The Imaginarium and Dr. Cooper; or, Magic Movies and Myself

This weekend! Louisville, the Crowne Plaza!! Enter the Imaginarium!

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Imaginarium has a magic formula unlike any convention where I’ve appeared… and though I’ve only worked the circuit since 2011, I’ve already lost count of the cons. Many blur together, but not this one, because the baseline assumption is that if you’re there, you’re an artist, or you might as well be.

Last year, about half the attendees seemed to be practicing (publishing writers, producing filmmakers, exhibiting painters and photographers, etc.) in some form or other, and everyone else was either wondering how to start practicing or just interested in learning more about where the arts to which they felt personal connections started. Fans were and are welcome, of course, but the convention takes attendees and their interests seriously: if you’re there, you’re a participant, not a window shopper.

In other words–and I know this is saccharine, but it’s also kinda true, so cut the sweetness with a gangster double entendre–if you’re there, you’re either family or you will be.

In addition to working behind the scenes on the film festival and lurking in the vendor hall trying to scare people with my books, I’ll be sharing horrific reflections during panels. Here’s my schedule:

Friday, 9pm (Perry): Good Reviews
Our authors and Reviewers speak out about book reviews and the proper way to execute one so readers and authors alike can use them constructively.

Saturday, 3pm (Oldham): The Art of Mystery

Mystery is a pretty predictable genre – major conflict, plot twists, good guys turned bad… but sometimes the tropes can be a little too trope-ish. Join the discussion on the best way to write a good mystery without being silly.

Saturday, 7pm (Madison): Publishing Nightmares

From editorial mishaps to publisher scams, the literary world isn’t always a bed of roses. Our panelists share some cautionary tales of the dark underbelly of publishing.

Saturday, 9pm (Oldham): Subgenre Spotlight: Horror

A roundtable discussion of definitive horror elements, best practices for guts and gore, and how to make and market old tropes in new and interesting ways.

I’m way more excited about these other artists than I am about me:

Guest of Honor: Lori Wilde

Imaginators: Michael Knost, Tim Waggoner

Toastmaster: Tony Acree

A. Christopher Drown

AD Roland

Adrienne Wilder

Alexander S. Brown

Alexx Momcat

Alicia Justice

Amanda Hard

Amy McCorkle

Angelia Sparrow

Anthony Antonino Jr.

Armand Rosamilia

Atty Eve

Barbara Ehrentreu

Becky Kelley

Bethlynne Prellwitz

Bobbye Terry

Bradley ‘Corpse’ Walker

Brent Abell

Brick Marlin

Bryan Baker

Bryan Brown

C.E. Martin

C.M Michaels

C.S. Marks

Carol Preflatish

Charlie Kenmore

Cyrus Keith

Dave Creek

Chris Garrison

Elizabeth Bevarly

Elizabeth Donald

Ellen C. Maze

Eric Beebe

Eric F. James

Eric Jude

Gabriel Belthir

Georgia Jones

Gina Danna

Glenn Porzig

David Blalock

Herika R. Raymer

J L Mulvihill

J.H. Glaze

J.M. Madden

JC Wardon

Jack Wallen

James O. Barnes

Jamie Lee Scott

Jan Scarbrough

Janie Franz

Jason Sizemore

Jay Wilburn

Jennifer Anderson

Jeremy Hanke

Jerry Benns

Jesse V. Coffey

Jessica McHugh

Jettie Necole

Jill Ranney-Campbell

John F. Allen

Jonathan Linton

JP Chapleau

Julie Anne Lindsey

Julie Flanders

K. F. Ridley

Kate Chaplin

Katherine Wynter

Katheryn Ragle

Kathryn Sullivan

Katina French

Kenneth Daniels

Kim Jacobs

Kim Smith

Kirk Dougal

Linda Goin

Linda Rettstatt

Lisa Jackson

Magdalena Scott

Margaret L. Colton

Margie Colton

Marian Allen

Melissa Goodman

Michael D’Ambrosio

Michael West

Mysti Parker

Nicole Kurtz

P. Anastasia

Pamela Turner

Peter Prellwitz

Peter Welmerink

R. J. Sullivan

Rebekah McAuliffe

Rob E. Boley

Rochelle Weber

Rose Streif

S.A. Price

S.C. Houff

S.E. Lucas

Sara Marian

Sarah Hans

Scott M. Sandridge

Sean Jackson

Selah Janel

Seraphina Donovan

Sharon Stogner

Stacey Turner

Steven Saus

Stuart Thaman

T. Lee Harris

TammyJo Eckhart

Tara Tyler

Teresa Reasor

Terri-Lynne Smiles

Thomas Lamkin Jr

Tim McWhorter

Todd Houff

Tommy B. Smith

Tony Acree

Violet Patterson

By Andrew

L. Andrew Cooper specializes in the provocative, scary, and strange. His current project, The Middle Reaches, is a serialized epic of weird horror and dark fantasy on Amazon Kindle Vella. His latest release, Records of the Hightower Massacre, an LGBTQ+ horror novella co-authored with Maeva Wunn, imagines a near-future dystopia where anti-queer hate runs a program to "correct" deviants. Stains of Atrocity, his newest collection of stories, goes to uncomfortable psychological and visceral extremes. His latest novel, Crazy Time, combines literary horror and dark fantasy in a contemporary quest to undo what may be a divine curse. Other published works include novels Burning the Middle Ground and Descending Lines; short story collections Leaping at Thorns and Peritoneum; poetry collection The Great Sonnet Plot of Anton Tick; non-fiction Gothic Realities and Dario Argento; co-edited fiction anthologies Imagination Reimagined and Reel Dark; and the co-edited textbook Monsters. He has also written more than 30 award-winning screenplays. After studying literature and film at Harvard and Princeton, he used his Ph.D. to teach about favorite topics from coast to coast in the United States. He now focuses on writing and lives in North Hollywood, California.

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