I’ll be going to my first WisCon and am extremely excited by the programming they offer. Here are just the panels that I’ll be on.
Title: Beyond Illustration: The Process of Creating ‘Vision’
Saturday, 9:00-10:15 P.M.
Caucus
Much of SF/F art is illustrative, growing directly out of the writer’s vision. But some artists are doing exactly what writers do–using a myth or folkloric theme or story as a starting point and interpreting it in a new and personal way, developing a story with a vision of their own. These image/object driven visions are sometimes then the inspiration for a writer’s new story. How is the process of creating a vision the same in writing and art? How is it different? How do they cross-pollinate?
M: Mary Robinette Kowal, Deb Taber, Connie Toebe, Catherine Crowe
Title: What If You Don’t Want to Have Children? Redux
Saturday, 10:30-11:45 P.M.
Assembly
Modern birth control and feminism have made the option of not having children much more socially acceptable, yet women (and sometimes men) are often made to feel that by making this choice they are abandoning an essential part of the human experience. Given the increasing numbers of people who are choosing to be child-free, what will society look like in another 20 years? 50? 100? There are currently some countries that pay generous benefits to parents, especially in countries with decreasing populations. How will this continue? How will the population reduction affect workplace policies? How will the results of choosing to be child-free actually benefit parents (increased tax incentives, workplace benefits, etc.)? Last year, this panel focused on the personal, emotional, and medical struggles faced by those of us who have chosen to be childfree. It was a relief to see that there were others like ourselves, going through the very same struggles. This year, let’s take a deep
per look and examine how societal structures, workplace policies, and government taxes and subsidies discourage or encourage our decision.
M: Carrie Ferguson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Gerri Balter, Maddie Greene, Isabel Schechter
Title: The Future Of The Book
Sunday, 1:00-2:15 P.M.
Senate B
With Amazon’s Kindle being the latest entry in the ongoing attempts to scale the Everest of e-book technology, it’s time to look at the technology of the book, and where we think it might be going in the next 10-20 years. Topics might include what’s wrong with the current set of e-books, what people would need to move to an e-book solution, and new technologies/approaches in the paper-book world, such as the increased use of POD books.
M: Mary Robinette Kowal, Steven Schwartz, Jeannie Bergmann, Cabell Gathman
Title: How To Be A Good Ally — And A Bad One
Monday, 10:00-11:15 A.M.
Wisconsin
As privileged allies in tee struggles against various oppressions such as racism and sexism, sometimes we make mistakes, and some of our strategies are more successful than others. And some of us are frightened by the idea of tackling the learning curve and making fools of ourselves along the way. Others of us aren’t even sure where to begin. This panel will discuss starting points, common pitfalls, embarrassing stories of mistakes made and overcome, and how to do it right.
M: Lori Selke, Debbie Notkin, Mary Robinette Kowal
You go, girl! Wish I could be there. I’ll be hip-deep in rehearsals for an outdoor production of “Julius Caesar” by then, however.
I swear, I’m going to use up my year’s supply of superlatives just in comments about your blog, but that’s awesome! I hope you have a great time (and you tell us all about it)!
Evan, I know! It’s the single best line-up of panels I’ve seen for a convention. Readercon also has great programming, but the thing that excites me about this con is that they are really pushing at the boundaries.