| Friday | 5:00 PM | 5:50 PM | If You Liked 'The Martian'... | Interlochen | Hard science fiction is serious business. Hard science fiction done well can be big business, as exhibited by Andy Weir's mega-hit The Martian. What other hard science fictions stories are out there in The Martian's shadow? And what about their science is so engaging? | Karen Burnham, Martin L. Shoemaker, Matthew Alan Thyer, Bob Trembley, Andrew Zimmerman Jones | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 5:00 PM | 5:50 PM | Worldbuilding 101: From Rocks to Civilizations to Gods | Isle Royale | Genre fiction, in all its many forms, relies on the author's ability to invest their reader in a world other than their own. What are the key tenets of building a world that will hold up under scrutiny? How do you begin that construction process? | Gregory A. Wilson (M), Michael R. Underwood, Elise Kova, Susan Dennard, Max Gladstone, Jeffrey Alan Love | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 5:00 PM | 5:50 PM | Haven't We Been Here Before? | Keweenaw | Many of horror's early tales originate in New England, the cultural center of early America. This is a trend that has continued throughout the years, with Stephen King and others. Why is New England such an attractive setting for the horrific? What are some other touchstone milieus in America and beyond? | Michael Cieslak, Suzanne Church, Lesley Conner, Joe Hill, Mallory O'Meara | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | Reading: Michael Cieslak, Lesley Conner, Diana Rowland | Isle Royale | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Michael Cieslak, Lesley Conner, Diana Rowland | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | I Believe I Can Fly | Keweenaw | Those lyrics, popularized by R. Kelly in the film Space Jam, highlight something each and every one of us dreams of—being able to soar in the heavens. Greek myth, superhero stories, and many genre books tap into this fantasy. What about the concept of flight is so appealing? How are today's books reimagining the trope and where else can we go with it? | Elizabeth Shack (M), David John Baker, Mary G. Thompson, Matthew Alan Thyer, Ken Schrader | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | The Alternator of History | Leelanau | Alternate history manifests in several forms, but most often as "what if" narratives or time travel gone terribly wrong. How do alternate histories differ in form and style from their fantasy or science fictional parents? Why do so few alternate histories seem to engage with non-Western outcomes? Furthermore, are we less interested in alternate history as the past becomes more knowable all the time? | Andrea Johnson (M), Sarah Gailey, Arthur D. Hlavaty, Kevin J. Maroney | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 7:00 PM | 7:50 PM | Defying Gravity | Petoskey | Too often we see new writers compared to Neil Gaiman or Margaret Atwood for purposes of marketing. Standing in the shadow of greatness can be overwhelming. Even more so if that shadow is cast by a relative or mentor. How does a writer escape the orbit of those who've come before and is it even worth worrying about? | Anthony W. Eichenlaub (M), Amy Sundberg, Jason Sizemore, Seleste deLaney/Julie Particka, Ken Schrader | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 7:00 PM | 7:50 PM | Sorting Hat Chats in Fandom and Writing | Saugatuck | Gryffindor! Ravenclaw! Hufflepuff! Slytherin! What does your Hogwarts House does say about you? How can you translate that into better understanding characters in TV shows, books, movies, and your own writing? This brilliant Harry Potter fanon sorting system may surprise you with insights into how you see the world, and how you operate within it. Join us to learn how to use Sorting Hat Chats for fun and profit! Or, at least, for fun. | Navah Wolfe (M), DongWon Song, Annalee Flower Horne, Amal El-Mohtar | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 7:00 PM | 7:50 PM | Self-Publishing for Fun & Profit | St. Clair | Self-publishing has undergone massive changes in the past ten years. Authors and audiences have more opportunities to create and find the stories they want, niche genres and subgenres are finding new life, and voices that have been ignored by traditional publishing are taking successful advantage of the direct-to-consumer approach. Where might self-publishing go in the next ten years? | Michael R. Underwood, Courtney Schafer, Elise Kova, Dira Lewis | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 8:00 PM | 8:50 PM | All things Onder and The Ed Greenwood Group (TEGG) | Petoskey | A discussion of the shared worlds - Hellmaw and Stormtalons- from this new publishing company. | Suzanne Church (M), Gregory A. Wilson, Elizabeth Shack, Brandon Draga | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 8:00 PM | 8:50 PM | Reading: Kate Elliott, Elise Kova | Saugatuck | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Kate Elliott, Elise Kova | LITERATURE |
| Friday | 9:00 PM | 9:50 PM | Erotica: More Than Sex? | Keweenaw | Panelists discuss character, plot, and yes, sex scenes in erotica. What makes a sex scene hot? How do you use sex to drive the plot? When do the erotic elements cross into objectification? How do authors approach sex and erotica in het and queer romance? | Bernadette Bosky (M), Delilah S. Dawson, Ferrett Steinmetz, Sara Dobie Bauer | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM | 8:50 AM | The Third annual Frosty Fun Run/Walk/Crawl/Roll/Gasp/Flail | Outside | One mile of chilly awesomeness! (And, probably, frozen goose poop.) Run, walk, crawl, or roll--it doesn't matter how you make it around the (slightly more than) one mile mostly-sidewalk course, you'll still get a cool badge ribbon! (Sign up at OPs) | | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Reading: Dyrk Ashton, Emmy Jackson, Ferrett Steinmetz | Ballroom A&B | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Dyrk Ashton, Emmy Jackson, Ferrett Steinmetz | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 PM | What Should I Write Next? | Charlevoix | The first book or series is all wrapped up, maybe even under contract. What comes next? Maybe a palate-cleansing change of genre, or building on strength and staying close to where you started? What about a pseudonymous guilty pleasure? Experts weigh in! | Dave Robison (M), John Chu, Jackie Morgan, Ty Franck (James SA Corey), Marissa Lingen, | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Social Media Tips & Tricks for Authors | Leelanau | Social media is fraught with peril. It can bleed your time, suck your soul, and maybe ruin your career. Or, it can be tremendously uplifting. How do you leverage social media for positivity and minimize its destructive tendencies? What platforms and applications make it easier? | James L. Sutter (M), Sarah Gailey, Cherie Priest, Jim C. Hines, Mishell Baker, Jason Sizemore | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Interstellar Colonies: A Hubristic Fantasy? | Saugatuck | Novels like Kim Stanley Robinson's novel Aurora suggests that extrasolar colonies are unlikely to succeed, even if we can overcome the challenge of "getting there." Is this pessimism justified by the science? Is it worth trying anyway? Or do we need to accept the Solar System as our one and only home? | Patrick S. Tomlinson (M), Karen Burnham, David John Baker, Janet Harriett, Ken Schrader, Bob Trembley | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Reading: Joe Hill and John Scalzi | Ballroom A&B | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Joe Hill, John Scalzi | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Screenwriting in Genre | Interlochen | What does it take to be a screenwriter in SFF? How is screenwriting different from prose fiction? | Sam Morgan (M), Mallory O'Meara, Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck (James SA Corey), Dyrk Ashton | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | The Nostalgia of Failure | Isle Royale | Steampunk and other historically-focused fantasies often engage with fundamentally flawed technology. Whether it's airships or clockwork machinery, there's a certain mystique around pre-industrial age invention. Why the fascination with the patently impossible? And is there a reason once-popular subgenres built on these ideas have fallen out of favor? | Emmy Jackson, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Sarah E. Gibbons, Cameron McClure, Gail Carriger | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Romance 101 | Leelanau | If all you know about romance is Fabio in ripped shirts and heaving bosoms, this is the panel for you! Come learn about the difference between romance and. romantic elements, the top tricks and tropes, and where the romance has always been in your favorite genre corner. | Jackie Morgan (M), J.C. Daniels/Shiloh Walker, Seleste deLaney/Julie Particka | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | What's What in YA? | Saugatuck | What are the popular trends and reads in YA and YA genre fiction right now? | Merrie Haskell (M), Mary G. Thompson, Susan Dennard, Elly Blake | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | Worldbuilding 495 | Ballroom A&B | Genre fiction, in all its many forms, relies on the author's ability to invest its reader in a world other than their own. What are some of the advanced methods of adding a sense of the real to invented worlds? How do authors get themselves out of tricky spots when deep into a series? | Marissa Lingen (M), John Chu, Dave Robison, Mary G. Thompson | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | Plotters Rule! (Or So They Tell Me) | Charlevoix | Meticulous plotting for the win! Writing from a detailed outline is the best, most effective writing strategy. Well... at least for some writers. What are the strengths and weaknesses, and what might be some alternatives, other than just making it up as you go along? | Christian Klaver (M), Wesley Chu, Elly Blake, Cylithria Dubois | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | Reading: J.C. Daniels/Shiloh Walker, Sara Dobie Bauer, Dira Lewis | Leelanau | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | J.C. Daniels/Shiloh Walker, Sara Dobie Bauer, Dira Lewis | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 1:00 PM | 1:50 PM | Reading: Amal El-Mohtar, Cherie Priest, Kristine Smith | Interlochen | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Amal El-Mohtar, Cherie Priest, Kristine Smith | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 1:00 PM | 1:50 PM | I'm not biased! (Yes, you are) | Petoskey | Nothing happens in a vacuum, nor is anything read in one. Every reader brings their own biases and preconceptions to a story. Should we take these biases into account when reading something written in a time different from our own? When reading contemporary fiction, is it necessary to set biases aside to explore outside our comfort zone? | Gillian Redfearn (M), Anna Carey, Justin Landon, Yanni Kuznia, John Chu | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 1:00 PM | 1:50 PM | Everything I Need To Know About Storytelling, I Learned From Daffy Duck | Saugatuck | We take a look at the classic "Duck Amuck" and how it demonstrates story structure, characterization, and some of the classic tropes of horror. Yes, horror. | Janet Harriett (M), Mallory O'Meara, Scott H. Andrews, Mur Lafferty | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 2:00 PM | 2:50 PM | Here's What We Do to Your Babies | Interlochen | No one really knows how the game is played. The art of the trade. How the sausage gets made. We just assume that it happens. And by it, we mean publishing a book. Come learn what happens in the room where it... uh.... happens. Who touches your manuscript and why? Why does it take so long to publish a book? | Richard Shealy (M), DongWon Song, Sam Morgan, Lee Harris, Yanni Kuznia, Navah Wolfe | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 2:00 PM | 2:50 PM | What Could Possibly Go Wrong? | Keweenaw | Last ConFusion, our panelists tackled driverless cars and their implications. But, with technology moving as fast it is, this ConFusion we'll tackle it all. What technologies are on the horizon and what kinds of stories can we tell in their wake? | Janet Harriett (M), David John Baker, Cameron McClure, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Max Gladstone, Michael J. DeLuca | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 2:00 PM | 2:50 PM | You Got Your Romance in my Science Fiction! | Leelanau | Love stories have always been a part of science fiction and fantasy. So why do so many science fiction fans and creators spend so much effort vilifying romance? Who are the great romantic couples in SF&F? | Diana Rowland (M), Gail Carriger, Karen Burham, Seleste de Laney/Julie Patricka, Ken Schrader, Kate Elliott, | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 3:00 PM | 3:50 PM | The Expanse: Q&A with James S.A. Corey | Charlevoix | Join James SA Corey (pseudonym for the authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) to discuss their book series The Expanse, now a series on SyFy. | Ty Franck (James SA Corey), Daniel Abraham | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 3:00 PM | 3:30 PM | Romancing the YA Novel | Keweenaw | Our panelists talk the trends and realities of romance in YA fiction. What readers wish authors would avoid, and where readers with they would go. | Mary G. Thompson (M), Delilah S. Dawson, Stacey Filak, James L. Sutter, Merrie Haskell | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 3:00 PM | 3:50 PM | How To Author Your Persona | Leelanau | How do you develop who you are as an author for your fans while keeping your private life semi-private? | Diana Rowland (M), J.C. Daniels/Shiloh Walker, Pablo Defendini, Ferrett Steinmetz, Scott H. Andrews, Gillian Redfearn | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 3:00 PM | 3:50 PM | Subterranean Press Chat Session | Manitou | Come join production manager Geralyn Lance and learn more about what makes Michigan-based Subterranean Press so special to the SFF field and to Confusion. Ever want to know what goes into producing a limited edition or selecting art for a dust jacket? Geralyn's got you covered. Want to know about this year's special guests sponsored by SubPress at Confusion? Ditto. She'll also be previewing what books SubPress has coming in 2017 and giving away a few special books to lucky audience members. Don't miss this chance to get the inside scoop on a unique publisher. | Geralyn Lance, Kyle Brandon | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 3:00 PM | 3:50 PM | Reading: Matthew Alan Thyer, Ken Schrader, Martin L. Shoemaker | Petoskey | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Matthew Alan Thyer, Ken Schrader, Martin L. Shoemaker | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 4:00 PM | 4:50 PM | The Spiral Arm Stories | Manitou | Clifford VanMeter will unveil his new collection of shorts, The Spiral Arm Stories. Four complete works that stand alone, but add to the events of Vengeance is a Wheel, Cliff's debut full-length novel published last year. | Clifford VanMeter | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 5:00 PM | 5:50 PM | What Should I Write First? | Leelanau | Two schools of thought exist when it comes to debut writers. Some believe that a debut writer should build a brand around a long series, hoping to grow a committed audience over time. Others prefer to build a brand around the author, using standalones and short series to diversify. Is there a right way to do it? What are the pros and cons of each approach? | Lee Harris (M), Steve Buchheit, Cameron McClure, Brigid Collins | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | Dying is Easy. Comedy is Hard | Interlochen | LOL has become a typographical reflex. It is a rare reality. The same is true of "comedic" fiction. Sure it'll make you smile, but does it make you pee yourself? Which genre stories accomplish this? What makes them unique? | Mur Lafferty (M), Sara Dobie Bauer, Steve Buchheit, Elizabeth Shack | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | Reading: Adam Rakunas, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Clifford VanMeter | Isle Royale | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Adam Rakunas, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Clifford VanMeter | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 6:00 PM | 6:50 PM | Reading: Suzanne Church, Sarah Gailey, Gregory Wilson | Keweenaw | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Suzanne Church, Sarah Gailey, Gregory Wilson | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 7:00 PM | 7:50 PM | Pitch an Agent at ConFusion! | Club Lounge | Bring your pitch to ConFusion! Sam Morgan, agent with JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. will be taking 10 minute pitches. Bring yourself and your pitch. Slots are limited to 10 minutes. Please be on time for your slot! You must sign up in advance at Ops. | Sam Morgan | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 7:00 PM | 7:50 PM | Reading: Mishell Baker, Janet Harriett, Jim C. Hines | Saugatuck | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Mishell Baker, Janet Harriett, Jim C. Hines | LITERATURE |
| Saturday | 8:00 PM | 8:50 PM | Reading: Max Gladstone, Mur Lafferty, Andrea Phillips | Ballroom A&B | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Max Gladstone, Mur Lafferty, Andrea Phillips | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Pitch an Agent at ConFusion! | Charlevoix | Bring your pitch to ConFusion! Sam Morgan, agent with JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. will be taking 10 minute pitches. Bring yourself and your pitch. Slots are limited to 10 minutes. Please be on time for your slot! You must sign up in advance at Ops. | Sam Morgan | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Pantsers Rule! (Or So They Tell Me) | Interlochen | No plan! No safety net! Writing by the seat of your pants is the best, most effective writing strategy. Well... at least for some writers. What are the strengths and weaknesses, and what might be some alternatives, other than outlining? | Diana Rowland (M), Michael Ceislak, Andrea Phillips, John Klima, Courtney Schafer | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Blurring the Lines | Keweenaw | Genre is sometimes described as little more than arbitrary marketing categories, but readers and writers often define themselves by their preferred genre. What makes a genre distinct, and what happens when those distinctions are imported into another genre? Is it just a crossover, or an illustration that the distinctions are arbitrary? | Brandon Black (M), Jackie Morgan, Cherie Priest, Jason Sanford, Kristine Smith, Jason Sizemore | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Fantasy & SF All-Stars | Leelanau | Panelists draft players for their team from across the science fiction and fantasy multiverse, right before your eyes, to confront an existential threat! Who will they choose, who will they ignore, and who will end up with the best team? The audience decides the winner! | Dan Moren (M), Stacey Filak, Adam Rakunas, Andrea Johnson, Navah Wolfe | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 10:50 AM | Reading: John Chu, Annalee Flower Horne, Marissa Lingen | Manitou | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | John Chu, Annalee Flower Horne, Marissa Lingen | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Reading: Brandon Black, Michael J. DeLuca, Michael R. Underwood | Ballroom A&B | Authors read from current or forthcoming works | Brandon Black, Michael J. DeLuca, Michael R. Underwood | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Long Tail of the Tall Tale | Interlochen | Tall tales, like their fairy tale cousins, are reinvented in every culture around the world. Handed down through generations, they provide context for how humans relate to each other and to stories. How have these oral traditions influenced today's fiction? Is there such a thing as a modern tall tale? | Dyrk Ashton (M), Sarah E. Gibbons, John Chu, Bernadette Bosky, Diana Rowland | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 PM | Writing is Fundamental | Isle Royale | Some of the fundamentals of prose storytelling have evolved over time, and some vary wildly between genres. What has changed since the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres came to be as we know them, and how have genres like mystery, romance, and YA diverged? | Andrea Phillips (M), Wesley Chu, Jackie Morgan, Emmy Jackson, DongWon Song | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | 11:50 AM | Before You Share Your Story | Manitou | Do you friends go the other way when they see you with a freshly-printed story in your hands? They might not tell you your story stinks, but they know what's fun to read and what's not. This panel will help you present your friends, beta readers and editors with a well-polished story that's easy and fun to read using human and computer techniques for identifying awkward phrases in your writing | Clif Flynt | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | Literary Friendships are Magic | Isle Royale | Friendship is confusion? No! Friendship is magic. Are there friendships in science fiction and fantasy that have changed your life? What makes a compelling fictional friendship for you? | Mark Oshiro (M), Dave Robison, Susan Dennard, Amy Sundberg, Kate Elliott | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | The One That Got Away | Manitou | Rejection is part of the business. Even the best stories aren't for everyone. Have our panel of editors rejected stories that went on to great success? Why did they make those decisions, and did they regret it in the face of those stories' successes? | Lee Harris (M), Sam Morgan, Yanni Kuznia, Gillian Redfearn | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | All According to Keikaku* | Saugatuck | Our panelists discuss the unexpected plot twists of trying to express the same story using words from a different language, and how translation impacts the reader's perception of a story. (Keikaku means "Plan") | Carl Dayagdag (M), Gail Carriger, Gustavo Navarrete, David Reyes | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 12:00 PM | 12:50 PM | Here's What They Did to My Baby! | St. Clair | No one really knows how the game is played. The art of the trade. How the sausage gets made. We just assume that it happens. And by it, we mean publishing a book. Authors tell the tale of the publishing process from their perspective. Copyedits! Title changes! Other mad alchemy! | Patrick S. Tomlinson (M), Suzanne Church, Jim C. Hines, Marshall Ryan Maresca | LITERATURE |
| Sunday | 1:00 PM | 1:50 PM | Romantic Leads | Leelanau | What makes a good romantic lead? In straight romance, does the guy need to be tough, a bad boy? Does the woman need to be feisty but soft and not like other girls? What happens when your romantic leads are queer and/or genderqueer? How do those heteronormative tropes get replicated or subverted? | Sara Dobie Bauer, Suzanne Church, Seleste deLaney/Julie Particka, Amal El-Mohtar, Gail Carriger | LITERATURE |
