What is Iron Author?

IA at ConFusion 2001

IA at Boskone 38

Lisa's home page


IRON AUTHOR!

Six months ago a woman's fantasy became reality in a form never seen before -- Writers' Stadium, a giant writing arena.

The motivation for spending her time to create Writers' Stadium was to encounter new original prose which would be called true artistic creations.

To realize her dream, she secretly started choosing the writers of various styles of speculative fiction, and she named her writers the Iron Authors -- the invincible writers of genre prose.

(The Iron Authors reveal themselves when called by name.)

Iron Author Science Fiction is Ted Reynolds

Iron Author Fantasy is Karen Everson

and Steve Climer is Iron Author Horror.

Writers' Stadium is the arena where Iron Authors await the challenges of master writers from around Michigan. Both the Iron Writer and challenger have twenty minutes to tackle the theme of the day. Using all their senses, skills, and creativity, they are to write artistic prose never heard before.

And if ever a challenger wins over the Iron Author, he or she will gain the people's ovation and fame forever.

Every battle reputations are on the line in Writers' Stadium, where master authors pit their artistic creations against each other.

What inspiration does today's challenger bring? And how will the Iron Author respond? The heat will be on.


Thus began the first Iron Author competition at ConFusion 2001. I also ran Iron Author at Boskone 2001 and have been encouraged to run it at more than one World Con. (I'm still thinking about those offers.)