The "How To Turn Your Non-Reading Child Into A Book-Loving Machine" Panel At FanX...Likely The Most Important Panel I've Ever Attended

I've been on several panels since Salt Lake Comic Con (and now FanX...) rolled into town. I've met amazing artists and authors, entertainers and performers. I've made good friends and even forged relationships that have led to professional advancements in my writing career.

But I think the panel I'm on this Saturday might be the most important one I've ever been on.

It's entitled:

How to Turn your Non-Reading Child into a Book-Loving Machine

It's more important now than ever.

When I pitched the panel idea, I hoped it would be chosen. I remember when I attended public school, especially jr. high when books and reading became a joy and not a drudgery. Back then, there were many distractions that took kids away from books. And this was in the 1970s. Kids nowadays have distractions we couldn't even imagine back then.

Just how important is reading--or the lack thereof--to our society? The effect of a generation of no-readers scares the daylights out of me. Reading connects us as people. Our histories are written down, but if no one reads them, no one will know them. Our laws, policies, customs, traditions--everything--are found in books or online. Without readers, they disappear.

Except for one person, CK Johnson, I know all the other panelist. Holli Anderson, Dave Butler, Paul Genesse, John Olsen--I've interacted with them and have read stories they've written. I was excited when the panel schedule came out and found out who will be there.

If you're worried about how to get kids to read, or you have children of your own that would rather do other things than read (and if you're attending FanX this weekend...), please consider attending our panel. It's Saturday, 9/8/18, 1pm to 2pm in room 151A. We may not have all the answers, but we'll do our best to give the topic the respect it deserves. I'd love to see you there.

Meet Joey Wartnerchaney...Academy Award Winner This Week At FanX!

There are people out there--you know them--creative types. There's something about how their brain is wired that makes them, well...different. They can hear a story and envision a video game. They can look at a picture and see a feature film. They can visit a country and create a world.

I'd like to introduce you to one such individual. His name is Joey Wartnerchaney.

And he's coming to Salt Lake's FanX convention this week.

I first met Joey in 2014. Lagoon had just built their largest ride ever--the towering Cannibal rollercoaster. Because they expected record lines for this ride (and they were right...), Lagoon hired Joey to design an attraction for the throngs waiting for their ride. Joey came up with a show called The Rainmaker and they hired me and another employee to play the title character. 

Joey came up with an incredible show. He built a Model T out of a golf cart that included a stage, sound system, and water cannons. I entertained and cooled down audiences that summer. 

If you attended Lagoon's Frightmares last year and were lucky enough to get into their newest show Séance, you know you saw something rarely seen in Utah, or anywhere for that matter. Séance is something that must be experienced. It's a world-class haunt I was fortunate enough to be a part of. I saw adults leave the show in tears. I saw teenagers who showed such bravado as they entered rush from the show terrified. Hands down the best Halloween show around.

It came from Joey's mind.

Creating amazing amusement park attractions is just some of his accomplishments. Here's his bio:

JOSEPH WARTNERCHANEY  |  DIRECTOR

Joseph is a nationally-recognized film and live entertainment director, creator, and producer whose projects include the critically acclaimed Decay, Broadway’s Squirm Burpee a Vaudevillian Melodrama, Rock Band Live! (MTV), Séance; a Multi-Sensory Experience, Carnaval de Fuego, Survivor Live! (CBS Television), Conjure, and Cirque Innosta. His motion picture work includes all three films in the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy; Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence and The Terminal; Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator; Constantine; and The Italian Job. Joseph's collaborators in the television world include Quiznos Subs, McDonaldʼs, TLC and Turner Classic Movies. In 1999, Joseph co-founded the production company Homewrecker Films with partners Benjamin Smith and Rich Volp.  Since its onset, Homewrecker Films has won an Academy Award (Scientific and Engineering) for Technical Achievement, an Emmy Nomination, and received multiple film festival awards including “Best Picture” for Tuscaloosa at the New York International Independent Film Festival and the coveted “True Grit” award for his film Decay.

If you're going to attend this year's FanX convention in Salt Lake, please include Joey's panel, Friday, September 7, from 1pm to 2pm in Room 255A. It's a big room--bring your lunch and your friends and meet one of those truly creative people.