Monday, August 30, 2010

Appearances at AussieCon 4

I am excitedly gearing up for the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, AussieCon 4, which very conveniently is on in Melbourne this year. And which will be my first World Con! I am so on the quivive you can barely see my limbs for the blur.

Below, for any of you who will be there and interested, are my panel appearances, where I will be chatting with some awesome colleagues, as well as a Kaffeeklatsche - a casual hour where I and anyone else interested get to hang out with caffeine - a signing, and a reading. I can't help wondering if anyone will turn up, since it's such a huge event, so if you can, do come!

The whole program for AussieCon4 is available here.

Thursday September 2, 5pm: Signing, Room 201;
Friday September 3, 3pm: : Eowyn and Sam: underappreciated heroes in The Lord of the Rings, Rm 219;
Saturday September 4, 10am: Science fiction and the theatre, Rm 217;
4pm: Micro-audience and the online critic, Rm 219
Sunday September 5, 10am: The eternal stories: myths and legends in YA spec fic, Room 213;
2pm: The fantasy plays of William Shakespeare, Rm 217;
3pm: Reading, Rm 207;
4pm: Let’s get lyrical: poetry in YA spec fic, Rm 211;
5pm: Mary Poppins: from the Outback to Cherry Tree Lane, Rm 219;
Monday September 6, 11am: Kaffeeklatsche, Rm 201.

17 comments:

Northen Light36 said...

Hi Alison. I'm going to be there tomorrow, though sadly not at Kaffeeklatsche. "The lure of a good map" caught my eye and that's at 11 too.

Still, maybe I'll bump into you at some point in the day.

~Ann

Alison Croggon said...

Hi NL - I'll be around for an hour or so, but then I have to scram. Hope you've enjoyed the convention - I certainly have!

Unknown said...

Hi Alison
Just wondering if there is a publication date for Black Spring yet?
Very much looking forward to reading it..

Cheers
Rosie

Alison Croggon said...

Hi Rosie - no firm dates yet but it's likely it will be published in Australia next year. Glad you are looking forward to it!

Unknown said...

Pardon me for for being so awkwardly dense, but I am a newly fanatic fan of your writing who has some seriously nagging queries about your Pellinor Saga.

Could you please tell me know where I can e-mail my queries to you? I have been unable to find a suitable e-mail address.

Unknown said...

Hello. I am a recent convert to your wonderful writing and a fanatic reader of your Pellinor Saga.

Pardon me for being so obtuse, but I can't seem to find an e-mail link where I can mail any queries I have to you. I have some nagging questions about Pellinor that will never let me find peace unless they are answered! Please pardon my lack of knowledge and tell me where I can reach you by e-mail.

Alison Croggon said...

Godkings always welcome...

You can post questions here. It's probably the most straightforward means. I realise this is a shamefully neglected blog, but I do keep an eye on it...

thelazyreader said...

Pardon me for not responding sooner.

Not meaning any disrespect, but main peeve with the Pellinor Saga was that the Riddle seemed rushed in comparison to the rest and left many loose ends untied; like you were glad to be done and in a hurry to get to the ending. Some nagging loose ends were left untied that I'm fairly sure many readers besides me really wanted to see resolved.

Specifically:

-What ultimately happened to Enkir and his rebellion against the Light? He's a character that many readers hate more than Sharma himself. But we never got the satisfaction of seeing him punished for his crimes, which can be surprisingly annoying.

Your epilogue mentions that there was peace in Annar for many centuries after the events of the book. That implies Enkir and his allies were ultimately defeated. But how, and when?

-What about the corrupt Schools of Ettinor and Desor? After Lirigon, I imagine their treachery was made public knowledge. Where they ultimately cast down or purged of evil?

-Given how even Turbansk and Baladh were rebuilt from the rubble, was Maerad's home School of Pellinor ever re-established?

Thank you for your time.

Alison Croggon said...

Do you mean THE SINGING, rather than THE RIDDLE?

You know, I'm going to have to read the books again so I can remember what happened. :) It's been a while...

thelazyreader said...

Yes, the Singing. I feel dumb...

Alison Croggon said...

No, don't feel dumb. I wrote the books, I ought to be able to answer your questions! They're tricky ones. Partly because if I wrote more stories later, I mustn't forget the answers.. :)

Unknown said...

Dear Alison,

Hi! I have literally just finished reading the quartet last night and cannot express the emotions that ran through me as I finished the Singing. I bought the Naming last year but never got around to buying the following three. My mom is always asking me for new books to read and I eventually gave her the Naming. She was hooked. She went out and bought the entire quartet! I had just gone off to school and was quite busy with work and couldn't begin to read them until break. I believe my friends are wondering if I feel off the face of the earth. I have been holed up in my room entranced by the words of the books. At one point, when I was reading the Singing, I coughed and realized that I was in my room. Before this cough, I could see nothing save the words on the page and the images they were playing in my mind. Throughout the books, I could feel the anguish of Maerad and Hem, the sense of helplessness and hopelessness; I could feel Maerad’s terror as she opened up to her immense gift and her passionate love for her brother, Cadvan and her friends. I was thoroughly impressed with the final book, it showed how your writing grew as you continued to write. You said that the Naming was your first fantasy book and while it was written well, the writing in the Singing was beyond comparison. The ending did leave many unanswered questions but that just leaves the possibility of one day writing about the war between Enkir and Annar and the Seven Kingdoms :)

Alison Croggon said...

Many thanks, Corey. I really appreciate your comments! Every writers dreams that readers will enter their world with such generosity. And yes, who knows? There are certainly more stories to write in that world.

Lys Lys said...

Sigh, being all the way in America is hard when your favorite author is in Australia:(

emma1996 said...

Oh my gosh I wish I could go! Especially to the Eowyn and Sam underappreicated characters thing. I totally believe that, but that's the day I go back to school, so :(

emma1996 said...

Hi Alison, I don't know if any one has ever asked you but would you consider turning your books into film? They're amazingly written and I was thinking that maybe if you got Peter Jackson or someone of that callibre to film them, that it would do them justice. I would love to see them in film, even though everyone has their own versions in their heads. If you're now wondering I'm not anyone who's anyone, just a young fangirl who's been hooked on your books since about 2004. I would love to see your would transferred to screen, and I would love to be Maerad if that ever happened. Please get beck to me as soon as you can, but I respect that your busy.

Thank you so much for writing them,

Aspiring young girl.

Alison Croggon said...

Thanks, Emma! Sadly, whether a film is made if not up to me. But I agree, Peter Jackson would be awesome!