Well the last day of programming for 2013 San Diego Comic Con has been released, Sunday’s schedule is here. This means that the first day of con (or I guess technically preview night) is only 10 days away! I have so much to read, so much to clean, and so much to pack before I’m ready (note that I put “read” first in this sentence, as it obviously takes priority.)
Now if I thought yesterday’s schedule (here are Thursday’s and Friday’s too) had some conflicting panels for bookworms, Sunday’s is even worse! In some of the time slots there are three different panels I want to go to, what’s a bookie monster to do?! Help me decide what I should see:
What’s Hot in Young Adult Fiction
11:00am – 12:00pm
Strong protagonists, engrossing romance, humor, action, and angst! Join authors for a Q&A session and chat about the hottest new titles and trends in YA fiction. Moderated by Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp) and featuring Rachel Cohn (Beta), Mark Frost (The Paladin Prophecy), Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall Series), Tahereh Mafi (Unravel Me), Chelsea Pitcher (The S Word), Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children), Veronica Rossi (Through the Ever Night), Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor and Park), and Emma Trevayne (Coda).
I know they did this panel last year (I’m pretty sure Taherah Mafi was on it too last year) and I had it on my schedule and for whatever reason when the day came around I wasn’t able to go to it. I remember going to the signing afterwards but I couldn’t make it to the actual panel! This year, I really hope I get to go. I have read Mafi’s Shatter Me but I haven’t read the others, I’ll add them to my lengthy pre-con reading list and hopefully have some things to discuss with the authors!
What’s Behind the Door? Fiction That Thrills
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Whether the entity lurking behind the door is an evil spirit, a serial killer, an alien, an assassin, or the government, a great thriller will work you into a heightened state of apprehension, excitement, and breathlessness. Peek behind the doors with moderator Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy and authors James Dashner (The Eye of Minds), Allen Zadoff (Boy Nobody), Ann Aguirre (Outpost), Kami Garcia (Unbreakable), Eve Silver (Rush), and Br and on Mull (The Beyonders), as they discuss the art of creating suspenseful, exciting, anxiety-inducing stories that keep readers up well into the night.
Now I know this is a bad, BAD, blogger of me but I haven’t read any of these authors. Okay, I have read Infinity Ring by James Dashner (it was GREAT!) but I haven’t read his signature series, The Maze Runner and now he’s already promoting his next one! Justine has reviewed both the book and the movie of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia. Luckily since this seems to be more of a panel about thrillers and not necessarily the plots of the books there shouldn’t be too many spoilers for me.
Witches and Fey, Monsters and Mortals
2:00pm – 3:00pm
That vamp’s a tramp; this witch is a real bitch. Pixies will pinch, and the fey go beyond fairly frightening. The ghouls are ghastly, and we mere mortals are growing testy. Oh, and that creepy-looking fella is sprouting fur from his feet, and who knows “were” else! Jeanne Stein (the Anna Strong series) encourages S. M. Wheeler (Sea Change), Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy), Brom (Krampus),Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms), Amber Benson (The Calliope Reaper-Jones series), Seanan McGuire (The October Daye series), Rachel Caine (the Morganville Vampires series), and C. Robert Cargill (Dreams and Shadows) to provide perspective on the monsters of myth.
I. LOVE. LEIGH. BARDUGO! I’ve been waiting to get Shadow and Bone‘s sequel, Siege and Storm until I can get it signed by Ms. Bardugo herself at the con! As a huge Buffy fan I’m excited about Amber Benson, I’ve met her a few times and she’s so sweet. I’m excited to see her again (like we’re old friends, right?!) and I’ve seen on twitter that she and Rachel Caine are doing a Kickstarter campaign for a TV web series of The Morganville Vampires, I wonder if they’ll give us an update!
Me meeting Marie Lu at last year’s SDCC.
Safety Not Guaranteed
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Dystopian societies, postapocalyptic scenarios, enhanced (and deadly) abilities, and mysterious government branches make the future a not-so-safe place to be. Moderator Anna Jarzab (Tandem) joins authors Marie Lu (the Legend series), Gen Albin (Crewel), Brandon Sanderson (Steelheart), Margaret Stohl (Icons), Amy Tintera (Reboot), and Michael Johnston (Frozen) as they discuss what it takes to survive in the future worlds they’ve created.
I went to the “Hungry for Dystopia” panel last year and I really enjoyed it, there was even a crazy guy who got up during the Q&A and started going on about Los Angeles was already on its way to a dystopian future… Great stuff! I met Marie Lu (author of Legend and Prodigy) last year and she was so sweet, I’m really glad that she’s coming back. I reviewed Gen Albin’s Crewel last year and I wonder if there will be advanced copies of Altered available!
Spotlight on Neil Gaiman
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Comic-Con special guest Neil Gaiman has crossed over into numerous media. From comics to novels, from kids’ books to animation, from television to movies, Neil remains one of the most popular creators in the world. Visiting Comic-Con this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his seminal comics creationThe Sandman, he’ll talk about everything that’s going on his career right now.
This is my confession: although I’ve seen a lot of his videos and interviews I’ve hadn’t read any of his books until yesterday when I bought the first volume of The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. I finished it one day and I’m already excited to go to the library tomorrow and get volume 2!
See what I mean about the timing?! Those last three panels are all within an hour of each other. It looks like I have some difficult decisions coming up. What do you suggest, readers and con-goers?
