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Parsec

Vera’s highlights from Confluence 2022

This weekend (July 29-31) I attended my first Confluence in Pittsburgh, and I’m so glad I did!

Confluence is a small but incredibly fun, welcoming & inspiring conference that brings together writers, editors, readers & fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It’s organized by Parsec, Pittsburgh’s speculative fiction organization, and I highly recommend it. I had a blast.

Confluence logo. Beige text on black background.

Here are some highlights.

Meeting friends, old and new

Writing can get lonely, and I haven’t been to any writerly event since the pandemic started, so the biggest highlight of the conference for me was the people (isn’t it always?).

I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to catch up with old friends, see some of my Twitter friends face to face for the first time, and make new friends & connections. (I wish I remembered to take more photos!)

It was lovely to finally meet Susan Kaye Quinn, a scientist-turned-science-fiction-writer like myself, and my long-time inspiration and role model in the indie publishing world. Like Susan, I crave and try to write science fiction that’s hopeful & optimistic, at least to some degree, including solarpunk. After all, science fiction can do more than identify problems and warn of dangers ahead. It’s also a laboratory for ideas and a testing ground for solutions. (In my excitement, I forgot to take a photo with Susan. Next time!)

It was also terrific to hang out with my writer friend Marie Vibbert; to talk short fiction with Scott H. Andrews (editor of Beneath Ceaseless Skies), Neil Clarke (editor of Clarkesworld), and Charlie Oberndorf; to swap novels with Shannon Eichorn (I can’t wait to read Rights of Use); to chat about the writing life with Herb Kauderer; to play board games with Michelle Steiner and Mowgli Assor, both librarians extraordinaire; and to meet so many other amazing writers, editors, publishers, and fans.

A selfie of Vera Brook and her friend Marie Vibbert, both smiling at the camera. Marie is wearing awesome crystal cube earrings.
Marie Vibbert (left) and Vera Brook (right) at Confluence 2022.

Conference programming

Another highlight of the conference was the programming. Lots of fun & informative sessions to attend! But don’t take my word for it – see for yourself. The full Confluence 2022 schedule can be found here.

I had the pleasure of moderating two panels (with thanks to the Confluence organizers for trusting me with the job!):

  • “Reading Short SF: Why You Should Be Reading Short Fiction, Both Classic and New“ – with panelists Neil Clarke (Confluence’s Guest of Honor) and Michael Swanwick, and moderated by yours truly
  • “Suspended animation, FTL, AI: Which common SF ideas may become reality (and which are unlikely)” – with panelists Marianne Porter, Alan Katerinsky, Charles Oberndorf, and Barton Paul Levenson, and moderated by yours truly

Writing workshop

Finally, I participated in the “First Five Pages” writing workshop taught by Scott H. Andrews, and it was excellent! A lecture on short-fiction craft from a long-time editor is always a treat, but we also submitted, read, and discussed each other’s work (the first five pages of a short story, as the name of the workshop suggests). Thank you, Scott! The workshop was super helpful. Now to apply it to my own short fiction…

In conclusion, I can’t wait for Confluence 2023!

Filed Under: News/Media Tagged With: conference, Confluence, Parsec, Short Fiction, writing workshop

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Vera Brook Retweeted · IZ Digital
@InterzoneDigi
“In the beginning there was nothing. Then the train came.”

—Cécile Cristofari, ‘An Intimate Picture of Loneliness’

Read this story and many others at

https://t.co/B68T6LyCwZ

Always free, always illustrated

💖 https://t.co/2rnsfCks3V
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Vera Brook Retweeted · Interzone Magazine Fans
@InterzoneF
Story #6 in the latest issue: 'Walking in from the West'/Charles Wilkinson.
"An accomplished murder mystery in reverse and back to front. In fact, was anyone murdered at all? Great blend of modern and traditional to jar the readers comfortable-genre cul-de-sacs". #charleswilkinson https://t.co/3DcZMc2pqs
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Vera Brook Retweeted · Eugenia Triantafyllou
@FoxesandRoses
AAAAAA! So honored to have "This Village" published in @UncannyMagazine, taught by @BELUTHAHATCHIE in his CW Flash Fiction Workshop series alongside some fabulous work! Check out the rest of the videos on the @ClarionWest channel! ❤️❤️❤️
https://t.co/iLhpa5zn7E
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Vera Brook Retweeted · Andy Duncan
@BELUTHAHATCHIE
The six videos I recorded for this summer's Flash Fiction Workshop have been posted to the @ClarionWest @YouTube channel, with captions -- about an hour total. Enjoy! Here's the first. https://t.co/F5qg2f2w2q
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Vera Brook Retweeted · Marie Croke
@marie_croke
Stayed up past my bedtime to finish this heavily emotional book by @gracechanwrites. One of the best kinds of science-fiction, asking the hard questions about what life means to different people and what constitutes advancement or decadence. An achingly beautiful read!! https://t.co/Ry8kyGqgXy
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