My Ad Astra Schedule (Toronto, Apr 9-11)

I'll be appearing at Ad Astra, the excellent annual Toronto SF&F con in April. Ad Astra always features a strong literary program as well as the expected media focus. Location: Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel, 1250 Eglinton Avenue East. Here's my schedule for panels, signings, and readings, plus the official Toronto Chimerascope launch:


Fri 10:00 PM — Grassroots on Virtual Soil (Ballroom Centre) Word of mouth advertising has taken on a new life with current technologies. Learn how social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace can help advertise and build support for new books, movies, fan events and more. (Panelists: Matt Moore (m), Justine Lewkowicz, Douglas Smith, Cathy Palmer-Lister)


Sat 11:00 AM — ChiZine Publications Panel (Ballroom Centre) Beginning as the print off-shoot of Chiaroscuro, in less than two years, ChiZine Publications has grown into a small but influential player in independent genre publishing. CZP staff and authors discuss and answer questions about its growth in a bad time for publishing, the future of genre publishing, why a small press might be a better option for beginning writers, and how they have fun doing it. (Panelists: Brett Alexander Savory, Sandra Kasturi, Matt Moore Gemma Files, David Nickle, Claude Lalumiere, Douglas Smith, Helen Marshall, Laura Marshall, Erik Mohr, Bob Boyczuk)


Sat 1:00 PM — Autographs by Douglas Smith Dealers Room I'll be signing autographs and signing copies of my two collections, Chimerascope and Impossibilia, in the Dealers Room. You'll be able to buy copies of both as well.


Sat 3:00 PM — Beyond Wikipedia (Salon 443) Research techniques and pitfalls for writers. How do you know whether the information on the internet is accurate? What are your best reference sources, when are books better than the internet, and when (and how!) do you talk to an expert? (Panelists: Gabrielle Harbowy (m), Douglas Smith, Karin Lowachee, Bob Boyczuk, Justine Lewkowicz)


Sat 4:00 PM — Autograph Session (to 5:30) (Ballroom East) A large group of the author guests at Ad Astra will be at a group signing event for 90 minutes.


Sat 7:00-9:00 PM — Chimerascope Launch (as part of CZP Launch) (Antons') My publisher, ChiZine Publications, will be launching my collection, Chimerascope, along with Gemma Files' new novel, Book of Tongues. (Attendees: Brett Alexander Savory, Douglas Smith, Gemma Files, Matt Moore, Sandra Kasturi)


Sun 11:00 AM — Reading (Antons') I'll be reading, either from Chimerascope or from my Aurora short-listed story, "Radio Nowhere," along with friend and fellow CZP author, Claude Lalumiere.


Sun Noon-1:00 PM — "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" Movie screening and Discussion (Antons') I'll be screening an almost final cut of the indie film based on my horror short story "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" and then discussing the story-to-film process with fellow ChiZine writer, David Nickle. Free giveaways of the official movie companion book.


Sun 2:00 PM — Dueling Openings (Ballroom Centre) Short fiction writers (all with collections out from CZP) take turns reading the opening lines of their published stories, and the audience chooses which opening(s) they like best. Authors discuss what makes a good opening, why they're important. (Panelists: Douglas Smith (m), Claude Lalumiere, David Nickle, Robert Boyczuk)