Conflux 6

Conflux 4 Programme (2007)

• Workshops

• Kaffeeklatsches and readings

• Social Events

• Whole membership events

• Guest appearances

• Film Festival

Friday Workshops - at Gorman House

Time	Stream 1	Stream 2	Stream 3
9am	Workshop Gillian Polack - writing magic		Workshop Russell Kirkpatrick - maps
10am		Workshop - 10am Kaaren Sutcliffe - captivating characters
11am
12pm	Lunch
1.30pm	Workshop Maxine McArthur- horses	Workshop Chris Barnes - sword	Workshop Kevin and Rebecca - Things I wish I'd known

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Friday at Rydges Lakeside

Time	Lake Michigan Room
6pm	Registration opens
7pm	Opening ceremony, including: Performance by Larissa Stoljar Open mike reading session - Guests and other authors will read their work - MC'd by Jack Dann The Great Debate
8pm
9.30pm	Cocktail party - in function floor foyer

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Saturday

Time	Stream 1 Lake Huron Room	Stream 2 Lake Superior Room	Stream 3 Lake Hakone Room	Stream 4 Lake Nyanza Room	Stream 5 Lake Geneva Room	Stream 6 Lake Titicaca Room
9am	(35) Panel Urban versus paranormal - which romance is which?	(16) Panel Prayer and Prophet - making your own religion.	(7) Panel Cultural Tales - writing ethnicities into your work	Workshop Jack Dann - Keys to the Kingdom	Workshop Richard Harland - Writing and reading action	Film Festival
10am	(3) Panel Fans V.2 - how do we grow fandom?	(8) Panel Human, Klingon, Martian - portraying race in sci fi	(15) Panel 10 things beginning writers get wrong.
11am	(32) Panel Authors' blogs - good PR or just a waste of time.	(21) Panel What is fear and what is evil?	(34) Panel Original versus derived - spec fic movies
12pm Lunch	Launch of In Bad Dreams in Lake Superior Room
1pm	(33) Panel Take me to your leader - who the aliens should really talk to.	Guest Donna Maree Hanson and Kaaron Warren	(29) Panel Love, Crime and Spells - cross-genre work.	Workshop Liz Argall - writing for comics	Workshop Karen Miller - Fantasy writing 101	Film Festival
2pm	(39) Panel The other side of the business - inside stories of publishing. Garth Nix.	(25) Panel Writing for the end of the world - environmental sci fi.	(4) Panel Where to start - the must reads.
3pm	(27) Panel Scream and Run - the role of the hero in horror.	Guest Rebecca Moesta	(41) Panel Impact of heroes on environment - how character and setting interact.
4pm	Set up		4.30 - Mass Book Signing in Lake Michigan (dealers) room
5pm
6pm						Film festival 6pm until midnight
7pm	Regency Gothic banquet
8pm
9pm
10pm

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Sunday

Time	Stream 1 Lake Huron Room	Stream 2 Lake Superior Room	Stream 4 Lake Nyanza Room	Stream 5 Lake Geneva Room	Stream 6 Lake Titicaca Room
9am	(12) Panel Levels 1-10 - the role of gaming in developing the genre	(18) Panel The dead body - how to kill someone heroicly	Workshop Margi Curtis - magic		Presentation: James Sheridan will show an early version of his controlled virtual Zen garden. Watch James set up and demonstrate, then have a go yourself.
10am	(38) Panel Writing disciplines - how different writing helps you write fiction.	Guest Garth Nix (interviewed by Richard Harland)		Kaffeeklatsch Jonathan Strahan and Jack Dann focuss on editing
11am	(40) Panel The Philosophy of Giant Monsters - what could we learn from our city-destroying friends	(5) Panel Writing the tie-ins - novels from series.		Kaffeeklatsch Garth Nix
12pm	Launch of Daikaiju 3 in Lake Huron
1pm	(2) Panel What people want - booksellers tell all.	(37) Panel Our island home - Australia from the outside.	Workshop Val Toh - mental illness	Kaffeeklatsch Rebecca Moesta	Film Festival
2pm	(26) Panel It's great - the art of the review.	Guest Kevin J Anderson		Kaffeeklatsch Graham Joyce
3pm	(17) Panel Zen and the art of anthology making.	Guest Simon Brown		Kaffeeklatsch Kevin J Anderson
4pm	(13) Panel How to hire henchmen - a guide for the overlord.	(19) Panel Young adult versus urban fantasy - is one just the other?	Room is unused
5pm	(20) Panel Blogs: a new community.	(22) Panel Literature versus film - where does horror belong.
6pm	Charity Auction	(9) Panel Clarion revisited - do structured writing workshops work?			Presentation: KS Nikakis will speak on her doctoral thesis title is: The use of narrative in order to break the masculine domination of the hero quest.
7pm	Dinner
8pm	Masquerade	Cool Shite on the Web podcast - Lake Huron, 8.30pm-9.30pm			Film Festival 8pm to 9.30pm
9pm
10pm
11pm
12am

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Monday

Time	Stream 1 Lake Huron Room	Stream 2 Lake Superior Room	Stream 4 Lake Nyanza Room	Stream 5 Lake Geneva Room	Stream 6 Lake Titicaca Room
9am	(36) Panel Telling the future - how divination really works.	(23) Panel What makes a good villain in story and in real life?	Workshop Kevin and Rebecca - increase your writing productivity		(30) Panel Scrolling through the story - past, present and future of webpublishing.
10am	(6) Panel Moving on from mobiles - where to next for technology?	(31) Panel Making you squirm - horror writers read and explain their work.			Presentation: David Brew is a Canberra based 'ambassador' for the Liftport Group, a private U.S. based consortium working toward building a Space Elevator.
11am	(10) Panel Arrggghhh! The worst heroes in sci fi and fantasy	Guest Jonathan Strahan (interviewed by Terry Dowling)		Kaffeeklatsch Simon Brown
12pm lunch	Launch of Rynemonn in Lake Superior
1pm	(1) Panel Beach Balls and strobes - cheap but effective movie effects.	(11) Panel Pilots with PMS - women in sci fi.		Kaffeeklatsch Kaaron Warren	Workshop Fiona McLellan - Emarketing for authors
2pm	(24) Panel Beasts of Burden - donkeys, camels and horses in literature.	Guest Graham Joyce (interviewed by Rob Hood)		Kaffeeklatsch Donna Maree Hanson
3pm	(14) Panel It came in a dream - how to generate ideas.	(28) Panel Space Opera - did it ever die?
4pm	Trivia Competition Finals
4:30pm	Closing ceremony
5pm	Dead dog party (Cahoots Bar)

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Panel Descriptions

1. Beach balls and strobes - cheap but effective special effects. Movie experts and buffs discuss what has worked, what doesn't work and what you should do when you're making your movie in the backyard.

2. What people want - spec fic booksellers tell all. We hear again and again what sells, but when people walk into a bookstore, what do they really want to read?

3. Fans v.2 - how do we grow fandom? Do we search for the young, do we take advantage of the baby boomers who are leaving the workforce, do we need to worry about it? Fans talk about what has worked and what we should try.

4. Where to start - the must-reads. Readers, editors and booksellers discuss what are the books that you should read to ensure you're getting the best and the most iconic of sci fi, fantasy and horror.

5. Writing the tie-ins - novels from series. Four of the world's most successful authors have done just as well writing novels based on television and movie series than their original work. They talk about how they got into writing tie-ins and how it differs to their other writing.

6. Moving on from mobiles - where to next for technology? .Science fiction predicted robots, the internet and microwaves, not to mention the forerunner of the mobile phone - Maxwell Smart's show phone. So what will we get next?

7. Cultural tales - writing ethnicities into your work. How do you take the richness of various cultures and work it into your writing? Four writers with experience in living beyond an Anglo-Saxon culture tell all.

8. Human, Klingon, Martian - portraying race in sci fi. Sci fi has been one of the forefronts of portraying different races - just consider the bridge of the Enterprise in Star Trek. How is race, both human and alien, portrayed in science fiction, and are the differences polished down to make things easier?

9. Clarion revisted - do structured writing workshops work? Attending Clarion is a sought-after opportunity, but should it? Attendees and a lecturer talk about the value of structures writing workshops in becoming a better writer and in being published.

10. AAAARRRRGGGHHHH! - the worst heroes in SF and Fantasy. Who are the heroes to avoid, and why didn't they work?

11. Pilots with PMS - women in sci fi. Four of our best female sci fi writers talk about the portrayal of women in sci fi.

12. Levels 1 to 10 - the role of gaming in developing the genre. A lot of readers are gamers and vice versa. With all the similarities, is there any cross-over? What impact has the growing trend for gaming had on the written genre?

13. How to hire henchmen - a guide for the evil overlord. Some evil overlords get it soooo wrong. If you're planning to take over the world, find out exactly what to look for in your henchmen.

14. It came in a dream - how to generate story ideas. It's the most common question an author gets asked - where do you get your ideas from. Four writers talk about the initial spark of inspiration and how that can be developed into an idea to carry a story.

15. 10 things beginning writers get wrong - From people who have seen (and done) it all, here's what you have to avoid to become a good writer.

16. Prayer and prophet - making your own religion. Do you rip off current religions, or is it worth starting from scratch and if so, how do you make it look authentic? Authors who have done it talk about it.

17. Zen and the art of anthology making - Some of Australia's most experienced anthologists, along with a newbie, talk about what it takes to create a good anthology.

18. The dead body - how to kill someone heroicly. Heroes have a reputation to maintain, and that's particularly important when killing someone. So what is the best way to kill someone and look good doing it?

19. Young adult fiction versus urban fantasy - is one just the other? There's no doubt that young adult fiction is the flavour of the moment, but it's hard to define. Just what is young adult fiction, and is it as some say just another name for urban fantasy?

20. Blogs: a new community - Four men who are never far away from their blogs talk about blogging and its impact on developing and maintaining the community.

21. What is fear and what is evil? - Evil is a word that can be bandied around almost as much as hero. Four top horror writers talk about what fear and evil mean for them.

22. Literature vs film - where does horror belong? Some of the great films of recent times have been horror. Some of the best books recently published have been horror. Does horror work best in one genre versus the other, or is there film for both?

23. What makes a good villain in story and real life? - It's easy to consider a good villain as a certain stereotype, but even modern villains such as Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler had layers - one was a romance writer, the other a dog lover. So what makes a good villain and are they really that different to the rest of us?

24. Beasts of Burden - donkeys, camels, and horses in literature. The chance to find out how animals should really behave. You'll be amazed how often a horse actually has to stop to eat.

25. Writing for the end of the world - environmental sci fi. With the environment the cause de jour, authors consider how sci fi can help us understand and accept the end of the world.

26. It's great - the art of the review. Reviewers discuss what's a good review, what's a bad review and how authors react to them.

27. Scream and run - the role of the hero in making horror scary. Would horror be as scary if that young girl didn't go into the haunted house? Horror authors discuss the importance of good heroes in making horror work.

28. Space opera - did it ever die? What is space opera, what is the new space opera and did the old ever go away? Some of the greats of space opera discuss this most popular sub-genre.

29. Love, crime and spells - cross-genre work. How the various genres can work together to create a multi-layered fun romp of a read.

30. Scrolling through the story - past, present and future of webpublishing. How has the internet and webpublishing impacted on publishing and will we ever not have paper in our hands?

31. Making you squirm - horror writers read their work. Four of Australia's greatest horror writers read their work and discuss what makes it so horrific.

32. Authors blogs - good pr or a waste of time. There's no doubt you need to promote yourself, but how effective are blogs? Are they taking authors away from the "real writing"

33. Take me to your leader - who the aliens should talk to. If the idea that George W Bush should be the first port of call fills you with dread, join this discussion of who would be the best people to educate aliens on Earth.

34. Original versus derived - spec fic movies. Which work best - the original ideas or the ones taken from published stories? And why?

35. Urban versus paranormal - which romance is which? Paranormal romance is shaping to be the next big mover in the genre. So what is it, how does it compare to urban romance and just how much romance is too much romance.

36. Telling the future - how divination really works. We all know that the prophecy and the wizard who can see into the future are all important for plot development. Find out from some practitioners and experts how it really works.

37. Our island home - Australia from the outside. It might be hard to hear, but here it is, the unvarnished truth - just what do those from overseas thing of Australia and the sci fi industry?

38. Writing disciplines - how doing different writing helps you write fiction. Writers who started in different styles of writing talk about how that writing helped them become successful fiction authors.

39. The other side of the business - inside stories of publishing. Garth Nix has experience as an author, publisher and agent. He'll share his stories on how the industry really works. A must if you're looking to get started or go further.

40. The Philosophy of Giant Monsters - what could we learn from our city-destroying friends. Robin Pen and Rob Hood, editors of the three Daikaiju anthologies talk about their obsession.

41. The impact of heroes on the environment - how characters and setting interact. Can you separate your characters from the setting or does one impact on the other in ways you can only begin to imagine?

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