In June 2026, I presented the revised Chapter 3 of my expanded short story named Chemithurgy to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop on a Zoom call.
I wrote short stories in January, February, and March. Last year I completed the novelette version of Chemithurgy. I plan to expand the story to novella length in 2026 and 2027.
I made five posts on my Goodreads account in June 2026.
Events from June 2026.
I did not attend an event in June 2026.
Writing Goals for July 2026.
In July 2026, I plan to write five blog posts for garydavidgillen.com, including my Writing Progress Report for July 2026.
I plan to work on Chapter 4 of the revised and expanded story, Chemithurgy, for the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop via Zoom in July 2026.
In July 2026, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.
In the past, I sent the stories Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.
The seven Flash Fiction Stories I sent out in 2020 and 2021 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue.
Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories sent 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. I had no submissions for 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025.
I plan to send short stories in 2026.
Planned Events for July 2026.
The next conference I plan to attend is the Confluence Conference, held near Pittsburgh, PA, from July 24, 2026, to July 26, 2026. They will have the conference at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA. I attended the Confluence conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, (2021 was cancelled due to COVID), 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
System Collapse by Martha Wells, Murderbot Diaries Book 7.
Introduction
System Collapse by Martha Wells is a short novel in the Murderbot Diaries Series. The author set this story right after the novel, Network Effect. The protagonist of the diaries is a SecUnit (Security Unit), a part-organic and part-mechanical cyborg, or as it calls itself,, a Murderbot. In the series, Murderbot is a Security Consultant to Dr. Mensah on Preservation Station. This story starts with the Preservation group investigating a planet. Part of Murderbot’s memories are redacted. Murderbot must discover why its memories are compromised to save the humans living on the planet.
Summary
In System Collapse by Martha Wells, Murderbot reviews the files on what had happened to it in the last 48 hours. Murderbot goes down to the planet to rescue Iris and Tarik from ART’s group from a hostile ag-bot. Mesah, Seth, Martyn, ART, and Murderbot decided to send Murderbot to the surface because of [redacted]. Someone redacted Murderbot’s memories, and that is a problem.
They were on the planet investigating what happened to the colonists who lived there. Iris had activated the ag-bot, and Murderbot came to save them. Murderbot saves them but discovers a new threat. A Barris-Estranza explorer ship has landed and is seeking to take over the planet for the corporation’s needs.
What is Murderbot going to do about its missing memories and the intentions of Barris-Estranza corporation?
Recommendation
System Collapse by Martha Wells continues the story begun in Network Effect. They published Fugitive Telemetry after Network Effect but it is set before that novel. Reading Network Effect first would help the reader to understand the relationships between the characters at the beginning of this story. The story has a satisfactory conclusion, but it’s clear that Murderbot will be challenged by Barris-Estranza again in the next episode of the Murderbot Dairies.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page for System Collapse by Martha Wells.
Book Review of Fugitive Telemetry, the sixth book in the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. It is another great story. This time Murderbot must solve a murder at the Preservation Station. This complicated case takes Murderbot’s special talents to solve.
Book Review of Network Effect by Martha Wells, Book 5 of The Murderbot Diaries, a novel. The diaries protagonist is a SecUnit (Security Unit), a cyborg, or as it calls itself Murderbot. Murderbot must solve a complex mystery or risk the deaths of its human clients.
Book Review of Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, a series of four novellas. SecUnit calls herself Murderbot. She has feelings of companionship for her human employers. What lengths will she go for to protect them?
The Player of Games by Iain M Banks, Book #2 of The Culture series.
Introduction
In The Player of Games by Iain M Banks, Gurgeh is a Master of Games who gets the chance to play the ultimate game of skill. Jernau Morat Gurgeh is a citizen of the Culture. The Culture provides for all their citizens’ needs. Superior AI minds rule the citizens. Gurgeh could remain in his chosen click, but he has the need to do something risky and intriguing. Will Gurgeh be tempted to go on an adventure or will he contimue as he has been?
Summary
Gurgeh is an accomplished game player. He specializes in any kind of board game but is an expert on most other games. At the beginning of the story, he is playing an outdoor wargame with his friend Yay. Gurgeh has been down lately because he has no challenges and Yay thought the war game might cheer him up. It doesn’t.
In the Culture, the citizens have no comfort wants. Gurgeh is a part time lecturer at the university, and he writes papers about his game philosophy. Citizens change their sexes and partners often. Gurgeh had always wanted a relationship with Yay, but the time was never right.
Drones are AI units who are sentient beings and do as they please. Chamlis is an old drone who is good friends with Yay and Gurgeh. Chamlis recognizes Gurgeh’s restlessness at not having a gaming challenge. The drone suggests that Gurgeh takes a job from Contact. Contact is a civilian foreign intelligence service responsible for watching other civilizations and looking for ways to expand the influence of the Culture onto other civilizations. Gurgeh tells Chamlis to have Contact get in touch with him.
Loash, a drone from Contact, comes to see Gurgeh. It tells him of an intriguing opportunity to use his gaming skills to help Contact. Gurgeh thinks about it. The drone Mawhrin-Skel is important in his decision making.
Recommendation
The Player of Games by Iain M Banks is a great book. I think the promise of Consider Phlebas, book one of the Culture series, was realized in this novel. The story is intentionally slow because describing game play is not dynamic story telling. What impressed me the most was to feel the change in Gurgeh throughout the book. He starts the story as an unlikeable narcissist. He wanted an adventure that challenged himself, but his journey changed him deeply and I felt that. I have read the Use of Weapons, the third book in the series, and it’s even better than this one. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the novels in the series.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Player of Games by Iain M Banks.
In Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks, Horza is caught in the middle of a war. The Culture is a human-dominated group fighting the Idirans. Horza is from a human-derived group, the Changelings. The Changelings and the Idirans are allies. The Culture and the Idirans both want a fugitive advanced computer mind capable of tipping the balance of the war. Will Horza find the mind before the others and save his people?
In Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks, Cheradinine Zakalwe is an operative of the Culture’s Special Circumstances group. The Culture is a human-dominated alliance that tries to advance its position in the galaxy. Diziet Sma is Zakalwe’s handler who sends him on dangerous missions. Will Zakalwe accept a final impossible mission from her, or will he quit The Culture forever?
The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham (Book #1 of The Dagger and the Coin Series)
Introduction
The Dragon’s Path is the first book in the Dagger and the Coin series. Marcus Wester, Geder Palliako, and Dawson Kalliam follow the path of the dagger, the path of violence. Cithrin Bel Surcour follows the path of the coin, the path of currency. Their stories converge on the Kingdom of Antea and the free city of Vanai. Which of them will follow the Dragon’s Path?
Summary
The novel has four point – of – view characters.
Captain Marcus Wester hires guards for a caravan leaving the town of Vanai to go west. His past has scarred him inside.
Sir Geder Palliako serves in the army of the King of Antea, which is hunting down a pretender to the throne at Vanai. Geder would rather read his books than be a soldier.
Cithrin Bel Surcour is a ward of the Medean Bank at their Vanai branch. She is young and tasked with smuggling out the branch’s wealth before the Antean soldiers attack Vanai.
Dawson Kalliam is the Baron of Osterling Fells, a subject and friend of King Simeon of Antea. He fought a duel with Baron Feldin Maas. They are on opposite sides at court and disagree on how the attack on Vanai should go.
During the time of the Dragons, they created the thirteen races of man. Most of the main characters are FirstBlood, who are closest to pure humans. Cithrin is half Cinnae. Cinnae are pale with wide heads. Marcus Wester’s first lieutenant is Yardam, who is Tralgu. Tralgu has hound-like ears. Timzinae have black chitinous skin. Yemmu has tusks and a thick, waddling gait. Jasuru has scales for skin. The Drowned have sorrowful black eyes. There are six other races.
Recommendation
The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham is a great start to the Dagger and the Coin series. It’s the first book in an epic fantasy series, but this series is about finance as much as it is about violence. I’m looking forward to reading all the rest of the novels in the series. The relationship between Marcus and Cithrin reminded me of two other relationships. The relationships are between Geralt and Ciri from the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, and between Joel and Ellie from the video game The Last of Us. Geder had an interesting viewpoint and changed much during the story. Dawson’s viewpoint was the weakest in the novel.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham
In The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham, the magic of the andat protected Otah Machi’s country. The best Galt general took away their andat. Maati wants to bring back the andat, while Otah wants to make peace with Galt. Will Maati or Otah win, or will the Khaiem cities be destroyed?
In An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham, the magic of the andat protects Otah Machi’s country. The best Galt general learns how to take away their andat. Will Otah Machi defeat the Galts, or will they destroy him and all the cities of Khaiem?
In A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham, the Khai Machi is dying, and his sons must fight to the death to follow him. His youngest son, Otah, was in exile and presumed dead. Otah still wants to remain hidden, but the conflict draws him in. If he doesn’t win, the Galts will sack his city.
In A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham, the poet-magician Heshai must keep control of the magical creature Seedless, or the Summer Cities will fall to the Empire of Galt.
On May 2, 2026, I participated in the Taco and Tequila Bar Crawl on West 6th Street in Cleveland Ohio. My ticket gave me five tacos, a shot of Tequila, and a T-shirt for the event. Coronas were also drunk as well. This is the pulled pork taco at Barley House.
Writing Progress from May 2026.
I wrote four blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. Including my writing progress report for May 2026, which I linked below.
In May 2026, I presented the revised Chapter 2 of my expanded short story named Chemithury to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop on a Zoom call.
I wrote new short stories in January, February, and March. Last year I completed the novelette version of Chemithurgy. My plan is to expand the story to novella length in 2026 and 2027.
I made five posts on my Goodreads account in May 2026.
Events from May 2026.
I did not attend an event in May 2026.
Writing Goals for June 2026.
In June 2026, I plan to write five blog posts for garydavidgillen.com, including my Writing Progress Report for June 2026.
I plan to work on Chapter 3 of the revised and expanded story named Chemithurgy for the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop on a Zoom call in June 2026.
In June 2026, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.
In the past, I sent the stories, Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.
The seven Flash Fiction Stories I sent out in 2020 and 2021 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue.
Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submissions for 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025.
I plan to submit short stories in 2026.
Planned Events for June 2026.
The next conference I plan to attend is the Confluence Conference, held near Pittsburgh, PA, from July 24, 2026, to July 26, 2026. They will have the conference at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA. I attended the Confluence conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, (2021 was cancelled due to COVID), 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
In 112263 by Stephen King, Jake had a problem. He’s friends with Al, a diner owner and cook, who tells him about what he calls a rabbit hole that he found in his diner. Al says the rabbit hole is a time portal back to 1958. He wants Jake to go back and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Was Lee Harvey Oswald a lone gunman or was there a conspiracy? Will Jake find out in time and save Kennedy or will he doom the future?
Summary
112263 by Stephen King starts with schoolteacher Jake Epping making friends with diner owner Al Templeton. Al tells Jake that he finds what he calls a rabbit hole in his diner. The rabbit hole takes him back to 1958, he has made many trips, and he always returns exactly two minutes after he left. Al is sick and he wants Jake to do something for him that he can’t do for himself because of his condition.
Jake doesn’t believe Al. Al gives Jake a diary with all the information he will need to succeed in the past. Al wants him to go back and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on 11-22-63 in Dallas, Texas. Al wants Kennedy to live because he believes that the escalation of the Vietnam War will not happen and the current time will be better because of it. Jake discovers two tests that will show if changing the past will affect the future.
Jake does his tests and returns to the past under the alias of George Amberson. At first, he pretends to be a novelist but to make money he gets a job as a substitute teacher in Jolie, Texas which is near Dallas. He needs to figure out if Lee Harvey Oswald is the lone gunman and prevent the assassination. His mission is compromised when he falls in love with the school librarian Sadie Dunhill. The timeline of history pushes back at his efforts as he gets closer to the date in question. Will he or won’t he succeed? What will happen to Sadie?
Recommendation
I think that 112263 by Stephen King is a great novel. This novel is a romance, but that’s not clear until Jake meets Sadie. In the afterward, King said his son, Joe Hill, insisted on the ending that is in the novel that closes the loop on the romance. He was right about that ending and the last chapter is what makes the novel great in my opinion. There is a good miniseries adaption of the novel on Hulu called 11.22.63 that presents the novel well, especially that last scene. Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Stephen King writes in the novel’s afterward that he is 99% sure that he was. Whatever you believe, if you treat this novel as a fantasy, one possibility of what had happened in the past, then you should enjoy it. I certainly did.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of 11/22/63 by Stephen King.
In Gerald’s Game by Stephen King, what happens when they are at their isolated lake house, Jessie is cuffed to the bed, and Gerald is incapacitated? Will Jessie escape before she goes crazy, or will she die of dehydration?
In Thinner by Stephen King, Billy accidentally kills an old gypsy woman. Her father curses him to lose weight until he dies. Can Billy reverse the curse, or will he wither and die?
In The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother is dying. The only way for him to save her is to find the mythical Talisman, which is in a parallel world called the Territories. He must pass many challenges to obtain his goal. Will Jack find the Talisman in time to save his mother from death?
It is by Stephen King and has seven kids who face horror. As adults, they face it again. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?
In The Waste Lands by Stephen King, Roland and his group search for a way to the Dark Tower. They find the city of Lud and the way forward. Will Roland and his gunslingers continue their path to the Dark Tower, or will they fail before they even get started?
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #14 of the Vorkosigan saga.
Introduction
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold is the Fourteenth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan is on a fact-finding mission on Kibou, the planet where people are routinely put in cryo-suspended animation. Jin is a homeless boy who helps Miles. Miles learns far more than he expected.
Summary
In Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan wakes up hazy. A terrorist group kidnapped and drugged him, but he got away from them.
Jin, a 12-year-old homeless boy, finds Miles and takes him to the place he squatted on.
Miles has amnesia, but his memories are coming back. He must find Armsman Roic and get to the Barrayaran consulate to report in.
Roic is imprisoned by the terrorists and must escape so he can help Miles, his employer.
Miles, Roic, and Jin investigate what is going on in Kibou. They must uncover the Kibouan plot to take over the Barrayaran colony of Komarr and defeat it.
They are helped by Durona, an Escobaran specialist in cryonic suspended animation, Consul Vorlynkin from the Barrayaran consulate, and Jin’s mom.
Recommendation
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold is another excellent novel in the Vorkosigan saga. Miles thwarts a plot in his unorthodox way. Roic saves the day more than once. Jin feels like a twelve-year-old most worried about his animal friends. The only sad thing is that this is the last novel in the series which features Miles as the main character. I’m glad he went out this way.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold is the eighth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Lord Miles Vorkosigan uses his alias, Admiral Miles Naismith. He is the leader of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. This time, the fleet is at Jackson Whole. Jackson Whole is run by gangsters who have illegal cloning businesses. Miles must rescue his brother Mark from the gangs and disrupt the cloning operation. Will the brothers perform their mirror dance and escape Jackson Whole in one piece?
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold is the thirteenth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Miles and Ekaterine are racing back from their honeymoon to see the birth of their children, but a mystery brews for Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan. An issue arises in Quaddiespace involving Komarr, Cetaganda, and the triumphant return of Bel Thorne. Will Miles solve the mystery before an environmental disaster is released in the universe?
In A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles’s latest mission is his most difficult yet. He’s in love and wants to court the next Lady Vorkosigan, but everyone conspires against him, including her.
In Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, death will not stop Miles Vorkosigan, but his boss Simon Illyan has an illness that might end Miles’s career. Can Miles figure out what happened to Illyan and what he should do about it before it’s too late?
In Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Dr. Ethan Urquhart must discover what happened to unusable ovarian samples. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he wants?
Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold is the fifth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Miles and the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet escape the Cetagandans and arrive at Earth for repairs. Miles must juggle both of his identities, obtain the funds to repair the fleet, and defeat a plot to replace him with a double. Will Miles achieve his goals and rescue his brothers in arms?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
City and the City by China Mieville is a noir police procedural set in two overlapping cities that share the same location as each other. Borlu is the detective that must travel between the two cities and try not to lose his sense of place as he investigates a case. Will Borlu get lost between the City and the City and never return to his old life?
Summary
In City and the City by China Mieville inspector Tyador Borlu of the city of Beszel extreme crime squad investigates the murder of a woman. A group of kids saw someone dump the body from a van.
Borlu talks to constable Lizbyet Corwi about the case. Borlu sees an old woman who he thinks he should not be able to see. He looks way and pretends she’s not there.
Borlu and Corwi work on the case. The victim’s name is Fulana Detail. None of the leads are panning out. Then Borlu gets a break from a caller from Ul Qoma. Beszel is the city and Ul Qoma is the other city. The two cities are side by side and interwoven. The caller said he knew Fulana from when she was in the Ul Qoma underground. Fulana’s name was Marya in Ul Qoma. The caller feels he is in danger and Borlu should investigate the Beszel underground. Borlu believes the caller. It means though that if he pursues the case, he will be in breach, he cannot investigate a case that originates from Ul Qoma.
Being in breach carries significant consequences, so Borlu must be careful if he wants to catch the murderer of Fulana. He pursues the case as far as he can.
Recommendation
City and the City by China Mieville is a challenging novel to read, but it is a great novel. Once the reader understands the relationship between the two cities and the meaning of the word breach, then the novel makes sense. Borlu was the perfect noir detective. His conflict was real and earned. I’d like to rerad more of the novels of China Mieville in the future.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of City and the City by China Mieville
Another book that reminds me of City and the City is The Fifth Season. Both books are Science Fiction but are on the boundary with Fantasy because they explore concepts that have an element that cannot be explained through physics.
In The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin, Essun, Damaya, and Syenite, all face hard choices in the Broken Earth of the Stillness. Will they survive?
In April 2026, I presented the revised Chapter 1 of my expanded short story named Chemithury to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop on a Zoom call.
I wrote new short stories in January, February, and March. Last year I completed the novelette version of Chemithurgy. My plan is to expand the story to novella length in 2026.
I made five posts on my Goodreads account in April 2026.
Events from April 2026.
I did not attend an event in April 2026.
Writing Goals for May 2026.
In May 2026, I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com, including my Writing Progress Report for May 2026.
I plan to work on Chapter 2 of the revised and expanded story named Chemithurgy for the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop on a Zoom call in May 2026.
In May 2026, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.
In the past, I sent the stories, Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.
The seven Flash Fiction Stories I sent out in 2020 and 2021 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue.
Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submissions for 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025.
I plan to submit short stories in 2026.
Planned Events for May 2026.
The next conference I plan to attend is the Confluence Conference, held near Pittsburgh, PA, from July 24, 2026, to July 26, 2026. They will have the conference at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA. I attended the Confluence conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, (2021 was cancelled due to COVID), 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
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.
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.
