Converging on Capricon!

THIS WEEKEND, I’ll be hanging out with some of my best friends at Capricon 39, a science fiction / fantasy / horror convention in Wheeling, IL. Hoping to see lots of genre fans at my reading tomorrow night, as well as at the panels and autographing session I have coming up over the next four days. We’ll be talking about everything from “The Art of Violence in Horror” to the “Twisted Mind of Guillermo Del Toro.”

While we’ve all seen each other independently since then, I haven’t gotten to hang out as a group at a convention with W.D. Gagliani, Dave Benton and Brian Pinkerton since the last DucKon was held (also in Wheeling, IL) back in 2014! So it’s going to be a blast talking horror and writing all weekend with them.

Here’s my schedule of events:

THURSDAY:

6:30 – 8:00 PM: Themed Reading: Things that Go Bump in the Night…
…Or terrify us in the day. Horror writers read from their works.
AUTHORS: John Everson, W.D. Gagliani, Christian A. Larsen, Brian Pinkerton

FRIDAY:

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Razorblades on the Tongue: The Art of Violence
Violent scenes are a staple of the horror genre. How far should they go? When do you close the door? When does the violence no longer serve the work? Should writers worry about it, or just go with their gut?
PANELISTS: John Everson (Moderator), Lauren Jankowski, Karen Herkes, David Benton, W.D. Gagliani

4:00 – 5:30 PM: Writing While Life Rolls Over You
How do you survive Life Events while trying to juggle day job and a writing career? How do you stay organized? Recover from massive distractions? Get back to the project? Overcome imposter syndrome? Let’s figure this out together.
PANELISTS: Barbara Barnett (Moderator), Brian Pinkerton, David Benton, John Everson, Kristine Smith, Karen Herkes

8:30 – 10:00 PM: Theme Reading: Erotic SF and Horror
Authors read from their works of SF and Horror erotic fiction
AUTHORS: W.D. Gagliani, Brendan Detzner, John Everson

SATURDAY:

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM: Autographing Session
AUTHORS: David Benton, John Everson, W.D. Gagliani, Brian Pinkerton

5:30 – 7:00 PM: Dissecting the Monstrous Mind of Guillermo Del Toro
Discussion of del Toro’s monsters, from ghosts to kaiju and everything in between.
PANELISTS: John Everson (Moderator), Matthew Munro, Richard Chwedyk, Chris M. Barkley

SUNDAY:

10:00 – 11:30 AM: Ghosts and Hauntings: Chicago Style
Chicago isn’t just known for insisting that ketchup doesn’t belong on a hot dog. It is known for its ghost stories, and other haunting tales. The Eastland Disaster still haunts the shores of the Chicago River, the woman who can still be seen on the stairs of Fado’s Irish Pub. Resurrection Mary still hitches rides to get home. We will discuss plenty of haunted stories from the beginning of Chicago’s history.
PANELISTS: Bryn Dubois (Moderator), John Everson, Lee Darrow, John Nikitow

12:00 – 1:30 PM: Punch the Ghost! Horror as Therapy?
Fighting things we fear through Horror writing. Panelists discuss how their own fears both feed their creativity and help them to deal with their own darkness.
PANELISTS: Brian Pinkerton (Moderator), John Everson, W.D. Gagliani, Donna J.W. Munro, Justin Hamelin

You can download the full program book for the convention from the Capricon website.