I'm on a panel at New York Comic Con!

Some of you spotted my name in the schedule when it was released this week, but I'm happy to confirm that I will be on a panel at this year's New York Comic Con! I'll be participating as a part of the panel, "Let's Talk About Our Problematic Favs: Marginalized Fans & the Media." My fellow panelists are all extraordinary individuals (some of whom I've become friends with since I moved to NYC!), so I'm very thrilled to be a part of this. AT MY FIRST NYCC EVER.

The panel is at 6:30pm on Saturday, October 7 and will be located in Room 1B03. Please join me, and afterwards, we can all meet up outside the room so folks can say hello if they'd like! I CAN'T WAIT!

I am a Guest at Beach City Con!

In the coming weeks, I am going to be revealing about a thousand million secrets that I've been sitting on, and you can consider this the start of it: I am a guest at Beach City Con, the first Steven Universe fan convention. It's the weekend of October 13 - 15 in Virginia Beach, VA, and I'm so thrilled to appear alongside the voice actors for Stevonnie and Jasper, as well as other members of this lovely fan community. 

This is an incredible honor, and I'm glad I can finally tell y'all. I AM EXCITEMENT.

Thank you, CrossingsCon!

Now that I'm settled back home after a weekend in Long Beach, CA, I wanted to write a quick note to thank the CrossingsCon staff and community for an incredible few days. I expected to have a good time, given how much fun last year's con was for me, and this year was no exception. I was treated so well by everyone who attended, and I can't thank y'all enough for caring about me so much. I got to go on a couple Pokémon raids (congrats to Jenny for catching your first Lugia!!!); I had a number of incredible meals, including that lively dinner the last night of the con; the aquarium was amazing; I participated in countless discussions that were hilarious, insightful, and illuminating; and the CrossingsCon folks are now the very first humans to hear an excerpt from Untitled Book #2, which gave me a lovely boost of confidence. I guess I should stop doubting myself and keep writing!

I cannot wait for the third CrossingsCon, especially since by the time it rolls around, I will have become a published author AND NO SPOILERS SHALL AFFECT ME. Until then: thank you. You are all such wonderful people, cousins!

Dai stiho!

My CrossingsCon 2017 Schedule is live!

Hello, cousins! I am very thrilled to not only return to California for the weekend, but to make my second appearance as Guest of Honor at CrossingsCon! The lovely programming team have created an incredible schedule for me, so here's what you can find me doing at the con this weekend.

Friday

10:00am: Opening Ceremonies
2:15pm: Mark Reads OTP Challenge
4:00pm: Autographing
4:45pm: Worldbuilding with Emily and Mark
7:45pm: Baron Munchausen

Saturday

10:00am: Writing Workshop
1:15pm: Authors in Conversation
3:00pm: Mark Reads His Book!
5:00pm: Engagement with Canon

Sunday

Aquarium Trip! I'll be leaving in the second wave at 10:30am from the hotel to walk over if you'd like to join me.
4:30pm: Closing Ceremonies

Also: We are going to be located about a mile from one of THE best spots to hunt rare Pokémon in all of California, so I am going to be randomly taking treks out in downtown Long Beach to catch Pokémon and also attempt to get Moltres in a raid. Anyone is welcome to join! 

I can't wait to see the CrossingsCon staff again, and I hope to see many of you, too!

My Readercon 28 Schedule!

I'm about to be on my way to Quincy, MA for my very first Readercon! I'm very thrilled to attend this con (FINALLY) and hope to see some of you there. In order to make it easier for that to happen, here's my schedule for the weekend:

FRIDAY

7:00pm: Reading - Salon B. I will be reading TWO chapters from my upcoming YA novel SO DON'T MISS THIS.

SATURDAY

10:00am: The Life-Changing Magic of Outlining Your Novel - Salon 6/7/8
8:00pm: A Most Readerconnish Miscellany Presents: Sorry, I Haven't a Clue - Salon 5

SUNDAY

10:00am: #OwnVoices Without Limiting Diverse Creators - Salon 5
1:00pm: Recommending Outside the Box: Countering Unconscious Bias in Book Recommendations for Teens - Salon C
2:00pm: Kaffeeklatsch - 9th Floor Concierge Lounge

Hope to see you there!

I'm a Guest of Honor at Penguicon 2018!

The announcement of this went over my head (which is understandable, since the weekend it went live was when I was doing the first round of high-level edits on my book), so I'm glad I can tell you all this exciting news. I've attended Penguicon twice (once as a Special Guest), and they've gone ahead and made me a SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME GUEST OF HONOR FOR 2018!

I love this convention, and it always makes me thrilled to see a community devoted to creating a culture that means what it says. They have a great Code of Conduct (that they're willing to enforce, too!); the atmosphere at the con is very different from practically every SF-style con I've been to; IT IS SO VERY GAY AND QUEER ALL THE TIME; and it is the convention that kicked off my now-infamous tradition of reading Chuck Tingle stories to unsuspecting congoers.

So yeah, I am incredibly thrilled that I get to be a GoH. You can already purchase your membership for next year for the bargain price of $45 for the whole weekend. The convention will take place May 4 - May 6, 2018, at the Southfield Westin in Southfield, MI, which is just outside of Detroit.

SCREECHES EXCITEDLY INTO THE NIGHT.

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of June 2

Hello, readers and watchers! I am now fully settled in New York City, though I'm adjusting to a lot of things. Namely: TIME ZONES. I have run the entire Mark Does Stuff universe on the West coast, so that's why I panicked today when I thought my posts hadn't gone up at the right time. It was actually because they're three hours later than I'm used to. I thought about changing the time to be relative to me, but there's no need for that; we'll just keep chugging along. 

Anyway, here's what I reviewed this week!

Mark Reads

The Truth, Part 5: In which William learns of the power of the news.
Wizards at War, Chapter 12, Part I: In which Sker'ret makes a vital decision. 
The Truth, Part 6: In which this book is way too relevant.
Wizards at War, Chapter 12, Part II: In which HESPER SPEAKS and I am not ready.
The Truth, Part 7: In which this book addresses investigative journalism.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x15: In which Janeway continues to awe me because she's the best.
Voyager 7x16: In which the show unnerves me relentlessly.
Voyager 7x17: In which the second part of this story is executed much better than I expected.
Voyager 7x18: In which Seven is curious about human interaction and OW MY HEART.
Voyager 7x19: In which I wish this episode was... good. At all.

I am thrilled that my schedule resumes on Monday, which means that Gargoyles videos are coming back!!! DOUBLE FEATURES YAY!!!

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of May 26

Hello again, readers and watchers! I've had a normal week on both my review sites while my own personal life is a ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS. I'm writing this up while at WisCon in Madison, WI, and I am also in between homes. It's very exciting and scary, but I find it quite comforting to know that I got all these reviews done so that there's some normalcy in our lives. Anyway, here's what I covered this past week:

Mark Reads

Wizards at War, Chapter 10, Part II: In which I am DESTROYED. 
The Truth, Part 4: In which a new character creates something new for Ankh-Morpork.
Wizards at War, Chapter 11, Part I: In which I truly learn about the Yaldiv and am ruined.
The Truth, Part 4: In which I settle into this book and try to predict things.
Wizards at War, Chapter 11, Part II: In which I realize I didn't know ANYTHING about the Yaldiv.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x10: In which the Doctor has a crisis and B'Elanna makes a friend.
Voyager 7x11: In which this is REALLY WEIRD. 
Voyager 7x12: In which this episode goes HARD and breaks my heart.
Voyager 7x13: In which a neat episode is ruined by a thing.
Voyager 7x14: In which B'Elanna deals with some bizarre behavior. 

 Thanks for following along! We are VERY CLOSE to the return of reviews for Gargoyles. I can't wait!

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of May 19

Hello, readers and watchers! Another week has successfully gone by in the Mark Does Stuff universe. So what did I cover this time around?

Mark Reads

The Fifth Elephant, Part 19: In which I finish this wonderful, touching book.
Wizards at War, Chapter 9, Part II: In which Dairine arrives and changes everything.
The Truth, Part 1: In which I begin my twenty-fifth Discworld novel. 
Wizards at War, Chapter 10, Part I: In which the war begins. 
The Truth, Part 2: In which I keep trying to guess what the hell this book is.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x05: In which the show is TOO GODDAMN REAL. 
Voyager 7x06: In which this is really upsetting. 
Voyager 7x07: In which a cool idea has a weird, uncomfortable execution.
Voyager 7x08: In which Harry's promotion is... not really a promotion at all. 
Voyager 7x09: In which the Doctor pursues his own agenda at great cost.

Enjoy, friends! Onwards we go into another week of me losing myself in fiction.

San Francisco: I will be at Writers With Drinks June 10!

I am so glad to confirm that I will FINALLY be able to appear at Writers With Drinks next month!!! The lovely Charlie Jane Anders has been trying to get me scheduled for this event for a very, very long time, and I'm happy to be able to make an appearance!

Image by Audrey Niffenegger

Writers With Drinks is a monthly variety show featuring writers/creators of multiple genres, and it's going to be a WACKY time. My appearance will be on Saturday, June 10. The cost is $5 to $20, with no one turned away, and all proceeds benefit the Center for Sex and Culture.

As is the case every month, Writers With Drinks will take place at The Make Out Room, located at 3225 22nd St. in San Francisco. Doors are at 6:30pm, show is 7:30pm - 9:30pm. More information can be found on the Writers With Drinks website! I'm so happy to have another San Francisco event ON TOP of my appearance at Sarah Gailey's RIVER OF TEETH launch party this FRIDAY.