| Day | Time | Title | Description | Participants | Room |
|---|
| Friday |
| Friday | 4:00pm | What form do I like my SFin? | What form do I like my SF in - story, novels, movies, comics, TV, radio, games etc.? Are there things one form can do that others cannot? Do you think that any forms will change or die in the near future? | David Bartell (m), Robert Balder, Davey Beauchamp, Alan Smale | Montrose |
| Friday | 5:00pm | New TV SF | What new SF is on television and where would you find it? Is the Big Bang SF? Is Eureka? Why does so much SF on TV get canceled? Can it survive on small cable channels? | Barbara Krasnoff (m), Jim Freund, Jane Jewell, Michael D. Pederson, Elaine Stiles | Plaza |
| Friday | 6:00pm | Turtledove reading | Our author GOH reads from a new or unpublished work | Harry Turtledove | Montrose |
| Friday | 6:00pm | Space invaders | How would you invade earth? Now that you've conquered earth, how do you run it? What are the best invasion stories? | Yoji Kondo (m), Tad Daley, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Bud Sparhawk | Plaza |
| Friday | 7:00pm | Modern classics | What makes a book a classic? Everyone in SF still reads Dune, Foundation, Starship Troopers? What other recent books, since the 80s, do you think will someday be held up with these as a classic? why would you say this is a classic? | Lenny Bailes (m), Dennis Danvers, Doug Fratz, Peter Heck, George H. Scithers | Montrose |
| Friday | 7:00pm | Alternate Dogcatchers | What makes a good alternate history work and bad ones fail? What points of departure do you change? How do you build a good alternate history? What alt histories aren't done that we would like to see? | Michael Flynn (m), Harry Turtledove, Tom Doyle, Virginia DeMarce, Edmund Schubert, Christopher M. Cevasco | Plaza |
| Friday | 7:00pm | Library thing, goodreads, and other book conversations | What is Library Thing/Goodreads etc.? Why would people want to tell the world what books they have? What are similar book oriented social media? How are they useful to writers, readers, and others? | Colleen Cahill (m), David Louis Edelman, C. Alan Loewen, Karen Wester Newton | Randolph |
| Friday | 7:00pm | Reading | | Alan Smale | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 7:30pm | Reading | | Bud Sparhawk | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 8:00pm | Fantasy-Mystery | From Harry Dresden to Rachel Morgan to Sookie Stackhouse to Anita Blake, a lot of popular urban fantasies/paranormal romances seem to be mysteries. Why add a third element to the mix? What works/doesn't work when you combine them? | Diane Weinstein (m), Peter Heck, Victoria Janssen, Jean Marie Ward | Montrose |
| Friday | 8:00pm | WSFA meeting and discussion of Asimov's issue | Welcome to WSFA. Come and participate in our monthly discussion of the Oct/Nov Asimov's issue with our GOH, its editor. | Lee Strong (m), Cathy Green, Sheila Williams | Plaza |
| Friday | 8:00pm | Comics and graphic novels | Comics and graphic novels frequently feature SF/Fantasy elements. Which ones are the best and why? What comics should SF readers be reading and why? Can comics ever overcome the prejudice against them? | Michael D. Pederson (m), James Maxey, Steve Stiles, Lawrence Watt-Evans | Randolph |
| Friday | 8:00pm | Reading | | Christopher M. Cevasco | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 8:30pm | Reading | | Edmund Schubert | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 9:00pm | Books (and Writers) Past their Expiration Date | What makes some works seem dated while others of the same age seem fresh? Why do writers go in and out of style? Should writers write for the current audience or are they looking at forever? What are some of the current favorites that may seem outdated soon? | Allen Wold (m), David Louis Edelman, Kathy Morrow, Darrell Schweitzer, Ted White | Montrose |
| Friday | 9:00pm | Sheila Williams GOH interview | Capclave's editor GOH gets interviewed. | Jim Freund (m), Sheila Williams | Plaza |
| Friday | 9:00pm | The Rotsler Award Winners, 1998 - 2008 | Award-winning fan artist Steve Stiles presents a slide show about the eleven fan artists who have won the William Rotsler Award for outstanding fan art. | Steve Stiles (m) | Randolph |
| Friday | 9:00pm | Reading | | Catherine Asaro | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 9:30pm | Reading | | Scott H. Andrews | Twinbrook |
| Friday | 10:00pm | Did fandom lose by winning? | Today's top movies are almost all SF/Fantasy. SF/Fantasy elements are in most videogames and many television shows such as Lost or Ghost Whisperer. But fandom as a separate culture seems to be dwindling. Are we being absorbed into the mainstream? Or is fandom no longer needed because it has become so common in the mainstream? | David Bartell (m), Elaine Stiles, Doug Fratz, James Maxey | Montrose |
| Friday | 10:00pm | Kryptonite for characters | What do you do to limit characters, keep them from being too powerful? What flaws do you give them? How do you have them grow and gain but not become God? | Diane Weinstein (m), Davey Beauchamp, Tom Jackson King, Jean Marie Ward | Plaza |
| Friday | 10:00pm | Filking | The music of SF. All are welcome to sing or even just to listen. | | Randolph |
| Friday | 11:00pm | Old time radio war of worlds | Orson Wells' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds | | Montrose |
| Friday | 11:00pm | Are vampires still #1? | Why are vampires so popular? Is anything likely to rival them? Werewolves? Zombies? What? Whose vampires are the best and why? | Darrell Schweitzer (m), Davey Beauchamp, Jean Marie Ward, Lawrence Watt-Evans | Plaza |
| Saturday |
| Saturday | 9:00am | Old time radio war of worlds | Orson Wells' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds | | Montrose |
| Saturday | 10:00am | Character Management | Do you control your characters or do they go off on their own? Do you collaborate with your characters or do they ignore your outline? What do you do when they seem to be diverting from the plot? What if a minor character wants to go off on her own? Who controls the ending? | Allen Wold (m), Brenda Clough, Virginia DeMarce, Scott Edelman, Larry Hodges | Montrose |
| Saturday | 10:00am | Fantasy vs SF | Is fantasy overwhelming SF in the bookstores? Why is it more popular? What does this say about American society (and about the readers/fans)? Are publishers encouraging fantasy and telling writers not to do as much SF? Is fantasy doing something SF cannot? What can SF writers learn from fantasy's popularity? | David Bartell (m), Lenny Bailes, Mindy L. Klasky, John G. Hemry, Michael Swanwick | Plaza |
| Saturday | 10:00am | Podcast workshop | How can you do a podcast? How can you make sure people know about it? This is a practical workshop with instructions for what hardware and software is needed to podcast your own voice. | Nobilis Reed (m) | Randolph |
| Saturday | 10:00am | Reading | | Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 10:30am | Reading | | Andrew Fox | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 11:00am | Just chick lit? | Why is the main character in paranormal romances usually female? Is the audience meant to be women only? | Jean Marie Ward (m), Mattie Brahen, Mindy L. Klasky, Victoria Janssen | Montrose |
| Saturday | 11:00am | SIGMA | Science fiction writers save the world! Hear about the real-life team of science fiction writers who advise homeland security. | Captain Chris Christopher (m), Catherine Asaro, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, John G. Hemry, Bud Sparhawk, Michael Swanwick | Plaza |
| Saturday | 11:00am | Podcast workshop | (part 2 of podcasting workshop) | Nobilis Reed (m) | Randolph |
| Saturday | 11:00am | Reading | | Tom Doyle | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 11:30am | Reading | | Brenda Clough | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 12:00pm | Why are Americans so ignorant/distrusting about science? | Only half of Americans believe humans evolved, only 53% know that electrons are smaller than atoms. Why do Americans not know more science and what can be done about it? Is Hollywood science part of the problem? What can be done to make Americans more knowledgeable about science? | Sam Scheiner (m), Eric Choi, Edward M. Lerner, James Morrow, J. J. Smith | Montrose |
| Saturday | 12:00pm | Truthiness | What is the relationship between alternate and real history? Does alt hist encourage people to learn real history? How can you write alternate history for an audience that doesn’t really know real history? | Christopher M. Cevasco (m), Iver Cooper, Virginia DeMarce, Thomas McCabe, Alan Smale, Harry Turtledove | Plaza |
| Saturday | 12:00pm | Writers Workshop | Allen Wold and friends will help you become a better writer. Bring paper and a writing implement. All else will be explained at the beginning of the session | Allen Wold (m), Davey Beauchamp, Edmund Schubert | Randolph |
| Saturday | 12:00pm | Reading | | Barbara Krasnoff | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 12:30pm | Reading | | A. C. Crispin | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 1:00pm | New writers | How did you get started in the field? How are you shaping your career? What advice would you give new writers? | Larry Hodges (m), John Joseph Adams, John Gregory Betancourt, Tad Daley, Scott Edelman, Sheila Williams | Montrose |
| Saturday | 1:00pm | NASA Presentation | | Brent J Bos (m) | Plaza |
| Saturday | 1:00pm | Writers Workshop | (part 2 of writers workshop) | Allen Wold (m), Davey Beauchamp, Edmund Schubert | Randolph |
| Saturday | 1:00pm | Reading | Broad Universe RapidFire Readings | Roxanne Bland , Kelly A. Harmon, Victoria Janssen, Diane Arrelle, Jean Marie Ward | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 1:30pm | Reading | | Broad Universe RapidFire Readings | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 2:00pm | Just whose world is it? | Shared universes. What are the difficulties and advantages of writing in a shared world? How do you keep things under control? Does this help or hurt a writing career? | Dr. Charles E. Gannon (m), Iver Cooper, A. C. Crispin, Virginia DeMarce, Edward M. Lerner, C. Alan Loewen | Montrose |
| Saturday | 2:00pm | Contracts workshop | Jane Jewell, Executive Director of SFWA, will give you insight into the arcana of contracts: What do those terms mean? Sub-Rights? Territories? Reserve Against Returns? What to look out for. What you can usually change just by asking. What they won't budge an inch on. All those things that you'd really rather learn before you start negotiating your next contract | Jane Jewell (m), Michael Capobianco | Randolph |
| Saturday | 2:00pm | Reading | | Michael Swanwick | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 2:30pm | Reading | | Harry Turtledove | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Save the magazines! | What can be done to save the magazines? Asimov's circulation, once 100,000 is down to 17,000 F&SF even fewer. Is it worth saving? Are magazines doomed? Can Internet save the magazines? What will replace them? | Edmund Schubert (m), Scott H. Andrews, C. Alan Loewen, Karen Wester Newton, George H. Scithers, Sheila Williams | Montrose |
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Asaro concert | Science fiction writer, dancer, physicist, and now rock star. Catherine Asaro sings songs from the worlds of her books and others. Featuring Donald Wolcott on keys and Russell McCray on sax | Catherine Asaro (m), Donald Wolcott | Plaza |
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Contracts workshop | (part 2 of contracts workshop) | Jane Jewell (m), Michael Capobianco | Randolph |
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Reading | | Michael Flynn | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 3:30pm | Reading | | Scott Edelman | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 4:00pm | Even hard sf uses FTL | What science is taken for granted in SF and can it really happen? What new scientific discoveries are more likely than others? What science is underused in sf? | David Louis Edelman (m), Eric Choi, Michael Flynn, Edward M. Lerner, James Maxey | Montrose |
| Saturday | 4:00pm | Robert Balder Concert | The Funny Music Project. Music to make you laugh. | Robert Balder (m) | Plaza |
| Saturday | 4:00pm | Manuscript workshop | "The Top Five Reasons Manuscripts are Rejected and How to Fix These Problems" (limited to 20 active participants). Bestselling novelist A.C. Crispin will list and discuss the top five writing-related reasons manuscripts are rejected, and give specific advice on how writers can address these problems in their short stories and novels. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions. Each attendee should bring the first five pages of his/her current writing project, and, time permitting, Ms. Crispin will oversee an exercise in which participants review and ID the problem with the excerpts. If time permits, as a last exercise, Ms. Crispin will ask for one volunteer, and she will personally read and critique this excerpt, with emphasis on identifying and solving the "top five" problems she has discussed in the workshop. | A. C. Crispin (m) | Randolph |
| Saturday | 4:00pm | Reading | | John G. Hemry | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 4:30pm | Reading | | James Morrow | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 5:00pm | New Media | Webcomics. Manga. YouTube videos. Pseudo- blogs (fiction in blog format). Twitter fiction. Podcasts. What are they? How do they work? How can I get them? How can I get involved? What’s worth the audience’s time? | Barbara Krasnoff (m), John Joseph Adams, Scott H. Andrews, Davey Beauchamp, Neil Clarke | Montrose |
| Saturday | 5:00pm | Harry Turtledove GOH interview | Capclave's author GOH gets interviewed on the real history (or interesting alternates) of Harry Turtledove. | Peter Heck (m), Harry Turtledove | Plaza |
| Saturday | 5:00pm | Manuscript workshop | (part 2 of manuscript workshop) | A. C. Crispin (m) | Randolph |
| Saturday | 5:00pm | Reading | | Mindy L. Klasky | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 5:30pm | Reading | | C. Alan Loewen | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 6:00pm | Bridging from YA to adult? | What books overlap the YA and adult genres? What is the distinction? Are there books that shifted from being classed one way to the other? Changing attitudes as to what is appropriate for younger ages. | John G. Hemry (m), John Gregory Betancourt, A. C. Crispin, Mindy L. Klasky, Karen Wester Newton, Victoria Janssen | Montrose |
| Saturday | 6:00pm | Space battles | Best and worst space battles and why. Who gets it right? Why? Which are more realistic, tv, movies books. how much can you copy from real battles and how much created new for space? | Captain Chris Christopher (m), Tom Jackson King, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Edward M. Lerner, Thomas McCabe, Bud Sparhawk | Plaza |
| Saturday | 6:00pm | Reading aloud workshop | Radio personality Jim Freund gives advice to authors on how to use their voice in readings. | Jim Freund (m) | Randolph |
| Saturday | 7:00pm | True future | How do you develop a realistic future? When you write it, do you believe it? | Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen (m), Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Sheila Williams, Ted White | Montrose |
| Saturday | 7:00pm | No Trespassing in Space | What happened to the space program and how can we revive it? This year marks 40 years since the moon landing and the U.S. no longer can put a American in space. Why did the shuttle go wrong? Why did our space program fall so low and what can be done to reverse the decline? Did Flash Gordon get it right? | Tom Jackson King (m), Eric Choi, Michael Capobianco, Tad Daley, Yoji Kondo, Thomas McCabe | Plaza |
| Saturday | 7:00pm | Reviewers workshop | Peter Heck gives a discussion of the problems and techniques of book reviewing, with an emphasis on reviewing of SF, fantasy and related genres. Participants may bring a short review (under 500 words) of a recent book for group discussion. In addition to consideration of specific reviews, the workshop will focus on ways to write an effective and useful review, the relation of reviewing and criticism, and the requirements of different audiences. Limited to 12 participants. | Peter Heck (m), Doug Fratz | Randolph |
| Saturday | 7:00pm | Reading | | Mattie Brahen | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 7:30pm | Reading | | David Louis Edelman | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 8:00pm | The infodump and research | How do you research a book without it turning into a textbook? How much research is enough and how much do you need to show? What kind of detail? How do you reveal information without doing a boring infodump? Does it differ by genre? | Harry Turtledove (m), Eric Choi, J. J. Smith, Bud Sparhawk, Iver Cooper | Montrose |
| Saturday | 8:00pm | The Villain | Is he an evil s.o.b. or just misguided? How do you write your antagonists? Can anyone be all bad? Would a benevolent Hitler be believable? | Diane Arrelle (m), Dennis Danvers, C. Alan Loewen, James Morrow, Michael Swanwick | Plaza |
| Saturday | 8:00pm | Reviewers workshop | (part 2 of reviewers workshop) | Peter Heck (m), Doug Fratz | Randolph |
| Saturday | 8:00pm | Reading | | Darrell Schweitzer | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 8:30pm | Reading | | Dr. Charles E. Gannon | Twinbrook |
| Saturday | 9:00pm | WSFA Small Press Award Ceremony | WSFA presents its annual award for the best short fiction published by a small press during 2008. Come celebrate this special event with us, meet the nominees and the winner (or their representatives). Fancy dress optional but recommended (think Oscars or Tony awards night). Enjoy a celebratory slice of cake. There will also be a cash bar. Come celebrate the best of short fiction with WSFA and Capclave. | | Plaza |
| Saturday | 10:00pm | Books with Multiple Personality Disorder | How many characters, how many different points of view can you fit in a novel and make it work? What do you do to make the voices different? How much repetition of the same scene from different POVs? How do you keep the reader from being frustrated when you change from one to the other? | Larry Hodges (m), Mattie Brahen, Dennis Danvers, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Michael Swanwick | Montrose |
| Saturday | 10:00pm | Filking | The music of sf | | Randolph |
| Saturday | 10:00pm | Works I didn't write | What books or stories did you consider writing and decide against doing or start but not finish? Why did you discard them? Are there certain topics/areas you would not want to write even if you get an idea? Have you ever come back to a discarded idea? | Alan Smale (m), Diane Arrelle, Scott Edelman, Lawrence Watt-Evans | Twinbrook |
| Sunday |
| Sunday | 10:00am | Editor panel | What do editors look for? What trends are they seeing? What do they want to see in manuscripts? Do editors still work with writers and if so how? | Neil Clarke (m), John Joseph Adams, Christopher M. Cevasco, George H. Scithers, Sean Wallace, Sheila Williams | Montrose |
| Sunday | 10:00am | The continuing character | Some characters work for a single novel and their story just ends. Others, like Miles Vorkosigan, can support a large number of different adventures. Why? Is this something the writer deliberately sets out to do or does it catch the author by surprise? How do you know when the character has more to be revealed? | John G. Hemry (m), Mattie Brahen, Michael Flynn, Peter Heck, Harry Turtledove | Plaza |
| Sunday | 10:00am | Writers Workshop Part 2 | Continuation of yesterday's workshop. For participants in yesterday's workshop only. | Allen Wold (m) | Randolph |
| Sunday | 10:00am | Reading | | Eric Choi | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 10:30am | Reading | | James Maxey | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 11:00am | Alternative sources of income for science fiction writers | How can writers make a buck? What are some venues not normally considered? Is it better to take a boring job that lets you save your creative energies for writing or an interesting job that gives you things to write about? | Barbara Krasnoff (m), Larry Hodges, Jane Jewell, Michael D. Pederson, Darrell Schweitzer | Montrose |
| Sunday | 11:00am | Paranormal versus urban fantasy | Is paranormal romance just another name for urban fantasy? If not, what is the distinction? How do writers determine the right balance between paranormal and romance? Is it just classic boy meets girl or does a paranormal being make it different. | Scott H. Andrews (m), Catherine Asaro, Karen Wester Newton, Edmund Schubert, Jean Marie Ward, Diane Weinstein | Plaza |
| Sunday | 11:00am | What is human? | Exobiology panel. How will cloning, genetic engineering, and cyborg technology affect what it means to be human? | Tom Doyle (m), Brenda Clough, Yoji Kondo, James Morrow | Randolph |
| Sunday | 11:00am | Reading | | Dennis Danvers | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 11:30am | Reading | | J. J. Smith | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 12:00pm | Isaac Asimov | What made Isaac Asimov a great writer? Would he be as popular if a new writer writing today? Were his ideas better than his actual writing? What was his best novel/best story? Which were better his novels or stories? Was trying to tie his series together a good idea? | Diane Arrelle (m), Tad Daley, George H. Scithers, Sheila Williams | Montrose |
| Sunday | 12:00pm | Why the civil war? | Why are Americans still fascinated with the civil war? In an America with a black president is the civil war still relevant? Is there room for new civil war alternate histories or is it all tapped out? Do civil war books sell outside the U.S.? | Darrell Schweitzer (m), Captain Chris Christopher, Tom Doyle, Andrew Fox, John G. Hemry, Harry Turtledove | Plaza |
| Sunday | 12:00pm | Do the Twist | How do writers prevent the reader from guessing what will happen? How do you use misdirection. Is the twist ending cheating? Is an ending that ties everything up unrealistic? | David Bartell (m), Robert Balder, Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, J. J. Smith, Michael Swanwick | Randolph |
| Sunday | 12:00pm | Reading | | Larry Hodges | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 12:30pm | Reading | | Yoji Kondo | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 1:00pm | Gotham vs NYC | What determines the setting you use? What are the advantages of setting a work in a real location rather than an imaginary settings? Which do you use and why? Do you start with the setting or let it grow out of the plot? How much detail do you have to get right? What are some examples where someone got it wrong? | Doug Fratz (m), Lawrence Watt-Evans, Alan Smale | Montrose |
| Sunday | 1:00pm | Darwin Bicentennial | Darwin was born 200 years ago. Why are his ideas still controversial? Is the voyage of the Beagle the prototype for sf missions of scientific discovery? Why aren't there more books about Darwinism? | Sam Scheiner (m), Brenda Clough, Michael Flynn, James Maxey, James Morrow | Plaza |
| Sunday | 1:00pm | Small press | How do you set up a small press and market the books? What role do the small press have in today's market? What role does the internet play? | Mike Walsh (m), Neil Clarke, Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, Sean Wallace | Randolph |
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Post Consumer economy | Is it possible to have a post consumer economy? What will it look like? - What happens when we decide we all have enough Stuff? What happens when the Star Trek replicator is invented or everyone has his own magic genie? | James Maxey (m), Lenny Bailes, David Louis Edelman, Tom Jackson King, Kathy Morrow | Montrose |
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Long series | Harry Turtledove is known for big fat books with dozens of characters and stretching for years. How does the writer keep track of everything? How much plotting is done at the start? How do you keep reader interest? | Andrew Fox (m), Catherine Asaro, Iver Cooper, Lawrence Watt-Evans, John G. Hemry, Allen Wold | Plaza |
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Online fiction | Is the fiction published in online magazines different from that in the print magazines and if so, how? What online fiction sources are the best? How do readers and writers find out about online sources? | Brenda Clough (m), Diane Arrelle, Neil Clarke, Edmund Schubert, J. J. Smith, Sean Wallace | Randolph |
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Those Terrible Middle Ages! | Remember when the Church taught that women had no souls? Neither do we. That's because she did not. What about forbidding dissections, the suppression of science and other modern fairy tales? What were the Middle Ages really like? The status of women, the serfs, science and art. Was it really a Dark Age, or did they just have different interests and styles than the Renaissance folks? Special one-man presentation | Michael Flynn (m) | Twinbrook |
| Sunday | 3:00pm | Podcasting | What is podcasting? How can authors and readers make use of it? What podcasts would interest SF fans? | Nobilis Reed (m), John Joseph Adams, Davey Beauchamp | Montrose |
| Sunday | 3:00pm | Future publishing | What impact will the Kindle, Amazon, the Internet print on demand, etc. have on books and on publishing. Can authors make a living without publishers? | John Gregory Betancourt (m), Karen Wester Newton, Jane Jewell, Diane Weinstein | Plaza |
| Sunday | 4:00pm | Alternate Capclaves (Gripe session) | What changes in the history of this year's Capclave would you like to have seen? How can we make the next one even better? | | Montrose |
