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Welcome to The Genre Traveler! Please sign up using the form to the right so that you'll get all the latest updates to the site. You also might want to sign up for the RSS feed, which you can do via email or your favorite RSS Reader. According to Pat O'Brien of The Press-Enterprise, The Eaton Science Fiction Conference will be focusing on Mars when it is held in May 2008. Word is that Ray Bradbury and Frederik Pohl will be there and, if technological details can be worked out, Sir Arthur C. Clarke will talk with them via teleconference from his home in Sri Lanka. In addition to these old-school SF celebrities, other authors scheduled to attend include Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Ben Bova, Geoffrey Landis and Kim Stanley Robinson. Also, attendees will have access to the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Utopian Literature, which has more than 100,000 books, 50,000 comic books and one of the largest anime collections. In addition, the first Eaton Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science Fiction will be handed out and UC students can participate in a short-story competition. DETAILS What: Eaton Science Fiction Conference When: May 16-18, 2008 Where: University of California, Riverside (This event marks the first time in almost 10 years that the conference has been at UCR.) Registration Info: Discounted prices are available before April 14. Full Conference: $110 (before)/$125 (after) One Day: $55 (before)/$75 (after) Students: $20 (before)/$25 (after) More Info: eatonconference.ucr.edu

Penguicon 2008, which will be held April 18-20, 2008, in Troy, Mich., recently announced that Vernor Vinge, noted science fiction author, will be the Science Fiction Guest of Honor. Penguicon is a both a science fiction and Linux open source convention. This convention, in addition to typical science fiction con fare, features:

• a computer lounge where attendees can check their email, browse the web, and perhaps find out a little bit more about open source software;
• a multiplayer computer gaming room;
• a giant customizable marble roller coaster; and
• Ice Cream Made With Liquid Nitrogen!

For more information, visit www.penguicon.org.

O.K. Days like these makes me realize that I'm not the only one who can freely associated the strangest things. Take AppleCon. This new convention to take place in April of 2008 bills itself as blend of "the best parts of Minneapolis music, science fiction fandom, Wizard (a game of trump) and pie!" Why does this sound strange to me? Mainly because I thought I was the only one who would put such diverse interests into the same place. I mean, in addition to The Genre Traveler, I also have websites about cooking (Carma's Cookery, A Passion for Pumpkins), business (The Women's Business Gallery, The Secrets to Public Speaking), poetry (52 Haiku), and more. (You can find a complete list at DragonWyze Communications). Anyway, I wonder what kind of pie they'll have? For More Information: www.minneapplecon.com April 11-13, 2008 Holiday Inn, Bloomington, Minn.

If you're going to be in the area of Worcester, Pa., then you might want to check out the annual music and horror convention Rock & Shock. "We are not like other boring horror conventions," claims their website. "We were the first to blend horror conventions with music. So while fans can meet their favorite horror film stars, directors, writers and bands during the day -- at night we have well-known national bands performing each night next door at The Palladium…That’s why this event is called Rock & Shock." Guests this year include Shawnee Smith (Saw I, II & III), Tony Todd (Candyman), and several members of Rob Zombie's Halloween cast, among others. For more information, visit www.rockandshock.com.

Creation Entertainment's first Xena Convention of 2008 will be held Jan. 25-27 in Burbank, Calif. Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle) has already signed on to attend. Lucy Lawless (Xena), Tsianina Joelson (Varia) and Brittney Powell (Brunhilde) are still tentative. For more information, visit The Official Xena Convention 2008 website.