UPDATE: The info below is now outdated. The finalized schedule can be found at this link.

What follows is the PRELIMINARY Programming Schedule for Scares That Care AuthorCon. That means it is NOT final. Changes will be made to it, based upon the feedback from participants.

If you are an author attending AuthorCon, either as a Vendor or as a Guest of Honor, look over the Preliminary schedule, find your name, and let me know if you are NOT okay with where I have included you.

When putting together something like this, experience has proven that it is much more efficient to get input after a preliminary schedule has been assembled, rather than emailing each individual person and soliciting input beforehand.

If you are on a panel discussion, I have placed you there because I feel you’re qualified to discuss that topic and will have interesting insight and thoughts.

If you have been assigned a reading, and are new to Scares That Care, know that we pair two authors together for 45-minute time slots. If ten people show up to hear you and ten people show up to hear your partner, then you’ve both just doubled your audience (and potential readers). We recommend that each of you read something ten to twenty minutes in length, so that both of you have enough time to finish, and so that both of you can take questions from the audience at the end.

As I said, we are now ready for your input. Find your name on the schedule. Guests of Honor have more than one activity. All other participants have a minimum of one activity (sometimes more, if there was availability).

If you’re happy with your placement, you don’t need to do anything else.

If you are concerned with your placement — for example, if I have put you down for a reading and you suffer from social anxiety, or if I have you down for a panel and you’d rather do a reading, or if I have you scheduled for Sunday when you are already heading to the airport — please email me directly at briankeene@live.com.

Don’t do it as a Twitter reply. Don’t leave it in the Facebook comments. EMAIL ME at briankeene@live.com so that it is not overlooked.

Put ‘AuthorCon’ in the subject so that it goes to the top of my inbox. I will do my best to accommodate each and every question or concern.

If you do NOT see your name anywhere on the list, then my sincere apologies in advance. Email me and I will rectify that immediately, as well.

The deadline for feedback is Saturday, March 5th. If I have not heard from you by then, I will assume you are happy with your slated activity.

Thank you for you patience and participation. We’re looking forward to a great show, and doing great things for people who need help.

Again, read over the schedule. If you’re content, no further action is required. If you would like to request a change or have a concern, please email me at briankeene@live.com by Saturday, March 5th.

— Brian Keene

AuthorCon PRELIMINARY Programming

FRIDAY

Vendor Meeting – 4:00pm (Vendor Room): All vendors and Guests of Honor are encouraged to attend.

Vendor Room Hours – 5:00pm to 9:00pm

Silent Auction – 5:00pm to 9:00pm

Grady Hendrix’s PAPERBACKS FROM HELL (with Special Guest Will Bozarth) – 9:30pm (Auditorium) Note: This is a ticketed event.

READINGS (Rooms A & B)

5:15pm to 6:00pm: Todd Keisling and Justin Holley

6:15pm to 7:00pm: Russell James and Clay McLeod Chapman

7:15pm to 8:00pm: Josh Malerman and Jonathan Janz

8:15pm to 9:00pm: Mary SanGiovanni and Hailey Piper

PANELS (Rooms 2 & 3)

6:00pm to 7:00pm: CHILDHOOD NIGHTMARES – C.W. Briar, Tara Moeller, R.L. Parker, Ally Malinenko, Nicole Willson, Nathan McCullough, and Shawn Burgess discuss their childhood fears and whether or not those memories have influenced their fiction.

7:30pm to 9:00pm: SPLATTERPUNK STRONG – Splatterpunk Award co-founder Wrath James White, and Splatterpunk Award nominees C.V. Hunt, Kristopher Triana, Jeff Strand, Kristopher Rufty, Candace Nola, Wesley Southard, Stephen Kozeniewski, Wile E. Young, Carver Pike, Aron Beauregard, Daniel Volpe, Jay Wilburn, and Thomas R. Clark discuss the current state of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror. 

WORKSHOPS (Center Lounge)

7:00pm to 8:00pm: WRITING THE BADGE – Former Police Officer and Detective Joe Ripple leads this free seminar/Q&A on the correct way to write police procedure, tactics, and operations.

SATURDAY

Vendor Room Hours – 10:00am to 6:00pm

Silent Auction – 10:00am to 4:45pm

Silent Auction Winners – 5:00pm

READINGS (Rooms A & B)

10:15am to 11:00am: Candace Nola and Holly Rae Garcia

11:15am to Noon: John Hornor Jacobs and John Urbancik

12:15pm to 1:00pm: Chet Williamson and David Niall Wilson

1:15pm to 2:00pm: F. Paul Wilson and Thomas F. Monteleone

2:15pm to 3:00pm: Maurice Broaddus and S.A. Cosby

3:15pm to 4:00pm: C.V. Hunt and Wrath James White

4:15pm to 5:00pm: Aron Beauregard and Daniel J. Volpe

5:15pm to 6:00pm: Andersen Prunty and Christoph Paul

6:15pm to 7:00pm: Sonora Taylor and Red Lagoe

7:15pm to 8:00pm: Glenn Rolfe and Donnie Goodman

8:15pm to 9:00pm: RJ Roles and Tim McWhorter

9:15pm to 11:00pm: CARNIVAL OF CHAOS – Jeff Strand, John Wayne Comunale, Kristopher Triana, Wesley Southard, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wile E. Young present nearly two hours of mayhem and madness.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS (Rooms 2 and 3)

10:30am to 11:30am: WRITING RITUALS – Bryan Nowak, Daniel Braum, Dea Schofield, Kelly Martin, Dan Franklin, and Joseph Pesavento discuss their individual writing processes and practices, finding balance with day jobs and family obligations, and their tips for productivity and focus.

11:45am to 1:00pm: PUBLISHERPALOOZA – Join representatives from Apex Books, Apokrupha, Bleeding Edge Books, Castaigne Publishing, Clash Books, Crone Girls Press, Death’s Head Press, Grindhouse Press, Stygian Sky Media and Weirdpunk Books discuss the trials and tribulations of publishing, and what they’re looking for from authors and artists.

1:15pm to 2:15pm: THIS DYSTOPIAN OBSESSION – Mary SanGiovanni, Jonathan Janz, Adam J. Smith, Michael G. Williams, Anthony M. Strong, and Matt Wildasin discuss why dystopian and post-apocalyptic horror fiction are more popular now than ever.

2:30pm to 3:30pm: DEATH OF THE DEAD? – Night of the Living Dead and White Zombie. Day of the Dead and Wet Work. The Rising and 28 Days Later. The Walking Dead and World War Z. The popularity of zombies runs in cycles. Matt Blazi, Jay Wilburn, Kristopher Rufty, Jeremy Wagner, Thomas R. Clark, and Anton Cancre predict what’s next for the undead. Are we approaching a downturn, and if so, will they rise once more?

3:45pm to 4:45pm: WRITING SHORT STORIES – Desiree Byars, Katherine Silva, James Noll, Tony Evans, Michael Tyree, and Joseph Sullivan discuss the tips, tricks, and challenges of crafting the perfect short horror story.

5:00pm to 6:00pm: SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE – Josh Malerman, Maurice Broaddus, F. Paul Wilson, S.A. Cosby, Wrath James White, and Clay McLeod Chapman discuss the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of what happens when Hollywood comes knocking at your door.

6:30pm to 7:00pm: Placeholder

WORKSHOPS (Center Lounge)

Noon to 4:00pm: UPPING YOUR GAME: HOW TO DELIVER A MEMORABLE LIVE READING – Author Robert Ford, one of the best live readers in the business, leads this interactive workshop on ways to improve your own live reading. Attendees will participate with live readings of their own work (so please come prepared) and receive practical developmental feedback. Note: This is a ticketed event.

4:30pm to 8:30pm: WRITING FOR VIDEO GAMES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – Video game veteran Richard Dansky (Red Storm, Ubisoft) leads this highly interactive seminar on how to write for video game designers. Note: This is a ticketed event.

SUNDAY

Vendor Room Hours – 11:00am to 4:00pm

READINGS (Rooms A & B)

11:15pm to Noon: Rebecca Rowland and Douglas Ford

12:15pm to 1:00pm: Jacob Haddon and D. Alexander Ward

1:15pm to 2:00pm: Robert Ford and Richard Dansky

2:15pm to 3:00pm: Placeholder

PANEL DISCUSSIONS (Rooms 2 and 3)

11:30 to 12:30pm: BABY’S FIRST MONSTER – R.L. Stine. Stephen King. Leisure Books. Weird Tales. Different generations of horror fiction fans discover the genre in different ways. Hailey Piper, John Kelly, Jeremy Megargee, Matthew Mitchell, Mike Duke, and Kim Alexander discuss their introduction to horror.

12:45pm to 1:45pm: MY FAVORITE HORROR NOVEL – Andersen Prunty, Matt Blairstone, Rowland Bercy Jr., Elizabeth Blue, Chase Will and Pamela K. Kinney discuss their all-time favorite horror novel, and the impact it’s had on them.

2:00pm to 3:00pm: Placeholder

WORKSHOPS (Center Lounge)

2:00pm to 3:00pm: YELL AT BRIAN KEENE – What did you think of the first Scares That Care AuthorCon? The Board of Directors wants your honest feedback, so that we can improve the experience going forward. (Please don’t actually yell, though).