My Notes for the ConDuit panel: Exploring the Classics of Sci-Fi/Fantasy

These are notes for a panel I’m on at ConDuit, titled Exloring the Classics: Stories You May Have Missed. I'm posting this in case the attendees or online readers are interested in the stories/writers/books I'm planning on mentioning. There are so many more authors and books, but I can't mention them all. If you have any other classics that you'd like to mention, please let me know.

Panel description:

Exploring the Classics: Stories You May Have Missed:
There are certain books, movies, novellas and short stories that should be required knowledge for a sci-fi or fantasy fan, stories that form a base for all other stories in the genre. We all know about The Lord of the Rings and Dune, but what other classics are there that are often missed?

Books and authors that are very influential in the field of sci-fi and fantasy:

H.G. Wells—The Time Machine
Jules Verne—20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Bram Stoker—Dracula
H.P. Lovecraft
Edgar Rice Burroughs--Tarzan
J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Lord Dunsany—The King of Elflands Daughter
Fritz Leiber—Fafard and the Grey Mouser
Robert Howard--Conan
Robert Heinlein—Starship Troopers
David Eddings—The Belgariad Books
Arthur C. Clark
Anne McCaffery—Dragon Riders of Pern
Isaac Asimov—Foundation Lost
Frank Herbert—Dune
Roger Zelazny—The Amber books
Michael Moorcock—The Elric Saga
Ursula LeGuin—The Earthsea books
Terry Brooks—The Elfstones of Shannara
Marion Zimmer Bradley—The Mists of Avalon

The War at Troy by Quintus of Smyrna

Age of Wonder: Exploring the World of Science Fiction, edited by David Hartwell
Alternate Worlds: An Illustrated History of Science Fiction, edited by James Gunn
The Best of the Nebulas
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy

ConDuit 2010

(Correction: the flyer should say AM, as in 11:00 AM is my reading from the third book in the Iron Dragon Series)


Paul Genesse’s Panels and Events at ConDuit 2010

Friday May 28, 2010
12:00 PM—Time Travel
2:00 PM—Exploring the Classics: Stories You May Have Missed

Saturday May 29 (my birthday, I’ll be 37)
10:00 AM—Riding the Rocket: How to Handle the Career Blast-off
1:00 PM—The Mike Show (Mike O. will be interviewing me, Barbara Hambly who is the author guest of honor, Kevin Wasden, and James Dashner).
3:00-4:00 PM—Book Signing

Sunday May 30
11:00-11:30 AM—Reading, I’ll be reading from The Secret Empire. Tom Carr will be reading at 11:30 from his book, Talking to Myself in the Dark in the Executive Board Room.
12:00 PM—Different Dragons, Different Visions


Panel Descriptions Below:

Friday May 28

Time Travel: Playing with the concept of time seems to be a fun and mind-bending plot device. But what about those pesky logic contradictions that pop up with alarming regularity in many time travel stories? Can there be time travel that works?

Exploring the Classics: Stories You May Have Missed:
There are certain books, movies, novellas and short stories that should be required knowledge for a sci-fi or fantasy fan, stories that form a base for all other stories in the genre. We all know about The Lord of the Rings and Dune, but what other classics are there that are often missed?


Saturday May 29

Riding the Rocket: How to Handle the Career Blast-Off:
The New York Times best-seller list. Second, third and more re-printings; book tours and book signings; lighting has struck and your career went from zero to warp speed. How do you survive the pressure, expectations and distractions with your wits, not to mention future projects, intact? What should you watch out for, and what is normal (if anything) at this stage?

The Mike! Show
Do you have a question you want to ask CONduit’s guests? Come to the Mike show, a question and answer talk show hosted by Mike Oberg and featuring Barbara Hambly, Kevin Wasden, James Dashner and Paul Genesse as guests.

Book Signing, 3:00-4:00 PM

Sunday May 30

Reading: I’ll be reading from The Secret Empire. Ghost Hunter, Tom Carr will be reading at 11:30 from his book, Talking to Myself in the Dark in the Executive Board Room.

Different Dragons, Different Visions:
Dragons are a staple of fantasy, whether small or large, friend or foe. What do dragons represent to authors, and to their readers? Why are they given certain traits and characteristics in one story but not in another? A panel of authors discusses dragons, from their own stories, and others’.