Boskone 55 – Guest of Honor
February 16, 2018 — February 18, 2018
Westin Waterfront Hotel, Boston get directions
Mary is the Guest of Honor at Boskone!
Join her in Boston, MA from February 16-18, 2018 for New England’s longest running science fiction and fantasy convention. It’s going to be a fun weekend filled with discussions of books, film, art, music, games, and more. For more information about Boskone, visit The Boskone Blog, Twitter, and Facebook as well as by going to the Boskone website to register at http://www.boskone.org/
Here’s where to find Mary while you are there:
Friday, February 16
Star Wars Mad Libs
2-3pm
Harbor III
Who doesn’t love a good session of Mad Libs, Boskone style? Join us for a special edition of Star Wars Mad Libs — in which the audience provides the nouns, adverbs, and adjectives for a raucous reading performed by our panel of program participants
Boskone’s Regency Dance with Guest of Honor Mary Robinette Kowal
5:30-7:30pm
Harbor II
Calling all dancers! Join our Guest of Honor, Mary Robinette Kowal, as we travel back in time to Britain’s Regency period, when dancing was all the craze. Antonia Pugliese from Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, a Boston-area nonprofit that reconstructs, performs, and teaches dances of the 19th and early 20th century, will lead us through Boskone’s special set of Regency dances. So put on your 19th Century duds or keep your modern wardrobe to represent your favorite era — as we genre-happy gentlefolk join together to dance, Regency-style!
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
8:45-9:00pm
Galleria – Stage
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fifth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests.
Boskone 55 Reception
9:00-11:00pm
Galleria – Art Show
Connoisseurs and philistines alike: welcome to the Boskone Art Show! Join us in the Galleria for an upscale social mixer. Meet our program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.
Saturday, February 17
Boskone Book Club: Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
10:00-11:00am
Marina 3
The Boskone Book Club continues! Join us for a conversation that brings con-goers together to consider one noteworthy work at length. This year we are reading Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal (our Guest of Honor). Boskone’s own Bob Kuhn will lead the discussion; Mary Robinette Kowal will join the group halfway through for a Q&A. To participate, please read the book and come ready with your thoughts and questions.
Autographing
11:00am-12:00pm
Galleria – Autographing
Guest of Honor Interview Featuring Mary Robinette Kowal
1:00-2:00pm
Harbor III
Professional puppeteer; costumer; voice actor — Mary Robinette Kowal is a multitalented marvel. But she’s here mostly as a Hugo-Award-winning SF/F author with a delightful gift for storytelling. Join us for Boskone’s Guest of Honor hour, conducted by Mary’s good friend (and former astronaut!) Cady Coleman.
The Magic of Historical Fantasies
3:00-4:00pm
Harbor III
Fantasies set in the past are growing ever more popular. Why do we love stepping back in time and sprinkling a little magic into the past? Could these same stories be told in modern times, or would some of that magic be lost? And when changing the workings of the known world by adding magic, is it still important to keep historical details correct?
Clothing That Create Character
4:00-5:00pm
Marina 3
Characters don’t wear costumes; they wear clothing. What’s the right raiment for the right person? Think about the style statements made by James Bond, Brienne, Doctor Manhattan, Gandalf, Kip Russell, Josephus Miller, Offred, Diana Prince, Alexia Tarabotti, or Jane Vincent. Our fashionistas discuss some of spec fic’s fashion faux pas, as well as some truly ingenious choices of garments for our favorite fictional characters.
Sunday, February 18
Life In Space
10:00-11:00am
Harbor II
What does it take to become an astronaut? What’s it like to live in space? These questions and more are just a few of the queries that will get answered by astronaut Cady Coleman as she sits with science fiction authors Mary Robinette Kowal and Stacey Berg who ask her everything you ever wanted to know about life in space.
Reading by Mary Robinette Kowal
11:00-11:30am
Griffin
Tea with Mary
2:00-3:00pm
Galleria – Con Suite
Join Boskone’s Guest of Honor for tea in the Con Suite. (Requires Kaffeeklatsch sign-up at Program Ops in the Harbor Foyer.)
