I will be hopping on a plane to Dublin in a few days for Worldcon! It’s my first Worldcon, even! I’ll be at the con and conducting a pilgrimage to the many famous Dublin libraries. (DEFINITELY including the Book of the Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College, pictured above.) If you’re also going to be in attendance, here’s where I’m at on programming:
Thursday, August 15th
2:00pm — A portable kind of magic: why we love books-about-books
Whether it’s a library of every book ever written, a compendium of magical creatures, or a hitchhiker’s guide to the universe, we’ve always loved a good story-about-a-story. What is behind our fascination with books and libraries, and why does it translate so well to SFF? How does the history of book-making connect to our myths and legends, and what shape will our meta-stories take in the future?
Genevieve Cogman (M), A.J. Hackwith, Tasha Suri, Miriam Weinberg
I have wanted to do/see a books-about-books panel for ages and I am so delighted to be on this one. Look at that line up! I can’t wait to enthuse about the history of book-making and libraries and book magic.
3:00pm — Kaffeeklatsch: A.J. Hackwith
Listen, I have a kaffeeklatsch and if no one comes I’m gonna be reduced to shouting the opening chapters of THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN at passers-by like some kind of deranged busker so…please come! I will have book swag to give away!
Friday, August 16th
11:00am — ‘Where words fail, music speaks’: literary soundtracks
With the advent of digital music it is easier now than ever for authors to create soundtracks for their writing. Sometimes this is music that inspires the writing process, and sometimes soundtracks are published to enhance the reading experience. Our panel of authors will discuss the ways in which music affects their writing.
Tom Toner (M), A.J. Hackwith, R.F. Kuang, Ian McDonald, Kieron Gillen
I am gonna try to publish a spotify playlist of any specific songs/albums recommended in this panel, so stay tuned!
1:00pm — The power of representing ourselves in fanfiction
When they don’t see themselves on the page or on the screen, fans often reimagine characters, or find space in the canon for representation that wasn’t originally there, by creating their own head-canons of gender, sexuality, race and (dis)ability. Our panel talks about the power of representing ourselves by rewriting beloved characters, and discusses some of their favourite head-canons.
Ciaran Roberts (M), A.J. Hackwith, Kat Kourbeti, Juliet Kemp
FANFIC panel. Aww, yeah.
4:00pm : Autographs
Alex Acks, Regina Kanyu Wang, A.J. Hackwith, Jo Zebedee, A. T. Greenblatt
Listen, if that line up of brilliant authors I snuck in with doesn’t convince you, I will be giving out yet more swag. I am a wee new author and not above bribery, friends.
Saturday, August 17th
I am an unscheduled wild card! Will I be attending panels, lurking in the bar, wallowing over the plot for book three, in introvert coma on a couch? Who knows! How fun.
Sunday, August 18th
11:00am — Human reproduction and childbirth in SFF
Authors of SFF have often explored the political, social, biological, and technological consequences of pregnancy and reproduction. In the last century, developments in assisted reproduction and childbirth have changed the boundaries of the possible. The panel will consider the ways in which SFF depicts human reproduction and childbirth, from high tech futures to medieval fantasies.
D Franklin (M), Anne Charnock, Beth Meacham, A.J. Hackwith, Jeannette Ng
I’ll be putting on my Ada Harper hat for this one. Come for my delicate dancing around fanfic preg tropes! Stay for my secret thesis how childbirth is blood magic.
If you see me, please feel free to say hi! As I said its my first Worldcon experience, and on programming no less, so I’m hoping to pace myself, have great conversations, give away some swag, and meet a lot of lovely people. Especially if you speak the introvert love language of having conversations in quiet non-crowded corners and forgiving me if I forget your name without a name badge.