I’m very excited to be teaching at the Cleveland Writing Workshop this Saturday! Looking forward to meeting a bunch of up-and-coming writers and wearing as much Cubs gear as I think I can safely get away with in Cleveland city limits.

When opportunity knocks, you know you’re supposed to answer, but how often does opportunity knock like this? A last-minute invitation from none other than Terry Brooks, who decided a panel discussion would be more fun than a one-man show. Hell yes!

It’s even on one of my favorite topics: writing bad guys. How do you craft dynamic, complex, and sympathetic villains? We’ll have a thing or two to say about it on Sunday at high noon in Ballroom 3.

Concurrent with Hawaiicon is the Science Fictions, Popular Cultures convention, which is for a very different kind of nerd: the professional academic. I’m on a panel with Randy Jensen, whose talk is titled “Shall We Play A Game? Teaching Philosophy Through Science Fiction.” He teaches philosophy at Northwestern College in Iowa and he’s found a way to gameify his intro course. I’m looking forward to learning how he did it. Then I present on how to use philosophically provocative science fiction to teach a college-level philosophy course using no traditional philosophical texts.

Join us in the Hamakua Room on Saturday morning at 11:00. This is the only conference where you’ll get to hear a comparative analysis of the great German moral philosopher, Immanuel Kant, and perhaps the most famous American moral philosopher, Batman.

I'm teaching a course on how to write great science fiction and fantasy at the Michigan Writing Workshop on April 14th. I'm also giving critiques of the first ten pages of novel manuscripts; more information on how to get in on that here.

This is going to be an amazing event. Artist and peace activist Miri Golan is coming to give a talk at the Dayton Art Institute (which I love), about her work in origami (which I love) and art as a form of social activism (which I love). She founded Folding Together, a peacemaking project bringing Israelis and Palestinians together through origami. Her work is part of DAI's new special exhibition, Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami. The show is great (I've seen it twice already) and on April 9 Golan is going to come to DAI to talk about her work as both an artist and an activist.

I've been invited to speak on a panel of respondents: two professors of Religious Studies and Yours Truly, commenting on the religious and philosophical aspects of Golan's work. Twenty bucks cheap gets you in the door, admission to see the show, a dessert reception, and the opportunity to meet Golan herself. Here's DAI's page about the event.

I'm really looking forward to this one! It's unlike any other event I've done. We meet at the house of poet Grace Curtis to talk about... well, whatever a bunch of writers talk about. And it's for a good cause too: supporting the Antioch Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton.

If you want to register, all the info you need is here. Hope to see you there!

My first Wizard World con, and it promises to be a good one! The list of special guests is out of this world. I'm hosting a session called "Martial Arts and the Art of Fight Scenes" in room M100.

Sweet Home C2E2. I'm returning to my favorite con, Chicago Comic Con, to speak on a panel called "All Things Fantastic." Come by room S402 at 12:30 on Saturday, April 26th. Afterward, come over to Table 1 in the autographing area between 1:45-2:45 and we can chat one-on-one. This con is a ton of fun; don't miss it!

The first public event for Year of the Demon! I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble in Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota.

My favorite neighborhood library is hosting a meet-and-greet for local authors, both fiction and nonfiction. Free to the public.

I'll see you in Chicago! I'll be signing books and speaking on a panel at Chicago Comic Con. The con runs April 26-28; my events are on Saturday. The panel, "Magical and Mythological Delights," runs from 2:00-3:00 in room W470b, followed by an autographing session. Hope to see you there!

New York Comic Con. The con runs from Thursday, October 11 through Sunday, October 14 at the Javits Center in downtown NYC. On Saturday (10/13) I’ll be autographing books from 11:45 AM -12:45 PM (tables 2, 3, and 4) and speaking on two panels: “Genre-Benders” (2:45-3:45 PM in room 1A01) and “Heroes Quest” (5:15-6:15 PM in room 1A08). I'm also doing autographs from 11:45-12:45 and 4:45-5:15 in the signing area.

The first book signing for Daughter of the Sword! I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble in Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota.