Skip to content. | Skip to navigation
I've made my first novel, Ventus, available as a free download, as well as excerpts from two of the Virga books. I am looking forward to putting up a number of short stories in the near future.
To celebrate the August, 2007 publication of Queen of Candesce, I decided to re-release my first novel as an eBook. You can download it from this page. Ventus was first published by Tor Books in 2000, and and you can still buy it; to everyone who would just like to sample my work, I hope you enjoy this version.
I've released this book under a Creative Commons license, which means you can read it and distribute it freely, but not make derivative works or sell it.
I've made large tracts of these two Virga books available. If you want to find out what the Virga universe is all about, you can check it out here:
In spring 2005, the Directorate of Land Strategic Concepts of National Defense Canada (that is to say, the army) hired me to write a dramatized future military scenario. The book-length work, Crisis in Zefra, was set in a mythical African city-state, about 20 years in the future, and concerned a group of Canadian peacekeepers who are trying to ready the city for its first democratic vote while fighting an insurgency. The project ran to 27,000 words and was published by the army as a bound paperback book.
If you'd like to read Crisis in Zefra, you can download it in PDF form.
...And here's my schedule
We'll be at Minicon April 10-12, and I hope you can join us! Here's what I'll be up to--although, as always, feel free to approach me in the halls, dealer's room, or where-ever if you want to chat or want me to sign something. We're really looking forward to the weekend, and your participation will make it that much better!
Note: it's a light schedule, since I'm still recovering from my surgery--but I'm doing pretty well these days, and hope to be around and available most of the time.
Steampunk: the Romance of Science
Saturday 2:30
Krushenko’s
Sharon Kahn(m), Karl Schroeder, Richard Mueller, Dorf, Ceridwen Christensen
What is Steampunk: a literary movement, an attitude, or merely fashion statement? Perhaps there is something about the buoyant spirit of the late 19th century that speaks to our feelings about technology today.
Interview and Signing: Author GoH
Saturday 7:00
Veranda 5/6
Rick Brignall(interviewer), Karl Schroeder
Our author Guest of Honor talks about his life and his work. After the interview there will be a book signing in the same space and a chance to chat with Karl one on one.
Breaking into publishing in the 21st Century
Sunday 10:00
Veranda 3/4
Michael Merriam(m), Karl Schroeder, Scott McCoy, Rob Callahan, Rick Brignall
An update of the perennially popular "Publishing 101" topic. What do you as a new writer need to know to get your big break? How is the process changing with the advent of printing on demand, audio books, and the paperback publishing industry in a state of freefall? Last year's advice on how to break into the business may already be obsolete
Second Foundation Discussion: The Works of Karl Schroeder
Sunday 11:30
Krushenko’s
Eric M. Heideman(m), Karl Schroeder, John Till, Greg L. Johnson
Come and talk with the Author GOH about his work! Sponsored by Second Foundation, a speculative and science fiction-book discussion group that has met regularly since 1983 (see also Sunday evening, Krushenko's Annex)
Hope to see you there!
I'll be there, talking about ebooks and the future of government
Here's my schedule:
Sat 10:00 AM |
Salon 343 |
The Future of Government |
Hayden Trenholm (MOD), Karl Schroeder, R. Scott Bakker |
Sat 4:00 PM |
Antons' |
Autographs: Marcy Italiano, Claude Lalumière, Karl Schroeder, Erik Buchanan, Michelle Rowen, Violette Malan, Hayden Trenholm |
Sun 12:00 PM |
Ballr. Centre |
Fields of Plenty for Writers |
Jana Paniccia (MOD), Karina Sumner-Smith,Karl Schroeder, Michelle Rowen, Eve Silver |
Sun 2:00 PM |
Salon 243 |
Reading on Screens |
Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder (MOD), Michael R. Colangelo, Sephera Giron |
This weekend in Troy, Michigan--don't miss it
Here's what I'll be up to this weekend at ConFusion. (For complete details of location etc., click the link under Upcoming Events on the right of this window.)
Saturday, January 24
10:00 AM
Salon E LITERARY - Playing with Genre Conventions (1 hr.)
Tobias Buckell, Jim Hines, Karl Schroeder, Doselle Young and Jim Frenkel [M] How can we take the mundane and shopworn conventions of science fiction, fantasy and horror and reinvent them?
Noon
Salon H LITERARY - Setting: Haven't I been here before? (1 hr.)
Violette Malan [M], Karl Schroeder, Catherine Shaffer, Doselle Young and Jim Frenkel How important is setting to a reader's understanding and enjoyment of the story? Is setting the real difference between S and SF? Are we overusing the settings we have, and are there any new ones?
3:00 PM
Salon E LITERARY - Big Brother is Watching You! (1 hr.)
Cory Doctorow, David Rozian, Steve Buchheit, Karl Schroeder [M], Catherine Shaffer Personal privacy in the electronic age we now have or will have chips on everything we own including pets, where is this all going? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
4:00 PM
Salon E LITERARY - Meet the New Medium (1 hr.)
Cat Rambo, Tobias Buckell [M], Karl Schroeder and Dave Klecha Games are as much a part of the younger generations entertainment mix as books writing for/about games.
5:00 PM
Salon E MASS AUTHOR AUTOGRAPH SESSION
After a little bit of set-up Cryptic ConFusion's authors will be lined up to sign your books.
Sunday, January 25
10:00 AM
Salon G LITERARY - Wuffies? Total meltdown? Libertarianism? (1 hr.)
Cory Doctorow, Paul Melko [M], Karl Schroeder and Mathew Stewart-Fulton The actual future of economics what are some current ideas on where the world economy is headed.
I'll be at Worldcon in Denver. Drop in and see me!
Here's my schedule for the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, which happens August 6-10, in Denver Colorado. It's a pretty modest schedule, but when you realize that there's several hundred programming guests and only a limited set of slots--well, I don't know very many other midlist writers who have any more panels than this. In that sense, Worldcon is a victim of its own success; but I'm not complaining, because people will still be able to find me, and the Kaffeeklatsch and reading should be fun.
If you want to see me outside of this schedule, just email me and we can talk.
June 18 I'll be discussing the future of medicine... in a pub
If you're in the Toronto area tomorrow night, come on down to the Duke of York pub at suppertime. We'll be talking about all sorts of wild possibilities to do with the future of medicine. Here's the exact details:
Wednesday, june 18, 6 – 8 pm
Duke of York
(original pub – ground floor)
39 prince arthur avenue
A fantastic ending to a highly successful first camp. We plan more
The entire weekend went off with very few hitches--the worst being a bit of schedule crunch on Saturday, but nothing that actually stopped people from presenting. I took a few more photos, but at this point there's a lot of other people who had much better cameras than my phone, and who were much better photographers; so I'll just point you to the Flickr page where many of the pix have been collected.
If you'd like more detail about what we discussed, you can drop by the SciBarCamp website and look at the program schedules. We've encouraged people to blog about the event and to tag their entries with SciBarCamp, so you can track down a lot more about it at sites like technorati.
I'd like to thank everybody who had faith in us and came. I'd also especially like to thank the other organizers, Jen Dodd, Michael Nielsen, Eva Amsen, Lee Smolin, and Jamie McQuay. Jen and Michael were the instigators and they, Eva and Jamie did most of the work; I was just along for the ride, really. Jen and Jamie in particular spent their own money to make it all happen, and deserve special mention for it.
We've talked about whether we're doing another SciBarCamp; there's no reason why not, it's a scheduling issue more than anything. I hope the meme spreads, and that it becomes a regular in Toronto and beyond.
I'm a member of the Association of Professional Futurists with my own consultancy, and am also currently Chair of the Canadian node of the Millennium Project, a private/public foresight consultancy active in 50 nations. As well, I am an award-winning author with ten published novels translated into as many languages. I write, give talks, and conduct workshops on numerous topics related to the future, including:
For a complete bio, go here. To contact me, email karl at kschroeder dot com
I use Science Fiction to communicate the results of actual futures studies. Some of my recent research relates to how we'll govern ourselves in the future. I've worked with a few clients on this and published some results.
Here are two examples--and you can read the first for free:
The Canadian army commissioned me to write Crisis in Urlia, a fictionalized study of the future of military command-and-control. You can download a PDF of the book here:
For the "optimistic Science Fiction" anthology Hieroglyph, I wrote "Degrees of Freedom," set in Haida Gwaii. "Degrees of Freedom" is about an attempt to develop new governing systems by Canadian First Nations people.
I'm continuing to research this exciting area and would be happy to share my findings.
"Science fiction at its best."
--Kim Stanley Robinson
"Lean and hugely engaging ... and highly recommended."
--Open Letters Monthly, an Arts and Literature Review
(Sun of Suns and Queen of Candesce are combined in Cities of the Air)
“An adventure-filled tale of sword
fights and naval battles... the real fun of this coming-of-age tale includes a
pirate treasure hunt and grand scale naval invasions set in the cold, far
reaches of space. ”
—Kirkus Reviews (listed in top 10 SF novels for 2006)
"With Queen of Candesce, [Schroeder] has achieved a clockwork balance of deftly paced adventure and humour, set against an intriguing and unique vision of humanity's far future.
--The Globe and Mail
"[Pirate Sun] is fun in the same league as the best SF ever has had to offer, fully as exciting and full of cool science as work from the golden age of SF, but with characterization and plot layering equal to the scrutiny of critical appraisers."
--SFRevu.com
"...A rollicking good read... fun, bookish, and full of insane air battles"
--io9.com
"A grand flying-pirate-ship-chases-and-escapes-and-meetings-with-monsters adventure, and it ends not with a debate or a seminar but with a gigantic zero-gee battle around Candesce, a climactic unmasking and showdown, just desserts, and other satisfying stuff."
--Locus