Sean Morrissey Carroll

Speaker & Moderator

Sean Morrissey Carroll is a community organizer and climate fiction writer from Houston, Texas. An avid history explorer, former art critic, and restaurant cook, he is happy to bring the world's influence to his writing. Sean is a co-host of weekly Writers Lunch events, member of Tomeworks editing collective, former Programming Director for Writespace Writing Center, and has been published in Bullshit Literary, Space City Underground, Defunkt magazine, and Punt Volat for fiction as well as Gulf Coast magazine, Artforum.com, Art in America, and the Houston Press for non-fiction. He was nominated for a PEN/Dau Award for his story “Future Floods of Houston” in 2020 and his street stand was named as one of the 10 Best Restaurants in Houston in 2015.

11:00AM - 12:30PM EDT

Saturday July 11th

A Matter of Perception: Creating or Minimizing Distance in POVs

Authors agonize over which point of view to choose, but it can strengthen a story to be just as intentional about the distance used in the narration. Distance can determine how close a reader feels to the character and events, not to mention how deeply they feel the emotions within the scene. In this panel, authors discuss how to utilize distance and how it can enhance your writing style. (Moderator: Sean Morrissey Carroll)

12:30PM - 2:00PM EDT

Saturday July 11th

Futurism in Fantasy

Readers often associate futurism with science fiction, but futurism can also be explored via the genre of fantasy. Our panel discusses the subgenre and how its settings are developed through myth, magic, technology, and visionary worldbuilding. (Moderator: Solar Hoàng)

7:30PM - 9:00PM EDT

Saturday July 11th

Master Class on Writing Dystopian Literature

Dystopian stories are opportunities for authors to explore what could be -- or what shouldn't be. This panel defines dystopian literature and its tropes, themes, and how it is related to science fiction and post-apocalyptic stories. (Moderator: Sean Morrissey Carroll)

2:30PM - 4:00PM EDT

Sunday July 12th

Trains are Awesome: Transportation in Fiction

Moving a character from one location to the next can be as easy as writing, "They left and then they arrived," but there are also plenty of opportunities for development and worldbuilding during these scene changes! This panel discusses how to get your character where they need to go, literally and metaphorically. (Moderator: S. Morgan Burbank)