They're studying Sun of Suns at the U of T this term and Professor Michael Johnstone has invited me down to talk to the class on February 25th.  This event is open to the public, so if you want to come by, we'll be at the Muzzo Family Alumni Hall 400, at 121 St. Joseph Street.  We'll be starting at 7:30 p.m. with a reading, and then I'll be doing a Q&A.  My priority is to answer queries by the students, but I'm not about to turn down any good question.  Afterward, there'll be signing.

I'm flattered that the class has chosen Sun of Suns, and would like to thank Prof. Johnstone and the class for inviting me in.

Keeping in the spirit of dumping all kinds of news at once, here's my schedule for the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas, which is taking place over the Labour Day weekend. It's a whirlwind visit as I need to get back to Toronto to continue futuring for my new employer, Idea Couture. Luckily, I've got lots going on. If I'm lucky, I'll even get there early enough Friday night to take over the bathtub bar at the Tor party. We'll see. Meanwhile, here's my itinerary:

Reading: Karl Schroeder

Saturday 10:00 - 11:00

Karl Schroeder 

Autographing: Ellen Datlow, Josh Rountree, Karl Schroeder, Lynne M. Thomas

Saturday 12:00 - 13:00

Ellen Datlow , Lynne M. Thomas , Josh Rountree  , Karl Schroeder 

Consensual Reality: Your Relationship to the World

Saturday 15:00 - 16:00

Google Glasses, augmented reality, kinetic gaming, tactile transmission systems. These and other new technologies are on the horizon to transmogrify sense and sensation. Google glasses are the first step to putting an overlay on the reality we see. This opens the door to hiding the ugly and changing what we see. When we do this socially it leads to possible consensual reality as in the works of Vinge, Schroeder and others. What will such capability mean in reality? Has science fiction explored the societal consequences?

Edie Stern (M), Yasser Bahjatt  , Walter Jon Williams  , Ben Bova  , Karl Schroeder 

Kaffeeklatsch: Nancy Kress, Edward M. Lerner, Karl Schroeder

Saturday 17:00 - 18:00

Edward M. Lerner  , Nancy Kress  , Karl Schroeder 

Speed-Forecasting Workshop

Sunday 10:00 - 13:00

We will do a quick analysis of the future, with the end product being four scenarios that highlight different possibilities. Come take your work to the future!

Karl Schroeder

Have We Lost the Future?

Sunday 14:00 - 15:00

Where science fiction once looked to the future as the setting for speculation, nowadays the focus seems to be on alternate pasts, fantasy worlds, or consciously "retro" futures. We're no longer showing the way to what things might be like. We discuss whether this is connected to the general fear of decline and decay in the English-language world -- or has science fiction simply run out of ideas?

Karen Burnham (M), Brenda Cooper  , Karl Schroeder  , Willie Siros  , Derek Kunsken 

As You Know, Jim...

Sunday 15:00 - 16:00

Exposition is never easy. How can writers communicate the details of a setting, magical system or incredible scientific breakthrough without losing half their audience? What makes a readers eyes glaze over and how do you avoid it?

Michelle Sagara (M) , Tanya Huff  , Karl Schroeder  , Jack McDevitt  , Walter Jon Williams 

First Contact Without a Universal Translator

Sunday 17:00 - 18:00

How do we establish a common conceptual base to communicate with another species? Sure, we have numbers and the hydrogen atom in common, but how far would that get us in a world of beings who share none of our sensory apparatus?

Lawrence M. Schoen (M) , Paige E. Ewing  , Karl Schroeder 

By the way, if you want to plan your days, the entire schedule is or will shortly be online at http://www.lonestarcon3.org/guests/appearing.shtml.  

That's it. See you all there!

Come on our Sunday evening, March 6th, to hear myself, Cory Doctorow, and David Nickle (whose latest novel, Eutopia--pictured at right, has just been released and is kicking critical ass)!  Cory, David and I go back a long ways, and we've all read together many times.  I don't know what the audience is going to be like, but on our side, expect lively fireworks and enthusiastic, dramatic readings from all three of us.

For more information, you can visit the Chiarascuro Reading Series website.  

This weekend is the annual media-oriented con in Toronto, Polaris.  I'll be there, and you can catch me at panels, a reading, or a signing, at these times:

• Where's My Rocket Car? Friday 09:00 PM 
• Reading - Karl Schroeder Saturday 11:00 AM 
• Trashing Other Planets Saturday 04:00 PM 
• Avatar: The Theory of Pandora Saturday 05:00 PM 
• Signing - Karl Schroeder Sunday 10:00 AM 
• Bigger Guns Or Better Stories? Sunday 03:00 PM 

Hope to see you there!

Toronto Public Library has put up its web page detailing my writer in residence tenure this spring.  That means I can reveal the details here too; I'll give you some here, but I'll also be placing the events into my calendar, which you can access at any time through the "Events" menu item on the left of the site's window (or the "upcoming events" box on the right).

Here's how to participate

Submit your manuscript for an opportunity to have a one-on-one evaluation with me or attend the writer-in-residencereadings and workshops.

• Manuscripts should be sent via email to Karl Schroeder, writer in residence at the Merril Collection.
• All manuscripts should include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
• Manuscripts should be 5,000 words in length. I will read only the first 5,000 words of longer submissions and base his comments on that word length.
• After your manuscript has been read, the Merril Collection staff will contact you and book an appointment for you to discuss your writing.
• I'lll will need 1 –2 weeks lead time in order to read submissions before an appointment is booked.
• The library reserves the right to limit the number of manuscripts accepted.
• Toronto Public Library is not responsible for returning manuscripts. Please submit a COPY of your work.

You can listen to the complete text of the novel, read by Joyce Irvine.  This is the first of three rapid-fire releases coming from MacMillan audio--the next two books in the series, Queen of Candesce and Pirate Sun, should be made available within the next few weeks.

To get it, bounce on over to the page at Audible.com.  And enjoy!