If you follow either of us on social media, you could hardly have failed to notice that Kelly and I were guest hosts at the ChiSeries Toronto reading yesterday evening. We got to introduce three readers: E.L. Chen, Tony Pi, and Carsten Stroud. And three musical guests: Kari Maaren, Peter Chiykowsky and the Handsome Devils. It all went swimmingly in both important senses of the phrase–the readings and performances were great, and there were no logistical hiccups.
Tony Pi’s reading, by the way, was from his story “No Sweeter Art.” It’s a Parsec Award finalist for BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION STORY: SMALL CAST (SHORT FORM) and you can hear it here.
Two other things that rocked this week: Primo, Kelly’s cousin Emilly came to town with her boyfriend Darcy and we deliberately set about showing her Toronto in a way that made Calgary look, well, maybe just a bit ho hum. A spin past the Monets, Van Gogh, and Bernini at the AGO to start, a quick trip to the all hats all the time ballcap store for souvenirs, and a run to Tatyana to see if Emilly could discover her inner pin-up girl were all part of the agenda. They spent a little time browsing the food and drink choices on Queen Street, and then we all hit YukYuks for a comedy show hosted by Michelle Shaughnessy.
Secondo: And Jessica, who’s coming to visit, characterized the weekend as DuaCon. And I like that very much. I like the idea of Kelly and I being a free-roaming science fiction convention ready to break out with programming, reading or whatever just when you least expect it.
Here’s a shot of E.L. Chen’s gorgeous ChiTeen cover.
