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Welcome to the Tuesday Telegrams, a semimonthly newsletter from award-winning author Naseem Jamnia. You're currently reading a writing-related Telegram, where I update you on projects, offer behind-the-scenes looks, delve into craft, and other publishing and writing topics.

ICYMI, The Glade is a finalist for the IGNYTE Award in Outstanding Middle Grade! Voting is open to the public and takes only a minute—all you need is an email address. I'd love if you could take a moment now to support me by adding The Glade to your ballot! Voted already? Share it with a friend! Unlike in US politics, every vote counts.

Last week, I got back from my first conference in over two years. It was a smaller regional Boston-area fan and writer convention called Readercon. I first heard of it a few years ago when I was at Boskone (also a Boston-area fan and writer convention), when Ellen Kushner of Swordspoint fame gushed about it in the elevator on the way up to a party in the con-suite.

A few years ago, I wrote a Telegram with professionalization tips during conferences, so I don't want to rehash what I wrote then, since it still applies. But I thought it would be worth giving some tips if you're ever on a panel yourself as either a panelist or moderator.

I would wager most people have sat through a presentation that has bored them to tears. It's harder, I think, to find a boring panel, since that would rely on everyone on that panel being boring, but most panels are mediocre at best. That's because writers are not taught to be performers and public speakers, but it's obvious when there's a writer panelist who does have that background, because they speak to the room in a way that says pay attention to me.

You don't need to be a performer to be a good panelist, but you do need to be confident or enthusiastic enough in your opinions to speak with conviction. So step one: Apply to be on panels you actually care about. If you don't think you can have a sustained conversation with someone about the topic for half an hour, then it might not be a great fit for you. You can't rely on there being a ton of other panelists to fill up the space—and if you are, then maybe that panel isn't a good fit.

(Notice here that I'm not necessarily saying apply on panels where you have sufficient expertise, although that should be a given. That's because imposter syndrome is likely to say you can never have enough expertise to speak on a thing in public. That's not true. If you're passionate about a topic, you've likely got more knowledge on it than you think.)

Caring about a topic only goes so far, however. If you haven't heard from the moderator a few days before your panel, reach out and ask them for questions (or topics/directions if they don't have questions yet). This will let you start thinking about what you want to talk about. I actually advise that you don't prepare your answers ahead of time, because reading off the page will come off as stagnant. Instead, have bullets of directions/topics you can speak to off the cuff.

Finally, try to arrive at your panel a few minutes early so you're not rushing. Put your phone on vibrate/silent, and unless you're moderating and need it for timing, don't have it out at all; especially don't text while doing the panel, even if you're not the one currently talking. Bring water/a beverage and a notepad or something similar to jot notes (and bring the questions/prepared topics). I find taking notes a good way to pay attention to what the other panelists are saying rather than staring around or into space; it allows you to write down things you want to bring up and also respond to what others say. You should feel free to jump in and respond to someone (you can always do a "before we move on, I'd like to respond" if the moderator looks ready to ask the next question), since that is where panels really shine—the panelists speaking to one-another.

A truly great panel is a guided conversation, and that comes from having a good moderator.

Some people apply to be moderators because they fear what it's like to be put on the spot as a panelist. This is, frankly, a terrible way to approach moderation. A panel isn't going into battle, and thinking of it that way means you're going to be stiff and awkward, on the defensive instead of confident in yourself and your panelists. Think instead of the panel as a conversation that others are listening to, where your job as moderator is to give room for the panelists to shine.

Putting in even half an hour of prep work into moderation can make a difference. I prefer to reach out to my panelists a week in advance, introducing myself and why I asked to moderate/be on the panel (my interest/connection to the topic); giving the time, date, and location of the panel; and sharing a set of prepared questions. I prefer to over- rather than under-prepare questions, so I often come up with 5-7 for a one hour panel (with the expectation that we'll get to 3-5). I then invite the panelists to introduce themselves as a reply-all and share their interest in the topic, as well as let me know what they think of the questions, where they'd like to focus, and anything they don't want to talk about. I also specify that I always begin my panels with a statement of solidarity and leave 10ish minutes for Q&A.

Sending this out far enough in advance gives everyone an opportunity to respond with thoughts and for you to potentially (but not necessarily) follow up as needed. Getting the conversation started before the conversation starts is actually a great way to get a sense of what direction the panel can go in.

Arriving at the panel early is doubly important as a moderator. I like to sit toward the middle rather than the end of the panelists to prevent the "go down the line and answer questions" style of moderation that is most frequent during panels. While a fine way to go about it, doing it this way often feels stiff and formal rather than casual and easygoing—and I find the best panels are ones where the panelists are all at their ease instead of on edge for their turn.

After everyone does their introductions, which I often pair with a simple opening question—e.g. their interest in the topic—I use that to lead into the first question, ideally with someone in mind to start based on those introductions. While I have my questions and know the general direction of the panel, I do scribble down what my panelists say during the panel itself so I can ask follow-up questions and connect to what others say instead of focusing only on what I prepared. I will use any topics brought up in email to give the panelist a lead-in, and directly address a single panelist before asking another to respond to what was said, often building in a relevant question from my own list. Panelists are often happy to build off each other and will do so without your prompting, but if you're taking notes, you can link what that panelist just said to what someone else said earlier, and turn to the latter to ask them to expand.

Keep an eye on the time; usually, there's a conference volunteer holding up "five minute" and "wrap up" signs of some kind. During the Q&A, condense and repeat the question into the microphone so everyone can hear it. If you have time to let the panelists tell people where they can be found during the con and outside, that's always nice to do, too.

It's important to make sure all panelists get roughly the same time to speak. The one place where I feel I lack as a moderator is interrupting people when they go too far afield or are speaking for too long. It's well established that cishet white men tend to take up the most time and space, and the Midwestern in me has such a tough time cutting people off to redirect the conversation. This is a skill I'm working on and would call a pro-tier moderation skill!

Upcoming Events

I'm going to be at World Fantasy in Oakland this October! Will I see you there?

​Solidarity Corner​

After discovering Lnk.bio, I've finally migrated my personal Linktree there! I'm planning on migrating my Solidarity Corner links this week.

If you have organizations, causes, or mutual aid requests you'd like me to spotlight here, please send those links my way. We get through these things when we do so together.

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