Shape of Capclaves to Come

Capclave, a Washington D.C. area sf & fantasy con, has announced its Guests of Honor for both 2011 and 2012.

At Capclave 2011 the GoHs will be author Carrie Vaughn, known for her Kitty Norville series; and author, poet, and editor Catherynne Valente, author of the Hugo-nominee Palimpsest and Deathless.

The 2012 GoHs will be John Scalzi, SFWA President, proprietor of the renowned blog, Whatever, and author of the Old Man’s War series; and Nick Mamatas, editor of Viz Media’s line of translated Japanese novels and author of Move Under Ground and Northern Gothic

Capclave 2011 will take place at Washington DC North Hilton in Gaithersburg, Maryland on October 14- 16, 2011. Two signed limited edition WSFA Press books by 2011’s Guests of Honor Carrie Vaughn and Catherynne Valente will be available at the con. Straying from the Path by Carrie Vaughn will collect ten of her favorite hard-to-classify stories covering the full range of speculative fiction. Jay Lake is providing the introduction. Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence. A limited run of 500 signed copies will go on sale for $20 each.

Members of Capclave 2011 can pre-order the books for $20 at www.capclave.org from the Registration tab. After the convention, remaining books will be available to the general public for $25. 

The full press release follows the jump.

Capclave Announces 2011 & 2012 Guests of Honor 
Will Publish Limited Edition Books for 2011 

Capclave, a Washington D.C. area science fiction & fantasy convention, is proud to announce that the Guests of Honor for Capclave 2011 will be author Carrie Vaughn, best-known for her Kitty Norville series; and author, poet, and editor Catherynne Valente, author of the Hugo-nominee Palimpsest and Deathless, among others. Guests of Honor for 2012 will be John Scalzi, president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and known for his blog, Whatever, and the Old Man’s War series; and Nick Mamatas, editor of Viz Media’s line of translated Japanese novels and author of Move Under Ground and Northern Gothic. 

Capclave 2011 will be held at the Washington DC North Hilton in Gaithersburg, Maryland on October 14 – 16, 2011. Capclave 2012 will be at the same hotel on October 12 – 14, 2012. The hotel features free parking, shuttle from the Metro, and pet-permitted accommodations. 

The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA), the organization behind Capclave, will produce two signed limited edition WSFA Press books by 2011’s Guests of Honor Carrie Vaughn and Catherynne Valente: 

*Straying from the Path* by Carrie Vaughn – Best known for her New York Times bestselling urban fantasy novels, Carrie has also written dozens of short stories for Talebones, Realms of Fantasy, and many other magazines and anthologies. Collected here for the first time are ten of her favorite hard-to-classify stories covering the full range of speculative fiction – science fiction, fantasy, horror – sometimes all in the same story. Read about Emily Dickinson’s dog, women pilots in WWII, future Hollywood, a haunted Europa, and more! Acclaimed author and editor Jay Lake contributes an introduction to this unique collection. 

*Silently and Very Fast* by Catherynne M. Valente — Fantasist Catherynne M. Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence in this brand new, original novella of technology, identity, and an uncertain mechanized future in which machine intellects are uneasy citizens of the post-human world, intimately bonded to parent-programmers and paralyzed by each new software update—obliterating their former selves and sinking the new user/machine symbiote into existential crisis. Struggling to come to terms with a world their designers never dreamed of, a new species will come out of its crippled childhood-if the AIs can break the cycle of planned death built into them by human custodians.

These books will be limited to 500 signed copies and will go on sale for $20 each at Capclave 2011, held at Washington DC North Hilton in Gaithersburg, Maryland on October 14- 16, 2011. Members of Capclave 2011 can pre-order the books for $20 at www.capclave.org from the Registration tab. After the convention, remaining books will be available to the general public for $25. 

Capclave, the science fiction convention where reading is not extinct, is a small relaxed literary convention with a program that usually focuses on the short fiction form. Our Guests of Honor and other notable authors, editors, artists, and fans of the short fiction form will explore the creation and enjoyment of short fantasy and science fiction stories. Membership in Capclave 2011 is $45 through June 30, $55 through September 30, and $60 at the door. Memberships to 2012 will be available at Capclave 2011 for $35, before rising to $40 afterwards. For additional information or to register, visit www.capclave.org 

— Gayle Surrette 
Brandywine, MD 20613 
Email: [email protected] 
Blog: http://amperzen.com/blog