SWC 2026: 2:00PM Panels

Panel
Room Three
2:00pm- 50 minutes

Bob Nelson, Sean Doyle

Brick Cave Media will accept pitches for Science Fiction and Fantasy manuscripts during this session. Authors should prepare:

• A 2 minutes verbal pitch
• A one page summary
• Their first three chapters available to provide if asked.

Each pitch will be timed to 5-7 minutes, and pitches will be taken ONLY during the panel time. Authors are strongly encouraged to review the press' Manuscript Submissions page prior to attending.

Panel
Room Four
2:00pm- 50 minutes

K.A. Bledsoe

With the days of Lost in Space and Swiss Family Robinson long past, can good fiction still be created around the family dynamic? Bledsoe explores the subgenre and how she has navigated it with The Kelton Chronicles.

Workshop
Room Two
2:00pm- 105 minutes

Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski

Family stories don’t just live in archives — they linger in dreams, memory, and the quiet spaces of the unconscious. In this craft-focused workshop, discover how historical fiction and genealogical mystery can emerge as much from ancestral whispers and emotional truth as from documented research. Learn practical techniques for transforming long-buried family secrets, fragmented memories, and dream imagery into layered plot, compelling characters, and sustained suspense. You’ll leave with tools for weaving archival fact and the mysteries of the unconscious into powerful, haunting narrative.

Panel
Room One
2:00pm- 50 minutes

C.C. Harrison

Roberta Gibson, Patricia Bonn, Susan Magestro

Whether you outline your entire story or novel in advance or start without a plan, plotting takes place at some point in your process. Learn how different authors approach plotting, what tools and techniques do they use, and plotting traps to avoid. 

Panel
Room Five
2:00pm- 50 minutes

Adrienne Miles, Sharon Skinner, Bruce Davis

Having been or currently being in service to your country, can that service turn around and serve your writing? Adrienne, Bruce and Sharon talk about the ways that theur respective service has entered their writing careers.