Conlangs: Languages with Stories to Tell

Presented by: Sea Chapman
Moderator: Sarah Peterson
Host: Kris Ashley

If you edit speculative fiction, you have probably encountered conlangs (constructed languages) in some of the manuscripts. Most invented languages are poorly designed from a linguistic perspective, and readers notice the problems and inconsistencies that arise. Learn about the history of conlangs, what makes a conlang believable, where to begin in creating a language, and how to help your clients create languages that are effective for their purpose in a story.

Sea Chapman has 15 years of experience working as an editor. From book manuscripts and audio transcripts to press releases and ELL programs, she has worked on a little bit of everything. These days, Sea does technical editing by day while doing games, comics, and book editing by night. She is known for her expertise on writing and communicating about dying, death, and grief as well as her knowledge of conlangs in fiction. Beyond her interest in conlangs in fiction, Sea has a special interest in signed conlangs and conlanging as a tool for reviving dead or dying languages. Sea has presented talks and workshops to authors and editors in various cities across the U.S., and she’s been a juror for various fiction writing contests and grants. She is a geek of many interests and will make herself known as such if you can convince her to stop introverting.