While perusing the Ad Astra website today, I discovered that I’m on their list of “Programming Participants”, which is to say that I’m a confirmed panelist for Ad Astra 2007. You can see my name here, right next to Guy Gavriel Kay’s.

Next to GUY GAVRIEL KAY’s.

This came as something of a surprise to me, even though I been in discussions to participate in a panel on the Writers of the Future contest. Tony Pi and Mike Rimar (fellow Canadian WotF winners) invited me to join the panel, but as far as I knew they had just suggested the panel to the con committee and nothing was firmed up yet.

Guess that’s changed 🙂

There are rumors that Robert J. Sawyer might participate on the panel (he’s one of the judges for the WotF contest, and a super nice guy), as might James Alan Gardner (who is a past Grand Prize winner, and who is also a super nice guy).

Based on the proposed panel list that Ad Astra sent me, this year’s selection of panels is going to be fantastic. (There’s possibly a second panel I’ll be on if they need me: it’s a panel about editors who write and writers who work in publishing–and that’s me! We’ll see if that one’s a ‘go’ or not later in December). If you’re anywhere near Toronto and can make it to the con next March, I HIGHLY recommend it. Last year was my first Ad Astra and I had a blast. This year promises to be even better.

So let’s review:

I’m officially listed next to GUY GAVRIEL KAY as a panelist (my FIRST panel ever) at a con taking place a mere ONE MONTH after my first short story will be published, and I might be on a panel with ROB SAWYER and JIM GARDNER.

Nobody pinch me. If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up…

– S.