The first Wizard World Portland Comic Con begins today at the Oregon Convention Center. I’ve never been to any kind of comic con before, but I’m going to this one, because I’m on programming. On Saturday 2/23, you’ll see me on the following panel:

4:00 – 4:45PM SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS: IMAGINING OUR FUTURE What roll [sic] does speculative fiction, and in particular science fiction, play in creating the future? When faced with so many potential catastrophes can science fiction provide hope? Or is science fiction at it strongest when it reveals our fears? Can the types of stories we tell influence the future we create? Come interact with Portland based science fiction authors William Hertling (Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears, A.I. Apocalypse), David D. Levine (Space Magic, Tk’Tk’Tk) and Daniel H. Wilson (Robopocalypse, How to Survive a Robot Uprising and A Boy and His Bot) along with Chris Claremont as we tackle these questions and more. Moderated by Erik Wecks (Wired’s GeekDad) (ROOM C124)

1) I would like to apologize for the lack of any women or people of color on this panel. I did suggest several women to invite (sadly, I do not know any prominent PoC SF writers in Portland) but, for reasons unknown to me, they were either not invited or were unable to attend.

2) Any suggestions for a first-time comic con attendee? I don’t expect San Diego levels of overwhelming, but it’s a new environment for me and I would like to avoid any faux pas if possible.