I’m looking forward to Readercon this year after I had to skip last year because of a scheduling conflict. It’s one of my hometown cons and they always have the brainiest programming of any science fiction convention I’ve ever been to. “High level of discourse” would be the way to put it… but with a wacky sci-fi (pronounced “skiffy”) edge.
Here’s what I’ll be doing:
Autographs: James Patrick Kelly, Cecilia Tan
Fri 4:00 PM, Autograph Table
17776 and All That: The Crumbling of the Jock-Nerd Divide
Susan Bigelow, Keffy R.M. Kehrli, Robert Killheffer, Marissa Lingen (mod), Cecilia Tan
Fri 6:00 PM, Salon B
Jon Bois’s wild digital narrative “17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future” appeared on SB Nation, a sports news website, and aimed straight at the commonalities of sports and SF fandoms: rules and ways around the rules, glorious absurdity, tragedy alongside heroism. The jock-nerd divide has crumbled. What does that mean for nerd lit? Will cerebral SF embrace sweaty physicality? Will epic hockey games replace epic battlefields? This panel of sports-fan fans will discuss these possibilities and more.
Classic Fiction Book Club: Rosemary Kirstein’s Steerswomen Series
Elaine Isaak, Victoria Janssen, Yves Meynard, Kate Nepveu (mod), Cecilia Tan
Sat 12:00 PM, Salon A
Since the publication of Rosemary Kirstein’s first novel, The Steerswoman, in 1989, the Steerswoman series has become a quiet classic for its powerful female friendships, slowly-revealed worldbuilding, and unique approach to genre paradigms. Over the last 30 years, four novels have been published, with another two intended in the future. We’ll look at the state of the series today, and speculate about where it might be going.
I Don’t Know Why I’m on This Panel
Jeffrey Ford, Elizabeth Hand, Arkady Martine, Cecilia Tan (mod), Sabrina Vourvoulias
Sat 2:00 PM, Salon 4
This phrase is often spoken during panelist introductions at conventions. In this case it’s literally true: the panelists have no idea why the program staff have put them on a panel together or what they’re supposed to discuss. They may try to figure it out, or they may have a totally unstructured chat for an hour. Either way, it’s sure to be entertaining.
Cecilia Tan: Readercon Schedule
