The weekend before St. Patrick’s Day saw a new and improved venue for the Write Stuff writers conference, organized by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG). For 2025, our home was the beautiful Homewood Suites in Center Valley, PA.
I wasn’t able to attend on Thursday, so my conference began at 9AM on Friday with keynote speaker Tiffany Yates Martin teaching her excellent full day class on Mastering Backstory. I was interested in this topic given the fact that my first novel, Testing the Prisoner, is a poster child for backstory, memories, and flashbacks. I must have done something right since the book has won eight awards and continues to earn excellent reviews!
Friday evening’s events began at 7PM with an excellent presentation on How to Go Deep with Point of View by writer pal, Dianna Sinovic and concluded with our traditional 8PM soiree starring Mark Twain (portrayed by Charles B. Kiernan) who regaled us with a brief anecdote of his writer’s journey.
Saturday was the final day of the Write Stuff conference. In the morning, I attended two brilliant presentations by Katherine Ramsland on Creating Mental Maps and Observation for Writers. In between, Tiffany Yates Martin discussed ways to avoid that Middle of the Book Sag after which, she delivered an inspiring keynote speech over lunch.
I skipped the afternoon classes to set up my table for the book fair. At about 4PM, the classes ended and the shopping began as well as the judging and awards for the flash literature contest.
In addition to the new hotel, another element that made this year’s conference special was the release of our 2025 anthology, Writing a Wrong, which included my 30th published short story, “Give Them Peace,” the first short story featuring psychic-medium Miranda Lorensen from my paranormal mystery novels. Special thanks to Dianna Sinovic for managing the anthology from start to finish. I hope to take over for the 2027 anthology.
It was a blast spending two days with so many friends and colleagues in the writing community including GLVWG president Angel Ackerman, Dianna Sinovic, Charles Kiernan, Ginny Shepherd, Bob Gelik, Susan Kling Monroe, Carla Jones, Tammy Burke, GLVWG’s official photographer, Joan Zachary, Write Stuff co-chairs Charles Kiernan and Donna Brennan, Joanne McLaiughlin, and Ann Stolinsky from Celestial Echo Press, and so many more!
Neither snow nor rain nor multiple traffic jams could keep me away from Philcon 87 (November 22-24, 2024). I took a half day from work on Friday and despite a treacherous drive, arrived at the Hilton Doubletree in Cherry Hill, NJ in reasonable time.
Since I had no panels on Friday, I took the opportunity to wander around the hotel, chat with friends, and peruse the dealer room. As always, it was wonderful to see my friends Jacob Jones-Goldstein and Nicholas Leamy from Delaware small press Oddity Prodigy Productions.
A few days before the con, Jake accepted my story “Isaac Geary’s Instant Utopia” for their upcoming science fiction anthology, Bright Mirror, a collection of utopian science fiction.
Continuing my tour of the dealer room, I stopped to chat with longtime friends Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Mike McPhail, and Keith DeCandido. However, I was disappointed to find a few dealers missing, including one gentleman who carries a large inventory of vintage paperbacks. Nevertheless, there were plenty of other classic treasures awaiting me including a dealer who is renown for selling mint condition hardbacks, many of which are first editions and autographed by the author.
On this occasion, he was selling many titles at 50% off. I was able to score a limited edition, signed copy of Harlan Ellison’s Spider Kiss in hardback for $40 and hardback copies of Ellison’s Angry Candy and The Collected Works of C.J. Cherryh for $17 each.
In the hotel lobby, I caught up with editor and publisher, Ann Stolinsky of Celestial Echo Press (an imprint of Gemini Wordsmiths). Earlier in the year, Ann accepted my story “A Thorne in Time” for their time travel anthology, Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel. The book was scheduled to be launched at 6PM on Saturday night in the con suite at Philcon.
But Ann and I had arranged to meet on Friday so I could pick up my dozen author copies and since neither of us had dinner plans, we ate together at the hotel restaurant.
After that, I retreated to my room for a few hours to rest until the Meet the Pros party at 9PM. This is a social event that takes place in the side hallway outside of the art show. It’s the best opportunity to catch up with friends. It was a joy to chat with Bram Stoker-nominated writer Carol Gyzander and fellow Lehigh Valley writer Christopher D. Ochs. As the evening progressed, I found myself sitting with friends (and Shore Leave volunteers) Anne Hande and co-con chair Inge Heyer along with a new friend I’d met over Facebook, Rebecca Marcus. Rebecca has been in SF fandom for a long time, but we somehow managed to miss one another until now. Events like this, where old friends reunite and new friends are made, are one of the main reasons I attend cons.
Phil with Rebecca Marcus. Photo credit: Anne Hande
Saturday morning started with a 10AM panel, “Music and the Writing Process,” moderated by David Simms. Fellow panelists included Keith DeCandido, Susan Shwartz, and Wayland Smith. We only had an audience of three, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying a lively chat about the music we listen to while writing, which artists inspire us, and who we’d like to create the soundtracks to our stories.
At noon, I joined Randee Dawn and Michael Ventrella to read excerpts from our books to a full house. I chose a scene from my second paranormal mystery novel, By Your Side. The audience was engaged with every reading and we had a lively discussion afterward. I’d known Michael for several years, but this was my first time meeting Randee. We’ve since become Facebook friends. Special thanks to Michael Ventrella for taking my picture at the reading (below).
At 1PM, it was my turn at the autograph table downstairs beside the Shore Leave team. The author autograph sessions are usually slow so I spent the time chatting with Inge, Anne, and Anne’s hubby, Rick. Always a grand time!
Photo credit: Elie Boyer Avedissian
I was then free for the next four hours until the launch for Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel at 6PM. So, of course, I bought more books in the dealer room then went back to my room and crashed for a bit.
I arrived at the con suite a few minutes early to join Ann Stolinsky and about a dozen of my fellow contributors to Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel. Over the course of the next hour and a half, the Volume I authors, myself included, signed about twenty copies before reading four-minute excerpts from their stories. In addition to the writers I already knew, such as Carol Gyzander, Ef Deal, Gary Zenker, and Joanne McLaughlin, it was nice to finally meet Teel James Glenn and Jon McGoran (who I’d only known from social media) as well as Ken Altabef, Stephen W. Chappell, David C. Strickler, Gordon Linzner, and James Ryan.
Readings were followed by finger food and cake (which for me also became finger food). Much gratitude to Ann Stolinsky for organizing one of the best book launches I ever experienced.
My evening wasn’t over yet. It was time for me to moderate a panel! At 9AM, I joined David Simms, Carol Gyzander, Eric Avedissian, and Amy Grech for “I’ll Write Any Horror Story, but I Won’t Write That!” where we discussed what tropes and subgenres in horror we enjoyed writing, what we didn’t, and which writers inspired us. Audience engagement was enthusiastic and we actually ran ten minutes overtime!
Photo credit: Elie Boyer Avedissian
After that, it was time to go back to my room and crash (actually, I watched Die Hard II on TNT before going to sleep).
Sunday morning saw me packing up, loading the car, and hanging out with the Shore Leave folks for a few hours until my 1PM panel, “What’s Happened to the Traditional Ghost Story?” moderated by Melanie Moyer and starring Ty Drago, Nghi Vo, James L. Cambias, and myself. As with all of my panels this weekend, my last one of the con did not fail to produce a lively discussion among the panelists and the audience about what makes a good ghost story, what ruins a good ghost story, and other related topics.
After that, it was time to go. I said goodbye to all of my friends but did not leave without buying one last book. This time, it was The Best of Michael Swanwick, Volume II. Michael is a forty-year luminary of the science fiction world with multiple awards for his amazing work and a regular guest at Philcon.
As it happens, Michael and his wife Marianne Porter also host a Philcon after party at their house a few blocks from my childhood home in Philadelphia. I attended for the first time in 2022 where I also met another legendary writer for the first time, Samuel “Chip” Delaney.
This year, Michael graciously signed my book with a delightful inscription.
In addition to myself, Randee Dawn, Ken Altabef, Alex Shvartsman, Sally Grotta, Anna Kashina, Tom Doyle, Barbara Purdom, Ian Strock, Chris Edwards (who took this wonderful picture below of Michael and Chip) and several other Philcon guests were in attendance.
Masters of Fantasy and SF: Michael Swanwick (L) and Samuel “Chip” Delaney (R). Photo credit: Chris Edwards
All told, this was by far my best Philcon yet and I look forward to next year!
I look forward to attending the Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention (Philcon) next weekend, November 22-24, 2024. If you’ll be there, too, and would like to catch up, here is my schedule of events.
Sat, 11/23 10:00-10:50 AM / Plaza 4 – Music and the Writing Process. How can listening to music or to specific ambience soundscapes impact the nature of what an author writes? How helpful is it for setting the mood in one’s mind, and in turn, for setting the scene on a page? Do different genres benefit more than others from this technique? Panelists: David Simms (mod), Susan Shwartz, Wayland Smith, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Phil Giunta
Sat, 11/23 12:00-12:50 PM / Readings – Readings: Michael A. Ventrella, Randee Dawn, and Phil Giunta
Sat, 11/23 1:00-1:50 PM / Autograph Table – Autographs: Eric Avedissian, Michael A. Ventrella, and Phil Giunta
Sat, 11/23 6:00-7:30 PM / ConSuite – Book Launch Party for Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel by Celestial Echo Press. Several contributors, myself included, will be on hand to sign copies and read excerpts from our stories!
Sat,11/23 9:00-9:50 PM / Plaza 3 – I’ll Write Any Horror Story, but I Won’t Write THAT! Horror is a multi-faceted genre that includes ghosts, creatures, slashers, demons, psychological horror, body horror, Lovecraftian, and much more but not every trope appeals to every horror writer. Are werewolves, vampires, and zombies oversaturated? Is body horror too disgusting? Panelists will discuss which horror tropes they love to write, which they avoid (if any), and why. Panelists: Phil Giunta (mod), David Simms, Carol Gyzander, Amy Grech, Eric Avedissian
Sun, 11/24 1:00-1:50 PM / Plaza 2 – What’s Happened to the Traditional Ghost Story? Vampires have become a genre unto themselves. But has the old-fashioned ghost story or haunted house story been left behind? Are there present day examples of the genre that illustrate how the themes and tropes have evolved? What do we miss (or don’t) about classic ghost/haunted house tales? Our panelists discuss what they consider the staples of a ghost and/or haunted house story and how they have been, or could be enhanced, subverted, or otherwise tweaked to keep this subgenre fresh and exciting. Panelists: Melanie Moyer (mod), Nghi Vo, Phil Giunta, Ty Drago, James L. Cambias
Finally recorded a new 15-minute video newsletter on my YouTube channel with updates about life, death, books, awards, conventions, and an upcoming change in format. Click here to check it out!
Another Write Stuff Conference has come and gone all too soon. Although the convention is three days long, I was only able to attend on Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s full-day session was divided into two sections, both taught by NYT bestseller and five-time Bram Stoker award winner Jonathan Maberry. The morning class was a three-hour crash course on creating a salable novel while the afternoon was all about building compelling characters in fiction. Jonathan’s advice was compelling, entertaining, poignant, and direct.
Photo credit: Joan Zachary
While I was not able to attend the Page Cuts critique sessions and agent Mark Gottlieb’s talk on Mastering the Submission Process, it wouldn’t be a Write Stuff without the Friday night social event from 8:30-10PM. I never miss that opportunity to kick back and chat with fellow writers and catch up with some folks I haven’t seen since the last conference.
In recent years, cosplay has been encouraged with people dressing up as characters from short stories and books. Our first cosplayer who started years before, however, was con-chair Charles Kiernan as Mark Twain seen here with Laurel Wenson as Sister Katherine from Michael Daigle’s series of detective novels starring Frank Nagler.
Photo credit: Christina Dunbar
Saturday was a full day of hour-long presentations by our faculty including Jonathan Maberry, Amy Deardon, Jordan Sonnenblick, Laurel Wenson, and Melissa Koberlein.
Melissa Koberlein presentation on Writing Romantic Comedies
Given the fact that I’ve had a romantic comedy idea bouncing around my head for several months, I attended Melissa Koberlein’s wonderful presentation on writing rom-coms (above) and left with a list of elements that comprise a good rom-com and a few book recommendations.
I remained in the room for Jonathan Maberry’s talk on crafting the perfect pitch. At one point, he asked the audience for a title, character name, and logline for a story. Armed with that info, he instantly created a verbal pitch for the book, summarizing both the plot and the protagonist and naming comparable titles. He did this without stammering, hesitating, or reconsidering a single word. Stunning.
At that point, I decided to set up my table for the afternoon book fair and managed to sell a few books before lunch while chatting with fellow writers Laurel Wenson, Michael Daigle, and Jon Gibbs.
By the time I made my way to Salons A& B for lunch, the joint was packed. I found a seat in the back corner table with friend, writer, and editor Weldon Burge and his wife, Cindy. I had suggested Weldon as a presenter, having worked with him when he accepted and edited my story for A Plague of Shadows anthology in 2018. Weldon and I have also had stories in three other anthologies over the years. He is an experienced presenter, small press owner, and a good friend.
Over dessert, Jonathan Maberry delivered an encouraging, delightful, and uplifting keynote speech that was part advice and part anecdotes from his writing career. Always a joy to be in his company.
Phil & Jonathan MaberryWeldon Burge on Writing for Anthologies
After lunch, I attended Weldon’s back-to-back presentations on writing for anthologies (above). After that, it was time for the book fair. My hottest seller was the second edition of my first paranormal mystery novel, Testing the Prisoner, which had won three awards since November, including two just days before the conference. I also sold four anthologies before the end of the day. By 5PM, it was time to call it a day, pack it in, and say goodbye to Weldon, Cindy, Jonathan, and my fellow members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group who did a stellar job of organizing the conference yet again.
Weldon & Phil at the Book Fair
To add a little more literary fun to this weekend, two items arrived in the mail, one on Friday and other on Saturday. The first was the pack of award stickers from The BookFest Spring 2024 competition in which Testing the Prisoner took second place in the Horror\Ghosts & Paranormal category.
BookFest Stickers for Testing the Prisoner
The second item was the 12×18 poster for the second edition of my second paranormal mystery novel from 2012, By Your Side. The new edition is available on preorder in ebook format now with the paperback to follow next week.
As always, I had a marvelous time at the Lehigh Valley Comic Con on Saturday, December 2 at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, PA. Sold some books, chatted with old friends, and photographed some incredible cosplayers.
