TWA editor Harrison Demchick had a very busy and exciting weekend at the first annual Chessiecon, a convention hosted by the Thanksgiving Science Fiction Society that is dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and related genres. Joining Tamora Pierce and Tom Smith on the guest line-up, Harrison was honored to be asked to participate in five panels in addition to giving his popular talk, “Bad Math; or, How Right and Left Brains Work Together: The Function of Logic in Fiction.”
On Friday, November 18th, Harrison joined fellow authors Elizabeth Corrigan, Mary Fan, and Stephen Kozeniewski on a panel entitled, “The Evolving Landscape of Publishing,” where they were able to discuss how publishing has evolved as well as share advice on the nature of publishing in the 21st century. That evening, Harrison presented his “Bad Math” talk, exploring the importance of logic in a field founded in creative invention.
[Harrison has] a logical, systematic approach that I find pleasant and easy to follow.– Eileen Martz, novelist
Saturday found Harrison on three panels. The first, “How Not to Get Published” with Mary Fan, Stephen Kozeniewski, and D.C. McLaughlin, was a discussion of common mistakes made while navigating the publishing realm. Next, Harrison joined Stephen Kozeniewski, Timothy Liebe, and Don Sakers as judges on the conferences’ Turkey Awards Panel: conference goers were asked to submit their best terrible first paragraph of a potential science fiction novel. Finally, Harrison discussed the paradoxical appeal of the horror genre on “The Psychology of Horror” panel with fellow authors Casey Jones, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Michelle D. Sonnier.
To wrap up an exciting weekend, Harrison reconvened with the members of his first panel for “Reaching Readers,” a discussion of the role of an author in online spaces as they navigate their relationship with readers.
Harrison had a fantastic time connecting with the science fiction and fantasy community and was flattered to be asked to share his expertise.
We hope to see you all at Chessiecon 2015 at the North Baltimore Plaza Hotel, November 27-29th. A big thank you to Jo Hogan and the Thanksgiving Science Fiction Society for inviting Harrison to your convention!
