{"id":12210,"date":"2017-10-04T08:25:53","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T21:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=12210"},"modified":"2025-10-11T16:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T05:55:59","slug":"conflux13-recounting-a-weekend-of-speculative-fiction-conflux_sfcon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/conflux13-recounting-a-weekend-of-speculative-fiction-conflux_sfcon\/","title":{"rendered":"#Conflux13 \u2013 recounting a weekend of speculative fiction @conflux_sfcon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Every time I attend Conflux<\/a>, Canberra’s annual speculative fiction convention, it’s different. The uniting theme is of course different and exciting (this year it was ‘Grimm Tales’), as are the guests of honour (this year we had Ellen Datlow<\/a>, Angela Slatter, <\/a>Meri Amber<\/a> and as MC Kaaron Warren<\/a> \u2013 all spec fic mega stars!), and since I don’t go every year, time passes and I am different. But this long weekend’s convention went a step further because it was different every day. People came and went, bringing their own flavour to proceedings, and my schedule brought me different delights and challenges.<\/p>\n

Friday \u2013 Road Trip, Arrival, Publishing<\/h3>\n

\"\"Friday was all about travelling down to Canberra, then recovering. I hitched a ride with my awesome editor buddy Abigail Nathan from Bothersome Words<\/a> and the hours flew by \u2013 though I reckon something strange happens to your body when zooming forward on a highway for hours, you’re sat down but somehow it’s tiring (perhaps we need some white travel goo like in The Expanse<\/em><\/a>?).<\/p>\n

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Luckily a fresh Caesar salad helped us recover, just in time for our first panel of the con\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018Self-Publishing, doing it properly\u2019<\/h3>\n

I run a creative support<\/a> business that helps writers (of fiction or non-fiction, biography or commercial project) release their words into the world, including book layouts and self-publication assistance. I also teach a course called \u2018How to Self-Publish a Book<\/a>\u2019, and for the last five years have assisted the Northern Beaches Writers\u2019 Group<\/a> publish books for 10-14 year olds to raise money for The Kids\u2019 Cancer Project. So, along with my fellow panellists, I imparted what wisdom I could to those interested in the indie side of things. We explained how it can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but that you also need to be prepared to market your work and learn how to use online tools for promotion.<\/p>\n

The opening ceremony was next, where attendees were introduced to the theme of the con, Grimm Tales, with a game \u2013 Kaaron Warren read out the opening line of a fairytale, gave the audience two choices, then everyone had to guess which story the line opened. Guess after guess, a prize was awarded to the person who got every guess correct.<\/p>\n

Dinner and drinks in the bar followed \u2013 one of my favourite parts of going to Conflux: catching up with All The People!<\/p>\n

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All The People hanging out in the foyer<\/p><\/div>\n

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Above the foyer<\/p><\/div>\n

Saturday \u2013 Fairytales, Towards White, Writing<\/h3>\n

\"\"The nerves kicked in pretty early on Saturday, as IFWG was to launch my solo debut Towards White<\/em> at 2.30pm.<\/p>\n

A quick visit to the gym helped, then I had a panel\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018Youngest sons and daughters: youth characters in fairytales\u2019<\/h3>\n
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Alistair Ott, me, Adam Hale, Maddy Piggott<\/p><\/div>\n

Preparing for this panel, I realised I knew a lot more about fairytales than I thought! Since I also write for children<\/a> and have children myself, I could understand why a considerable number of fairytales follow the adventures of the youngest son or daughter in a family \u2013 they\u2019re the only ones not responsible for a younger sibling, and so can take the risks fairytale storytellers needed them to take in order to explore a theme or go on an entertaining adventure. As a parent, I also like my children to learn the lessons fairytales teach as early as possible, and young protagonists can engage young readers. We also talked about our favourite fairytales and how the telling of them is inevitably changing given our modern sensibilities and storytelling requirements. We all agreed \u2018Into the Woods\u2019 was a fantastic mash-up of fairytales.<\/p>\n

Book Launch<\/h3>\n

After lunch it was time to get ready for my launch. I helped my publishers set up the books, bookmarks and massive banner. Hotel staff arrived with champagne for everybody.<\/p>\n

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Fellow authors Leife Shallcross<\/a> and Rob Porteous helped too \u2013 Leife prepared a list of revealing questions to ask me and Rob baked an Icelandic Celebration Cake. Here’s Rob talking about the cake (gosh, I sound so Aussie in the intro!):<\/p>\n