Tachyon authors David Ebenbach (HOW TO MARS), Sam J. Miller (BOYS, BEASTS & MEN), Patrick O’Leary (51), and Kimberly Unger (THE EXTRACTIONIST, NUCLEATION) are all attending this years Awesome Con, June 3-5 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Awesome Con is Washington DC’s Comic Con! We’re a star-studded celebration of geek culture, bringing over 70,000 fans together with their favorite stars from across comics, movies, television, toys, games, and more! And just like DC, we’re smart, family-friendly, and inclusive – as Awesome Con is home to:

Science Fair, an area of Awesome Con exploring where science and science fiction meet!

Book Fair, THE area of Awesome Con for passionate book dragons, dewy-eyed indie authors, casual readers, and lit lovers of all ages!

Awesome Con Jr, an all-ages destination for the next generation of fans

Pride Alley, a celebration of queer creators and fans curated by GeeksOUT

Destination Cosplay, an area of Awesome Con for cosplay fanatics with photo opportunities, Cosplay Meetups, and much much more!

Awesome Con

David Ebenbach, Sam J. Miller, Patrick O’Leary, and Kimberly Unger are all participating in the varied and extensive Awesome Con programming.

Friday June 3

3:30 PM

Creative Worldbuilding in Fiction

Building a fully fleshed out world is the first step in making your creation real to the reader. Unless you can fully understand the world in which your characters live, you won’t be able to effectively write about their experiences. Another incredible part of worldbuilding in fiction is taking your readers into a completely fantasical and magical place. Let’s explore how a fictitious world can seem completely real while overwhelmingly magical through excellent writing.

Panelists: Sam J. Miller (Boys, Beasts & Men), Patrick O’Leary (51), Kami Garcia (Beautiful Creatures), E.J. Wenstrom (Rain – Chronicles of the Third Realm War), Megan Lynch (moderator)

Saturday June 4

12:30 PM

Writing the Tech of the Future

No one knows what the future holds, but it’s exciting to imagine what technology can be and then see it imagined as reality through writing. Join Kimberly Unger, author of the virtual reality science-fiction thriller Nucleation and game designer, Patrick O’Leary, science fiction author of Fifty One and Door Number Three, Dr. Timothy Brown, author of Black Panther and Philosophy: What Can Wakanda Offer the World, and David Ebenbach, science fiction author of How to Mars, for this conversation about writing the what-ifs and the realities of the world of tech and science fiction.

Panelists: Patrick O’Leary (51), Kimberly Unger (The Extractionist), Dr. Timothy Brown (Black Panther and Philosophy), David Ebenbach (How to Mars), Jonathan Williams (moderator)

Sunday June 5

11 AM

SFF Author and Real World Ideas

How do real world religious beliefs, political doctrines, and views on society impact science fiction/fantasy writers, and the direction they take in their novels? This panel will explore how personal beliefs and reality can become subtly infused into science fiction/fantasy works. Explore how the lines between SFF and reality become blurred in this can’t miss conversation among well-known authors.

Panelists: Sam J. Miller (Boys, Beasts & Men), Patrick O’Leary (51), Kimberly Unger (The Extractionist), David Ebenbach (How to Mars), Emily Whitten (moderator)

2 PM

Ask an Author

Interested in becoming an author? Curious what it takes to go the distance as a writer? Your burning and bookish questions will be answered during this Q&A session with a variety of established authors across various genres including fiction, fantasy, science fiction, technology, and more.

Panelists: Sam J. Miller (Boys, Beasts & Men), Patrick O’Leary (51), Kimberly Unger (The Extractionist), David Ebenbach (How to Mars), Emily Whitten (moderator)