Gen Con 2026

Hey all, Sam here.

We are just over a week away from Gen Con, so I think now is a close enough time to talk about my schedule, because I have a lot of fun events planned. I like to do this every year, partly because I get to see if anyone wants to hear about any of my Writer’s Symposium panels (I take notes and am happy to share what I learned), and partly because it is a lot fewer steps to check my schedule here versus checking it on the Gen Con web site.

As with pretty much any year, most of my panels are in the Writer’s Symposium. I like being around so many writers, both published and aspiring. The vibes and atmosphere are very inspiring to me, and it just feels really nice. I have my Kindle Scribe for taking notes during the panels, and this year I’ll be taking my Freewrite Traveler to work on my own stories in some of my free time between panels (when I don’t decide to do a quick exploration of the vendor hall).

This year even David has a panel or two at the Writer’s Symposium, but he also has a bunch of crafting workshops and panels, a few how to play games events, and even a fantasy Mapmaking workshop. So he’ll be doing lots of cool things too.

Anyway, here’s a quick run down of my schedule every day of the convention. Obviously I’ll be squeezing in meals when I can, but will have plenty of snacks in case I can’t get a proper sit down to eat. And I’m sure I’ll get to walk the floor at least a couple times, so there will be a Gen Con wrap up and loot haul afterwards, at some point.

Let’s get started.

Thursday

10 am : How to Write Complicated Antagonists

11 am : Diverse Writing as Resistance

1 pm : Sharpen Your Story: How to Keep Readers Hooked (2 hours)

2 pm : Signing for Jim C. Hines & Jonathan Janz (I am very thankful that my husband is attending this one for me to get Jim C. Hines’s autograph, because my 1 pm panel is two hours long)

3 pm : Burning Both Ends of the Candle: Burnout

4 pm : Story 201: Non-Linear Narratives

8 pm : Marauders of Windfall (Daggerheart RPG one-shot)

I feel like there are some very useful panels on the schedule for today, and I’m excited to see what I learn from them. Obviously because of how the last few years have been, I am most interested in the burnout panel, but all of them seem intriguing. And the Daggerheart game we’re playing is featuring the new classes dropping in the upcoming Hope & Fear expansion book (which is apparently getting a limited drop at Gen Con before officially releasing later in August)

Friday

10 am : The Creative Reset Workshop

1 pm : Self-Publishing 101: A Practical Guide for First-Time Authors (2 hours)

3 pm : Can They Get Away With It: Plotting Heists in Fiction and RPGs

4 pm(ish) meet up with the Nerd Parents for dinner (an annual tradition that I truly look forward to)

5 pm : Writers Symposium Featured Guest Signing for Justina Ireland & Kwame Mbalia

7 pm : Tales of the Valiant: Runes of the World Tree (RPG one-shot)

Friday is always a day I look forward to at Gen Con, because Friday is when we meet up with our adopted nerd parents, a couple who owns the game and hobby store where David and I spent a lot of time in the beginning years of our relationship. We don’t get to see them as much now that we live in Iowa, but every Gen Con we meet up for a half-price appetizer dinner, and it’s amazing.

Saturday

10 am : One of These Things IS Like the Others: Imposter Syndrome

11 am : Signing for Mary Robinette Kowal & Scott Lynch

1 pm : Keeping Creativity Highly-Valued In Your Life, Even When the World Is On Fire

2 pm : Story 201: How to Develop Your Writing Process

4 pm : “We Should Write Something Together”, or The Pros & Cons of Collaborating

This is definitely the day that has the most panels that I’m feeling like I need: imposter syndrome, keeping creativity highly-valued, and collaboration. David and I are thinking about trying to write a story together, and I’m looking to understand more about collaboration, hopefully with some tips & tricks, and possibly some pitfalls to avoid.

Sunday

10 am : Coffee Klatch with Jim C. Hines

12 pm : Crowdfunding for Authors with Oriana Leckert

I have a light schedule on Sunday, but that is okay, because it means that I can definitely have a few hours to wander the floor at the end of the show. Sometimes there are deals at the very end, because vendors are looking for ways to have less to pack up and haul away…and I am happy to help them do that.

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Anyway, there it is, my schedule for this year’s Gen Con. Are there any panels that sound interesting to you? Seriously, I will share my notes from any or all of the panels if people are interested. Actually, that goes for the past few years of events, because I keep all of my notes. Just let me know in the comments. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.