This week’s Writing Excuses episode was recorded live at Gen Con and features Monte Cook talking with Mary, Howard, and me about writing gaming fiction. On a related topic, this weekend we will learn the fate of the two awards Writing Excuses has been nominated for: the Hugo Award in the Best Related Work category, and the Parsec Award in the Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation category. Mary and Howard will be at the Hugo Awards ceremony at Worldcon in Chicago, and I will attend the Parsec Awards ceremony at Dragon*Con in Atlanta.

My complete Dragon*Con schedule is below, but the event many people are looking forward to is the A MEMORY OF LIGHT preview on Sunday, where I will read a new section from the final book. And speaking of the book, Team Jordan sent the approved copyedit changes to Tor yesterday, so it continues to be on track for its January 8th release.

My novella LEGION from Subterranean Press should also make its debut at the convention, at a Saturday signing in the Missing Volume booth in the dealers’ room. That depends on whether the books ship from the printer on time. We’re crossing our fingers!

Ta’veren Tees will also make an appearance at the convention dealers’ room. Unfortunately, they won’t have these Servants of All shirts:

but you can preorder them at the con or at this link, and 10% of the preorder sales will go to support the Waygate Foundation. Ta’veren Tees’ booth will be selling other Wheel of Time shirts and a MISTBORN and THE WAY OF KINGS shirt from Inkwing. They’ll also have free Mistborn and WoT tattoos, bookmarks, and badge ribbons at the table as well. They’re sharing the Planet Comics booth at A23-A26 in the International Ballroom.

Brandon’s complete schedule:

FRIDAY

Fri 04:00 p.m., 209 / 210 / 211 – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)
Infinity Blade: Dungeons
Come learn the future of iPhone/iPad standout Infinity Blade, with lead designer Frazier and world-renowned fantasy author Sanderson.

Fri probably starting at 9:30 p.m., Roswell 1-2 – Westin (Length: hours and hours)
Magic the Gathering with Brandon
Details are still in flux. There might be a draft buy-in, or maybe you should bring your own cards. It could even start earlier, at 8:30, or slightly later than 9:30. Watch Brandon’s twitter feed for details as the time approaches.

SATURDAY

Sat 12:00 noon, Marquis Ballroom booth 614-615 against the back wall – Marriott. (Length: 1 Hour)
Autograph Session at The Missing Volume booth
With any luck, this will be the first signing for Brandon’s novella LEGION.

Sat 02:30 p.m., Regency V – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Delphic Oracle (simulcast with Worldcon)
J. Nye, T. McCaffrey, B. Sanderson, C. Yarbro, [WC] E. Kollin, [WC] S. McGuire, [WC] D. Brin
Marvel as our select group of guests and an equally esteemed group of panelists at Chicon 7 meld to form the prophetic Delphic Oracle.

Sat 04:00 p.m., M301-M304 – Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
Autograph Session, Brandon Sanderson

Sat 04:30 p.m., International North room, Hyatt (Length: 2 Hours)
Parsec Awards Ceremony
Writing Excuses is nominated in the category Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation

Sat 10:00 p.m., Atlanta Ballroom – Westin (Length: 2.5 Hours)
An Evening at the Winespring Inn
It’s time to party like it’s 999 NE. (Brandon will put in an appearance, but then he’ll go back to his hotel room and write, because that’s his idea of fun.)

SUNDAY

Sun 10:00 a.m., 209 / 210 / 211 – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)
Writing for Videogames
D. Jolley, M. Lee, B. Sanderson, M. Capps, D. Gaider, S. Jaros
Dozens of endings! Hours of branching dialogue! Enjoy lively discussion of world-class writers of Dragon Age, Saint’s Row, Infinity Blade, and more.

Sun 04:00 p.m., Atlanta Ballroom – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
A Memory of Light Preview
A Memory of Light, the final Wheel of Time novel, will be released January 8, 2013. Brandon will read a previously unreleased excerpt.

Sun 07:00 p.m., Roswell 1-2 – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
Robert Jordan’s Legacy
What impact did Jordan have on fantasy literature? Will his books still be popular 20 years from now? And what authors were influenced by his series?

Sun 08:30 p.m., Regency V – Hyatt (Length: hours)
Hugo Awards Viewing from the Chicon 7 Worldcon
Ever wonder what it meant when a book has “Hugo Award Winner” on the cover? Well, here they are! The Hugo is Science Fiction’s Oscar Award!
I (assistant Peter) just found out about this simulcast yesterday and I’m not sure Brandon knows about it. Howard and Mary will be there in Chicago; Writing Excuses is nominated in the Best Related Work category.