Shore Leave 37 Convention

ShoreLeaveConvention070315

It’s summertime and that means that the Shore Leave Convention is almost here.

This year’s Shore Leave 37 convention will take place August 7-9 at the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

The convention features sci-fi actors; science personalities from the Space Telescope Science Institute, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers, and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum; workshops; and the annual Meet the Pros event, where fans can meet and greet their favorite Star Trek authors.

There are eight sci-fi actors scheduled to appear at Shore Leave 37 this year, including Daniel Davis, who played Professor Moriarty on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other sci-fi actors include John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Tony Curran, Jamie Murray, Jesse Rath, Rekha Sharma, David Nykl, and Aaron Ashmore.

Authors who will be attending Shore Leave include Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Rigel Ailur, Lorraine Anderson, Christopher L. Bennett, Joseph F Berenato, Martin Berman-Gorvine, Kirsten Beyer, T.A. Chafin, Russ Colchamiro, Daniel Patrick Corcoran, Michael Critzer, Kathleen David, Peter A. David, Mary Louise Davie, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Kevin Dilmore, Mary Fan, Donna Frelick, Michael Jan Friedman, Dave Galanter, Charles E Gannon, Phil Giunta, Robert Greenberger, Amy Griswold, Glenn Hauman, Jim Johnson, Bob Jones, Stephen Kozeniewski, David Mack, Kelly Meding, John Jackson Miller, Susan Olesen, Joshua Palmatier, Marco Palmieri, Scott Pearson, TJ Perkins, Susanna Reilly, Aaron Rosenberg, Melissa Scott, Darla Vasilas, Steve Vasilas, Dayton Ward, Howard Weinstein, Richard C. White, Steven H. Wilson and Leona Wisoker.

There will be thirteen book premieres at Shore Leave, including two Trek books. The Trek books making their debut include Star Trek: Seekers: Long Shot (David Mack), and Star Trek: Voyager: Atonement (Kirsten Beyer). John Jackson Miller‘s Star Wars story Old Republic, Vol. 1 will be making its debut and so will Aaron Rosenberg and Keith R.A. DeCandido‘s X-Files story, Trust No One.

The Meet the Pros event will take place Friday night at 10 PM and your faithful reporter is usually found hobnobbing with the authors at the event.

In addition to Meet The Pros, there are several writing workshops, including one for teenagers. The Annual Shore Leave All-Kinds-of-Writing Workshop will be hosted by Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, Dave Galanter, Bob Jones and Kelly Meding. Another workshop on writing historical fiction will be run by Weinstein, Richard C. White and Steve Wilson.

The Writing Workshops for Young Adults will consist of five short (one-hour) workshops including plot, character, dialogue, craft of writing, and research/world-building. These workshops will be run by Greenberger, Rosenberg, Michael Jan Friedman, Russ Colchamiro, Glen Hauman, and Peter David.

Science fans will find plenty to do. On tap are various panels and events by Paul Abell, Wayne Bird, Kelly Fast, Jerry Feldman, Larry Hubble, Lindley Johnson, Rob Landis, and Amy Mainzer. The science guests will “show you astronomical discoveries, talk about ongoing cutting-edge space science activities, and discuss issues about science education.”

A highlight of the convention is the Shore Leave Masquerade, set for Saturday night. Billed as “a little like a beauty pageant, a little like a talent show), the Masquerade draws a large group of participants and an enthusiastic audience.

Charity events include the annual Shore Leave Blood Drive (Sunday, August 9), and collecting non-perishable food for the Maryland Food Bank.

In addition to all of the above, there is a game room, filking, a dance, the Temple of Trek; and a new event, a fan-fashioned flea market where fans can buy and sell leftover costuming material, craft supplies and other “fannish” things.

And of course, no convention would be complete without the dealer’s room, which runs all weekend.

For more information on Shore Leave 37, head to the link located here.