I’ll be at Immortal ConFusion this week as Special GoH. If you want to know where to find me, here’s my schedule of events.
Friday
7:00 PM Inclusion in an Expanding Fandom – Michigan
The fan culture embraces a lot of things, and one defining quality of a geek is to love something so much that it becomes a part of the geek’s life and lifestyle. In theory, SF/F geeks should all be welcome in fandom. But is the SF/F community as inclusive as we think it is? We all know people who love the things we love, argue passionately about Megatron, Dr. Who, or Rainbow Dash, but who may not feel welcome in our fan culture. (See the recent “Fake Geek Girl” debate online for one of many examples.) This panel explores that dissonance, and attempts to explore what we can do to make fandom more genuinely inclusive. (Anne Gray, Jim C. Hines (M), Leah Zeldes Smith, Mary Robinette Kowal, Wesley Chu)
8:00 PM Opening Ceremonies – Michigan
Welcome to Immortal ConFusion! Join our Guests of Honor and Subterranean Press Special Guests for introductions and speeches. A number of artists will also be on hand to caricature the GoHs and display their work afterwards. (Alastair Reynolds, Charles Stross, James Davis Nicoll, Jennifer Ouellette, Kat Howard, Maria Dahvana Headley, Mary Robinette Kowal, Scott Edelman)
Saturday
10:00 AM Author D&D
Yes. They are filming this. (Diana Rowland, Jim C. Hines, Mary Robinette Kowal, Myke Cole, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter V. Brett, Saladin Ahmed)
1:00 PM The New Evil – Southfield
Why is there such a prejudice against the ancient? Malevolent forces seem to need to age like fine wine before they are ready for the attention of a protagonist. Is there a reason that we ignore a new evil, some cultural bias that says innovation cannot be That Which Will Not Be Named? Or is it simply that the ancient evil is a valued, if overused archetype? (Brian McClellan, Mary G. Thompson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peter Orullian (M), Sam Sykes)
2:00 PM The Digital Bookstore – What’s For Sale? – Dearborn
The advent of digital readers has an evolving impact on the marketplace for fiction. The market for shorter fiction, for story collections, and the relative ease to “print” different lengths has expanded dramatically. How will that effect the next decade of fiction? Will the novella see resurgence in popularity with the general public? With mainstream publishers? We will look at the last few years, and try to extrapolate what that may mean for the future. (Mary Robinette Kowal, Scott Edelman, Scott H. Andrews, Tobias S. Buckell, Yanni Kuznia (M))
3:00 PM Aicardi Syndrome Foundation Fundraiser: The Ultimate Photoshoot – Allen Park
Author and former ConFusion Toastmaster Jim C. Hines combined his great two loves last year, charitable giving and ridiculous cover poses, into a single event, offering his interpretations of the cover poses of women on fantasy novels in exchange for donations to the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation. For a goal of $10,000 he threw down an incredible gauntlet: five renowned authors, one group pose. Jim’s fans delivered, and he is here today with the participating authors to unveil the photo for the very first time. (Al Bogdan, Charles Stross, Jim C. Hines (M), John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Patrick Rothfuss)
5:00 PM Mass Autograph Session – Ontario
Come meet your favorite authors and have them sign things! (Unfortunately, due to Repetitive Stress Injury, we ask that you limit your signing requests to Charles Stross to 3 items per person.) (Aimee Carter, Alastair Reynolds, Anne Harris, Catherine Shaffer, Charles Stross, Cindy Spencer Pape, Courtney Moulton, Diana Rowland, Geoff Landis, Howard Andrew Jones, Jennifer Ouellette, Jim C. Hines, John Scalzi, Kat Howard, Lawrence Schoen, Maria Dahvana Headley, Mary G. Thompson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Turzillo, Merrie Haskell, Michael J. Sullivan, Myke Cole, Patrick Rothfuss, Patrick Tomlinson, Peter V. Brett, Ron Collins, Saladin Ahmed, Sarah Zettel, Scott Edelman, Susan Dennard, Tobias S. Buckell, Violette Malan)
8:00 PM Masquerade – Michigan
Come see – or show off – the best costumes of the night! Judges will scrutinize. Crowds will cheer. Audiences will swoon. Honors will be awarded. (Annalee Flower-Horne, Mary Robinette Kowal, Suzette Mariotti)
Sunday
10:00 AM Kaffeeklatsch: Mary Robinette Kowal – Model T
Join Special Guest of Honor Mary Robinette Kowal for coffee, tea, and conversation. Limited to 10 participants, please sign up in Ops. (Mary Robinette Kowal)
11:00 AM Telling A Story Through Costume – Ontario
The storytelling aspect of costume design–how to use costume in a story to support characterization and world-building. How does what a character wears demonstrate what she is or how he thinks? (Annalee Flower-Horne, Mary Robinette Kowal)
1:00 PM Science Fiction On The Radio – Michigan
Come attend a live dramatic reading of several early century radio scripts! Close your eyes and use your imagination, and allow our talented voice actors and foley artists to create terrors and intreigue! (Karen Corbeill, Mary Robinette Kowal, Matt Arnold, Nuri Gocay, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Kennedy, Sunny Smith)
