This morning, I received my preliminary schedule for Wiscon 35. I’m deeply excited about the panels I’m scheduled for, not least because of the people I’ll be seated with:
| Immigration, Fictional and Non-Fictional |
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| Type |
Program |
| Track(s) |
Power, Privilege, and Oppression |
| Description |
People have moved around on this planet since there’s been people and since there’s been a planet. However, since this newfangled “nation-state” invention, it’s gotten a little more complicated. Come talk about both fictional and nonfictional examples of people emigrating from one nation-state to another nation-state, remembering that immigrants aren’t an abstract construct, but real people. |
| Location |
Senate B |
| Schedule |
Fri, 4:00–5:15 pm |
| Panelists |
M: Mary Anne Mohanraj. Suzanne Alles Blom, Amal El-Mohtar, Diana Pho |
|
| The Story in the Object and the Object in the Story |
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| Type |
Program |
| Track(s) |
The Craft and Business of Writing (Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction) |
| Description |
Many of the artists that show at WisCon create objects that are imbued with story. Many of the authors write about objects that have special significance. Let’s have a cross-medium conversation between the visual artists of WisCon and its writers. |
| Location |
Conference 5 |
| Schedule |
Sat, 10:00–11:15 am |
| Panelists |
M: Catherine Anne Crowe. Katie Clapham, Amal El-Mohtar, Elise Matthesen, Elizabeth Shupe |
|
| Postcolonial Steampunk: A Global Perspective |
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| Type |
Program |
| Track(s) |
Power, Privilege, and Oppression (Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction) |
| Description |
The steampunk aesthetic is anchored in the 19th Century British Empire and, more specifically, Queen Victoria’s London. Still, there are efforts to separate steampunk from its Victorian roots and reclaim the time period in the name of the formerly colonized. How do we write our own specificities into the genre? What pushback do we receive for daring to break away? How do we negotiate appropriation and privilege when confronted by it in steampunk circles? What’s REALLY steampunk? |
| Location |
Senate A |
| Schedule |
Sat, 1:00–2:15 pm |
| Panelists |
M: Jaymee Goh. Amal El-Mohtar, Zola Mumford, Diana Pho, Nisi Shawl |
|
| How To Describe Nonwhite Characters Sans Fail |
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| Type |
Program |
| Track(s) |
The Craft and Business of Writing (The Craft and Business of Writing) |
| Description |
How do we get beyond “Her skin was the color of a delicious Coca-Cola”? What metaphors, similes, techniques, and descriptors are less problematic when describing nonwhite characters’ physical bodies? (Starter link: http://www.kith.org/journals/jed/2009/06/12/12163.html ) |
| Location |
Wisconsin |
| Schedule |
Sat, 4:00–5:15 pm |
| Panelists |
M: Mary Doria Russell. K. Tempest Bradford, Moondancer Drake, Amal El-Mohtar, Rachel Virginia Swirsky |
|
| SIBLING OF REVENGE OF NOT ANOTHER F*CKING RACE PANEL |
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| Type |
Program |
| Track(s) |
Power, Privilege, and Oppression (Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction) |
| Description |
Back for a third go-round, by popular demand! Writers of color working in F/SF face unique challenges, it’s true. But, at the end of the day, being a “person of color” is only one aspect of what makes up our identities as writers. While it’s very flattering to asked to be on panels, most of these panels never crack the ceiling of Race 101. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be nice for multiple writers of color to sit on a panel that isn’t about race at all? Here’s our chance to do just that. So, what are we gonna talk about, instead? Practically anything! Presented in game show format, SIBLING OF REVENGE OF NOT ANOTHER F*CKING RACE PANEL brings together writers of color to get their geek on about any number of pop culture topics – none of them race related. |
| Location |
Wisconsin |
| Schedule |
Sun, 2:30–3:45 pm |
| Panelists |
M: K. Tempest Bradford. Amal El-Mohtar, Michelle Kendall, Victor Raymond, LaShawn M. Wanak |
|
| We Have Always Captured The Castle |
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| Type |
Reading |
| Track(s) |
|
| Description |
Plagues, revolutions, orphans, star-crossed lovers, railroad stations, disc jockeys, tea towels with eyes, hauntings, giant robots, poetry, etc. Maybe. |
| Location |
Michelangelos |
| Schedule |
Sun, 4:00–5:15 pm |
| Panelists |
Amal El-Mohtar, Meghan McCarron, David Moles, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Jen Volant |
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Have I mentioned I’m excited? I may have done so. Oh my goodness, whence came all these stand-alone vowels? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
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