who Folded Himself, and Gravity's Rainbow (!). Harlan Ellison, Ursula Le Guin, James Tiptree Jr., and Gene Wolfe were among the winners for short fiction. How does the SF (award winners, nominees, and others) of 1973 stand up today. | ||
Geoffrey Landis, Mary Turzillo, Stephen C. Fisher, Jim Mann (M) | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
A.J. Smith | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Ada Palmer | ||
1:30pm | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Elyse Russell | ||
2:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by LEX the Lexicon Artist | ||
Art Show: Custom T-shirts | ||
Create a custom T-shirt -- or customize you Confluence T-shirt -- using Susan's hand-cut stencils and metallic latex paint. Limit 10 people, $5 charge for materials: Susan has a dozen thrift-shopped tee’s she will be bringing; mostly L, XL, a couple of 2X and maybe 2 mediums. You can also embellishing an old Confluence tees by purchasing one at the Parsec table prior to the workshop. | ||
Susan Dexter | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Michael Swanwick, Mark Tiedeman | ||
Commonwealth East: Writing and Researching Your Science Fiction | ||
Hard SF, anthropologica SF, alternate history -- all types of SF can take research to get the details right. The panel discusses the when, how, and why. | ||
Vera Brook (M), Geoffrey Landis, Greg Frost, Frederic Durbin, Barton Paul Levenson | ||
Commonwealth West: The Impact of AI on SF Writing and SF Art | ||
Some publishers are already looking at cover art generated by AI, and some magazines are being overwhelmed by AI-generated submissions. How will AI impact SF publishing in the future? | ||
Scot Noel (M), Ken Chiacchia, Lawrence C. Connolly, Hazel Zorn | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Charles Oberndorf | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Rigel Ailur, Grant Carrington | ||
2:30pm | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Marie Vibbert | ||
3:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: GoH Talk: The History of Censorship | ||
Ada Palmer | ||
4:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Tonks & the Aurors | ||
Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show: From T-shirt to Tote | ||
Learn how to turn a T-shirt into a tote bag, and haul your Confluence loot in style! Limit 10 people, $5 materials charge. | ||
Heidi Pilewski | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Susan Dexter, Elyse Russell | ||
Commonwealth East: Realism in Speculative Fiction | ||
Yes, SF and fantasy deal with fantastic situations. But the best have a solid, realistic grounding -- in setting, in character, in the way the world works. What are ways writers do this well (and are there examples where they did it not so well)? | ||
Donald Firesmith, Charles Oberndorf (M), Michael Swanwick | ||
Commonwealth West: Can't Keep My Eyes from the Circling Skies: Space Projects at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center | ||
How did the Universe begin? What do the weird exoplanets being discovered tell us about our own Solar System? And can humans truly become the spacefaring species that we like to imagine and love to read about? Join Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center science writer (and minor SF author) Ken Chiacchia in a survey of the space-related projects that researchers across the world have been using PSC's machines to explore. | ||
Ken Chiacchia | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Grant Carrington | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Marie Vibbert, Greg Frost | ||
5:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Robbie Ellis | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
JL Gribble | ||
Commonwealth East: Creating Original and Believable Settings in Your SF and Fantasy | ||
Greg Frost, Barbara Doran, Michael Swanwick, Albert Wendland, Brandon McNulty (M) | ||
Commonwealth West: Mars Sample Return Missions | ||
Geoffrey Landis | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Amaya Tenshi | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Mark Tiedeman, Timons Esaias | ||
5:30pm | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Brandon Ketchum | ||
6:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 2 & 3/4: Art Show/Dealers Room Close | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration Closes | ||
Commonwealth West: Traditional vs Self, Online vs Paper: Choosing Where and How to Get Published | ||
Frederic Durbin, Susan Linville (M), Donald Firesmith, Clif Flynt | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Ada Palmer | ||
7:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Difficulties in Dating: a Commedia dell'Arte of "Time Travel" | ||
The Confused Greenies return to our roots in semi-improvisational 16th Century farcical play but with a "time travel" twist and calendar confusion! | ||
Commonwealth West: Fantasy in Your Neighborhood: Urban Fantasy |
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Urban fantasy has been very popular for several decades. What defines the genre? What are the key works, and who are the best characters? What tropes do you like, and which are you tired of? | ||
JL Gribble, Donald Firesmith (M), Amaya Tenshi | ||
8:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Featured Music Guest Concert by Sassafrass | ||
Ada Palmer, Emily, Lauren Schiller | ||
225: Triangulation Launch Party | ||
9:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Open Filk | ||
Commonwealth West: What We're Streaming Now | ||
The Mandalorian? Wednesday? Andor? What shows are you streaming? What are some good ones many are missing? | ||
JL Gribble, Kevin M. Hayes, Jane Noel, Heidi Pilewski | ||
10:00pm | ||
Commonwealth West: Ghost Stories | ||
Alan Irvine | ||
Solstice: Terra Ignota Super Spoilers Discussion | ||
Ada Palmer | ||
11:00pm | ||
Commonwealth East: Incredibly Impromptu Improv at an Indecent Hour | ||
Anything can happen during an improv comedy show with The Confused Greenies of Players' Patchwork Theatre Company - especially after dark when the censors come off! For mature audiences with an immature sense of humor! | ||
Friday Schedule * * Saturday Schedule * * Return to the Confluence Program page
8:45am | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration Opens | ||
9:00am | ||
Equinox: Writing Exercises: What's Too Painful to Remember: Forgetfulness as Narrative Strategy | ||
The human brain is designed to remember...and forget. In these interactive writing exercises, we'll explore how writers of speculative fiction can use the built-in limitations of memory to enhance mystery, define character, and create convincing fictional worlds. We'll be doing lots of writing during this session, so don't forget to bring your favorite writing implement! | ||
Joshua David Bellin, M. Christine Benner Dixon | ||
9th Floor--Club Lounge: Writers Workshop: Several Frighteningly Empowering Poetry Exercises Sign-up form. This workshop runs until 11:50am. | ||
Timons Esaias | ||
10:00am | ||
Ballroom 1: Workshop by Gregg Stone: Getting AI to Help with Your Songwriting | ||
Grand Ballroom 2 & 3/4: Art Show & Dealers Room Open | ||
Commonwealth West: Let's Read Banned Books | ||
What does it mean when we say a book has been banned? What are reasons some people want books banned? Are books banned in years past different than the book banning efforts in some parts of the US today. | ||
Mark Tiedeman (M), Rigel Ailur, Susan Dexter, Susan Linville, Herb Kauderer | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Barbara Doran, Elyse Russell | ||
10:30am | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Albert Wendland | ||
11:00am | ||
Ballroom 1: Doctor Whose Line Is It Anyway? | ||
The Confused Greenies classic family friendly sci-fi convention improv game show hosted by a Dalek comes to Confluence for the first time! Where the points don't matter...but the losers may be exterminated!!! | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Autographing | ||
Brandon Ketchum, Barbara Doran | ||
Commonwealth East: The Future of Politics | ||
Ada Palmer (M), Charles Oberndorf, Scot Noel, Marianne Porter | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Mary Turzillo | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
Michael Swanwick, Sravani Hotha | ||
Noon | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by A Halo Called Fred |
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Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show Closes | ||
12:30pm | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Registration Closes | ||
Commonwealth East: The Short Fiction Market: Challenges, Threats, and Opporunties | ||
Susan Kaye Quinn, Elyse Russell, Marie Vibbert, Brandon Ketchum (M) | ||
Commonwealth West: The Multiverse Goes Mainstream | ||
The multiverse in some form has been part of science fiction at least since Murray Leinster's "Sidewise in Time." But it became known to wider audiences later on TV via Star Trek and in a big way in comics. But now it's known to wider audiences, as more TV shows and movies embrace the concept. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once won the Best Picture Oscar. The panel explores good and not-so-good versions of the multiverse. | ||
Laurie Mann (M), Donald Firesmith, A.J. Smith | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Ken Chiacchia | ||
225: Kaffeeklatsch | ||
JL Gribble | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Greg Frost | ||
1:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by H-narb | ||
Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show Auction | ||
Commonwealth East: Class and Caste in Science Fiction and Fantasy | ||
Barbara Doran, Alan Irvine (M), Rigel Ailur | ||
Commonwealth West: A History of People Being Wrong About Vikings | ||
Ada Palmer | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
Joshua David Bellin | ||
1:30pm | ||
Solstice: Reading | ||
JL Gribble | ||
2:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Concert by Gr3ys0n | ||
Commonwealth West: How to Conduct a Successful Siege | ||
This talk will introduce you to the basic concepts of Vauban's method for conducting a 17th century siege, as explained in his book On the Conduct of Sieges. By the end of this talk, you'll be capable of taking any walled city in the course of six weeks' time. We'll also talk about the end of walls, and the Times Before Cannon. | ||
Timons Esaias | ||
Grand Ballroom Lobby: Wrap Up and Feedback Session | ||
Kevin M. Hayes | ||
2:30pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 2: Art Show Pickup Deadline | ||
3:00pm | ||
Grand Ballroom 1: Dead Dog Open Filk | ||
Grand Ballroom 3/4: Dealers Room Closes | ||
908: Con Suite Closes | ||
Evening | ||
908: Dead Dog Filk (check in 908 on Sunday for the time) | ||
Friday Schedule * * Saturday Schedule * * * * Sunday Schedule * * Return to the Confluence Program page