What is Helen's Daimones all about? A 6min conversation

What is Helen's Daimones all about? A 6min conversation.

Art born from darkness...

 

Gen Con 2024 Moderating 10 Panels

Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.  

 Moderated 7 Panels on "new books and new releases":

New Book! New Games! New Release Panels with S.E.

Join our panel of authors as writer and host S.E. Lindberg asks each about the inspirations and challenges behind their new books, games, and works. This fun experience back from last year by request! 

(Session E)   Friday12:00 PM EDT E.D.E. Bell, Gregory A. Wilson, Jesse J. Holland

(Session C)   Thursday2:00 PM EDT   Howard Andrew Jones, J. B. Garner, Matt Forbeck

(Session F)  Friday1:00 PM EDT Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Bryan Young, Jennifer Brozek 

(Session A) Thurs 12:00 PM EDT Annye Driscoll (Maker Fishmeal), Briana Lawrence, Gini Koch 

(Session D)  Thursday3:00 PM EDT  Karen Menzel, Dedren Snead, Sarah Hans

(Session G)  Friday2:00 PM EDT Cat Rambo, Erin M. Evans, Kwame Mbalia

(Session B)  Thursday 1:00 PM EDT   J.D. Blackrose, Lyndsie Manusos, Chris A. Jackson

3x Panels on Genre Fiction

The three below were focused on Sword & Sorcery, Pulp Fiction, and Horror

Those have videos and audio shared on another post.

Writing the Beautiful Nasty     Saturday 3:00 PM EDT

[this feeds into my BlackGate/com interview series on "Beauty in Weird/Horror Fiction"]. Join our panel of experts as they explore writing scary or repulsive matters in attractive and beautiful ways within the complex realms of horror. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Akis Linardos, C. S. E. Cooney, Jason Ray Carney, Jeri "Red" Shepherd 

Sword & Sorcery for Contemporary Audiences   Friday10:00 AM EDT

Join our panel of writers as they discuss Sword & Sorcery for a modern world: what does it look like, what could it look like, and what's out there to devour.  Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Dedren Snead, Howard Andrew Jones, Jason Ray Carney, Sarah Sharp

Pulp Fiction for Contemporary Audiences   Friday 11:00 AM EDT

Join our panel of writers as they discuss pulp fiction for a modern world: what does it look like, what could it look like, and what's out there to devour. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Gini Koch, Howard Andrew Jones, Jason Ray Carney, Richard Lee Byers 

Gen Con 2024 - Writers Symposium Behind the Scenes Photos

Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.  

Opening Ceremony

Chris Bell had very kind words regarding my previous Chair roles and passing the torch to him.  He rocks as a leader.

Gen Con 2024 - Deep Madness

Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents. 

Being a huge Deep Madness fan and reviewer of Diemension Games' writer Byron Leavitt's work (link to many previous posts)... and having interviewed him and had him on panels at Gen Con and contributed to the Madness Reborn expansion (thanks to Phil Blake and Oscar Bok and others), I had to catch up with Byron and Sarah at their booth.

Gen Con Panels 2024 - Sword and Sorcery, Pulp, & Horror (aka Beautiful Nasty stuff)

Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.  

Thanks to Sean CW Korsgaard, (editor/author/S&S-aficionado) who filmed a bunch of Gen Con 2024 panels, you can listen in on two of the panels I moderated.

Janet E. Morris - Memorial Tribute

 

Perseid Press recently announced the passing of author, editor, and publisher Janet E. Morris (JEM) in August 2024. A group of us who have known and written for her and published by her, decided to honor her memory and her legacy with this group memorial. 

Janet E Morris Memorial Tribute - Black Gate Article (link)

This ad-hoc remembrance has organically turned into a virtual shrine. This post initially has ~17 contributions, but collecting testimonials can be chaotic and more comments may be added. Janet and Chris Morris made a remarkable creative couple, and our deepest condolences extend to Chris.

S.E. Lindberg's Reflections

I will miss JEM’s love for elevating other storytellers’ craft and her uncanny ability to seamlessly blend myth,  fantasy, & history in her writing.

• REVIEWS: We first met ~2013 as I moderated the Goodread’s Sword & Sorcery Group and she challenged a statement I made that Lovecraftian-Cosmic-Horror differed from elements of classical myths. She schooled me, her insights of ancient myths proved more expansive than my views. I was early into reviewing, so I read/reviewed (link) her Beyond Sanctuary book (Sacred Band series) and, beyond enjoying the story and feeling like I was living within the Baroque style cover, I was struck by not being able to discern between history, myth, and fantasy.

• INTERVIEWS: This prompted me to go beyond reviewing books and start an interview series on “Art & Beauty in Fantasy Fiction” with Janet being the first up to bat (link) (I plan to repost that on Black Gate soon). She pushed people’s expectations of sexuality and the role of women in fantasy fiction since 1976, and having her perspective was eye-opening. That interview was Jan 2014, and the decade since I’ve interviewed 27 others (including Carol Berg, C.S. Friedman, Darrell Schweitzer, Anna Smith Spark, C. Dean Andersson…). Black Gate started broadcasting this series ~2018.

• WRITING: As I was beginning to independently publish, she invited me to contribute to Perseid Press, and I’ve been honored to have over seven stories published across the Heroes in Hell and Heroika series (listing on Perseid Press site).

• ROLE MODEL: as much as I am honored to have known JEM, learned from her and developed by role in the writing community, my experience is not unique. Testimonials from dozens of aspiring and veteran authors are being posted. Her legacy is admirable, and she serves as a beautiful role model.

• A TOAST: Cheers, dear JEM. Thank you for sharing your passion and igniting mine. “Life to you and everlasting glory!”

Writers Symposium Image Prompt Contest Winners

Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.  

Just posted the winners for the Gen Con Writers' Symposium Image Prompt Contest
https://genconwriters.org/prompt-contest/

Last year we tried out an image prompt contest, and it was a blast. The addition of art in our hallway plus the engagement of authors was overwhelming–in the best way! Check out the 2023 contest in the Archive.

For 2024 we lured in two more artists with ties to the Writers Symposium, Ava Kelly (author) and Alex Steffen, the artist who created the cover for the 2024 Anthology.

Like last year, each piece of art was put on a poster with a QR code to enable submission of (a) micro fiction (300 words or less) inspired by the art or (b) a “caption” to explain it. Winners of the contest were promised to have their entries posted on this website and a copy of the artist-signed poster (winners elected via a selection process that involved the artists’ input and feedback from some of the organizational committee.)

Everyone who submitted is a winner, since the goal was merely to promote a creative atmosphere. We highlight the poster-award winners and runners-up in separate announcement posts (below links). Yet everyone who submitted can claim bragging rights since the PDF below has the list of all the submissions–i.e., you all have your caption posted on this website!

Thank you to the artists and the creatives who replied!