Detroit Penguicon 2026 Conference Recap
Introduction
I attended the Detroit Penguicon 2026 Conference at the Westin Southfield-Detroit from March 27, 2026, to March 28, 2026. I attended the opening ceremonies and seven panels. This year’s theme was Rising from the Ashes. I attended the conference in 2024, but they did not have it in 2025.
This is a link to the Con website.
This is my badge for Detroit Penguicon2026.
They set up the banner in the hotel lobby
This is the con logo: Rising from the Ashes
Summary
Detroit Penguicon 2026 Conference Recap
Friday, March 27th at 4 PM
Panel on The Art of the Short Story with Leslie Gulvas, Ken McGregor, Storm Humbert, and Jean Davis:
The panel discussed how to get ideas, write short stories, and sell your work. Do you pick a title before or after writing a story. Use a working title that probably changes before you finish, though writing for anthologies may require a certain story title. Short stories must start with a bang to capture the readers’ attention, so how do you do that? Start in the middle of the action with an action beat because you must grab the reader’s attention in your first 500 words or less. A great first line helps. Can you make a living as a short story writer? Not today, the compensation is minimal. The goal for today in writing short stories is to expose your brand to new readers who will read your novel length work next.
They held the panel in Algonquin A with 15 attendees.
Friday, March 27th at 5 PM
Panel on The Evolution of Science Fiction with Ray Tabler, Stephanie Loree, David Weber, Evan Dicken, and Katie Spina:
In what ways has Science Fiction changed since its start? Why did these changes happen and what do they mean for authors now? Science Fiction came from the pulps of the 1940s and 1950s. What are the differences compared to today’s writings? More women are writing Science Fiction, women in the stories are no longer props, and science matters but humanity takes us farther. What is more important, settings or character? Readers connect to character, so that is more important. Mood is important. Last thoughts? Science fiction is now mainstream. Science Fiction is just a label.
They held the panel in Algonquin A with 32 attendees. (standing room only)
Friday, March 27th at 6 PM
Welcome to PenguiCon Opening Ceremonies:
The ceremonies started with an Honor Guard presented by the Royal Manticoran Navy.
Heather Williams is this years Con Chair and the moderator for the ceremonies.
She introduced the various department heads.
Heather introduced the authors, Tracy Barrett, Ryan Rose, David Weber, Jim Butcher, and Jennifer Blackstream.
She mentioned the reset room, the DIY room, the Gaming room, the picture backdrop at the hotel entrance, and the Consuite located upstairs.
They held the opening ceremonies in Algonquin B/C with 75 attendees.
Saturday, March 28th at 11 AM
Panel on What I Wished I Had Known with Jean Davis, Stephanie Loree, Ryan Rose, Katie Spina, and Ray Tabler:
The panelists discussed what they learned about writing, publishing and marketing in their career.
Where did it go wrong? Don’t be afraid to start over if you’re not feeling it.
What is your writing process? Try to write 500 words in 30 minutes to combat perfectionism. After the first draft write an emotional outline to see the complete journey of the characters. Asterisk the hard parts, move on, and come back to them later. Edit as I go.
How do you get from want to, to do it? Put in the work, rea more, and believe in the dream. Learn to accept the bad days as learning experiences. Be okay with your tastes exceeding your abilities when you start out.
They held the panel in Algonquin A with 15 attendees.
Saturday, March 28th at 1 PM
Panel on Self-Publishing 101 with Katie Spina, Sarah Hans, Tracy Barnett, Jennifer Blackstream, and Jean Davis:
Self-published authors discussed why they chose the self-published route and explained how they published their own books.
What made you choose self-publishing? Small press closed leading to self-publishing, no comparables so better to self-publish, and it’s very easy to do now so they did.
What do you do about formatting and covers? Canva, Mac Book, Affinity, Pixaby for images, and ISOCK Photo for images.
How much money do you put into your books? None because it’s all funded by Kickstarter, about $1000 per book, about $300 per book, and swap editing with another author.
Advice if you went back in time, how would you do better? Quit tweaking and get it out, get your social media bonus items together first,
How do you create a strategy to find your target audience? Keep being out there, giveaways, Book Funnel, and Freebie from a Friend.
They held the panel in Algonquin D with 24 attendees.
Saturday, March 28th at 2 PM
Panel on Paths to Publishing with Llewella Forgie, Jean Davis, Ray Tabler, Kyle Miller, Jarod K. Anderson, and Matt Betts:
The path to publication includes traditional published, small or medium presses, and self-published.
How do you decide which path you take? Weigh the pros and cons. It depends on the goal for the project.
Pros for traditional publishing are working with professionals and getting an advance. Cons for traditional publishing is that it takes a long time from writing to publishing. You need patience for this.
Pros for small press publishing are that you have freedom with your content.
Pros for self-publishing are control, your vision, and print on demand changed the experience.
Cons for self-publishing are the marketing is solely the author’s responsibility.
Advice for Agent Query letters. Never send a hard copy, send the first ten pages in a word document, follow the guideline for each submission, use comps in your letter.
They held the reading in the Algonquin A room with 26 attendees.
Saturday, March 28th at 3 PM
Panel on Outline Like a Pro with Llewella Forgie, Sarah Hans, Christine Daigle, Christian Klaver, and Matt Betts:
There are outliners and there are pantsers.
How do you use outlines for writing your novel? They are a pantser, an outliner who ignores their outlines, used to be a pantser, changes per project, and a converted pantser.
What program do you use? Scrivener, Plotter, and White Board.
How much to too much plotting? Get the basics down and then get to the writing. Write a four-page outline at tops.
They held the reading in the Algonquin D room with 12 attendees.
Sunday, March 29th at 11 AM
Panel on Finishing Strong by Writing a Great Ending with David Weber, Jennifer Blackstream, and Llewella Forgie:
The authors commented on what makes a great ending to a book or a series that will leave your readers satisfied.
What makes a great ending? It is set up by what comes before. The main characters all need their ending.
When do you stop? In a mystery it’s when who did it is revealed.
Should you put a surprise at the end? A promise that something is coming must end with a resolution that fits the project.
Writer’s Advice. Killing a character should be hard for you as a writer and you must live with that.
Writer’s Advice. Remember that the end of a book is a resting place for the writer and the reader, but not the characters.
They held the reading in the Algonquin A room with 26 attendees. (standing room only)
Recommendation – Conclusion
I felt the Detroit Penguicon 2026 went well and enjoyed attending it this year. My star of the Con was the author, David Weber. He gave insightful comments in all three panels I saw him in. I’m looking forward to attending the Con in 2027.
Links
This is my recap of the 2024 conference.
I attended the SF conference named PenguiCon at 1275 South Huron Street Ypsilanti, Michigan at the Ann Arbor Marriott, Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest from April 26, 2024, to April 28, 2024. I attended the opening ceremonies, three panels, and one author reading. This year’s theme was Open Source.
I felt the con went well and enjoyed my attendance. My star of the con was the author E.M. Anderson. They read two chapters from different novels in their author’s reading and gave insightful comments on their panel about writing. I was looking forward to attending again in 2025, but I have recently heard that it was cancelled.
These are recaps of the two other cons that I went to this year.
This is my post about ConFusion Detroit 2026 Conference from January 30, 2026, to February 1, 2026. The theme was Magical ConFusion. I attended 8 events. My star of the con was Author John Scalzi.
I attended the SF conference, Cleveland Concoction at 600 North Aurora Road, Aurora, Ohio. They held it at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from March 6 to 8, 2026. I attended 4 activities. My star of the con was Ashley Berry, the 2026 Con Chair. The con returns in March 2027 with the theme of A Star Noir.