SFF Event Report: Chandler Klang Smith at Left Bank Books

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Event Report

Last night – 18 April 2018 – Left Bank Books hosted Chandler Klang Smith for a reading of her new book The Sky is Yours, followed by a discussion and Q&A with St. Louis’s own Ann Leckie. The event kicked off LBB’s collaboration with Archon, the local Science Fiction convention, and what a great start to this reading series.

sff event report chandler klang smith left bank books

Reading

To start the event, Ms. Smith read a passage from The Sky is Yours. It was funny and well done; her reading booted this book farther up my To Be Read pile. From what she read and the audience questions, it sounds like a mash up of Perdido Street Station and Jane Eyre with humor. Or, more simply, it sounds like my kind of book, and, yes, I did buy a copy, which she signed for me.

Conversation with the Authors

sff event report chandler klang smith left bank books

Credit: MissionPhotoDOTorg

Afterwards, Ms. Smith and Ms. Leckie talked about the book, writing, and SF, in general. I enjoyed their easy back and forth, learning a lot; in particular, their views on the publishing industry felt like insider information. At one point, Chandler was a literary agent, and her experiences there were enlightening. This discussion initially drew me to the event, and it paid off. I find the process of writing as interesting as the finished product itself; so, listening to two publishing authors discuss their journey and their process made my night.

Question and Answer

Finally, a question and answer session ended the night. I didn’t ask any questions, but the rest of the audience covered for me. The resulting discussion was fascinating; I’ve been to readings where the Q&A dragged. But last night the audience asked insightful questions that got excellent answers. In particular, their discussion about editors showed that the author/editor relationship isn’t an employee/boss relationship. It’s much more collaborative than I had previously thought.

Overall Thoughts

Last night was a complete success. Since I live far from Left Bank Books, I don’t get down there as much as I’d like. But events like these will draw me. Ann and Chandler made the evening enjoyable, and reminded me why attending readings is important. The specific section that Ms. Smith read piqued my curiosity, and I look forward to her book. If you get the chance to see her read, you should.

LBB and Archon

Also, I want to thank LBB and Archon for increasing the SFF author events in St. Louis. As a SFF fan, I want to see more of these events. I’m paying attention to their events page for this reason. There’s one more event at the end of the month at Lindenwood University with Ann Leckie. Two events are coming up in May – on the 8th Charles Soule author of The Oracle Year and on the 10th a TOR #Fearless Women event with authors Tessa Graton, Sue Burke, and K. Arsenault Rivera – which sound fantastic. While I won’t be able to attend all of these events, I will be there for the Tor reading for sure.