Confluence 2026 Schedule:
︱ FRIDAY ︱ SATURDAY ︱ SUNDAY ︱
︱ Hotel Map ︱Hours of Operation ︱
Program starts at 3pm on Friday and runs until 3pm on Sunday.
Please be aware that sometimes circumstances beyond our control do occur. Please take a minute to check for signs around the Registration table for information regarding last minute changes and updates to programming.
FRIDAY
REGISTRATION [Lobby] 2pm-7pm — Late registration [Room 908] 8-10pm
PROGRAM/MUSIC [Ballroom 1] 4pm-11pm
DEALERS [Ballroom 3 & 4] 5pm – 8pm
HOSPITALITY/CONSUITE [Room 908] 4pm – Midnight
ART SHOW [Ballroom 2] 6pm – 8pm
| 3 pm | ||
| Commonwealth West: Triangulation, Parsec’s Annual Short Story Anthology Douglas Gwilym, Marie Vibbert, Brandon Ketchum Parsec Ink has been publishing science fiction, fantasy, horror since 2003. Join us for a panel of authors and editors, including current editor, Hugo- and Nebula Award finalist Marie Vibbert, as we dig into the nuts and bolts of what makes the anthology tick, celebrate the anthology’s past, and look to its future. | ||
| 4 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Filk Mad Libs w/Randy Hoffman | ||
| Commonwealth West: From Start to Finish: Plotting Stories Lawrence C. Connolly, Rigel Ailur, Mark Painter (M), Donald Firesmith | ||
| Equinox: Pitch Session with Rachel Beck Sign up required | ||
| 5 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Pegasus Awards Brainstorming Discussion Randy Hoffman | ||
| Commonwealth West: The Old Stories Never Die: Fantasy Retellings of Myth Timons Esaias, Jamie Lackey, Barbara Doran, Jim Mann (M) The new movie version of the Odyssey may have put Greek mythology back in the public spotlight, but popular novels such as Madeleine Miller’s Circe and Claire North’s Ithaca trilogy, stories based on mythology have been popular for several years. The panel looks at both the history of such stories and some popular recent examples, as well as examples from the history of SF and fantasy. | ||
| Commonwealth East: Writing in Both Worlds: Traditional and Indie Publishing Lawrence M. Schoen (M), Sally Wiener Grotta, R. K. Thorne, Rigel Ailur | ||
| Solstice: Reading Donald Firesmith | ||
| 5:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Clif Flynt | ||
| 6 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Devin Russian | ||
| Commonwealth West: Possible New Earths: Habitable Zones in Star Systems Barton Paul Levenson | ||
| 7 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Opening Ceremonies Andy Duncan, Marie Vibbert, Jamie Lackey | ||
| 8 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Chris Wozney | ||
| Commonwealth West: Open Mike Poetry Reading | ||
| Commonwealth East: Book to Movie: Movies Based on SF Books Barbara Doran, Stephen Fisher, Alan Irvine (M) Movies based on SF books used to be rare, and good movies based on books even rarer. But for the last few years, it’s been different: Arrival, The Martian, Dune, Project Hail Mary, and more. And if we include TV series like Murderbot, the field is even bigger. The panel discusses these movies, and why they work. | ||
| Equinox: Pitch Session w/ Sarah N. Fisk Sign up required | ||
| 9 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Twilly | ||
| Room 225: Beer Tasting This year’s theme is the beers of early America, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We’ll have some beers brewed in the fashion of the early colonies, as well as a few English ones, and maybe even a French one. | ||
| 10 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Open Filk Circle | ||
| Commonwealth West: Ghost Stories with Alan Irvine | ||
| Midnight: | ||
| Hospitality/Consuite closes | ||
SATURDAY
REGISTRATION [Lobby] 8:45am-6pm
PROGRAM/MUSIC [Ballroom 1] 9am-Midnight
DEALERS [Ballroom 3 & 4] 10am – 6pm
HOSPITALITY/CONSUITE [Room 908] 8am – Midnight
ART SHOW [Ballroom 2] 10am – 6pm
| 9 am | ||
| Equinox: Writing Exercises. Genre-Rah-Rah: Experiment with writing techniques to capture the atmosphere, worldview, and distinctive style of several different SFFH genres. M. Christine Benner Dixon, Schereéya | ||
| Boardroom: Writing Workshop (sign up required) Marie Vibbert We’ll jump right in to brainstorm a new story idea via worksheets and prompts. Every student will leave this workshop with a complete short story draft, composed over three intense writing sessions. | ||
| Near Registration: Walk and Talk with Geoff and Mary Geoffrey Landis, Mary Turzillo | ||
| 10 am | ||
| Ballroom 1: High-Performance Computing Ken Chiacchia | ||
| Commonwealth East: AI Scammers: What Authors and Editors Can Do To Prevent Fraud Greg Clumpner, Sally Wiener Grotta, Barbara Barnett | ||
| Solstice: Reading Brandon Ketchum | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Jamie Lackey, Susan Linville | ||
| 10:30 am | ||
| Solstice: Reading Barbara Doran | ||
| 11 am | ||
| Ballroom 1: The Cordoba Effect: The Beginning of the End of the Middle Ages Timons Esaias How the city of Cordoba–and its public libraries–significantly contributed to the ending of the Middle Ages in both the Christian and Islamic worlds. It’s one of those cases of how local conditions in a single city can change world history. | ||
| Commonwealth East: Science and Science Fiction: What Stories Get Right, What They Get Wrong, and When Getting It Wrong Is OK David Tucker, Geoffrey Landis (M), Robert Lohman, Ken Chiacchia Even hard science fiction can get things wrong. Sometimes it can be so annoying that it takes the reader out of the story. At other times, it’s necessary and integrated in ways to be believable. What did SF stories get right, and what horribly wrong? The panel discusses, with examples. | ||
| Solstice: Reading Michael Albergo | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Andy Duncan | ||
| Art Show [Ballroom 2] Art Workshop: Needle Felting (signup is required at the registration table) Nancy Janda Have you always wondered if you were missing out on repetitive stress injuries? Wonder no more! Join Nancy Janda for a hands-on class in needle felting! Stab your stresses away — on the wool only, please — and learn to felt by creating a patch to wear or use as a miniature piece of art! Class participation is limited to 10 people, and all supplies will be provided for a cost of $10. (Nancy will also bring Bactine, bandages, and bad attitude!) | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Lawrence M. Schoen, Larry Ivkovich | ||
| 11:30 am | ||
| Solstice: Reading Sally Wiener Grotta | ||
| Noon | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Hallie Dolin | ||
| Commonwealth West: Fantasy Before Tolkien, Horror Before Lovecraft: The Earlier History of Fantasy and Horror Darrell Schweitzer, Stephen Fisher, Eric Leif Davin, Lawrence C. Connolly (M) Panelists discuss the early history of fantasy and horror. | ||
| Commonwealth East: SF and the American South: A Dialog Andy Duncan, Michael Swanwick | ||
| Solstice: Reading M. Christine Benner Dixon | ||
| Equinox: SF Book Club: Project Hail Mary Join us to discuss Andy Weir’s novel and the film based on it. | ||
| 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Herb Kauderer, Scot Noel | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Albert Wendland, Barbara Doran | ||
| 12:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Shannon Eichorn | ||
| 1 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Bisexual Harry | ||
| Commonwealth West: It Was 50 Years Ago Today: The Science Fiction of 1976 Charles Oberndorf, Rich Horton (M), Marie Vibbert The panel discusses the novels and short fiction of 1976. Which works are well-remembered today? Which are almost forgotten and shouldn’t be? | ||
| Commonwealth East: Writing SF and Fantasy Poetry Mary Soon Lee, Frederic Durbin, Timons Esaias (M), Amabilis O’Hara, Mary Turzillo What are the challenges of writing poetry with SF or fantasy content? What are the constraints? What is the audience, and how does that overlap (if it does) with the non-SF poetry audience. | ||
| Solstice: Reading Richard Kadrey | ||
| Equinox: Pitch Session w/ Jennie Dunham (pre-signup is required) | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch David Tucker, Greg Clumpner | ||
| Art Show: Art Workshop: Creative Block & Reckless Break-throughs (signup is required at the registration table) Bonnie Funk Everyone, from hobbyist to professional encounters creative block to a degree, for one or more reasons. Explore what creative block is and different ways to rediscover your inspiration. Bonnie Funk will talk about creative block, from an artist’s point of view, and various tools to re-ignite the spark. She will give a demo of doing a rough drawing using one of her favorite tools, the Reckless Deck. Participants can work along with her, art materials will be provided. Paid participants will receive a Reckless Deck Mystery Pack. Cost: $15.00 | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Susan Dexter, Shannon Eichorn | ||
| 1:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Jamie Lackey | ||
| 2 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert The Denebian Slime Devils | ||
| Commonwealth East: The Future of Space Science: Looking at Current and Possible Future Space Science Projects Geoffrey Landis (M), Scott Rohrbach, Padi Boyd | ||
| Solstice: Reading Ken Chiacchia | ||
| Equinox: SF Book Club: The Fifth Head of Cerberus Join us in a discussion of Gene Wolfe’s novel The Fifth Head of Cerberus. | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Michael Swanwick, Lawrence M. Schoen | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Richard Kadrey, Brandon Ketchum | ||
| 2:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Larry Ivkovich | ||
| 3 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: GoH Interview Andy Duncan, Marie Vibbert | ||
| 4 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert The Salacious Crumbles | ||
| Commonwealth West: Subverting Horror Tropes: From Undead Nope to Zombie Stoked Amabilis O’Hara (M), Paul Jessup, Douglas Gwilym, Frederic Durbin Taking tired tropes and giving them new life. | ||
| Commonwealth East: Writers to Remember: John Varley and Other Major Writers Who No Longer Get the Attention they Deserve Charles Oberndorf (M), Mark Painter, Albert Wendland, Rich Horton John Varley, who died recently, was an important writer who is rarely talked about. The panelists make the case for why we should still be reading Varley as well as others who the panelists feel no longer get enough attention. | ||
| Solstice: Reading Barbara Barnett | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Mary Soon Lee, R. K. Thorne | ||
| Art Show [Ballroom 2]: Art Workshop: Stencilling t-shirts Susan Dexter | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Andy Duncan | ||
| 4:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Lawrence C. Connolly | ||
| 5 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert – Ross Childs | ||
| Commonwealth West: Medicine, Doctors, and Hospitals in Science Fiction Marianne Porter, Stephen Fisher, Donald Firesmith, Robert Lohman, R. K. Thorne (M) From new future stories of doctors combatting pandemics to stories set in space hospitals treating humans and aliens alike, SF has featured doctors and medical professionals. What are some examples? And how realistic are these stories? | ||
| Commonwealth East: 100 Years of Science Fiction Eric Leif Davin, Herb Kauderer (M), Lawrence M. Schoen, Susan Linville, Alan Katerinsky | ||
| Solstice: Reading Elektra Hammond | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Richard Kadrey & Amabilis O’Hara | ||
| 5:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading – Mary Soon Lee | ||
| 6 pm | ||
| Commonwealth West: Triangulations Reading – Marie Vibbert | ||
| 7 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Featured Saturday Evening Entertainment Select Start | ||
| 8 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Featured Music Guest Concert Quick Save | ||
| Commonwealth West: Chemical Inventions and the History of Mankind Robert Lohman | ||
| 907 Consuite-adjacent sleeping room Triangulation Launch Party | ||
| 9 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: [0.5] Open Filk | ||
| Commonwealth West: Three-Minute Expert Geoffrey Landis, Ken Chiacchia, Alan Irvine | ||
| 10 pm | ||
| Commonwealth West: Dark Fantasy: Where Fantasy and Horror Overlap Paul Jessup, Richard Kadrey (M), Darrell Schweitzer, Frederic Durbin | ||
| Midnight: Hospitality/Consuite Closes | ||
SUNDAY
REGISTRATION [Lobby] 8:45am-noon
PROGRAM/MUSIC [Ballroom 1] 9am – 3pm
DEALERS [Ballroom 3 & 4] 10am – 3pm
HOSPITALITY/CONSUITE [Room 908] 8am – 3pm
ART SHOW [Ballroom 2] 10am – 12pm. Auction: 1pm. Pickup deadline: 2:30pm
| 9 am | ||
| Equinox: Writing exercises I Never Said That: Can dialogue do multiple jobs in a scene? M. Christine Benner Dixon, Schereéya Can you write a whole conversation without a line of dialogue? Find out. These writing exercises will push you to do more (or less) with your dialogue. | ||
| Boardroom: Writing Workshop (sign up required) Marie Vibbert Let’s demystify plot. We’ll look at structure, formula, tension and emotional payload. With a series of exercises, we’ll practice twists and surprises, endings and resolutions. Bring your plot questions and frustrations, as well as your favorite writing materials. There will be a PowerPoint and handouts, and the hope is that every student will leave with a deeper understanding of plot, and how to fix plot holes or problems. | ||
| 10 am | ||
| Ballroom 1: Laser Power Beaming in Space Geoffrey Landis | ||
| Commonwealth East: Keeping It Short: Writing Short Fiction Scot Noel, Jamie Lackey, Rigel Ailur, Albert Wendland | ||
| Solstice: Reading | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Barbara Doran & Paul Jessup | ||
| 10:30 am | ||
| Solstice: Reading Andy Duncan | ||
| 11 am | ||
| Ballroom 1: The Edges of Space and Time: Why We Want to Know More and How We Will Find Out Scott Rohrbach, Padi Boyd | ||
| Commonwealth East: Not Just Sword and Sorcery: A Look at Recent Fantasy Mary Soon Lee, Shannon Eichorn (M), Brandon Ketchum, Larry Ivkovich | ||
| Solstice: Reading Susan Dexter | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch with Charles Oberndorf, Ken Chiacchia | ||
| Art Show: Tatting- Not a Lost Art (sign up required at registration table) Mary Anne Howard Learn the basics: Elements of tatting, basics of tatting. We’ll use the picot double stitch to make a simple butterfly. Limited to 5 people. Supplies provided. Cost: $15 for materials. | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing | ||
| 11:30 am | ||
| Solstice: Reading Amabilis O’Hara | ||
| Noon | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert The Chromatics | ||
| Commonwealth West: Fantasy Fiction in the Americas Andy Duncan, Michael Swanwick, Richard Kadrey, Rich Horton (M) | ||
| Commonwealth East: Gone But Still Remembered: Movies and TV Shows We Still Remember Fondly (Even If Not Everyone Does) Elektra Hammond, Susan Dexter, Brandon McNulty The Quatermass Experiment. The Invaders. The Planet of the Apes TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man, Farscape. There are a number of movies and TV shows that many of us look back on fondly but which seem to be almost forgotten by the world at large. We remember them here. | ||
| Solstice: Reading Lawrence M. Schoen | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch Shannon Eichorn | ||
| Near Registration: Autographing Mary Soon Lee, Jamie Lackey | ||
| 1 pm Art Auction: 1pm Art pickup deadline: 2:30pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Mike Brunacini | ||
| Commonwealth West: Beginnings and Endings: Starting and Ending Your Stories Frederic Durbin, Barton Paul Levenson, Charles Oberndorf, Scot Noel Many writers say that the most difficult parts of writing are getting started and creating a good ending. How do you approach that? How do you provide a compelling beginning? How do you end a story in a way that doesn’t make readers feel let down? What are examples in prominent works where the author nailed it or didn’t? | ||
| Commonwealth East: Short Fiction of the Sixties and Seventies Alan Bailey, Susan Linville, Mary Turzillo (M) | ||
| Solstice: Reading Darrell Schweitzer | ||
| Room 225: Kaffeeklatsch Brandon Ketchum, Brandon McNulty | ||
| 1:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Paul Jessup | ||
| 2 pm | ||
| Ballroom 1: Concert Sara Henya | ||
| Commonwealth West: Including Songs and Poetry in Your Fiction Clif Flynt Using poetry to push the plot, describe characters, societies, and a bit more, including examples from Anderson, Dickson, Beagle and a few others. | ||
| Solstice: Reading | ||
| 2:30 pm | ||
| Solstice: Reading Barton Paul Levenson | ||
| 3 pm HOSPITALITY/CONSUITE [Room 908] closes | ||
| Ballroom 1: Dead Dog Open Filk | ||
HOURS OF OPERATION:
REGISTRATION
Friday: [Lobby] 2pm-7pm
Friday: Late reg [ConSuite] 8-10pm
Saturday: [Lobby] 8:45am-6pm
Sunday: [Lobby] 8:45am-noon
PROGRAM/MUSIC [Ballroom 1]
Friday: 3pm-11pm
Saturday: 9am-Midnight
Sunday: 9am – 3pm
DEALERS [Ballroom 3 & 4]
Fri: 5pm – 8pm
Sat: 10am – 6pm
Sun: 10am – 3pm
WRITING EXERCISES [Equinox]
HOSPITALITY/CONSUITE [Room 908
Fri: 4pm – Midnight
Sat: 8am – Midnight
Sun: 8am – 3pm
Sun: Evening – UnDead Dog Filk
ART SHOW [Ballroom 2]
Fri: 6pm – 8pm
Sat: 10am – 6pm
Sun: 10am – 12pm
Art Auction Sun: 1pm
Art pickup deadline Sun: 2:30pm
NO food & drink allowed. All bags will be checked.
NO photography allowed!
WRITING WORKSHOPS [Boardroom]
ART WORKSHOPS [Ballroom 2]
KAFFEEKLATSCHES & BEER TASTING [Room 225]
Sign up is required for Workshops, Beer Tasting and Kaffeeklatsches!
Check near the REGISTRATION TABLE for sign up forms.
Hotel Map
Many thanks to Mark Olson for developing ProgramAnalyzer, a Python-based scheduling system for small conventions.