SF con guests

I have become the literary chair for Trinoc*con, a SF convention which
is held in Durham, North Carolina next August 1-3. One of the few perks
of the job is that I have control over who is invited as guests and what
panel topics are held.

Since I am a conlanger, I want to hold a conlang panel. Tolkien was a
major force in furthering my interest in both SF and languages, so it
seems to make sense. I would like to get several authors together to
discuss the use of constructed languages in literature.

I would like some advice from the list. What authors do you know of who
made languages for their fiction? I'm interested in both big name
authors, who could be a guest of honor (although I already have some
ideas there) and especially in lesser known authors who might enjoy
being guests. I particularly want to know of people in the Eastern US
who might be able to easily travel here.

If you are a list member who is a published fiction author or have
worked on a movie/TV project or something and you are interested in
being a guest, let me know. Sally Caves and Yoon Ha Lee should consider
themselves invited, I'll send you personal invitation in a little while.

Thanks for your help. I'll keep the list updated as this comes together.

David Stokes

Ampiros sernost sharusae, vi at Enfors Vilandenae, vi je tais zhangoln.
The Empire's greatest strength is not the Iron Army, but its language.