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Conference Schedule 2020

Conference Schedule 2020

Friday, February 21, 2020, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Hey, I Know You! Building Strong Characters with Michael A. Stackpole, Tracey Baptiste, HelenKay Dimon, Cristina García, Jonathan Danielson

Date(s): Friday, February 21, 2020, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Location: Carson Ballroom, Old Main (view map)
Type(s): Panel
Genre and Form(s): Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Mixed Genre
Tags: Character

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About the Session

We’ve all heard the advice, Know your character better than yourself. How do we build characters who are strong or fragile, bold or shy, fully round, fully complex, and well-developed instead of flat, two-dimensional representations? How do we use our imaginations to the fullest in creating relatable, strange, interesting, and compelling characters? In this panel, writers representing a range of speculative fiction will share tips and tricks for creating and building characters we all want to know, read, and have a conversation with.

Meet the Presenter(s)

Michael Stackpole


Michael A Stackpole

Michael A. Stackpole is an award-winning novelist, game designer, computer game designer, graphic novelist, screenwriter and podcaster. He's had over fifty novels published, including the New York Times Bestselling I, Jedi and Rogue Squadron.


Learn more about Michael A Stackpole

Photograph of Tracey Baptiste


Tracey Baptiste

Tracey Baptiste is the New York Times bestselling author of Minecraft: The Crash. She is also the author of the popular Jumbies series including The Jumbies, Rise of the Jumbies, and The Jumbies God’s Revenge. She has written several other fiction and nonfiction books for children.


Learn more about Tracey Baptiste

Photograph of Cristina García


Cristina García

Cristina García is the author of seven novels: Here in Berlin; King of Cuba; The Lady Matador’s Hotel; A Handbook to Luck; Monkey Hunting; The Agüero Sisters, winner of the Janet Heidiger Kafka Prize; and Dreaming in Cuban, finalist for the National Book Award. García has edited two anthologies, Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a Literature and Cubaní simo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature. She is also the author of three works for young readers, Dreams of Significant Girls; The Dog Who Loved the Moon; and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox. A collection of poetry, The Lesser Tragedy of Death, was published in 2010.


Learn more about Cristina García

Photograph of Jonathan Danielson


Jonathan Danielson

Jonathan Danielson is an Instructor with Writing Programs and Affiliate Faculty member with Creative Writing. In 2017 he was named Writer-at-Large (“Desert Correspondent”) for Feathertale Review, and his work has appeared in Gulf Coast, Juked, Superstition Review, Gravel, Able Muse, The Saturday Evening Post, and elsewhere. His story "Borders" was the recipient of the 2016 Editor’s Prize from Switchback. Along with his full-time teaching duties at ASU, Jonathan is pursing a doctorate in English literature with a creative emphasis. He received his MFA from the University of San Francisco. 


Learn more about Jonathan Danielson