Later today, Gary and I will be landing our scout ships at the legendary Hunt Valley Marriott for Balticon 46, one of the country’s longest-running annual science fiction conventions, and one of a handful to focus primarily on science fiction in its written form — although it certainly embraces new media in all its current forms too. Gary and I have been attending annually for many years, and of course last year’s Balticon marked the official launch of Channel 37.
So it’s our birthday! We hope you’ll celebrate it with us whether you’re here in person at Balticon with us, or one of our online friends who will lift a glass virtually with us.
And speaking of birthdays, this year we’re happy to announce the publication of our first print book (to complement our growing list of e-book offerings — Channel 37: Season One!, featuring the complete stories from our launch to the end of 2011. Season One! features:
- The Terror from the Other Dimension!
- They Came from New Jersey!
- The Green Girl
- Eva Golemina and the Calvert Street Sorceress
- Eight stories from The Event Horizon
- Three multi-part episodes of Space Repairman
- Plus: brand-new “introductions” to each story explaining the (completely fictional, but really cleverly written) back-stories of each of the serials
The book is currently available exclusively at Balticon 46, after which it will be available for sale on Amazon. An e-book version will also follow.
We’ll be updating this entry throughout the weekend with news, photos, recaps, and more. Gary and I are going to be on lots of panels, so if you want to track us down at the con, look us up on the program schedule or download the pocket program in handy PDF form. In between sessions, we’ll be wandering the halls, attending as many of the great program offerings as we can, and staffing the Science Fiction Collective table. Look for the silver rocket with the crossed mike and pen!
Cheers, and happy conning!
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Friday Highlights:
A very fun whirlwind of a first day. Some memorable moments: being on a panel on serial and serialized fiction with Scott Sigler and having him say that five years ago, he was right where we are now, and that what we’re doing with Channel 37 is the way of the future! The 11 pm panel on narratives in new media with Jared Axelrod and Patrick Scaffido covered a lot of thought-provoking ground and was the perfect note to end on.
Sunday Highlights:
A slower day in the dealer room, but lots of opportunities to chat with readers and other writers. Compton Crook Award winner (and regular C37 re-tweeter) T.C. McCarthy dropped by to say hi and to tell us how much he likes Channel 37 – real Moment of Squee!!
Gary and Paul wrapped up the day with a really fun panel on the ups and downs of blogging with Helen (Cynical Woman) Madden and — of course — Patrick Scaffido, who is fast becoming one of our favorite people!
Monday Highlights:
Unquestionably the highlight of our day, and perhaps of our whole convention, happened on our “flagship” panel, “Serialized Science Fiction: the New Pulps?” (Admittedly, we should have used the word “Serial” instead, but the distinction did generate some very interesting discussion.) Bringing full circle the discussion that began on Scott Sigler’s panel on Friday, indie publishing superstar Nathan Lowell was in attendance, and he kindly agreed to step in as moderator at the last minute. The resulting discussion was far- and wide-ranging, with much valuable input from the audience, and resulted in a most promising prospect for the future — the potential for a “Podiobooks for e-zines,” to help boost distribution and monetization of e-zines. The panel attendees heard it first, and now you’re hearing it second. Get the details in Tuesday’s special edition of 37 Minutes!
And the day wouldn’t have been complete without a farewell appearance from our friend Patrick Scaffido, who dropped by the table — jug of water in hand, of course — to buy a copy of our book and to wish us well in the coming year, to which we gratefully reciprocated.
We left Balticon 46 much, much lighter than we arrived — not only because we were carrying many fewer copies of our books, nor because we hadn’t eaten much in four days, but also because we were buoyed by the heady panel discussions, inspiring ideas and plans for the future of e-publishing, the countless serendipitous conversations at the table and in the halls, and the many new friendships we made over the course of four wonderful days.
Onward to the year ahead! And don’t forget: keep watching the skies . . .
