If you’re attending Arisia this weekend in Boston (January 13-16), below is my schedule.
Schools for Magicians
Douglas, Friday 5:30 PM
Cecilia Tan (mod.), Mary Catelli, Frances K. Selkirk, Victoria Janssen, Ken Schneyer
A Hogwarts degree isn’t the only path from mundanity to magehood. Let’s consider how writers have portrayed schools, including Roke, Unseen University, Brakebills, and more. Why a school setting? Is it due to the innate familiarity for both reader and writer? Having a built-in rationale for info-dumps? How do these fantastical academies compare to SF’s schools for space cadets. As we look outside of Harry Potter, we’ll examine the continuing fascination with such sorcerous scholastic settings.
Paneling 101: A Primer
Revere, Fri day 8:30 PM
Jonathan Woodward (mod), Ann Crimmins, Christopher Davis, Victoria Janssen, Hugh Casey
A panel on doing panels, for noobs and the plain unaware. Etiquette, preparing, benefits, the role of the moderator, how to moderate, how to handle a rogue panelist, how to handle a rogue audience member.
Point of View
Douglas, Sunday 1:00 PM
Elaine Isaak, Michael A Ventrella, David Sklar, Victoria Janssen, Joshua Palmatier
The use of different points of view can reveal or obscure elements of your story from the audience. Do certain points of view only work with certain types of stories? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each form?
