WisCon 28 Panels
WisCon 28 Program Schedule
Friday
Friday, 2:00–5:30 p.m.
1 The Gathering
Events•Wis/Cap• Friday, 2:00–5:30 p.m.
Once again, we'll kick off WisCon with a fun event on Friday afternoon from 2:30–5pm. The Gathering gives us a chance to recover from our travels, catch up with our farflung friends, and get into the groove that is Wiscon. You bring the friends, we'll bring coffee, tea, and cookies and lots of fun booths. Get a word temporarily tattooed on your body. Make a WisCon memory book for panel notes and author autographs. Have a custom button made of your favorite slogan or a picture of your puppy. Get sage advice from our numerology readers, runes readers, palm readers, and tarot readers. Decompress by throwing a beanbag. Wear a silly balloon hat. Have your hair braided. Make a necklace or knotted string lanyard for your namebadge. Shop the makeover racks for hand–me–downs with an attitude. Make a postcard and send it to a friend from the con. Relax in the sensual booth with a backrub or scalp tingler. And browse the Tiptree Auction preview booth to scout out must–have items from the fabulous genre collection. Booths and refreshments will cost a nominal fee as a fundraiser for Broad Universe and the Carl Brandon Society. This year, proceeds from the makeover booth will be donated to the Laurie J. Marks Emergency Medical Fund. If you have kicky hand–me–downs you'd like to donate, bring them on Friday. For questions, contact Broad Universe at info@broaduniverse.org.
2 Simple Things
Kids Program•611• Friday, 2:00–5:30 p.m.
Simple Things
Tom Ross Porter
Friday, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
3 Opening Ceremonies
Events•Wis/Cap• Friday, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
This is the event when WisCon welcomes everyone and officially begins the weekend of programming. Guests of Honor are introduced at Opening Ceremonies, last minute announcements are made, and a small (usually humorous) entertainment is provided.
Victor Raymond
Friday, 8:45–10:00 p.m.
6 Academic Get Together
Academia•Senate A• Friday, 8:45–10:00 p.m.
Gathering the academic particpants
Karley Adney, Nicholas J. Valenti, Kelley C. Wezner
7 Broad Universe Rapid–Fire Reading
Readings•Senate B• Friday, 8:45–10:00 p.m.
It's the Broad Universe Rapid–Fire Reading! Many Broad Universe members reading for very short periods of time!
9 Speculative Poetry
Readings•Conference Room 2• Friday, 8:45–10:00 p.m.
10 Carl Brandon Society panel
Diversity•Conference Room 4• Friday, 8:45–10:00 p.m.
What speculative fiction has been published this past year that deals with issues of race and ethnicity? What is being written (and read) by people of color? Come to this panel and find out more. Sponsored by the Carl Brandon Society.
Friday, 10:15–11:30 p.m.
12 Sex in the City
Readings•Conference Room 2• Friday, 10:15–11:30 p.m.
Friday, 11:45 p.m.–1:00 a.m.
15 Beyond ‘Dusa/ Time Dancing
Readings•Conference Room 2• Friday, 11:45 p.m.–1:00 a.m.
Saturday
Saturday, 8:00–9:45 a.m.
16 Farmers Market
Events•Wisconsin• Saturday, 8:00–9:45 a.m.
The Farmer's Market surrounds the Capitol building on Saturdays, and is a favorite spot for many WisCon attendees. Meet us in the lobby at 8 a.m. and we'll all head over for a feast of great food and cool crafts.
Saturday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
17 Publishing Genre Erotica in the Mainstream
Solo Presentations•Caucus Room• Saturday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
A brief talk on current mainstream erotica markets (heterosexual as well as homosexual), where to get calls for submissions, and strategies for selling stories to them.
17A Harry Potter and Pamela Dean's Tam Lim
Academic Papers•Senate A• Saturday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
The Female Power of Learning and Literature in Pamela Dean's Tam Lin Pamela Dean's Tam Lin reinterprets the Scottish ballad and thereby capitalizes on one of the most active female protagonists in traditional fairy tales. Janet Carter negotiates with the primarily male–dominated canon and profession of English literature. Ultimately, Carter's love for literature and learning, as well as her creative abilities, are what save her lover's soul, as well as her own.
Adaptations of Natural Philosophy in Harry Potter Rowling has incorporated adaptations of traditional characters into her work, such as Cerberus, centaurs, unicorns, and ghosts; these adaptations have been important for readers as they provide connections between Harry Potter and the tradition of mythical elements upon which his stories are built. More interesting, however, is the way in which Rowling has adapted Science––natural philosophy––to accommodate her characters and their activities. In doing so, Rowling has assumed power over a subject in which men have traditionally had authority.
Karley Adney, Kelley C. Wezner
18 It's About Everything
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
19 Fishing in the Mainstream
Reading: The Art•Assembly• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
While both mundane and savvy readers remain oblivious to the fact, books filled with the fantastical or based on alternate history are garnering success and literary prizes. Two recent examples worth discussing: Booker Award winner The Life of Pi by Yann Martel and 1,000 White Women by Jim Fergus.
M: Paul Kincaid, Beverly Friend
20 U.S. Biosecurity Policy: A Top Ten Guide to Fiction and Fact
Science•Caucus Room• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
You may have blinked and not noticed, but the scientific community is overrun with new rules, institutions, and a flood of tax dollars attempting to shore up "biosecurity" in our food and public health systems. Join us for a critical look at this term, to review the Top Ten happenings on the ground and in Congress, and to explore the Top Ten speculative works on biological security.
21 So, you want to run the world's only other feminist sf convention...
Fandom and Feminism•Senate A• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Wiscon is wonderful, but it's once a year, and it's in Wisconsin. Do you want to have a feminist SF convention in your area? Or even just get some feminist programming going on at your local conventions? Let's talk about it and see what sorts of trouble we can stir up!
23 GOH Reading and Signing: Eleanor Arnason
Readings•Wisconsin• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Eleanor reads some of her work, and signs.
25 Academic Fans/Fannish Academics
Academia•Capitol B• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
One of the greatest things about WisCon is the space it creates for academic culture and fan culture to intersect. This panel would be an(other) opportunity to talk about that intersection; a few topics we might address are: the experience of being an academic at WisCon; balancing being an academic and being a fan; the perception of academia in fandom and vice versa; ways in which fans can bring their love for genre fiction into academia without feeling like grubby hooligans; how to talk about genre fiction with both passion and rigor.
M: Susan Harris
26 Whither the Female Hero
Science Fiction•University A• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
S.L. Viehl, Syne Mitchell, and Kristine Smith are three new women SF writers whose female protagonists are almost–interchangeable versions of Gibson's Cayce Pollard (Pattern Recognition): they're all girls with a gift, an attitude, big problems, the need to save the world, an ongoing love interest, and a family appended. Let's discuss.
27 Your Own Good
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
29 Mentoring and Being Mentored
Writing: The Business•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
How important is a mentor in helping writers develop/improve their writing skills and learn about the business aspects of writing? Panelists will share personal experiences about how a mentor has helped them or how they've mentored other writers. Panelists will also discuss how to find mentors and ways to improve the mentor/mentee relationship.
30 Set–Up and Legos
Kids Program•611• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Set–Up and Legos –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
31 Papers on the Guests of Honour: Eleanor Arnarson and Patricia McKillip
Academic Papers•629• Saturday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
"The Mother of All Witches: Baba Yaga and Brume in Patricia McKillip's In the Forests of Serre" In this book Patricia McKillip uses the tropes associated with the Russian witch Baba Yaga as qualities that she attributes to her character, Brume. Like Baba Yaga, Brume is a living genus locci for the tropes that attach themselves to the archetype of "the witch in the forest." In both characters, there is a back–and–forth between their status as named figures and their overriding qualities as archetypes. McKillip uses Brume as a synecdoche for the magic of the fairy tale, which remains static from tale to tale, and is reborn anew with each telling.
"Trust & Betrayal in Eleanor Arnason's Ring of Swords" A work–in–progress examination of Ring of Swords. I'm interested in ways that the story is mirrored in what I see as the reader's experience in reading this novel particularly in relation to trust and betrayal which many years ago Arnarson told me was the theme of the book (she probably doesn't remember this).
Saturday, 11:15 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
31A Tiptree Bake Sale
Events•627• Saturday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
33 Papers on one Current and one Past Guest of Honour: Patricia McKillip & Pamela Sargent
Academic Papers•Caucus Room• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
"Pamela Sargent and Patriarchy" I will examine Sargent's dystopian novel, The Shore of Women, in comparison to the genre tenets of 1970s feminist utopian novels. I argue that Shore's society practices these tenets on a surface level, yet in many ways reproduces patriarchal norms with a matriarchal face. I will further argue that the text interrogates whether the dominance and subjugation of one group is actually better than the oppression of a previous regime, how to deal with aggression in men and women, and whether the ways in which Western society has traditionally defined men and women remain valid.
"A Snow Queen for the Modern Woman: Feminist Re/Visions of Fairy Tales, Myths, and Utopias." As part of the movement toward gender equality, the portrayal of women in literature and folklore has been closely examined in the last 20 years. This close scrutiny has extended into children's fairytales. In order to counteract the gender stereotypes portrayed in traditional fairytales, scholars have created stories that negate traditional gender roles and expectations. An excellent example of this is the short story The Snow Queen, by Patricia McKillip.
36 Characters Are People, Too
Writing: The Art•Wisconsin• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
What are the traits that really bring characters to life? Usually it's not their heroics, but their vulnerability. Let's explore the human weaknesses that help readers identify with protagonists. How are convincing characters constructed? Is convincing the same thing as realistic? What makes people love or hate a character?
M: Kristine Smith
37 Community: The Darker Side
Political, Economic, and Social Issues•Capitol A• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Fans tend to speak of community with romanticism bordering on reverence. Granted, community is what many of us lack in our urban, 21st––century existences. There are things that community can give us that we desperately need: fellowship, a social safety net, a feeling of belonging, a set of values with which to structure our lives, a sense of continuity with the past and future. But when people leave small towns and head for the big city, it's often for very good reasons. Communities enforce norms (sometimes very strictly), exclude or scapegoat people, conflict with the desire for privacy, and sometimes erupt in feuds. And being a member of a community, even a strong and healthy one, even the "right" community for a particular person, may not meet all of that person's needs. What are some of the drawbacks of community? How can we recognize these drawbacks as we build community? What do we expect from community that it can't deliver?
39 Karen Axness Memorial panel (see Karen Axness)
Feminism and Women•University A• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Panel members discuss the latest books by female SF and fantasy authors, the emphasis being on new female authors in these fields.
40 Old Friends...Bookends
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
41 Take Things Apart!
Kids Program•611• Saturday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Take Things Apart! –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
31A Tiptree Bake Sale
Events•627• Saturday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
M: Julie Humphries
Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
45 The Interstitial Arts Foundation, one year later
Science Fiction and Fantasy•Senate B• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Founded just a year ago, and launched at a rousing panel at last year's Wiscon, this group dedicated to breaking down genre barriers in the arts has come a long way, with a new website, discussion board and the passion of many writers and readers! Get the basics and hear the latest from the group's founders and movers. (Delia Sherman, Midori Snyder, Terri Windling, Kelly Link, Gavin Grant, Susan B. Westbrook, Ellen Kushner, Ellen Klages, Christopher Barzak, Kristin Livdahl, Alan Deniro, Barth Anderson, Carolyn M. Dunn, Heinz Insu Fenkl, Theodora Goss, Pat O'Connor)
M: Delia Sherman, Ellen Kushner
48 Journals and Blogs –––threat or menace?
Writing: The Art•Capitol B• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
With the proliferation of on––line journals, are writers being "used up" by keeping their blog up to date? Is it a writing tool, or a way of avoiding working on your writing projects? Or are the networking and feedback possibilities worth the time?
49 Switch–Hitting a Home Run: Writing Credible Characters of the "Opposite Sex"
Writing: The Art•University A• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Is it possible for a male author to write strong, credible female characters (and vice versa)? Why or why not? What makes a character credible and satisfying, gender of character and/or writer aside? Is there something particular about “switch hitting” that’s more difficult to get right? Is there a more––or––less universal baseline for what makes a character credible and satisfying, or is it totally idiosyncratic? What about Mike Resnick’s books Men Writing Science Fiction as Women and Women Writing Science Fiction as Men as test cases?
50 Snazzitude!
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
52 Technologies and Utopias
Academic Papers•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
"I'd Rather be a Cyborg than a Goddess: Technology, Spirituality and Hope" This paper will explore crucial intersections between technology and spirituality in The Gate to Women's Country; He, She and It and The Fifth Sacred Thing. It will highlight key issues about feminist investments in modern and postmodern epistemologies. In so doing, it will suggest that science fiction as a genre is more appropriate for the imagining of social transformation than academic theory. The central argument is that as a narrative genre, sf can tolerate paradox and maintain tension without lapsing into the dualisms to which even the most resolutely postmodern theory is prone.
"Making a Utopia: Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness" How does one create a world where there is no word for war? In Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, perpetual winter and a lack of nationalism help to create this world. In the eyes of an observer, this could be seen as a perfect place, save for the unusual sexual cycle of its still very human inhabitants. Through this novel, Le Guin posits that without reliance upon gender roles and their influence upon hierarchies, a better place, even if not a utopia, could be created.
Nicholas J. Valenti
53 Build a Bridge
Kids Program•611• Saturday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Build a Bridge –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
31A Tiptree Bake Sale
Events•627• Saturday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
M: Julie Humphries
Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
57 Polyamory in SF/F: where is it?
Gender And Sexuality•Senate A• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
SF/F are perfect vehicles for exploring "alternative" sexualities and how they might play out in different types of societies. How much has polyamory been explored in SF/F, particularly long––term relationships, and what approach did the authors take? Or has polyamory been treated only as titillation? Examples of polyamory that might be discussed are Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books (The Forbidden Tower), Octavia Butler's Dawn and its sequels, Vonda McIntyre's Starfarers trilogy, Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, and Phil Folgio's XXXenophile comic.
60 Why Are Fight Scenes So Cheesy?
Science Fiction and Fantasy•Capitol B• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
In science fiction and fantasy there are a lot of really lousy fight scenes, both in the written field and in the media. Why are fight scenes included at all? Who instigates them? What purposes do they serve in the plot? Women writers may be more likely to ask such questions than men, and not all female warriors are Red Sonya–––i.e., mere counterparts of their respective Conans. What does fighting mean to a female protagonist? When does she feel it necessary? What does she do when it's forced on her? What alternatives does she explore, given the time? How does killing affect her character development?
62 Big Jumps and Long Tomorrows
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
65 SF Swim
Kids Program•611• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
SF Swim –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
66 Constructed Languages & Immortality and the Female Body in Fantasy Film
Academic Papers•623• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
"Constructed Languages" I will examine the grammatical categories and linguistic postulates in the languages created for these texts as well as the metaphors woven into the text. I will examine the Langugage of Gifts in Arnason's A Woman of the Iron People, the atevi language from CJ Cherryh's Foreigner series, the language of the Kesh in Ursula LeGuin's Always Coming Home, Karhidish in LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness, and Láadan from Suzette Elgin's Native Tongue series.
"Whatever Can Die is Beautiful: Immortality and the Female Body in Fantasy Film" Immortality provides a key dilemma for characters in The Last Unicorn and The Lord of the Rings series , but here, in contrast to much in popular culture, immortality is seen as a burden or a flaw, not a goal. What is especially interesting about these films is that both characters are female. The implications of immortality–or, more specifically, mortality–in these films are inextricably bound up with these women's bodies, and the gaze that we (spectators) and other characters direct at them.
31A Tiptree Bake Sale
Events•627• Saturday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
M: Julie Humphries
67 Lady Poetesses from Hell
Readings•629• Saturday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
Panelists don't take off their silk gloves––they plunge them into the gaping chest cavity of their poems and reveal the beating heart, or the bones. Sex, death and ladylike demeanor. Includes all or some of the following: Laurel Winter, John Rezmerski (as his alter egoess), Rebecca Marjesdatter, Terry A. Garey, Cathy Tacinelli, Elise Anna Matthesen, Jane Hansen, Jane Yolen
Saturday, 7:30–10:15 p.m.
68 Tiptree Auction
Events•Capitol Room• Saturday, 7:30–10:15 p.m.
This isn't your everyday fund––raising auction. At past Tiptree auctions, auctioneer/comedian Ellen Klages has auctioned off her own hair, Mary Doria Russell's brassiere, a hand––knitted uterus, a kangaroo––scrotum purse, a cherry pie, and a Xena Lawn Butt. Among some of the more sublime offerings have been vests hand––quilted by Kate Schaefer, silk––screened montage art created by Freddie Baer, Sea Creatures beaded by Vonda McIntyre, Calligraphy by Jae Adams, chapbooks hand–made by Ursula Le Guin, cakes decorated by Georgie Schnobrich, and texts annotated by Alice Sheldon. It's always lots of fun. All proceeds are donated to the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
M: Ellen Klages
Saturday, 9:00–10:15 p.m.
70 Silent SF&F Films of 2003
Media•Caucus Room• Saturday, 9:00–10:15 p.m.
It's charades, using the titles of genre films that hit the big screen during 2003. Audience members get big prizes for acting and accurate guessing. No previous experience necessary. NOTE TO SCHEDULER: This should be on the schedule BEFORE the actual film–review panel, SF&F FIlms of 2003. It's an ideal late–night confection.
73 Living in an SF Disaster Novel
Science•Wisconsin• Saturday, 9:00–10:15 p.m.
The Greenhouse Effect, end of the oil age, collapse of public health and the coming plague.... What's it like to live in the midst of ecological and social collapse?
M: Jane Hawkins
68 (cont) Tiptree Auction
Events•Capitol Room• Saturday, 7:30–10:15 p.m.
This isn't your everyday fund––raising auction. At past Tiptree auctions, auctioneer/comedian Ellen Klages has auctioned off her own hair, Mary Doria Russell's brassiere, a hand––knitted uterus, a kangaroo––scrotum purse, a cherry pie, and a Xena Lawn Butt. Among some of the more sublime offerings have been vests hand––quilted by Kate Schaefer, silk––screened montage art created by Freddie Baer, Sea Creatures beaded by Vonda McIntyre, Calligraphy by Jae Adams, chapbooks hand–made by Ursula Le Guin, cakes decorated by Georgie Schnobrich, and texts annotated by Alice Sheldon. It's always lots of fun. All proceeds are donated to the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
M: Ellen Klages
75 WordSmiths
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 9:00–10:15 p.m.
13 (cont) Exploring Sexual Writing
Solo Presentations•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 9:00–10:15 p.m.
In this workshop, we will experiment with short fiction exercises, examining the language of sexuality and the ethics of sexual writing. Participants will have the option of either drafting fiction or nonfiction memoir, and will be encouraged to push their own boundaries and to take risks with their writing, in a safe workshop environment. If time permits, we may also discuss markets for erotic fiction, and the utility of sexual writing in work that is not intended to be primarily erotic. Participants should bring paper and pen.
Saturday, 10:30–11:45 p.m.
76 SF&F Films of 2003: The Return of the King
Media•Caucus Room• Saturday, 10:30–1:15 a.m
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and 50 or so lesser films will be detected, collected, inspected, and dissected. Handouts. Video clips. 2.5 hours. Potty break. Mandatory audience participation.
79 New Wave YA
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 10:30–11:45 p.m.
Hipster young adult writers trot their stuff.
Saturday, Midnight–1:15 a.m
76 SF&F Films of 2003: The Return of the King
Media•Caucus Room• Saturday, 10:30–1:15 a.m
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and 50 or so lesser films will be detected, collected, inspected, and dissected. Handouts. Video clips. 2.5 hours. Potty break. Mandatory audience participation.
81 Smut and Nothing But Strikes Back
Solo Presentations•University A• Saturday, Midnight–1:15 a.m
Mary Anne Mohanraj, Jennifer Stevenson
82 Girls Who Bite Back
Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, Midnight–1:15 a.m
Emily Pohl–Weary and contributors to her new anthology, Girls Who Bite Back, read stories and essays about witches, mutants, slayers and freaks in pop culture.
Sunday
Sunday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
85 Art Demo
Solo Presentations•Caucus Room• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Erin McKee provides demonstrations of some or all of the following: acrylic, watercolor, scratchboard, pastel, and colored pencil.
87 What about T?
Gender And Sexuality•Senate B• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
What is transgender, and what does it have to do with gay/lesbian/bi/straight folks? What is gender, for that matter? What's the difference between transgender and trans[s]exual, and why is that "s" in brackets? A panel of "transgressively" and "conventionally" gendered folks will engage in lively discussion of these and related topics. Check everything you think you know about gender at the door.
M: Aaron Etan Lichtov
88 GOH Reading and Signing: Patricia McKillip
Readings•Wisconsin• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Patricia reads some of her work, and signs.
89 The Goddess as Trickster
Science Fiction and Fantasy•Capitol A• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
This theme is present in Eleanor Arnason's work, as well as in others. Come discuss it!
M: Suzanne Alles Blom
90 Teaching Fantasy and Science Fiction
Academia•Capitol B• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
An opportunity for high school and college teachers of fantasy and science fiction to talk about their approaches to teaching, including a discussion of the kinds of themes such a course might examine, and syllabus construction.
M: Larisa Mikhaylova
92 Gavin & Kelly's Eclectic Kids
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
93 Guilty Secrets, Guilty Pleasures
Reading: The Hobby•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Do I get kicked out of the English Major Club if I confess that I hated Wuthering Heights? What if I tell you that I read romance novels frequently? Come share your dark secrets with the rest of us.
M: Chris Hill
94 Androgyny & SF Techniques in the Mainstream
Academic Papers•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
"Gender mutation and Androgyny in Science Fiction" Feminist science fiction is often concerned with the portrayal of gender roles. One way to explore gender roles is to create a completely androgenic society or to utilize the concept of gender role reversal. Authors making use of one of this techniques include Ursula Le Guin in Left Hand of Darkness, Joanna Russ in The Female Man, Angela Carter in The Passion of New Eve, and Octavia Butler in Bloodchild. This paper explores the approaches taken to gender by these authors and others, and how their approaches affect the readers' perceptions of gender.
"Out of the Ghetto: SF Techniques in the Mainstream" Well worth exploring––but possibly overlooked––two fascinting recent novels: an alternate history: 1000 White Women, by Jim Fergus, and the magical realism in The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
95 Tied up in Knots
Kids Program•611• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Tied up in Knots –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
95A Medicine for Writers
Solo Presentations•623• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Dr. Lisa Freitag answers your questions about how to maim and injure your characters and have them live through it (or not!).
Lisa C. Freitag
96 What's going on with Clarion East, and how can I help?
Writing: The Business•629• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Clarion East is restructuring after its recent budget cuts. This panel will be a mix of brainstorming and news about it. If you want to know what's going on, or have some ideas, please come!
M: Amelia H. Beamer, Lister M. Matheson, Kate Schaefer
Sunday, 11:15 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
96A Tiptree Bake Sale Redux
Events•627• Sunday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
Julie Humphries
Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
98 Star Trek & Mathematics
Academic Papers•Senate A• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
"From Miniskirts to the Bun of Steel: The Changing Role of Women in the Star Trek Franchise" While present on the bridge of the Starship, women in the original Star Trek were relegated to secondary roles without any power. Throughout the three following series the role of women has expanded to include doctors, security officers, engineers, and starship captains. I will examine these changes throughout Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. I will consider how and why the progress was made, as well as what problems remain.
"Sex Differences in Mathematics Performance Redeaux" Some years ago I presented research on this topic at WisCon. I would like to summarize the field, present research which has occured since and examine interventions that might eliminate sex differences in performance on standardized tests.
101 A Kiss is Still A Kiss
Science Fiction and Fantasy•Capitol A• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Harlequin's Luna line is fantasy with romantic elements, and Tor is producing a new line of paranormal romances. Bujold and Asaro (the current president of SFWA) recently collaborated with well––known romance authors on the anthology Irresistible Forces. Is romance the new hot thing in SF/F publishing? And what does this mean for women writers and readers? Will either genre gain new crossover readers?
M: Cynthia Gonsalves
103 Movements and Manifestoes
Writing: The Art•University A• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
From Impressionism to Interstitiality, from Dada to the New Weird, from the New Wave to the Amorphous Blobs, from Cyberpunk to uh, post–Cyberpunk. What purposes do artistic and literary movements serve? Can you have a movement without a manifesto, or vice versa? What recent movements have there been in speculative fiction, and what do people think of them? Is "the field" headed in any particular direction or set of directions? Are movements and manifestoes important to readers as well as to the writers involved with them?
M: James Frenkel
104 Parables and Parodies
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
105 SF and Fantasy Board Games
Kids Program•611• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
SF and Fantasy Board Games –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
106 The Bra Panel
Political, Economic, and Social Issues•623• Sunday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Let's put a science fiction spin on this topic –– not only will we share our bra experiences and resources, we'll discuss the history and, more importantly, the future of the bra. Let's brainstorm the Undergarments Of The Future!
M: Rebecca Maines
96A Tiptree Bake Sale Redux
Events•627• Sunday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
Julie Humphries
Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
107 Beyond GLBT 101–––The Gaylaxians panel
Gender And Sexuality•Assembly• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender readers and writers have come a long way over the past decade. So much so that we "retired" the "GBLT 101" panel several Wiscons back. However, that was then and this is now. What is going on with speculative fiction writing for and about GLBT people? Sponsored by a loose coalition of Gaylaxian members.
Lyn Paleo
109 Faith, Feminism, and Fantasy
Spirituality•Senate A• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
While many feminists have embraced earth––centered and Goddess spirituality, there are still quite a few of us in the fold of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam). How do we reconcile our feminism with monotheistic religious structures that have often been seen as patriarchal? As "People of the Book," how do we find our faith informing our writing or reading of SF/F; and conversely, as SF/F writers and readers, how do we find our reading of the Book informed by our immersion in speculative fiction? (Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman has said that "The speech of God is first about an alternative future." Is God an SF writer?) How does the intersection of these three strands in our lives inform our politics?
M: Susan Palwick
110 Social Issues in Food
Political, Economic, and Social Issues•Senate B• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Our food system is stuck in the industrial revolution, to the detriment of farmers, consumers, and the US economy in general. We'll discuss the politics of food issues such as labor practices and fair trade, organic agriculture, the mad cow outbreak, the family farming crisis, and genetically modifed organisms in the food system.
M: Barth Anderson
111 Genre Anxiety, or "How Interstitial Is It?"
Science Fiction and Fantasy•Wisconsin• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
We (and maybe you, the audience) bring in some published works of fiction (and maybe a little music). Together, everyone in the room can discuss the ways in which each work fulfills the Interstitial Arts criteria of resisting categorization, crossing borders, living between boundaries, creating genre anxiety, so that we figure out where it falls on the continuum of Interstitiality.
112 Where are the real female superheroes?
Gender And Sexuality•Capitol A• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Bombshell spies, slayers, witches and assassins: kick––ass female stars have taken over blockbuster movies like Charlie's Angels, Daredevil, X–Men and Kill Bill as well as prime time TV hits such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. These characters are the new female superheroes. They kill as quickly as they break down in tears, and beat up guys as easily as they toss them into bed. With very few exceptions, they're young, white, beautiful, straight and skinny. As the product of corporate media, are these icons of "female power" merely cons? Which heroines do we love? Which ones make us grit our teeth as we, nevertheless, keep on watching? A lively discussion.
M: Jennifer D.B. Lackey
114 What I Didn't See: Karen Joy Fowler, James Tiptree Junior, and the Tangent Online Discussion
Science Fiction and Fantasy•University A• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
When Ellen Datlow published What I Didn't See in Scifiction, there was a long, contentious debate on the Tangent Online discussion list. This panel would concentrate less on what kind of story What I Didn't See is, and more on how it echoes Tiptree's The Women Men Don't See.
115 Awkward Ages
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
116 Rosalind Franklin, Dark Lady of DNA
Science•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Brenda Maddox has just published a biography of Rosalind Franklin, the neglected researcher whose photos of the DNA molecule led to the double––helix breakthrough. Part of the reason why scientific history has ignored her is circumstantial–––she died young, several years before the Nobel Prize was awarded to Watson and Crick. But she was also famously mistreated in Watson's book The Double Helix. Her case has implications for the position of women in science as a whole–––past, present, and future. Let's discuss.
M: David Peterson
117 Power: Non–Violent Women/Strong Men
Academic Papers•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
"Women's Non–Violent Power" Too often, "power" gets linked to violence, and if violence is linked to masculinity and masculinity to men, then what does that say about women's power? While there is a place for women characters whose power comes from violence, if powerful women are always only shown as violent, what are the implications? In my presentation, I explore these ideas and also discuss examples of women's non–violent power.
"Fascist Fantasies: The Strong Man as Hero in Jordan and Goodkind" Academic Paper Description: In Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, the male protagonists must save the world from an invading evil by conquering other nations and consolidating personal power. Along the way, they abolish representative governments, dismantle organizations of learning, and reinforce the inherent connection between certain peoples and their land. This paper draws on feminist and cultural studies approaches to analyze how conventions of the genre (prophecy, magical super–men, supernatural evils) are used rhetorically to naturalize the need for a "strong man"as leader of a troubled people, looking back nostalgically on a better time.
118 TBA
Kids Program•611• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
TBA –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
119 Sci Fi Chick Flicks
Media•623• Sunday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
Caryn James says "Return of the King" lacks anything to appeal to female viewers other than Viggo– and Orlando–eyecandy. Others dismiss the Princess Bride as a "chick flick." Are genre movies inherently male–oriented in subject matter and viewpoint? And what makes a movie a "chick flick" anyway?
M: Penny Hill
96A Tiptree Bake Sale Redux
Events•627• Sunday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
Julie Humphries
121 Strange Horizons Tea Party
Events•629• Sunday, 2:30–5:15 p.m.
Susan Marie Groppi
Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
123 Judging the Tiptree Award
Events•Assembly• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
The Tiptree Award was born at WisCon, and has evolved into one of the field's most prestigious awards. Come listen to this year's jury discuss what goes into selecting the winner.
M: Maureen Kincaid Speller
124 Grammar Gremlins
Solo Presentations•Caucus Room• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
A workshop to help writers avoid several common mistakes in grammar and usage, beginning with an explanation of why these things matter. Topics are likely to include use of the subjunctive, dangling modifiers, and words commonly confused w
Rob F. Stauffer
125 What happened at the WisCon Retreat?
Fandom and Feminism•Senate A• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
One fine weekend this past fall, many of the people who work on WisCon holed up and talked about the convention. Come hear what happened and what we discussed.
127 Power and tension in fiction
Writing: The Art•Wisconsin• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
The more interesting stories tend to have point of view character who are starship captains or princesses because upper––class people have more resources available and more to lose if the quest goes wrong. But is story tension always about who has power, who wants power, and how they go about getting it? Is it possible to write an interesting SF/F story about a camp follower who isn't the general's butler, or someone a thousand miles away who doesn't give a darn?
M: David D. Levine
128 More Than Just Window Dressing?
Gender And Sexuality•Capitol A• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
The feminist and queer movements have “trickled down” to SF/F, giving us female characters who are more than simpering princesses waiting for rescue and gay/lesbian/bi/trans characters who—––well, at least they’re there. But if the strong female protagonists (straight or queer) are violent warmongers and the queer male characters are all simpering princesses, isn’t that just packaging the same old stereotypes in new outfits (or body parts)? Is this better than not having strong women or queer characters at all, or is it actually counter––productive? Where are the credible characters with queer/feminist sensibility and values?
131 Senses and Sensibilities
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
132 Suzy McKee Charnas, Candas Jane Dorsey and Carolyn Ives Gilman
Academic Papers•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
"Tedla and Blue: Carolyn Ives Gilman and Candas Jane Dorsey's Ways to Probe Personal Psychology through Non–Gendered Characters" Both authors deliberately position their characters between gendered categories because they are concerned with the human condition in general. Although the focus in the novels Halfway Human by Gilman and Paradigm of Earth by Dorsey differs, the first novel being more concerned with the development of personal responsibility, the second with personal freedom, the reader still gets insights into the workings of personal psychology today. I analyze the two novels comparatively and reflect upon the authors' usage of neologisms in gender sphere (such as "per").
"Becoming Heroic: the Question of Alternative Female Heroes in Suzy McKee Charnas' The Conqueror's Child" I discuss notions of the heroic inspired by feminist critiques of the traditional heroic, from feminist philosophical as well as literary critical sources (e.g. Marleen Barr, Genevieve Lloyd, Moira Gatens and Elizabeth Grosz). I engage with concepts organised around the fluidity of gender, subjectivity and the heroic as a process of 'becoming'. Charnas' novel, The Conqueror's Child, provides a place to explore these issues: her characters attempt to construct new ways of being 'female' and 'male', new ways of thinking about sexuality and sexual orientation, and new social realities outside the ideological frameworks of their past and ours.
134 SF Swim
Kids Program•611• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
SF Swim –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
135 David Lunde Poetry Reading
Solo Presentations•623• Sunday, 4:00–5:15 p.m.
David Lunde does a reading of science,science fiction and fantasy, or possibly mainstream poetry. He may also read translations from various languages––French, Italian, Provencal, Chinese.
96A Tiptree Bake Sale Redux
Events•627• Sunday, 11:15 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
"World Domination through Bake Sales!" That's one of the slogans at Tiptree Juggernaut Headquarters. The Tiptree Award supports gender––bending SF/F, publishes, auctions, and loves chocolate chip cookies! A wide variety of cookies, breads, cakes, pies and delectables are baked and donated by Tiptree supporters. If you'd like to prepare some baked goods or other treats for the bake sale, please send a message to WisCon (bakesale@sf3.org) and we will tell you where to bring your goodies. Baked goods can be purchased by––the––plate at the Tiptree Bake Sale on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (during the lunch break). All proceeds are donated to the Tiptree Award. Yum!
Julie Humphries
121 (cont) Strange Horizons Tea Party
Events•629• Sunday, 2:30–5:15 p.m.
Susan Marie Groppi
Sunday, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
136 Dessert Salon
Events•Wis/Cap• Sunday, 7:30–8:30 p.m.
The Dessert Salon is held immediately before the Guest of Honor speeches. Buy your tickets early––– the yummy desserts make this sure to sell out!
Sunday, 8:30–10:00 p.m.
137 GoH Speeches and Tiptree Ceremony
Events•Wis/Cap• Sunday, 8:30–10:00 p.m.
This Guest of Honor event is the high point of WisCon programming; it's the formal event at which we honor our guests and listen to what they have to say to us. In the past, guests have given us rallying calls to political action, humorous anecdotes, scholarly treatises, exposés, autobiographical histories, earthshaking ideas and passionate and lyrical speeches. Sometimes they have even had far––reaching consequences. For instance, Pat Murphy initiated the Tiptree Award as part of her 1991 GoH speech at WisCon 15.
Victor Raymond
Sunday, 10:00–11:15 p.m.
138 Slippery When Wet: SF&F Erotica for Sexual Eclectics
Gender And Sexuality•Assembly• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 p.m.
Here's a look at speculative fiction erotica which explores turn–ons outside the mainstream: polyamory, power exchange, xenophilia, and the like. Examples would include Laurell K. Hamilton's Narcissus in Chains and Cecelia Tan's Circlet Press anthologies.
139 Was it Good for You? : Buffy, "Chosen," and the End of an Era
Media•Caucus Room• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 p.m.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It ended. Discuss.
M: Bill Humphries
141 Customs of the Country
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 10:00–11:15 p.m.
Sunday, 11:30pm –12:45 a.m
142 Night Owls and Zombies
Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 11:30pm –12:45 a.m
Monday
Monday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
143 Broad Universe General Meeting
Writing: The Business•University A• Monday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
Broad Universe continues to grow. Come find out what we've done and where we're thinking of going. We need your feedback, opinions, and ideas. Open to members and non–members of Broad Universe.
M: Amy Axt Hanson
144 Bright City, Dark City, No City
Readings•Conference Room 2• Monday, 8:30–9:45 a.m.
Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
147 Good TV Shows Gone ... Gone
Media•Senate A• Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
The loss of Farscape, Dark Angel, Firefly, and other modern SF/F shows still stings for many of us. Cancellation of your favorite show when it's still enthralling and/or brimming with potential can trigger feelings of grief, hatred, betrayal, a desire for revenge, and a natural wonderment at the stupidity of TV networks. It's also inspired some doomed attempts to keep certain shows in production. So let us commiserate together about the shoddy treatment our noble shows have suffered at the hands of the very networks that spawned them, with a combination historical review, bitch session, and homage to our fallen favorites.
M: Cynthia Gonsalves
148 Fandom after cons, SF reading groups
Reading: The Hobby•University A• Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
A discussion about what works (and doesn't) in setting up and participating in genre–focused reading groups. In Chicago there is a Political Science Fiction reading group which many Wiscon attendees participate in.
149 The Link Between Bourbon & Scotch
Readings•Conference Room 2• Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
150 Card Games or Kids Choice
Kids Program•611• Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
Card Games or Kids Choice –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
86 (cont) Writers in Mid Career
Solo Presentations•634• Monday, 10:00–11:15 a.m.
This gathering is designed to provide support and discussion time for those of us who are well into our careers––and are facing a set of problems very different from those of writers who are just starting out. This is aimed at people who have been publishing for at least 5 years.
Mary Anne Mohanraj, Debbie Notkin, Louise Marley, Eleanor A. Arnason, Pat Murphy
Monday, 11:30am–12:45pm
151 The SignOut
Events•Wisconsin• Monday, 11:30am–12:45pm
Come and sign your works, come and get things signed, come and hang out and wind down before you leave.
Mary Anne Mohanraj, Louise Marley, Leslie What, Joan Vinge, Kathryn Ann Sullivan, Jennifer Stevenson, Kristine Smith, Matt Ruff, Benjamin Micah Rosenbaum, Pat Murphy, Lyda A. Morehouse, Judith Moffett, David Eric Lunde, Jay Lake, Ellen Kushner, Ellen Klages, John Kessel, David G. Hartwell, Anne Harris, Nan Fry, Karen Joy Fowler, John M. Ford, L. Timmel Duchamp, Leah Rose Cutter
Monday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
153 Treatment Of Sex, Gender Identity, and Gender Roles In Feminist SF
Gender And Sexuality•University A• Monday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
This panel will discuss a number of feminist SF approaches to sex and gender. Some source examples: The Female Man, Herland, Woman on the Edge of Time, Gate to Women's Country, The End of this Day's Business, Left Hand of Darkness, Shadow Man, Fortunate Fall, Bone Dance, Nearly Roadkill, He, She and It, Ammonite, Mission Child, and Larque on the Wing.
M: Jamie Lee Huber, Aaron Lichtov
154 Business is My Trouble, Trouble is My Business
Readings•Conference Room 2• Monday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
155 Clean Up
Kids Program•611• Monday, 1:00–2:15 p.m.
Clean Up –– Kid's Programming
Tom Ross Porter
Monday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.
156 Post–Mortem
Events•University A• Monday, 2:30–3:45 p.m.