ConFusion Schedule

I’ll be at ConFusion this weekend, along with a ridiculously long list of cool people. When I’m not doing panels, I suspect I’ll be spending all my free time meeting and catching up with folks. (With occasional introvert breaks where I retreat to my hotel room to recover for a few minutes.)

My official schedule looks like so:

Saturday, 1/22

• 11 a.m. So grim. Much serious. Wow. (Moderating)
  • Humor and light-hearted adventures have a storied history in science fiction and fantasy. Yet it seems modern work is focused on the darker elements of story telling. Is genre too po-faced outside the work of certain specifically ‘comedy’ writers? Why do so many writers steer clear of overt fun?
• Noon. Novel Gazing.
  • The Male Gaze is often discussed in relation to how women are objectified in fiction. Less common is the Female Gaze, which is often confused as a direct opposite to its Male counterpart. What are the Male and Female Gaze? How are they different? And how is the Female Gaze changing fiction for the better?
• 3 p.m. The Princess Problem.
  • Are princesses actually the problem? Does shaming the idea of princesses and the femininity they represent push girls out of the narrow marketing confines of the pink aisles, or does it harm them in other ways? What about girls of color who so rarely see themselves represented as princesses, or cis boys who want to be Elsa, or trans girls who want to see themselves, too? How do we combat the confining box that is “princess culture” without shaming kids who enjoy princesses and the positive traits they’ve come to represent?
• 4 p.m. Autographing Session.
• 6 p.m. Cover Art: The Good, The Bad, and the WTF.
  • No genre places more emphasis on stunning cover art than science fiction and fantasy. It often goes right, but not always. With powerful visual projection, the panelists will observe a series of good, bad, and WTF covers from science fiction and fantasy, provide commentary, both in praise and… not.

Sunday, 1/23

• 10 a.m. Fanwriting in the 21st Century
  • Before there were SF conventions, there were fanzines. Fanzines are still around (one of our panelists won a Hugo for hers) but now there are blogs and podcasts and fanfic too. Our panelists talk about what fanwriting is and why it’s as important as ever in the 21st century.

This is one of my favorite conventions. I can’t wait to see everyone there!