Schedule grids available in pdf. Kaffeeklatsches and Tea with Tammy require advanced sign-up at the Registration table.
[New York/Delaware] Good Monsters go Bad What's behind the transformation of an evil character like Dracula into a hero? Darth Vader? Is it our fascination with evil, or our lack of belief in true evil? It took a century to transform Dracula; today we seem to be speeding up the process; is this just our deeper knowledge of human nature, human impulses, or something else? Thomas Seay, Timothy Liebe, Charles Oberndorf, Michail Velichansky
[Virginia] Video Tank Girl (1995)
[New Jersey] Language for Time Travelers, a Talk by John Alfred Taylor
[New York/Delaware] Teenage Zombie Pirate Ninja Vampire A cautionary panel discussing the tendency of neo writers to overdo some things. Beyond discussing the overuse of these common tropes, the panelists will go on to discuss some of the other common mistakes that come with more enthusiasm than experience. Paul Pence, Christina Schulman, Laurie Mann
[Maryland] Nominations for the 2005 Pegasus Awards A discussion of the potential candidates for filk's biggest prizes. Who made this year's Brainstorming Poll? Who should have? Nominations deadline is August 5! Randy Hoffman
[Ohio] Dealers Room Opens [Connecticut] Art Show Opens
[304] Reading Diane Turnshek
[304] Reading Michail Velichansky
[New York/Delaware] YA Fantasy CarpetbaggersThe current wave of commercial success for young adult fantasy is drawing a lot of “adult” authors into the genre, with mixed success. What are some of the titles/authors that are doing it well/not getting it? Tamora Pierce, Susan Dexter
[Maryland] Filk Rarities Show and Tell Randy Hoffman unlocks his vault and exhibits some of his rare filk recordings and other treasures. He'll tell what he knows about them, where he got them...but not how much he paid. J
[Virginia] Video Lost Skeleton of Cadavera (2001)
[New Jersey] Alpha Report Find out about this year's Alpha Young Writers' Workshop from some of its attendees.
[New York/Delaware] Character Building What are the techniques you can use to make your characters leap off the page and get a grip on the reader's heart? What are the techniques you use to make them odious but believable, so the reader will hate them (rather than laugh at them)? Paul Pence, Will McDermott, Charles Oberndorf
[Maryland] Concert Pete Grubbs
[Virginia] Video Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
[New York/Delaware] Atlanta Nights: the SFWA Sting What did SFWA set out to do, and why? How did they do it? Paul Melko, Brenda Clough
[Maryland] Concert Robert B. Cooke
[Ohio] Dealers Room Closes [Connecticut] Art Show Closes
[302] Beerklatsch (requires sign up at Registration, must be 21 to drink beer) Herb Kauderer, Alan Katerinsky
[New York/Delaware] Readings from Atlanta Nights
[Maryland] Concert Barry Peterson
[Virginia] Video Shaolin Soccer (2001)
[Maryland] Concert Jack Erdie
[New York/Delaware] Open Filking Keep singing 'til we drop!
[Virginia] Video Army of Darkness (1993)
[301 – Con Suite Overflow Room] Harry Potter Book for Sale!
[Virginia] Video Excel Saga (1999)
[New Jersey] Transhumanism and the Singularity If the Singularity is really coming, Humanity will have to change to cope. What kinds of changes do we predict? What kinds of Humans do you describe if you are writing about post-singularity people? John Alfred Taylor, Alexis Gilliland, David Barr Kirtley
[New York/Delaware] Big Brother Was a Lightweight Modern terrorism, politics and homeland security have echoes of 1984, but in some ways are much worse. Are we seeing a new wave of dystopias, of SF reflecting the modern negative trends? Lawrence Connolly, Paul Melko, Charles Oberndorf, Tim Esaias
[Ohio] Dealers Room Opens [Connecticut] Art Show Opens
[Virginia] Video Batman: The Movie (1966)
[302] Writing Exercises, Led by Bobby Nansel (bring a pen and paper)
[New Jersey] How Will Knowing What Titan Looks Like Change SF? Spielberg's War of the Worlds changed the aliens based on our knowledge of Mars. What kind of effects will the new pictures, views have on SF? Ken Chiacchia, Alexis Gilliland, Thomas Seay
[New York/Delaware] The Way the Future Looked Predictions from 1939 about the future revealed! John Alfred Taylor, Lee Gilliland
[Maryland] Kinderfilk Kids' Concert Fun filk songs, sing-alongs, and more for kids from ages -27 to 18,245. Mary Bertke, Robert B. Cooke, Callie Hills, Randy Hoffman, with signing by Judi Miller
[Ohio] Autographing Triangulations/PARSEC Calendar Signing
[304] Reading Tamora Pierce
[New Jersey] Astronomy Presentation, a Talk by Diane Turnshek
[New York/Delaware] Cult TV DVD is changing the way TV responds; Star Trek fans had to wait ten years, but we are seeing a movie of Firefly after a year. Farscape fans got a made-for-TV-movie, Family Guy is back on TV. And Lost is proving that TV can be hypnotic. How and why are these particular series so different? Susan Dexter, Timothy Liebe, Thomas Seay
[Maryland] Concert Mary Bertke
[Virginia] Video Mars Attacks (1996)
[Ohio] Autographing
[302] Kaffeeklatsch (sign up at Registration) William Tenn, Fruma Klass
[304] Reading Charles Oberndorf
[304] Reading Tobias Buckell
[New Jersey] There's Ebola in my Bird Flu Big scary SF diseases and global pandemics aren't so science-fictiony anymore. How is SF reacting to having reality catch up? Or has SF slipped behind the real truth? Ken Chiacchia, Lawrence Connolly, Gary Markette, Tobias Buckell
[New York/Delaware] Sex and the Single Vampire Hunter Why can't anybody write a vampire series that doesn't devolve into soft-core porn? Alan Katerinsky, Charles Oberndorf, Barton Levenson, Diane Turnshek
[Maryland] Concert Callie Hills
[302] Tea with Tammy (sign up at Registration) Tamora Pierce
[304] Reading Triangulations Reading
[New Jersey] The Xander Principle Are Xena, Buffy, et al. changing perceptions so that we now write weaker men? Susan Dexter, Juanita Coulson, Herb Kauderer
[New York/Delaware] How and Why Writers — Including Science Fiction Writers — Write, a Talk by William Tenn
[Maryland] Concert Joe Giacoio
[Virginia] Video Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
[302] Kaffeeklatsch (sign up at Reg) Diane Turnshek, Tobias Buckell
[304] Reading Ken Chiacchia
[New Jersey] What is Truly Horrible in Today's World? We aren't easily shocked, after watching TV showing massacres, atrocities, serial killers. What does a horror writer do to scare people—or is that impossible now? Tobias Buckell, Lawrence Connolly, Fruma Klass, Michail Velichansky
[New York/Delaware] Tissue Engineering Dr. John Archie Pollock, Duquesne University
[Maryland] Concert Tom Smith
[302] Kaffeeklatsch (sign up at Reg) Timothy Liebe, Alexis Gilliland
[304] Reading Paul Melko
[304] Reading Will McDermott
[New York/Delaware] GoH Speech Tamora Pierce
[Virginia] Video Time Bandits (1981)
[New Jersey] Sex in Heavy G's How would the human race continue in an environment with heavier gravity? There are classic SF stories about people from heavy gravity planets, but how realistic is their existence? Bill Keith, Diane Turnshek, William Tenn
[New York/Delaware] Transcending Cliché: Musical Performance in SF/F Why is it that 99% of the musical performances you see in an SF/F movie or read about in an SF/F story are retreads of well-known formats such as the tribal ritual, bardic entertainment, folk song, opera, or jazz/rock concert? Can't somebody come up with an original way for elves and aliens to express themselves musically? Juanita Coulson, Randy Hoffman, Timothy Liebe
[Maryland] The Tom and Pete Show A mutual appreciation (or depreciation?) society and musical revue. Once a staple at ConFusion in Michigan, the Show experiences a revival here. Pete Grubbs, Tom Smith
[Virginia] Video Porco Rosso (1992)
[Maryland] Concert A Little R & R, with signing by Judi Miller
[Ohio] Dealers Room Closes [Connecticut] Art Show Closes
[New York/Delaware/New Jersey] Dune, the Soft Rock Musical, presented by Parallax Second Players
[Maryland] Fantasy Characters: Daydream or Nightmare? Fantasies seem to fall into two categories: those with strong virile heroes and green-eyed heroines (daydream) and those with primarily crippled and tortured characters (nightmare). Is there a reason for the dichotomy? Are there books that span a broader mix of characters? Brenda Clough, Gary Markette, Will McDermott
[Virginia] Video The Fifth Element (1998)
[302] 2005 Hugo Novel Discussion, Led by Jim Mann
[New York/Delaware/New Jersey] Poexry Herb Kauderer, Tim Esaias…
[302] Wine/Cheese Tasting (Must be over 21 to drink wine)
[New York/Delaware/New Jersey] Featured Filk Guest Concert: Escape Key
[Virginia] Video Kung-Fu Hustle (2004)
[New York/Delaware] Open Filking Keep singing 'til we drop!
[Virginia] Video Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
[Virginia] Video Excel Saga (1999)
[New Jersey] Internet Press, New Publishing Ideas What are some of the new ways of keeping the genre alive, that take advantage of the new technologies? Gary Markette, Judy Galardi
[Virginia] Video Labyrinth (1986)
[Ohio] Dealers Room Opens [Connecticut] Art Show Opens
[302] Writing Exercises, Led by Bobby Nansel (bring a pen and paper)
[New Jersey] Taking Your Writing to the Next Level You've actually finished some stories, but they got rejected. What are some techniques you can use to improve your writing, to take it up a level so your stories get accepted? Tim Esaias, Fruma Klass, David Barr Kirtley, Paul Melko
[New York/Delaware] Fantasy Landscapes: Familiar versus Fantastic The majority of fantasies choose to write in familiar landscapes; either pseudo-medieval or some actual urban city. Is this to reassure readers? Is it to let the author and reader concentrate on the magic? Brenda Clough, Tamora Pierce
[Maryland] Guitar Wizardry Made (to Look) Easy Joe Giacoio demonstrates some of the magical stringed-instrument-manipulation for which he's famous and shows how it's done. Can you learn it in an hour? Probably not, but your jaw might stop dropping quite so far open during his concerts...
[Delaware] What Would Leonardo Do? Heinlein, Van Vogt, and others of the “Golden Age” wrote novels in which one man changed society. Are such plots avoided today because no one would believe them? Or are we more interested in anti-heroes? Alexis Gilliland, Alan Katerinsky, Michail Velichansky, Bill Keith
[Maryland] TTW Instafilk Challenge This challenge offers one tune, one topic, one word, chosen at random. Can you write that filk in 30 minutes or less? No prizes except audience applause. Randy Hoffman
[Virginia] Video Remo Williams (1985)
[Ohio] Autographing Tamora Pierce
[Connecticut] Art Show Closes
[302] Kaffeeklatsch (sign up at Registration) Ken Chiacchia
[304] 2005 Hugo-nominated Short Fiction Discussion, Led by Dan Bloch
[Delaware] Art Show Auction
[Maryland] Brainstorming the Filk/Lit Interface How can musicians and authors participate in the same Confluence panels and events? Put on your thinking/writing/singing caps and help us come up with ideas. Randy Hoffman
[304] Reading William Tenn
[Delaware] Can You Describe Alien Senses? Is just using an exaggeration of animal senses (providing you actually know something about animals) effective? How well does that work? How much beyond that can you go without losing the reader? Ken Chiacchia, Bill Keith, David Barr Kirtley
[Maryland] Dead Dog Open Filking
[Virginia] Video The Dark Crystal (1982)
[Connecticut] Art Pickup and Pay
[304] How History Is Filtered, a Talk by Herb Kauderer
[Delaware] The Nuclear Genie During the golden age, there was a strong faith in new technology, an enthusiasm, an embracing of what the future would bring. Now it seems we recoil in fear, and approach each change with reluctance. How much of that societal change is seen in current SF? How much of this change is responsible for the lamented loss of the “sense of wonder?” Tobias Buckell, William Tenn, Alexis Gilliland
Convention Closes See You Next Year! Confluence, July 28-30, 2006, Sheraton Four-Points, Airport. Geoff Landis is our Guest of Honor! You can buy memberships for next year at the Registration Table Saturday afternoon and Sunday at a special discounted rate!