I’ll be at Readercon 33, July 11 – 14, 2024 this weekend, in Quincy, Massachusetts, for the first time in several years. Check out my schedule below and stop by my Kaffeeklatsch if you’ll be there!
Salon A Friday, July 12, 2024, 12:00 PM EDT
History of Readercon
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; David G. Shaw; Greer Gilman; Michael Cisco
Veteran Readercon participants and organizers will tell stories of Readercon’s nearly 40 year history. Learn about the awards and ceremonies that are or have been hosted here, events that have come and gone, clandestine attendance by rockstar authors, and maybe a little bit of drama if the panelists think it wise to share. Come to the second annual edition of this panel, now with a different mix of participants for the full Rashomon effect!
Salon 3 Friday, July 12, 2024, 2:00 PM EDT
Retroactive Problem Solving in SF
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; Caroline M. Yoachim; Sarena Straus; Karl Schroeder; Matthew Kressel
A lot of the more hopeful SF is written in worlds where the most urgent problems facing our society today have already been solved, and the characters face other, different problems. But by imagining futures where our current crises are of the past, are we missing out on an opportunity to blaze a real path into such futures? What does it mean to tell stories about solving our problems, rather than stories where the problems have already been solved?
Salon 3 Friday, July 12, 2024, 3:00 PM EDT
Fanfic Writers Going Pro: the Most Recent Generation
Kate Nepveu [moderator]; Wendy Van Camp; Cecilia Tan; Sunny Moraine; Victoria Janssen; Claire Houck
Pro authors have always also written fanfic, but prior generations were likely to limit their public connections to their fandom pseudonyms. In the last several years, newer pro authors are openly linking their fannish identities, and publishers are buying works first published as fic, including original fic. What are the effects of this greater openness on individual works, authors’ careers and oeuvres, and the overall field? What, if any, relationship does this have to fic writers filing the serial numbers off stories for self-publication?
Meet the Pros(e) Salon 3 Friday, July 12, 2024, 10:15 PM EDT
Salon B Saturday, July 13, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT
Archeology in Reality and Speculative Fiction
Alexander Jablokov [moderator]; Kathryn Morrow; Victoria Janssen; Jeff Hecht; Katherine Crighton
Archeology is the study of human cultures through their material remains. Professional archeologists will examine archeology’s past flaws, current practice, and future potential, and suggest ways that their field can inform speculative fiction, including what archeology tells us about the range of human cultures and how an archeological mindset can strengthen worldbuilding.
Basalt, Saturday, July 13, 2024, 12:00 PM EDT
Kaffeeklatsch: Victoria Janssen
Salon A Saturday, July 13, 2024, 2:00 PM EDT
Paranormal Romance, Romantasy, or “Just” Fantasy?
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; Cecilia Tan; Mark Painter; Natalie Luhrs; C.S.E. Cooney
Significant amounts of romance in a fantasy novel can lead to its being designated as part of a romance-focused subgenre, such as paranormal romance or romantasy—which can be a restrictive pigeon-hole or a way of reaching new audiences. Panelists will discuss the reader expectations that come along with these designations and how authors can attempt to write within a particular subgenre, to deliberately subvert reader expectations, or to resist such categorization altogether.
Salon 4 Sunday, July 14, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT
Defining and Appreciating Cozy SFF
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; John Wiswell; Caitlin Rozakis; Steven Popkes; Natalie Luhrs
At the blog Lady Business, forestofglory argues that cozy SFF “generally has small stakes,” “focuses on community-building,” and “honors the importance of domestic labor and other undervalued jobs.” She also argues that its main failure mode is “insularity”: failing to ground a story by situating it within a larger context, or failing to recognize the implications of its background worldbuilding. Panelists will explore how this framework illuminates cozy SFF’s appeal, scope, and relationships to other subgenres.
