It’s event season, apparently, because somehow June has snuck up on us without any warning, no polite note slipped under the door, no quick text reminder, just appearing with no notice like the UTTER BASTARD it is.

Ahem.

The good side, when you stop with the existential dread that comes from realising almost half the year is gone, is that it’s Continuum time! I will be in Melbourne for this year’s Continuum 15, and looking forward to hopefully seeing many of you lovely folk there.

The full program is here but you can see me on the following panels:

• Friday 6pm: Publishing Q&A: Join Abigail Nathan, Alex Adsett, Devin Madson, Jack Dann, Darren Nash and me to ask whatever questions you might have about the murky and mysterious totally transparent and logical world of publishing!
• Saturday 11am: Animals in SFF: From creating new animals from the bones up to renaming the ones we already have, a look at all things animals in SFF. Porgs, tribbles, thestrals, dragons and so much more. Discussion of the ethics of Fantastic Beasts and how to avoid cultural appropriation of mythical creatures from other cultures most welcome. Join Paula Boer, Carolyn Denman, Clare Rhoden and me to talk weird and wonderful creatures in SFF
• Sunday 11am: Sports in SFF: Quidditch! Podracing! Blood bowl! Calvinball! What would you like to see in a speculative fiction Olympics? Join  Freya Marske, Kate Elliott, Devin Madson and me to talk sports!
• Sunday 3pm: What makes a hero? What makes someone a hero, not just a protagonist? Why do some people argue that Snape was the real hero of Harry Potter? Join Gillian Polack, E. J. Beaton, Aiki Flinthart and me to shout angrily that Snape is not ‘the real hero’ of anything calmly discuss heroes!
• Monday 11am: Recommendations panel: This is where Tam, Elizabeth Fitzgerald and I shout at you to buy the books that we love

I will also be at the award ceremony on Saturday arvo, where I am up for 2 categories of Ditmar (best novel and best new talent), and the Norma K Hemming award, and although I have no expectations of winning any of them, I will at least be in attendance this time just in case! 🙂

Come and find me and say hi if you’re planning to be around. If we know each other from the internet, please let me know that we do – I have no capacity to match twitter avatars to actual humans so you’ll have to give me a hint, I’m very old and tired after all.

See you soon!