Tag: Worldcon

“Management Lessons from Game of Thrones” goes to Worldcon!

I can now reveal that I’ll be presenting a paper on “Pathways to Female Leadership in Game of Thrones”, based on some of the work you can find on this blog, at ChiCon8, the 80th World SF Convention, in Chicago this September! I’ll be attending in person, so will also be turning up on various panels and roaming around promoting my new book as well.

You can read my blog series on Leadership in Game of Thrones here, and you can preorder my book on the subject.

Guest blogging!

As well as being an anthropologist, a writer and a teacher, I also like to make miniatures. In that capacity, I’m a guest blogger on the Glasgow In 2024 Worldcon Bid page today, teaching you how to make a tiny armadilo! Click the link to create your own.

Also, Alan Stevens and I have a new fun listicle up on the Kaldor City Doctor Who reviews page, taking apart the 1970s story “The Mind of Evil”… if you like the snarky TV reviews on here, you might want to check them out.


Where I am at British FantasyCon

I’m off to British FantasyCon! I’m on two panels, Representing Sexuality (Saturday 1:30 PM) and “No, Seriously, We Have Always Fought: Developing Historical Awareness in SFF” (Saturday 6 PM).

To explain the latter, it’s to discuss strategies for making people aware of older SFF works that deal with what people think of as “modern” themes, without dismissing the experiences of newer SFF readers or falling into the trap of prescribing a “canon” of literature.

Otherwise, I’ll be helping out with the Eastercon 2024/Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon Bid table intermittently throughout the event, so if you want to say hi, come round!

Worldcon 2019 Schedule

If any of you are coming to Worldcon in Dublin next month, here’s where I’ll definitely be:

Academic track: Decolonising
15 Aug 2019, Thursday 15:30 – 16:20, Odeon 6 (Academic) (Point Square Dublin)

1. Natalie Ingram – ‘History Through Fantasy’s Western Window’
2. Professor Fiona Moore – ‘Comparing Colonialisms in The Terror’
3. BE Allatt – ‘Questioning Mononormativity: Love, Sex, and Relationships on McDonald’s Luna’

So you want to write a SFF stage play

Format: Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 13:30 – 14:20, Alhambra (Point Square Dublin)

Writing for the stage uses a particular set of skills. What does it take to create a solid script? How does it differ from any other writing process? What special considerations are needed when including science fiction and fantasy elements? Our panellists will share tips and tricks on adapting between mediums for the stage, how to create believable characters, and how to write great dialogue.

Grappling with the post-colonial in SFF

Format: Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 17:00 – 17:50, Wicklow Room-1 (CCD)

Over the last 500 years, cultures and histories have been forever altered by colonial expansion. Although many former colonies have gained independence, their peoples still grapple with the effects of colonisation. Can post-colonial SFF help to heal the past? How do post-colonial SFF authors reconcile the many facets of their identities in their work, and what do they want their audiences to know?

Audio dramas and radio plays

Format: Panel
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 19:00 – 19:50, Liffey Room-1 (CCD)

With the rise of paying markets like Big Finish Productions and Audible Theater, a new era in professional audio theatre has dawned. But how do you go about writing or recording an SFF audio drama or radio play – and are they even the same thing? In this suddenly booming industry, where do you start? And what is the demand for this type of work?

Autographs: Sunday at 12:00

Format: Autographing
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 12:00 – 12:50, Level 4 Foyer (CCD)

Carrie Vaughn, Amal El-Mohtar, Dr Anna Smith Spark , Professor Fiona Moore, Gareth Powell, Paul Anthony Shortt

I’ll also be at the NewCon Press book launch on Saturday, 17 Aug 17:30-18:30, room TBA.