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Wiscon Schedule - Take 3
May. 18th, 2023 11:01 amMy schedule for WisCon 46 to be held in lovely downtown Madison WI May 26 to 29 seems to have settled down. Here's what I hope is the last iteration.
The Schadenfreude of the Evil Rich Character
University B • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Fri 2:30 PM–3:45 PM
We love to watch our fictional rich guys living their luxurious and scandalous lives, but we love it even more when we get to watch their downfall. And yet, these stories still allow us to empathize with the 1% in intimate ways. TV shows like Succession and Billions, movies like the Knives Out franchise seem to fill a need we have to watch the rich and powerful suffer. But are we just glorifying their lifestyles in the end by consuming their stories anyway?
Plague Fiction in the Plague Times
Conference 4 • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Fri 9:00 PM–10:15 PM
Roundtable discussion. Station Eleven, 12 Monkeys, The Stand, Sweet Tooth, Zone One, 28 Days Later, The Doomsday Book…these plague stories hit kind of different now. How does the ongoing worldwide trauma of the covid pandemic change our reading/writing practices around this longstanding SF/F trope? And what has our real-life pandemic revealed to us about the assumptions and biases behind these kinds of stories, especially given that this pandemic, like plagues throughout history, has been unequally distributed?
A Speculative Fiction Sampler
Conference 2 • Readings • Sun 10:00 AM–11:15 AM
Four authors read their works.
Chris Gerrib
Kris Raymond Silva
Nikki Kallio
Gaming Groups and Writers' Groups
Online Zoom Room 1 • Interactive Storytelling & Media • Sun 1:00 PM–2:15 PM
Gaming groups and writers' groups have a lot in common. A group of people gather around a table to share time and weave stories. They try to keep to a regular schedule while balancing their personality quirks and fannish interests. Let's talk about how these groups are the same and how they are different. How is a successful group organized? How are their social contracts similar? What can gaming group members learn from writers' group members, and vice versa?
Why (Not) Pirates?
Online Zoom Room 1 • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Mon 10:00 AM–11:15 AM
Pirates are hot right now, and not just because 60% (totally unfounded estimate) of adults fantasized about being pirates as children. What makes the current moment so pirate-friendly? Let's talk about the appeal of pirate stories, the way pirates have been represented in books, movies, and TV shows—from historical fiction about real-life buccaneers to SF/F epics about space pirates—and how the depictions of pirates have differed at different times and in different cultures.
The SignOut Autograph Party
Cap A/Wisconsin • Special Events • Mon 11:30 AM–12:30 PM
Attention all givers and seekers of autographs! Come to the SignOut, a signing party and WisCon farewell rolled into one! Creative folks and those who love them will gather together to sign and get signatures, to thank and praise and schmooze one last time before we fly away for another year.
The Schadenfreude of the Evil Rich Character
University B • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Fri 2:30 PM–3:45 PM
We love to watch our fictional rich guys living their luxurious and scandalous lives, but we love it even more when we get to watch their downfall. And yet, these stories still allow us to empathize with the 1% in intimate ways. TV shows like Succession and Billions, movies like the Knives Out franchise seem to fill a need we have to watch the rich and powerful suffer. But are we just glorifying their lifestyles in the end by consuming their stories anyway?
Plague Fiction in the Plague Times
Conference 4 • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Fri 9:00 PM–10:15 PM
Roundtable discussion. Station Eleven, 12 Monkeys, The Stand, Sweet Tooth, Zone One, 28 Days Later, The Doomsday Book…these plague stories hit kind of different now. How does the ongoing worldwide trauma of the covid pandemic change our reading/writing practices around this longstanding SF/F trope? And what has our real-life pandemic revealed to us about the assumptions and biases behind these kinds of stories, especially given that this pandemic, like plagues throughout history, has been unequally distributed?
A Speculative Fiction Sampler
Conference 2 • Readings • Sun 10:00 AM–11:15 AM
Chris Gerrib
Kris Raymond Silva
Nikki Kallio
Gaming Groups and Writers' Groups
Online Zoom Room 1 • Interactive Storytelling & Media • Sun 1:00 PM–2:15 PM
Gaming groups and writers' groups have a lot in common. A group of people gather around a table to share time and weave stories. They try to keep to a regular schedule while balancing their personality quirks and fannish interests. Let's talk about how these groups are the same and how they are different. How is a successful group organized? How are their social contracts similar? What can gaming group members learn from writers' group members, and vice versa?
Why (Not) Pirates?
Online Zoom Room 1 • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Mon 10:00 AM–11:15 AM
Pirates are hot right now, and not just because 60% (totally unfounded estimate) of adults fantasized about being pirates as children. What makes the current moment so pirate-friendly? Let's talk about the appeal of pirate stories, the way pirates have been represented in books, movies, and TV shows—from historical fiction about real-life buccaneers to SF/F epics about space pirates—and how the depictions of pirates have differed at different times and in different cultures.
The SignOut Autograph Party
Cap A/Wisconsin • Special Events • Mon 11:30 AM–12:30 PM
Attention all givers and seekers of autographs! Come to the SignOut, a signing party and WisCon farewell rolled into one! Creative folks and those who love them will gather together to sign and get signatures, to thank and praise and schmooze one last time before we fly away for another year.
