ReaderCon 21 has come and gone. Overall it was another great weekend in Boston with most of the Altered Fluid crew, and a lot of other writers from other places about the globe that I’ve come to know while in the spec. fic. writing community.

The arrival on Friday morning from Midtown Manhattan was delayed by a few minutes due to the car rental office being in the same vicinity as the Today Show’s free Lady GaGa concert. Many people, gridlocked sidewalks, and I nearly punched a tourist or two in the head. But I digress…

I kept true to form and only attended one panel this year. Elizabeth Hand gave a presentation on her time at the National Air and Space Museum, where she worked on a project cataloging all of the museum’s photos, at a time when Laser Disks and film camers were still cutting edge technology. Her focus was on the odd designs that only existed on paper (paper that was more aerodynamic than most of the concepts).  Fascinating material.

Later, I attended readings by Matthew Kressel and Alaya Dawn Johnson (Alaya read from MOONSHINE, her recent vampire novel that I’ll write more on later). The rest of the weekend was taken up with meeting and greeting people at the pool, at the bar, going out to dinner, and an Altered Fluid/Sybil’s Garage party that just would not end.

Overall a great weekend that left me tired yet enthusiastic on Sunday evening, sad to be back to the grind of work yet inspired to write. Already looking forward to next year.

Click here for photos by Matthew Kressel (Yeah, I took my camera, but I kept forgetting it in the room).

On Tuesday, June 1st, I’ll be reading along with fellow Altered Fluid members N.K. Jemisin and E.C. Myers as part of the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings Series.  Full details below.

NYRSF Presents

An Evening with Altered Fluid’s
N. K. Jemisin
E.C. Myers
Devin Poore

Tuesday, June 1st — Doors open 6:30 PM
SoHo Gallery for Digital Art
138 Sullivan Street       (directions and links below)
$5 suggested donation

Our original hope and intent was to hold some kind of Gala for the finale of our 20th Anniversary Season, but those plans will have to be postponed.  Instead, we’re going to plan a Gala for early next season. But I’m sure you won’t be let down by the fabulous line-up we have in store for you this Tuesday, June 1st.

In the past we have featured members of such writers groups as Tabula Rasa.  This time, coming in to cap our season are three members of Altered Fluid.

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Altered Fluid is a speculative fiction writers’ group based in Manhattan. Its members have been meeting since 2001 to workshop their short stories and novels of science fiction, horror, fantasy and slipstream.  Its ranks include some of the rising stars in the genre and Fluidians have been nominated for this year’s Nebula Award, Hugo Award and Campbell Award, respectively.

N. K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn writer of short stories and novels.  Her first novel, THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, is out now from Orbit Books, and she is hard at work on the third novel of this trilogy.  Her short stories have been published in Postscripts, Clarkesworld,Strange Horizons, Baen’s Universe, Escape Pod and Podcastle.  One of those short stories, “Non-Zero Probabilities,” has been nominated for this year’s Hugo and Nebula awards, as well as the StorySouth Million Writers Top Ten.  Her Web site is at http://nkjemisin.com

E.C. Myers: Since attending Clarion West and joining Altered Fluid in 2005, E.C. Myers has sold short stories to various magazines and anthologies, including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales, Loving the Undead, and Shimmer Magazine. He’s currently finishing his fourth young adult novel, blogs about Star Trek for Tor.com, edits the Clarion West alumni newsletter, co-moderates the GothamLit listserv for speculative fiction events in New York, and wastes time on the Internet when he should be writing or sleeping. He also has a day job as a digital media manager, but the less said about that the better. His Web site is at http://ecmyers.com.

Devin Poore left the wilds of Indiana at the age of 18 for Uncle Sam’s Yacht Club, otherwise known as the U.S. Navy.  After six years of working on and utilizing shipboard anti-aircraft missile systems, he left the Navy and, following several twists and turns, settled in the New York City area.  Devin’s non-fiction and fiction has appeared in Sybil’s Garage, where he is now an associate editor.  When he isn’t writing short stories and novels that deal with everything from vampires to magic to the Civil War, he makes his living as a computer consultant, and builds highly detailed models of ships most people have never heard of.  He currently resides in Hoboken, NJ, with his wonderfully talented fiancée, dancer and choreographer Kristen Mangione.  He can be found online at http://www.devinjpoore.com

Other members of Altered Fluid include:

• Saladin Ahmed
• Paul M. Berger
• K. Tempest Bradford
• Kristine Dikeman
• Alaya Dawn Johnson
• Rajan Khanna
• Matthew Kressel
• Mercurio D. Rivera
• Greer Woodward (satellite member)

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The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series is celebrating its 20th season of providing performances from some of the best writers in science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, etc.  The series usually takes place the first Tuesday of every month, but maintains flexibility in time and place, so be sure to stay in touch through the mailing list and the Web.

Admission is by a $5 donation.  If circumstances make this a hardship, let us know and we will accommodate you.

Jim Freund is Producer and Executive Curator of The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings.  He has been involved in producing radio programs of and about literary sf/f since 1967.  His long-running live radio program, “Hour of the Wolf,” broadcasts and streams every Saturday morning from 5:00 to 7:00.  Past shows are available “‘on-demand” for about 6 months after broadcast.  (Check http://hourwolf.com for details.)

The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art (http://sohodigart.com)  is dedicated to re-establishing SoHo as an international center for the development of new artistic forms, concepts and ideas.  A screens-instead-of-canvases approach allows a wide selection of art from around the world which would otherwise never make it to the City.  The SGDA is availible for private gatherings and events of all kinds.  For bookings call (800) 420-5590 or visit http://sohogallerynyc.com

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WHEN:
Tuesday, 6/1
Doors open at 6:30 — event begins at 7

WHERE:
The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art
138 Sullivan Street  (between Houston & Prince St.)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=138+Sullivan+St.+New+York+NY+10012
HOW:
By Subway
6, C, E to Spring St.; A, B D or F to West 4th; 1 train to Houston St; or R, W to Prince St.
There are many convenient bus lines that come within a couple of blocks of the gallery.  Use the link above for an interactive transit map.

LINKS:
http://hourwolf.com/nyrsf
http://nyrsf.com

A while back (don’t ask how long, I don’ t remember, and if I did it would only serve to remind me of how old I’m getting) I wrote an article for Sybil’s Garage about the Hoboken attraction Sybil’s Cave.

As I continue to work on my updated website, I’ve added a PDF of this piece to my Writing page.  Check it out.  I’ve also uploaded several of the interviews I’ve done for past Sybil’s issues.

March 4th – 8th marked the third annual Altered Fluid Writer’s Retreat.  After deviating last year and renting two houses in Gettysburg, PA, this year we returned to the Woodstock, NY region and ended up at a very nice house in Bearsville.

I can claim to have got a lot of writing done, but I’d be a freakin’ liar.  I got some done, not nearly as much as I would have liked.  There was no television to distract us this year,  only what entertainment could be streamed via high speed internet to our laptops.

Photo above courtesy of Matt Kressel.