Readercon 27 Schedule

Hellooooo cats ‘n’ kittens!

I’m going to be at Readercon this weekend, and I’ve got a pretty keen schedule. If you’re going to be at the con, come say hi!

Thursday
9:00pm
Books That Spoil Themselves
Panelists: John Crowley, Jim Freund (leader), Max Gladstone, Yves Meynard, Lauren Roy

“Little did she know that was the last time she would see him alive” and similar lines in books go beyond foreshadowing and into the realm of spoilers. The movie Stranger Than Fiction explores the use of the phrase “little did he know,” and Joe Hill’s The Fireman (among many other books) includes several examples. Why and how do authors use this often derided literary device, and how does it affect the reader’s experience of a story?

Friday
7:00pm
Single Wise Advisor Seeks Same
Panelists: Kameron Hurley, Victoria Janssen, Shariann Lewitt, Robert V. S. Redick, Lauren Roy

Epic fantasy abounds with wise advice-givers who help steer heroes in the right direction. These figures are often epicted as elderly, unmarried or widowed, and childless. (Exemplars are Gandalf, Dallben, and Granny Weatherwax. The rare exceptions include Belgarath, Nanny Ogg, and Miracle Max.) Why do we find it so difficult to imagine these grandparental figures having emotional lives of their own? How might the shape of epic stories shift if advisors have more to do with their time than sitting around advising?

Saturday
1:00pm
My Character Ate WHAT?
Panelists: John Chu, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ada Palmer, Lauren Roy, Catherynne M. Valente, Fran Wilde (leader)

“My Character Ate What?,” based loosely on Hollywood Squares, that uses food in SF as the subject matter for questions.

Sunday
10:00am
New Worlds For Old
Panelists: Susan Jane Bigelow, Greer Gilman, Theodora Goss, Lauren Roy, Ann Tonsor Zeddies

Our GoHs have created their own worlds and retold stories. What’s the difference in approach between creating from “scratch” and “reimagining”? Is one harder than the other? Do we ever really create worlds wholly our own or are we always cannibalizing bits of other worlds? Would we be able to tell meaningful stories in worlds utterly different from our own? How much of a world is physical and how much is societal behaviors and norms?

12:00pm
Reading
Panelists: Me!

I will entertain you with stories. On the docket: “In Memoriam: Lady Fantastic,” which I’ve been calling my angry lady superhero obituary, and a selection from Cantankerous, my YA SF work-in-progress. Think Leverage meets Firefly. 

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