I will be speaking on the “Panel of Geek Gurus” panel from 2:00 to 3:00 on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 2:00 to 3:00. Last year was the first time for this one-day event, and it was a lot of fun! Tons of people in costumes. I’ll need to add this to my resume: James Van Pelt, Geek Guru.
Category: Conventions
What Ever Happened to Young Adult Science Fiction?
Sunday 10:00 – 11:00, 2502A (Kansas City Convention Center)
At one time, YA Science Fiction was a hot field, but in more recent years the Young Adult field has been more filled with dystopian and fantasy fiction. What ever happened to YA SF? Is there room for it or are kids just not interested in science fiction?
Mr. Jeffrey Cook, Sage Blackwood, Fonda Lee, Ms. Jane Ann McLachlan M.A. (M), James Van Pelt
Balancing the Creative Life
Saturday 15:00 – 16:00, 2503B (Kansas City Convention Center)
Finding balance is a trick nowadays. How do you keep a day job, AND read AND go to galleries AND network AND absorb enough of the world to keep your brain well fed inspired and energized enough to create? Panelists discuss what keeps them going and engaged in their work and life.
Kelly Robson, Joelle Presby, Mark W. Tiedemann, James Van Pelt (M), Deirdre Murphy
Latchkey Kids in Fiction
Friday 10:00 – 11:00, 2206 (Kansas City Convention Center)
Parents are often missing (or at least sidelined) from today’s young adult fiction. With the emergence of these latchkey kids who come home to empty houses and who have very little (if any) parental supervision, what message is this sending to today’s readers? What purpose do these absentee parents play in the larger story? Sure, it ratchets up the tension, but why is it such a common theme? Moreover, what resources are available to these latchkey kids and what dangers should they keep in mind when operating without a parent?
Greg van Eekhout, Tina Connolly (M), James Van Pelt, Tamora Pierce, Sarah Beth Durst
Magazine Group Reading: Analog
Friday 12:00 – 13:00, 2202 Readings (Kansas City Convention Center)
Our Magazine Group Reading Series continues with a special group reading that features authors from Analog.
Trevor Quachri (M), James Van Pelt, Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, Ken Liu, Stanley Schmidt, Mr. Alec Nevala-Lee
Notes
In an effort to highlight live author readings, we are trying something new at WorldCon. These special group readings are designed to maximize exposure for all of the readers involved as well as for the magazine itself. Each group reading is 50 minutes long (max) and includes 5 readers who each receive approx 5 minutes to read a portion of a story that was published by the magazine. Ideally, the introduction and readings should take 30-35 minutes max, which leaves time for a short Q&A session at the end. This format worked really well at Boskone this year and generated nice sized audiences that were very engaged with the reading.
Ready, Steady, Flash!
Thursday 17:00 – 18:00, 2502A (Kansas City Convention Center)
Four authors are each given five minutes in order to write stories based on a theme given by the audience, who then vote for their favourite.
Deirdre Murphy, Vivian Trask, James Van Pelt, Chris Phillips (M), Mr. John Wiswell