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Windycon - My Panels
Nov. 12th, 2007 11:48 amAs mentioned in yesterday's entry, I'm back from Windycon, and ready to discuss my panels.
Before I do so, I'd like to thank various people, volunteers all, who made the con a success. First, Steven H. Silver (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shsilver), programming chair, for letting me be on programming. Second, Ann Totusek (ann_totusek) who ran the green room and kept everybody fed. Her chicken noodle soup is to die for! I'd also like to congratulate Richard Chwedyk for a great job as Toastmaster. If you see him, say "hiya!" (He'll get it.)
My first panel was "Send in the Marines" about Military SF. I was moderator. In a change from the usual Chicago practice of "last guy at the panel moderates" Steven designated moderators. Since it was a military SF panel, I introduced the guests in rank order, starting with Tanya Huff. She protested that she got out as a Master Corporal from the Canadian Navy (yep - weird ranks but a long story) but she was the Guest of Honor so therefore ranking. Also, I found out who Michael Black is - he's a cop and a new mystery novelist. More about Michael on his website.
Eric Flint was on that panel, and made the point that military SF was a marketing concept. For instance, Dune isn't considered military SF, yet we've got a massive war going on. Tanya said she started writing military SF to remind folks that the non-coms made militaries work. The fact that she mailed her draft to the editor on September 8, 2001 was a pure coincidence. The panel and our sympathetic audience seemed to be in agreement that soldiers go where they are told, and fight irregardless of the overall political framework. It was an interesting panel, and I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't have an anti-war contingent in the audience.
My next panel (also moderated by me) was The Best of 2007. With unanimous consent of the panel, we talked about fiction short and long. My picks can be found here.
Sunday's panel on Battlestar Galactica was moderated by Jason Robertson (pyropyga). On this panel, I discovered that if you want to get Richard Hatch on a ten-minute rant, say that the old Battlestar Galactica is not as good as the new one. But don't take that the wrong way - Richard is a fun guy and the panel was enjoyable. Richard does seem convinced that "the suits" who run the SciFi Channel neither understand nor enjoy science fiction, and feels that it shows in their decision-making.
I have to admit that I enjoyed being on the panels, and, for the record, will gladly moderate any panel Steven Silver wants me to. One last bit of good news - Windycon is getting a new hotel! It will be at the Westin Lombard.
Before I do so, I'd like to thank various people, volunteers all, who made the con a success. First, Steven H. Silver (
shsilver), programming chair, for letting me be on programming. Second, Ann Totusek (ann_totusek) who ran the green room and kept everybody fed. Her chicken noodle soup is to die for! I'd also like to congratulate Richard Chwedyk for a great job as Toastmaster. If you see him, say "hiya!" (He'll get it.)My first panel was "Send in the Marines" about Military SF. I was moderator. In a change from the usual Chicago practice of "last guy at the panel moderates" Steven designated moderators. Since it was a military SF panel, I introduced the guests in rank order, starting with Tanya Huff. She protested that she got out as a Master Corporal from the Canadian Navy (yep - weird ranks but a long story) but she was the Guest of Honor so therefore ranking. Also, I found out who Michael Black is - he's a cop and a new mystery novelist. More about Michael on his website.
Eric Flint was on that panel, and made the point that military SF was a marketing concept. For instance, Dune isn't considered military SF, yet we've got a massive war going on. Tanya said she started writing military SF to remind folks that the non-coms made militaries work. The fact that she mailed her draft to the editor on September 8, 2001 was a pure coincidence. The panel and our sympathetic audience seemed to be in agreement that soldiers go where they are told, and fight irregardless of the overall political framework. It was an interesting panel, and I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't have an anti-war contingent in the audience.
My next panel (also moderated by me) was The Best of 2007. With unanimous consent of the panel, we talked about fiction short and long. My picks can be found here.
Sunday's panel on Battlestar Galactica was moderated by Jason Robertson (
pyropyga). On this panel, I discovered that if you want to get Richard Hatch on a ten-minute rant, say that the old Battlestar Galactica is not as good as the new one. But don't take that the wrong way - Richard is a fun guy and the panel was enjoyable. Richard does seem convinced that "the suits" who run the SciFi Channel neither understand nor enjoy science fiction, and feels that it shows in their decision-making. I have to admit that I enjoyed being on the panels, and, for the record, will gladly moderate any panel Steven Silver wants me to. One last bit of good news - Windycon is getting a new hotel! It will be at the Westin Lombard.
