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Readercon is just a couple of weeks away! If you’re wondering where to find me, here’s my schedule (barring any last-minute alterations):

Friday July 11

11:00 AM    F    Mystery and Speculative Crossovers. Meriah Crawford, Chris Gerwel, Greer Gilman, Nicholas Kaufmann, Adam Lipkin (leader). There are many books that draw from both the speculative fiction and mystery toolboxes, in both macro ways (China Miéville’s The City & the City and Peter F. Hamilton’s Great North Road are catalyzed by hard-boiled murder investigations) and micro ways (urban fantasy was initially defined by its relationship to noir, now often more evident in tone than in plot). Where is this crossover most satisfying? How do magic and advanced technology open up new avenues of investigation or methods of befuddling the detectives? How have trends, tropes, and developments in each genre influenced crossover works?

1:30 PM    EM    Reading: Nicholas Kaufmann. Nicholas Kaufmann. Nicholas Kaufmann reads an excerpt from a new story.

6:00 PM    CL    Kaffeeklatsch. Elizabeth Bear, Nicholas Kaufmann.

Saturday July 12

12:00 PM    EM    ChiZine. David Baillie, Elaine Chen, Gemma Files, Nicholas Kaufmann, Yves Meynard, Paul Tremblay. ChiZine Group Reading

As you can see, Friday is going to be a very busy day for me! I look forward to getting to know my fellow panelists on the “Mystery and Speculative Crossovers,” most of whom I don’t know, and talking with them about one of my favorite subgenres. (Or is it a genre in itself? I don’t even know!) It should be a fun and informative time.

For my reading, I’m going to be reading from a brand new, not even sold yet story! I’m excited to have two readings this year, one solo and one with the ChiZine Publications gang. I have it on good authority that fellow CZP authors Karen Heuler and Chandler Klang Smith will also be at Readercon, so I’m hoping we can squeeze them in, too.

Kaffeeklatschen are always a risk. I did one last year and had a modest turnout, for which I was grateful because modest is better than none at all. I also didn’t share the room with anyone. I don’t think I have to worry about anything this year, though, because I’m sharing the room with Elizabeth Bear, who is an absolute powerhouse of an author (and a swell person, to boot). So if my kaffeeklatsch is measly or a bust this year, we can just join Elizabeth’s!

So that’s my schedule, folks. If I don’t see you at any of the above events, I’m sure I’ll cross paths with you in the lobby or the bookshop. Feel free to say hello, and I’ll do the same!

I don’t usually do these year-end wrap-ups (except for my annual list of the books I’ve read, which is coming soon), but I thought this year I’d give it a shot. Let’s start with the big stuff: novels!

This year, my novel Die and Stay Dead came out from St. Martin’s/Griffin, the sequel to last year’s Dying Is My Business. The reviews were pretty snazzy, too. The novel garnered me my first starred review in Publishers Weekly and a glowing review in Rue Morgue, which is my favorite magazine ever. This year also saw the re-release of my Gabriel Hunt novel, Hunt at World’s End, by Titan Books. From what I hear, it’s selling a lot better than when Dorchester/Leisure originally released it back in 2009. You can tell Titan actually cares about how well their books do because they’re putting a little PR behind them, while Dorchester…well, they probably already knew that their doors would be closing soon, so they didn’t do squat to promote the series. Now that World’s End is in better hands — and actually has my name on the cover instead of the house name Gabriel Hunt — I saw royalties from it for the first time, and for a pretty hefty amount, too.

This was the year I also tried my hand at e-book self-publishing for the first time, releasing my 2007 Bram Stoker Award-nominated novelette General Slocum’s Gold for a number of different e-book platforms. So far the sales numbers haven’t set the world on fire or anything, but it was an interesting and rewarding experience. I would definitely consider self-publishing more e-books in the future. Maybe even new stuff.

I spent pretty much all of 2014 working on Only the Dead Sleep, the third volume in the trilogy that started with Dying Is My Business, due to its rather epic length, so I didn’t write any short stories. I did have one published, however, which I wrote in 2013: my Rocketeer story “The Mask of the Pharaoh,” which appeared in The Rocketeer: Jet-Pack Adventures from IDW Publishing. I had a lot of fun writing that one and learned a lot about Hollywood history, thanks to editor Jeff Conner’s incredibly detailed notes. I hope Rocketeer fans enjoy it.

I had a lot more non-fiction out there in 2014 than short fiction. My essay “Hardboiled Horror” was published by Nightmare Magazine. I wrote an article about demons titled “Beyond The Exorcist: Demons of a Different Type” for SF Signal. I was interviewed by The Book Plank and Crime Thriller Fella about the re-release of Hunt at World’s End, and by Blood Rose Books as a featured author. I was interviewed by The Big Thrill, the online magazine of the International Thriller Writers, about the release of Die and Stay Dead. I wrote about the story behind Die and Stay Dead for Upcoming4.me and wrote about my favorite bit for Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog.

In April, I launched my own blog feature, “The Scariest Part,” to showcase new works of horror, dark fantasy, dark science fiction, and suspense by authors, filmmakers, comic-book writers, and game creators. It’s still going strong, which is great, but so far it’s been 99.9% authors and .1% comic-book writers. I suppose that’s to be expected, but I’d love to get some filmmakers and game creators in there, too. Perhaps in the coming year. You can see past installments of “The Scariest Part” here.

I did a few readings and signings over the past year. In January, I signed books at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California, alongside Christopher Golden, Amber Benson, and Jonathan Maberry. In May, I read with Chandler Klang Smith and Karen Heuler at the Hi-Fi Bar in Alphabet City. October was my busiest month for readings (hello, horror writer!): I read at WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with Laird Barron and L.A. Kornetsky; at Writers Read NYC in Alphabet City with Gene Albertelli, Marcia Loughran, and Malcolm McNeill; and at The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series in SoHo with John Langan.

I was at Readercon in July, where I hosted my first Kaffeeklatsch, gave a reading, a spoke on a panel about horror for diverse audiences. Also in July, I was a Guest of Honor at NECon, along with Amber Benson and Michael Koryta. There, I was on a panel about non-fiction and a panel about erotic genre fiction, and was interviewed by Toastmaster Jack Haringa. I was also roasted. Ahem. In October, I attended New York Comic Con, which was amazing if utterly overwhelming. In November, I attended the World Fantasy Convention in Washington, DC, where I was on a very fun panel about dragons and saw many, many friends from faraway places.

And that, my friends, was 2014 in a nutshell. Less productive than I would have liked in some respects, but more productive in others. I hope your 2014 was a good one, and that your 2015 will be even better!

Con highlight was @TheKaufmann talking about Finding Nemo, Godzilla, World Mythology, & Gary Gygax on the Dragons panel at @WorldFantasy40

— Blood and Stardust (@danielbraum) November 9, 2014

I had a great deal of fun this past weekend at the World Fantasy Convention in Washington, DC (actually Arlington, VA, if you want to be technical about it). I got to see Rio Youers read from a work in progress that was absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait for the novel to come out. I also got to see F. Paul Wilson and Thomas F. Monteleone do a joint reading that was very fun and often quite funny. I attended a panel on Robert Aickman, moderated by my good friend and hotel roommate Simon Strantzas and featuring Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Peter Straub, and Michael Dirda, which has me eager to try some Aickman. (It’s true, I’ve never read him. This is a terrible oversight I hope to rectify soon.)

My own panel, “The Myriad Faces of Dragons,” went very well, despite my dearth of knowledge about dragons. (I did get to name-check Puff, Tiamat, the stop-motion animated dragon from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and Godzilla, and diss the terrible film Reign of Fire, so my work there was clearly done.) My fellow panelists did most of the heavy lifting: Naomi Novik was her usual charming self, and Marie Brennan, whom I hadn’t met before, I don’t think, was a font of knowledge. Moderator James Maxey asked very good questions and kept the audience interruptions to a minimum, which is no mean feat at World Fantasy. (Michael A. Stackpole was supposed to be on the panel with us but had to bow out beforehand.) For a panel at 8 PM on Saturday night, it was remarkably well attended. The room was packed, and it was in no way a small room. We can thank Naomi and Marie for the crowd, no doubt.

The dealers room was as impressive as ever. One dealer was even carrying copies of Hunt at World’s End and Die and Stay Dead, which I was grateful to see. I spent a lot of time at the ChiZine Publications table, especially once I noticed that copies of Chasing the Dragon always seemed to sell when I was present and did not sell when I wasn’t. I signed a few books for readers, which always makes me happy, even if I can’t always think of something suitably witty to say. (“So nice to meet you at WFC 2014!” became my go-to inscription.) I managed to come home with only three books from the dealers room: Tell My Sorrows to the Stones by Christopher Golden, Burnt Black Suns by Simon Strantzas, and Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 1, edited by Laird Barron and Michael Kelly. Well, three in addition to the approximately twenty pounds of books in the overflowing goody bag, that is. Or should I say goody duffel. (I appreciate the generosity, I really do, but sometimes I think they forget that we all have to travel home after the convention!)

The hotel was great, with a layout well conducive to a convention of this size, and the programming was routinely interesting. But as anyone familiar with conventions knows, it’s all about the people. That’s why I go to these things, to see friends and make new ones and network and make new contacts. This time around I had the pleasure of spending time with a great number of old and new friends, including Helen Marshall, Laura Marshall, Robert Shearman, Simon Strantzas, artist Chris Roberts, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Daniel Braum, James Chambers, Craig Shaw Gardner, Rain Graves, Sandra Kasturi, Russell Farr of Ticonderoga Publications, David Nickle, Jeff Conner, Nathan Ballingrud, Dale Bailey, Rio Youers, F. Brett Cox and his step-daughter, whose name I am unfortunately blanking on right now, Michael & Carolyn Kelly, Angela Keeley, Veronica Schanoes, Genevieve Valentine, and so many others. Who you spend your time with can make or break your convention experience, and I’m lucky to have so many great friends and associates in this business that I can spend my time with.

I didn’t stick around for the World Fantasy Awards this year, but you can find a list of the winners here.

I’m very much looking forward to next year’s World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, NY!

World Fantasy 2014 is a-comin’, folks! November 6th through 9th in Washington, D.C., and I’ll be there! The convention has finally announced its programming schedule, and it looks like I’m on a panel Saturday night, during prime bar time. That’s what I get for being a late registrant! But if you’re not in the mood for drinking and socializing, here’s where you can find me:

The Myriad Faces of Dragons
Time: 8pm-9pm, Nov. 8, Washington
Panelists: Michael A. Stackpole, Marie Brennan, Nicholas Kaufmann, James Maxey (M), Naomi Novik
Description: Dragons are a staple in European and Asian mythology and fantasy literature presents them across the spectrum from wise beings to destructive forces, from symbols to complex characters. Whether it is the great warbeasts of Temeraire , the mysterious councilors of A Wizard of Earthsea, the humorous scoundrels of How To Train Your Dragon or the deep and august beast that is Smaug, dragons continue to fascinate and delight. Then there is the treatment of dragons by science fiction authors, such as Anne McCafferty’s Pern and Jack Vance’s The Dragon Masters? Does including a dragon make these works secretly fantasies? A discussion at the various forms of dragons and why they are still are compelling today.

I actually know very little about dragons, despite having written three books now that feature them, so this should be…interesting. Here’s hoping I don’t come off sounding like a fool. Or more a fool than usual, I should say!

I didn’t get a reading slot this year. That’s also what I get for being a late registrant! But despite this minor disappointment, I’m looking forward to the convention. Lots of friends I haven’t seen in ages will be there, as well as many authors whose work I enjoy and admire. Year after year, the World Fantasy Convention is where it’s at!