It is barely two weeks to go until Penguin Awareness Day, followed quickly by National Cheesy Socks Day and the Lunar New Year, commencing the Year of the Rabbit.
Oh, and it’s also less than two weeks to go until COSine 2023!
COSine 2023, January 20-22, 2023, at The Embassy Suites by Hilton (Woodmen and I-25).
You can still register online here through Friday the 13th. (Nothing ominous about that at all. Nope). Registering on-line will save you five bucks over what you pay at the door (although day passes will only be available on-site). The registration window for the hotel has now passed, but it looks like there are still a very few rooms available at a higher price.
Just a reminder of our awesome list of guests:
- Martha Wells – Our author GoH and NY Times bestselling author of The Murderbot Diaries, The Books of the Raksura, and many others.
- Louise & James Gunderson – Our science GoHs, experts in robotics & artificial Intelligence. Ask them about AI lizards. Really.
- Kyle Crutcher – Our artist GoH, creator of the COSine rocket, retro-futurist potter, and Ambassador to the Monoptozoids.
- Connie Willis – Sci-Fi Grand Master and friend of the convention.
- Courtney Willis – Science himself.
You can also check out the schedule for the convention and the list of participants.
COVID
Is it just me or does XBB.1.5 sound like a droid from Star Wars? Presumably, this one is working for the Empire. Here are the policies for this year:
- All attendees who are at least 12 years old must be fully vaccinated to attend COSine (2 shots plus a booster highly recommended), or must have had a negative test within 24 hours of attending.
- Masks will be required to be worn by all attendees, two years of age and older, in all programming spaces.
Peri
Friend of the con and our Artist Guest of Honor from 2020, Peri Charlifu, is having some health issues. Although he (and his amazing pottery) will still be at the con this year, it looks like he is going to be dealing with a lot in 2023. There is a GoFundMe for those who’d like to help him out.
Charity Raffle/Auction
This year’s charity raffle/auction will be in aid of the incredible Pikes Peak Library District. You can buy tickets at registration, and raffle prizes will be given at the Author Reception/Mass Autographing on Saturday at 5:30pm. We are happy to take additional donations for the raffle/auction. Word is that GoH Martha Wells is bringing some stuff for the auction!
Instant Slush Pile Panel
Want to get your work reviewed by some real-live editors? If you are interested, bring a printed-out page (no more than 300 words) for review. It should be completely anonymous (i.e. don’t include your name anywhere on the manuscript). You can turn in your manuscript at the beginning of the panel. Manuscripts will be shuffled and then read out loud.
The editors will indicate whether or not they would buy this story, and you will get a quick critique of the work. Authors can choose to reveal themselves or not. The panel is on Sunday, 11am, in the Front Range room.
Superstars Writing Seminars
This year we are a community partner with Superstars Writing Seminars! SSWS is an intense business seminar for writers, created by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, James A. Owen, Brandon Sanderson and others (including Eric Flint, our 2020 guest, who sadly passed away last July).
SSWS will be held Feb 9-11, 2023 at the Antlers hotel in downtown Colorado Springs, and they are offering COSine attendees a $100 discount! See the ad in our program book for the registration code or, if you are already registered for COSine, send an email to info@cosinecon.org.
Happy National Bubble Bath Day. Hopefully see you soon,
Morland, Arlen, Karen, Eli, Richard
The COSine Con Com