See me at Ad Astra, April 4-6, 2014

AdAstra Science Fiction Convention will be held this Friday to Sunday, April 4 to 6, 2014, at a new hotel, the Sheraton Parkway North, 600 HWY-7 E  in Richmond Hill (north of Toronto), Ontario. That used to be the hotel for Polaris and Reversed Polarity. Below is my panels and events schedule. See you there.

Friday, 10:00 p.m., Main Room (Richmond C/D):

Non-European Fantasy Worlds

When we move away from a 'traditional' European foundation for the worlds we create, are we expanding our horizons or merely exploiting the exotic?  Explore whether10th-century Central Asia is any more - or less - inherently alien than 10th-century Scandinavia at this inclusive panel. With: K. V. Johansen, Derwin Mak, Douglas Smith.

Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Richmond A:

GoH and Author Signings

Saturday, 4:00 p.m.: Markham A:

Beyond Anime and Manga in East Asian SF/F

Science fiction and speculative fiction outside the anime/manga realm are making a comeback in East Asia.  Check out what's new in fiction from China, Japan and Korea, what's available here, plus where we can get our hands on some, in this fantastic panel. With Derwin Mak, Simon McNeil.

Sunday, 12:00-12:30 p.m.: Oakridges Room:

Reading

Come hear me read from my story "Mecha-Jesus" from next year's Tesseracts 18: Wrestling With Gods.

Sunday, 3:00 p.m.: Aurora

Historical Fiction: Balancing Fact with Fantasy

When we talk about alternate histories, Steampunk is an obvious standout, but there are countless ways of using the principles of alternate timelines in fantasy and science fiction. By combining thorough research with a few basic rules of thumb, we can re-examine our present by rewriting our past. With Eric Buchanan, Alyx Harvey, Russ Howe, Derwin Mak, Neil Jamieson-Williams.