WisCon 31 schedule

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WisCon 31 Program Schedule

Friday May 25, 2007

Saturday panels

Saturday, 8:00-9:45 a.m.

44 Farmer's 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.

  • 45 How To Read Aloud

Solo Presentations•Caucus Room• Saturday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

Reading from your work is a vital part of an author's life, especially in the early stages of their careers. Come and learn how to give an affecting and dramatic reading, with pointers on character, voice, and basic techniques. Each participant should bring a short piece to read aloud and workshop the reading.

Catherynne M. Valente

46 Underneath it All

Reading SF&F•Senate B• Saturday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

So many fantasy books take place literally underground-- Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", China Mieville's "King Rat", not to mention countless legends of the fey. What is the allure of hidden tunnels and caves? How do they shape the societies we envision down there? The Underground can be both very safe and very unsafe, compared to "above".

M: Georgie L. Schnobrich, Elizabeth Bear, Carla M Lee, Jasmine Ann Smith

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Wisconsin• Saturday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

Remember that early work you experienced, the one that twisted off the top of your head and let new ideas in? Rereading breakthrough works can be a mixed blessing: insight into their power, disappointment with the writing or the concepts, embarrassment or bewilderment at what was so intriguing the first time around. Revisit one of your sparkplug works and come to share the experience.

M: Jesse Kaysen, Lenny Bailes, Carrie L Ferguson, Chris Hill, James P. Roberts

Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Assembly• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

SF writer Pat Cadigan's novels take us inside the lives of cybernetic therapists, cops, media artists, and even the dead. Cadigan's futures are both fantastic and believable, intertwining virtual and real worlds in a way now part of the lives of many geeks. While science fiction has a lousy track record predicting the future, Cadigan's novels and stories anticipate the questions we're dealing with in our blogs and "Second Lives."

M: Maureen Kincaid Speller, Penny Hill, Bill Humphries, Margaret McBride, Fred Schepartz

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Caucus Room• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

The archetype of the hero cop is strong in many genres, SF being no exception. However, the pervasiveness of this portrayal can run counter to the experiences of various communities, where law enforcement personnel are often seen as tools of oppression by the powers-that-be. This panel will discuss the disconnect between positive archetypes and the harsh realities on the streets. Discussion of the problems inherent to law enforcement institution ware contrasted with typical dismissals of "a few bad apples."

M: Gregory G. Rihn, Richard Bowes, Sara Brodzinsky, Lettie Prell, Ekaterina G. Sedia

  • 50 I Sense Your Pain.

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate A• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Let's discuss psychic powers in fiction, particularly women with psychic powers. Can we spot general tropes? What are the thematic uses of assigning paranormal powers to women? And why do readers like or dislike psychic women?

M: Gerri Balter, Mary Kay Kare, Victoria McManus, Janine Ellen Young

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol A• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

There's been a lot of discussion of the gender expectations, traditional and otherwise, placed on girls in recent fantasy and science fiction, from Harry Potter to His Dark Materials, but what about boys? What expectations are being placed on the male protagonists of recent YA fantasy and science fiction? Do they differ from the expectations placed on traditional male protagonists in such stories?

Steve Berman, Patrick Samphire, Alicia Kestrell Verlager

  • 54 Please Explain Slash To Me

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol B• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Slash fans and authors explain the appeal of their chosen pastime. Why are women in particular so drawn to this form of expression, as readers and writers? What's so special about mucking around in someone else's fictional world?

M: Sharyn November, Yoon Ha Lee, Rebecca Marjesdatter, Lyda Morehouse, JJ Pionke

55 Aqueduct Press Writers

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

L. Timmel Duchamp, Andrea D. Hairston, Nancy Jane Moore, Wendy Alison Walker

56 Moving Toward Marriage: The Politics of Consent in the Fiction of Ursula Le Guin/Historical Revision in Earthsea

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

1) It can be argued that science fiction, no matter how alien its cultures, more often than not describes the painful process by which people come to understand themselves and each other. In Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1978 introduction to Planet of Exile, she writes that the “central, constant theme” of her work is “marriage.” Geoff Ryman’s Lust (2001) is a more sexually explicit thought experiment regarding wish fulfillment fantasies and consent. In this paper, the work of LeGuin and Ryman will be discussed in light of Kate Millet’s groundbreaking Sexual Politics (1969) and more contemporary works such as psychotherapist Anne Wilson Schaef’s Escape From Intimacy (1989) and psychologist Brenda Schaeffer’s Loving Me, Loving You: Balancing Love and Power in a Codependent World (1991) and Is It Love Or Is It Addiction? (1997). 2) Ursula K. Le Guin's recent Earthsea fiction, Tales From Earthsea and The Other Wind, drastically revises the cosmological and historical narrative established in her original trilogy. The high fantasy genre takes much of its rhetorical authority from a sense of ancient tradition, and genre fans are legendary for their ability to nitpick flaws in continuity. I propose to examine Le Guin's narrative rhetoric as she negotiates this challenge and subjects her own world-building to critique.

William Alexander, Sandra Lindow

57 Women Authors You Probably Never Heard Of (But Should Read!): The Karen Axness Memorial Panel

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

A WisCon tradition. Panel members will discuss the latest books by female SF and fantasy authors, the emphasis being on new female authors in these fields.

M: David Lenander, Lesley Hall, David Peterson, Thomas Ross Porter, Laura M. Quilter, Marsha J. Valance

58 Modern Myth and the New Skepticism

Science and Technology•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

The show Mythbusters, with its experiments that, while flashy, adhere to scientific methods, has reawakened a wider and more mainstream interest in science than has been true for a number of years. Is this a crafty and sagacious way to hook the masses into using their brains, or does it dumb down science to a race to see who can create the biggest explosions? Does it really lead its watchers in the direction of questioning “accepted wisdom”, or are they all just secretly living out adolescent fantasies of blowing things up? Or is the real answer “all of the above”?

M: Hilary Moon Murphy, Richard Butner, Deborah S. Franklin, Allan Moore

59 Implausible Teaching

Solo Presentations•607• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

At the University of Massachusetts, Boston, the majority of the students haven't been well served by their high schools, and are first-generation Americans or first-generation college students. Laurie J. Marks, who has been teaching there for ten years, says, "It's a bit like being a medic in the trenches during WWI: I have a clear sense of purpose, but I'm shell-shocked, and I wish I had some ammunition." She will explain how the following five words, spoken by one of her mentors in graduate school, have informed her ten years of teaching Freshman English in a public university: "Don't teach writing. Teach students."

Laurie J. Marks

60 Set–Up and Legos

Kids Programming•611• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.


61 The Double Life of Alice Sheldon

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•629• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Julie Phillips has written a comprehensive, well-regarded, fascinating and absorbing biography of Alice Sheldon, a.k.a. James Tiptree, Jr. This panel will discuss Tiptree's life and work in the context of the book, and out of it. Topics to be considered might include: Why did Sheldon feel the need to masquerade as Tiptree? What effect did this have on the reception of Sheldon's writing? On Sheldon's life? Was the deception just a grand hoax—à la the recent JT LeRoy—or something more? Did Tiptree come to have a life of 'his' own?

M: Debbie Notkin, Jeanne Gomoll, M. J. Hardman, Jeff Smith

62 Feminine God Imagery: Not Just For Pagans!

Solo Presentations•634• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

This talk will cover a broad range of subjects that have influenced the re-discovery of Feminine God imagery in the Judaic/Christian tradition. I will track how some of the discoveries came about, primarily in the Catholic tradition, and how these have influenced my own work as a SF/Fantasy illustrator. I will also try to point out how finding common roots in symbols and metaphors can lead to greater understanding between Christians and Pagans, as well as opening up new avenues of possibility for both artists and writers.

lucy ann synk

63 Claiming Your Voice

Solo Presentations•623• Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

A workshop on speaking up and claiming your voice: some breathing exercises, some rolling around on the floor and general silliness, and a chance to be really really loud for a while.

Wendy Bradley

Saturday, 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

64 Short Fiction Markets You Should Know

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Assembly• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

We all know the big names in short fiction, but what magazines and web sites should you be reading that you aren't? Come hear the panelists discuss their favorites, and bring your own lists to share.

M: Jennifer Pelland, Gavin J. Grant, Susan Marie Groppi, Nick Mamatas, Michael Merriam

65 Foremothers of Today's Feminist SF

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

The Left Hand of Darkness broke ground when it was written, but to readers today who missed that period in history, it might seem gender-biased. Compare the original Earthsea trilogy to Tehanu, written later. Not only Le Guin's opinions changed, but the world in which she was writing had changed as well. What makes the feminist speculative fiction of today different from that of "First Wave" feminist sf? How do new readers see fiction from the "First Wave" and later? And is it important that they have a grounding in the genre's history?

M: L. Timmel Duchamp, Jeanne Gomoll, Lesley Hall, Lynn Kendall, Laura J. Mixon

66 Why Is The Universe So Damn White?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate A• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

It's great that there are many great SF shows on television with diverse main casts. Stargate, Firefly, Battlestar, Buffy—in each you will find ethnic minorities in major roles. However, if you look in the background it doesn't take long to notice that even though the main players aren't all white, everyone else seems to be. Finding a planet full of 'white' people is easy, but what about the planets with Black people, or Laotians, or Pacific Islanders? Then you run into the problem of how ethnic minorities are portrayed, both in terms of the main characters and the Aliens of the Week. Why is it so hard for television, which has taken the first step in being inclusive, to take that next step and actually portray a diverse Universe? Why is the Universe so damn white and what can we do to change that?

M: K Tempest Bradford, Wendy Bradley, Kate Elliott, Naamen Gobert Tilahun

67 Three Comrades Go On A Quest....

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Senate B• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

So many of the traditional fantasy tropes rely upon distinctions either of class (princes/princesses, lost heirs to thrones, etc.) or that map quickly to class (the aristocracy of those who can use magic, say, lording it over those who can't.) How do we fix this? Who's already done the work that we can look to for examples, and what are the traps we want to avoid?

M: Janine Ellen Young, Leah Bobet, Laurie J. Marks, Meghan McCarron, Hilary Moon Murphy

68 Gendering A.I.

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Wisconsin• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Androids & Gynoids. Robbie & Rosie Robot. HAL-9000 & the Enterprise ship's computer. How do the creators of SF fiction, TV, and film gender A.I. entities? How are audiences encouraged to gender these ostensibly gender-less creations? What are the differing purposes of gender when it comes to robots, droids, and "sentient" computers? This panel will list, explore, and discuss the role of gender when it comes to varying sorts of artificial intelligences.

M: Janice M. Eisen, Jessica C. Adams, Rebecca K. Rowe, Karen Swanberg, Alicia Kestrell Verlager

69 Special Guests: Julie Phillips and Dorothy Allison (Reading)

Readings•Capitol A• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

A special appearance by two award-winning special guests to WisCon: Julie Phillips, the author of The Double Life of Alice Sheldon, and Dorothy Allison.

Dorothy Allison, Julie Phillips

70 Sexism: A Spotter's Guide

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Capitol B• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

It's relatively clear what makes a work feminist—relatively—but in these days of more subtle sexism, when at least lip service to equality is required, what makes a work non-feminist, or anti-feminist?

M: Lyda Morehouse, Lee Abuabara, M. J. Hardman, Betsy Lundsten, Graham Sleight

71 YA Fantasy

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Kat A. Beyer, Pan Morigan, Sarah Prineas, Jenn Reese, Heather L. Shaw

72 Pauline Hopkins’s Of One Blood as Speculative Fiction / The Scientific Horror of Addiction in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

1) Although generally not categorized as speculative fiction, Pauline Hopkins’s novel Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self (1902-1903) can be placed within that genre. Of One Blood is probably the first novel by an African American woman to have a science fiction-style alternative history. In this paper, I will explore the ways that the novel, which is concerned with history and mythic spaces, represents images of African-American women that are linked (through direct reference or symbolism) to female rulers of ancient African nations. 2) Octavia Butler’s last novel, Fledgling, challenges and explores the mythology of vampirism as erotic malady, recasting horror in scientific terms as addiction. Yet Butler’s text evokes disturbing questions of loss of voluntarity and control associated with both addiction and eroticism. Interrogating desire and domination, passion and power, the novel submits to us that claiming desire is not necessarily liberatory, and liberation is not necessarily salvation.

Sandra Marie Grayson, Frann Michel

73 Making Good Books

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

How an independent publisher (or a commercial publisher, for that matter) can create well-made books: design, typography, illustration (if any), binding. And then how to promote it intelligently. There are far too many poorly made books published, especially (though by no means only) by small-press publishers in the science fiction and fantasy field. It's time to talk about how to do it right.

M: Liz L. Gorinsky, John D. Berry, John Klima, Heidi Lampietti, Wendy Alison Walker

74 A Conversation on Feminism and Japan

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

A conversation about Japanese feminism and the cross-cultural and intercultural experiences of working with feminists in Japan.

M: Laurie Toby Edison, Reona Kashiwazaki, Mari Kotani, Debbie Notkin, JJ Pionke

75 Take Things Apart!

Kids Programming•611• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.


76 Tiptree Bake Sale

Events•627• Saturday, 1:00-5:15 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!


77 SM in Feminist Science Fiction

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•629• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Although some feminists in the 1970s stated with great assurance that "no woman would ever want to be dominated and no woman would ever want to dominate another," the experience of most SM practitioners is quite different, with some women quite enjoying all sides of power exchange. There have been a lot of unequal relationships in feminist fiction, from nonconsensual relationships such as those in Suzy McKee Charnas' "Holdfast" series and Candas Jane Dorsey's novel Black Wine to more ambiguous relationships such as in Samuel Delany's Neveryona series and Susan Matthews' Andrej the Torturer series, to clearly consensual relationships in some slash fiction and other erotica such as Cecilia Tan's "Telepaths Don't Need Safewords." This panel will talk a bit about what SM is and isn't, what consensuality is and isn't, and then go into an overview of the literature including what has literary value, what has political merit, and what's hot and sexy enough that one might need to turn the pages with one hand. There will also probably be some time to talk about more traditional plots which have a lot of SM elements in them even if those elements aren't necessarily identifiable to non-kinky people.

M: Lori Selke, Ian K. Hagemann, Catherine Lundoff, Sarah Monette

78 Liking Your Life in an Unlikeable World: Personal Energy for Political Work

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•623• Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Feminism spawned the idea that the "personal is political." How do you maintain discontent with the state of the world without losing personal sense of proportion or energy for doing the work that needs to be done? In an imperfect world how does one find the personal peace and equilibrium to act for change over the long term, particularly when experiencing personal challenges or oppression? This is a facilitated workshop for participants to consider their experience and discover/recover options to keep energy and action moving in their lives.

M: Hanne I Blank, Eleanor A. Arnason, Debbie L. Smith, James A Trimarco, Élisabeth Vonarburg

Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

79 Everything I Needed to Know About Feminism I Learned From YA

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Assembly• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Young Adult fiction is full of strong female heroines who are a 14-year-old girl's version of a superhero. They kick ass, wield magic, stand up to boys/men/school/society, and always save the day. Where does YA get the gender politics right? Where does it often fall short? How are contemporary YA authors pushing the tough heroine archetype in new directions, and where would we still like to see her go?

M: Sharyn November, Ellen Kushner, Kelly D. Link, Meghan McCarron, Micole Iris Sudberg

80 Lady Poetesses From Hell

Readings•Caucus Room• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

The Lady Poetesses, clad in full uniform, read their unladylike poems.

Rebecca Marjesdatter, Elise Anna Matthesen

81 The Sensuality of Writing and Writing Sensuality

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Senate A• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

This panel will explore the physicality of writing and its connection with the words, phrases, and ideas of sensation in literature. For instance, some argue that they write in definable, different ways when writing on a computer versus paper versus an antique typewriter. Some authors claim that they use different pens for different pacing in a story or novel. All authors are concerned with the portrayal and evocation of sensuality in their work, but how does this assembling of words using specific writing tools influence the work itself? Note that while the topic of eroticism will inevitably come up, the erotic is only a very small part of sensuality. Give us the good, the bad, the comfortable, the painful. Let's explore how our senses influence us and how our portrayal of the senses is influenced by the physical act of writing itself.

M: Victoria McManus, Forrest John Aguirre, Kat A. Beyer, Jennifer Dunne, Tom La Farge

82 Cultural Appropriation Revisited Part One

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Senate B• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

As part of an ongoing discussion of the issue of cultural appropriation, this year's panel will address what is perhaps the most controversial, and certainly the most discussed, aspect of cultural appropriation in fiction: the use or exploitation of cultures across racial, ethnic, or national lines. Writers and activists who concern themselves in their work with issues of dominant and marginal cultures will discuss the use in narrative of markers and artifacts of cultures that are not the authors' own. Should this be done at all? Where do the limits fall? How is it well done and how poorly done? Sponsored by the Carl Brandon Society.

M: Claire Light, M. J. Hardman, Yoon Ha Lee, Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbahu, Victor Jason Raymond

83 Wicked!

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Wisconsin• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Evil queens, cruel stepmothers; incestuous fathers, despicable princes: In fairy tales, it seems that good girls haven't got a chance. Are there authority figures who aren't venomous? And should we trust any of them, either? A discussion of the relation between gender, malice, and parenting in fantasy and fairy tale.

M: Janine Ellen Young, Penny Hill, Sarah Monette, Jennifer Stevenson, Keith M. Willenson

84 The Ten-Foot Shelf Of Perdition: Books to Avoid

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol A• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Every year WisCon provides us with copious new reading material, more excellent books than we could possibly read before the next WisCon. We also need the warnings—"Beware, for the pretty cover and feminist-sounding back cover blurb on that book is utterly deceptive," or "I found that best-seller as comprehensible as reading refrigerator poetry in the dark." What could be more entertaining and useful than turning our panelists (and audience members) loose on the bad fiction that is out there, providing warnings to be taken with a grain of salt and a smile?

M: Lesley Hall, Chris Hill, Betsy Urbik

85 Can Technology Be The Answer?

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Capitol B• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Science fiction oftens portrays technology as the great leveller of class and yet many real world solutions to the problems of poverty are surprisingly low technology: mosquito netting to combat malaria, micro investment to start cottage industry, education reducing high birth rates. What examples do we have of science fiction that postulates a believable end to poverty in the future?

M: Graham Sleight, Eleanor A. Arnason, Richard J. Chwedyk, Gregory Frost, Will Ludwigsen

86 General Reading Group

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Elizabeth Bear, Leah Bobet, Amy Beth Forbes, Naomi Kritzer

87 Feminism and the Problem of Gender for the Source, Voice, and Identity of the Woman Who Writes/Feminist and Science Fictional Resources for the Cultural Critic of Technoscience

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

1) “To learn to write at all, I had to begin by thinking of myself as a sort of fake man,” Joanna Russ wrote to James Tiptree, Jr. Among the many aspects of Alice Sheldon’s life that Julie Phillips discusses in her biography is one that lay at the heart of Alice Sheldon’s writing identity and voice: the problems that gender often entails for the woman who writes. And yet not all women writing sf before or at the onset of the second wave of feminism have found it necessary to write as a man or from a male pov (e.g., Carol Emshwiller, Judith Merril, Kate Wilhelm, and Naomi Mitchison). This paper will consider the problem of gender at the source of writing and how the gendering of narrative voice continues to influence and in some cases overdetermine the writer's options — or not.

L. Timmel Duchamp, Joan Haran

88 The Japanese Sense of Gender

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Learn about the "Sense of Gender" Award (the Japanese equivalent of the Tiptree), and discuss other Japanese gender-related topics (Yaoi, Shojo/Japanese Girl, Cosplay, etc.).

M: Mari Kotani, Reona Kashiwazaki

89 Outsourcing and the Auxiliary Brain

Science and Technology•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Your meat brain has only so much capacity, and it wasn't designed for a technological society. But suppose you could pop in a small, high–tech auxiliary brain to augment your natural abilities. Where would that lead? To what degree is it a good idea to outsource your brain?

M: Kimberley Long-Ewing, R. Emrys Gordon, Bill Humphries, Jordin T. Kare, Melissa Scott

76 (cont) Tiptree Bake Sale

Events•627• Saturday, 1:00-5:15 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!


90 Endicott Studio Living Room

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•629• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Come to a retrospective hosted by Endicott Studio Directors Terri Windling and Midori Snyder along with past and present contributors to the Endicott Studio as a celebration of the Studio's 20th anniversary. Endicott Studios is dedicated to myth and its expression through literary, visual, and performance arts. Endicott Studio artists explore and build on the world's great store of mythology, folklore, folk arts, and fairy tales. Their mission is to honor mythic artists of the past, support mythic artists working today, and to carry this tradition into the future. Who we are: Founded in 1987, the Endicott Studio is directed by Terri Windling and Midori Snyder, with the help of the Endicott staff and creative contributions from an international circle of mythic artists and scholars.

M: Midori M. Snyder, Terri Windling

91 Call and Response

Readings•634• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Eleanor A. Arnason, Kelley Eskridge, Nicola Griffith, Nisi Shawl

92 Around the Writer’s Block

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•623• Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

If we love to write, why is so hard sometimes to get our butts in the chair and our hands on the keyboard? Whether you call it writer’s block or procrastination or lack of will power (often disguised by lack of time) or 'I just don't want to today,' every writer experiences resistance at some time. What makes or breaks us is not whether we experience resistance (we will!), it's how we respond to it. And most writers respond badly: we criticize ourselves, we push and drive, we threaten and bully ourselves, we question our ability, our commitment, our character. Stop doing that! Find out how resistance works both neurologically and psychologically. Give yourself tools to move through the resistance.

M: Heidi Lampietti, Eileen Gunn, Rosemary Kirstein, Jennifer Pelland, Caroline Stevermer

Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

93 Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading

Readings•Assembly• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Members of Broad Universe read very short selections from their work.

Leah Rose Cutter, Jennifer Dunne, Rina Elson, Anne Harris, Sue Lange, Katherine Mankiller, Lyda Morehouse, Jennifer Pelland, Kristine Smith

94 Feminist SF Wiki Workshop

Solo Presentations•Caucus Room• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Come learn about the FeminstSF wiki (http://wiki.feministsf.net), how to use it, and what it is or may become. Contribute your ideas, creativity, and feminist vision! While we'll be introducing the feministSF wiki, we'll also be talking about wikis (including Wikipedia), blogs, and other interactive technologies and projects.

Janice E. Dawley, Liz Henry, Laura M. Quilter

95 Judging the Tiptree Award

Events•Senate A• Saturday, 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.

Midori M. Snyder, Takayuki Tatsumi, Laurel Winter

96 Cultural Appropriation Revisited Part Two: Facilitated Discussion

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Senate B• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

The panel on cultural appropriation at WisCon last year raised issues that were hotly discussed online, and the panel that this forum follows is likely to do the same. This open forum is meant to give you the chance to explore these issues and how they matter to you. Through passionate discussion we can improve our awareness and find the common understanding that lies beneath our disagreements. The open forum will be facilitated by Alan Bostick, who has been practicing Worldwork since 2003. Worldwork is a process-oriented approach to group facilitation and conflict developed by psychologist Arnold Mindell (author of Sitting in the Fire and The Deep Democracy of Open Forums) and collaborators. Attendees are strongly urged to also attend the immediately preceding panel discussion on cultural appropriation.

M: Alan Bostick

97 Sarcasm and Superheroics: Feminism in the Mainstream Comics Industry

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Wisconsin• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

2006 was declared the year of Women in Comics. Alison Bechdel's Fun Home was one of Time’s 10 Best Books, best-selling authors Jodi Picoult and Tamora Pierce were signed up to write for DC and Marvel, and DC announced a new Minx line for girls. However, 2006 was also a year of increased feminist activism in mainstream comics. New websites "When Fangirls Attack" and "Girl-Wonder.org" collected and encouraged feminist debate on issues of diversity and sexism in comics, and there seemed to be plenty to talk about. Moreover, the Occasional Superheroine confessional memoir recounted a disturbing tale of abuse and misogyny within the superhero industry that was reflected on the pages of its comics. What has improved in the comics industry? What is yet to be done? What challenges are posed by the industry's peculiar institutional structure? How can women break into the comics mainstream? How can we critique it? And what comics can you buy for your kids?

M: Karen Elizabeth Healey, Charlie Anders, Rachel Sharon Edidin, Catherine Lundoff, Jenni Moody

98 GOH Mutual Interview: Laurie Marks Interviews Kelly Link/Kelly Link Interviews Laurie Marks

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol A• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

M: Laurie J. Marks, Kelly D. Link

99 Outreach to Non-Readers

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Capitol B• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Panel after panel has noted that feminist SF seems of limited value to young women today because the sort of people who read SF are the sort of people who (mistakenly) believe the gender war to have been won. How can feminist SF be of help to those for whom feminism is still a vital issue, but who are unlikely to read our books?

M: Joan Haran, Alicia Ellen Goranson, Graham Sleight, lucy ann synk

100 Fantastical Girls in Fantastical Worlds

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Holly Black, Gregory Frost, Ellen Kushner, Ysabeau S. Wilce

101 Playing for Self-Esteem: How Video Games Represent Females And Affect Female Self-Esteem/Idealizing Fantasy Bodies in Video Games

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

1) As females have developed a growing interest in video games, research needs to be done to study the effect these games can have on their self-esteem. The few journals which did mention concerns in the area of self-esteem had varied conclusions. My original hypothesis stated video games have a positive effect on self-esteem, which would give female gamers a higher sense of self over female non-gamers. Results showed a difference in general self-image; non-gamers had a higher self-image than gamers. No difference was found in the three areas of self-esteem: performance, social, or physical; however, gamers felt a relationship would not give them higher self-esteem in those three areas. This shows how, although gamers have a low self-esteem, a relationship may not help make them feel confident, and further research should work to determine what catalyst would give them higher self-esteem. 2) Through fantasy, anything—no matter how far-fetched—can become real. And yet, despite the elf ears or red skin, fantasy characters in video games still manage more often than not to fit into the idealized body types for humans. This paper explores the rationale behind making fantasy creatures conform to narrow standards of beauty/strength in games such as World of Warcraft, and examines what this may imply for our conception of fantasy as a genre.

Jason Nicholas Boggs, Andrea Diane Rubenstein

102 Staged Reading Rehearsal

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Rehearsal for a staged reading of a new fantasy play. Open to the public at the discretion of the director. Performance on Sunday.

Reina Hardy

103 Real World Magic and Speculative Fiction

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

For many, god and goddesses are part of the realm of fantasy, illusions dreamed up within the imagination of a particular writer as part of the act of world building. Then there are authors who bring forth their own personal Goddess and Earth based beliefs into a fictional portrayal of the modern world, or a pure land of fantasy. Can this be done with dignity and respect? When has then been accomplished successfully? When has this failed?

M: Taryne Jade Taylor, Katie Clapham, Moondancer Drake, Martin M Meiss

104 SF Swim

Kids Programming•611• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.


76 (cont) Tiptree Bake Sale

Events•627• Saturday, 1:00-5:15 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!


105 Putting the "D" in InterDisciplinary

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•629• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

There are commonalities between many arts; what elements do writing, dancing, painting, cooking, and the other arts share? How does the artist, of any discipline, organize her practice for the maximum output of both quality and quantity? And do elements of one discipline carry over into another? Louise Marley was an opera singer who now writes science fiction and fantasy; Darlene Coltrain is a jewelry artist who also paints and creates costumes for dancers; Kay Kenyon was an actress who is now a writer. The discussion will trace the interdisciplinary effects of these varied careers.

M: Louise Marley, Denise A Gendron, Catherine M. Schaff-Stump, Phoebe Wray

106 Rocking the Good Boat Utopia

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•634• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Let's assume that you live in the future, in a utopian world that has discarded the oppressions of the present and somehow maintains a classless, racially harmonious society where gender and sexuality are free and fluid. Dominant hierarchies are largely a thing of the past. What happens when, for some reason, someone displays "regressive" behavior? How does an egalitarian society regulate behavior in a manner that is not coercive or oppressive? Which SF examples point toward possible answers?

M: Jef a. Smith, Suzanne Alles Blom, Heidi Lampietti, Nick Mamatas, Lyn Paleo

107 SF&F — Revolutionary or Conservative?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•623• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

In 2006, Walter Mosley declared that most fiction is conservative. According to many, we write to belong, to codify, to hold things in place. Speculative fiction is supposed to be different – fiction that overthrows the status quo, and lets us think about what might be, rather than what is. Yet so much mimetic fiction does that, and much speculative fiction is conservative, a paean to vertical hierarchy, full of magical thinking and devoid of social analysis. Is the distinction a valid one, and if so, what helps make speculative fiction that way?

M: Andrea D. Hairston, Eleanor A. Arnason, Paul Kincaid

Saturday, 7:30-10:15 p.m.

108 Tiptree Auction

Events•Wis/Cap• 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.


Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

109 Let's Do the Time Warp Again

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

"It's just a jump to the left and a step to the right. Put your hands on your hips..." For 32 years, we've been time-warping along. Is it the camp or the low-budget effects that we love about The Rocky Horror Picture Show? What does it say about the evolution of the Frankenstein myth? Why did audience participation catch on in this one movie, but nowhere else?

M: Heather Galaxy, Richard Butner, Jorjet Harper, Joanna Lowenstein, Staci A Straw

110 The Tragedy of Change

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate A• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

How often is futuristic morphological change viewed in a tragic light in fiction? For instance, the cybernetically enhanced person feeling sorrow for the physical feelings they've lost, or the "inhumanity" of disembodied aliens? Why are transsexual humans of today often portrayed tragically in fiction and movies? How about post-menopausal women? People who've lost mobility or ability through illness? Is there a way to look at the future of our bodies that doesn't involve what we've lost, but what we have to gain?

M: Vicki Rosenzweig, R. Emrys Gordon, Gregory Frost, Alicia Ellen Goranson, Rebecca K. Rowe

111 Feminism and Fantasy Art

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate B• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

How happy are authors with how heroines or female characters are portrayed on their book covers or accompanying illustrations? Are illustrations getting better or is part of the SF&F genre's credibility still ruined by images that look like pin-up art? Covers are the third most important factor in how books and magazines are sold. How would authors like to see the visual representation of science-fiction and fantasy literature progress? What kinds of cliches need to stop? What directions do we need to explore?

M: Laura J. Mixon, Nicolle Minnerly, Stephen H Segal, lucy ann synk

112 Last of the Michigan Clarionites

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

William Alexander, Bradley P Beaulieu, Sarah Kelly, Robert Joseph Levy, Will Ludwigsen, Aimee Poynter

113 Bodies/Politics: Disability, Addiction, and Larger-than-life Women in Laurie Marks’s Elemental Logic/Kelly Link Is Haunting Me—Who Is Haunting Kelly Link?

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

1) Extraordinary bodies abound in Marks’ Elemental Logic series: from the half-giant Karis to battle-scarred veterans. In each case, there are significant political overtones to the presence of these bodies. The political questions in the text are worked out not only through the narrative, but also in the relationships between bodies, through a series of intimate resistances and alliances on the most personal (and political) of fields. 2) This talk has two purposes: first, to elaborate on the concept of “being haunted” in Kelly Link’s two story collections, especially “Stone Animals” in Magic For Beginners; and second, to try to rethink influential theories of literary influence for a media-saturated, interstitial literary landscape.

Patrick J. O'Connor, Robert C. Spirko

114 Making War on "War"

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

Every time we are faced with a serious situation, we Americans have to make a War of it: (i.e., the Wars on Poverty, Drugs, Obesity, and Terror) despite the fact that "victory" continues to elude us. We even have to "battle" disease with "magic bullets". Why are we so taken with war as our default metaphor for action? How does that limit our problem solving approach? What might we replace it with? What metaphors have other cultures turned to? And how might we popularize a change?

M: Jean Mornard, Paul Kincaid, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Wendy Alison Walker, Laurel Winter

115 Lightning Write

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.

Is it practice or parlor game? Everyone brings a one line quotation, favorite phrase, or theme. Mix them up and get one back. Write for ten minutes and incorporate in the the line or theme. Then switch, and the next person adds on. Switch with someone again and 5 minutes to finish up. Time is left for sharing the results. Prizes for dramatic readers. No writer credentials required. Silly to seraphic, it's all about sparking creative minds.

M: Kristine Smith, Anne Harris, Sarah James, Vylar Kaftan, Karen Swanberg

116 Tales of the Unanticipated Party

Parties•607• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


117 Haiku Earring Party

Parties•611• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


118 Tor party

Parties•629• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


119 Scribe Agency/Farrago's Wainscot/Wheatland Press Release Party

Parties•634• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m

Kristopher O'Higgins

120 Water Logic Book Launch/Small Beer Press Party

Parties•623• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

121 SF Films of 2006: The Year the Critters Ran Wild

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Assembly• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

In this and the companion panel, "Fantasy Films of 2006", moderator Richard S. Russell will try to explain the mysterious Rise of the Penguin and why Cars count as "talking animals." Handouts. Video clips. Mandatory audience participation.

M: Richard S. Russell

122 Unfair to Middle-Class White Guys!

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate B• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

Why do the SF short fiction market publication figures show more stories by men than women are printed? Is it that "women don't submit enough," or is it the selection process, or something else? When I make a conscious decision to publish roughly equal numbers of male/female authored stories, am I being unfair to the middle-class white guys?

M: Nancy Jane Moore, Eileen Gunn, John Klima, Deb Taber

123 Fay Goddesses and Little Deaths

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

Rachael M. Haring, Catherine Lundoff, Victoria McManus, Kassandra Grace Sojourner

124 Criticism: Beyond Slamming And Mythologizing

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

What constitutes good criticism? The panel will discuss what it is, and what it should do. Criticism and dialogue are a fertile ground for artistic production, but all too often what we get are sensationalist reviews or Internet skirmishes that devolve into ad hominem attacks instead of discussions of the work. How can we cultivate multiple responses to texts and authors? How do we express the range of our reading experiences? As we react with rage, delight, confusion, or awe, how do we put the works in context and deal with the author and their work?

M: Paul Kincaid, Andrea D. Hairston, Michael Marc Levy, Natasha Minnerly, Maureen Kincaid Speller

125 When Good Books Happen to Bad People

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

Do you feel the need to justify your enjoyment of the works of any authors? Is your enjoyment constrained by some aspect of the author, whether rumored or verified? Do you find yourself apologizing for admiring the work of any author? Some readers can still appreciate of Orson Scott Card, while others can't get past his personal beliefs. Should the fact that William Burroughs killed his wife play any part in a discussion of his writing? Should it preclude serious discussion of his writing? Is it necessary that good books by bad (problematic) authors only be secret, guilty pleasures? How can we make sense of the seeming dichotomy of a bad person producing valuable material?

M: Nick Mamatas, Cat T. Rambo, Patrick James Rothfuss

126 The Privilege of the Sword, Denied: Pacification in History

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Conference Room 5• Saturday, 10:30-11:45 p.m.

Throughout history, the use of weapons has, indeed, been a privilege, whether one of class, one of gender, or one of religion. This panel will explore what it has meant historically to be pacified, the strategies of resistance to pacification (polearms, capoeira, judo, etc.), and explore their relevance in both the modern and fictional worlds.

M: Steven E. Schwartz, Richard Bowes, Paula L. Fleming

116 (cont) Tales of the Unanticipated Party

Parties•607• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


117 (cont) Haiku Earring Party

Parties•611• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


118 (cont) Tor party

Parties•629• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


119 (cont) Scribe Agency/Farrago's Wainscot/Wheatland Press Release Party

Parties•634• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m

Kristopher O'Higgins

120 (cont) Water Logic Book Launch/Small Beer Press Party

Parties•623• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


Saturday, Midnight-1:15 a.m

127 There Be Dragons!

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Saturday, Midnight-1:15 a.m

What is it about the mythical dragon that is so alluring? The dragon has been memorialized in literature around the globe, yet comparison of dragon tales from West to East and vice versa yield differing points of view on the creature. This is no surprise, because the dragon is rooted in the deep feminine. Meanwhile, modern fantasy literature abounds with dragons; Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, and R.A. MacAvoy's Tea with the Black Dragon are just two (very different) examples. In what books and stories have dragons been done well? Less well? What are the implications of all this imagery on feminism? On our psyches? Let's discuss.

M: Patrick James Rothfuss, Natasha Minnerly, Nicolle Minnerly

128 General Reading Group 2

Readings•Conference Room 2• Saturday, Midnight-1:15 a.m

Rosalyn Wiggins Berne, Eileen Gunn, Heidi Lampietti, Laura J. Mixon, Fred Schepartz

116 (cont) Tales of the Unanticipated Party

Parties•607• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


117 (cont) Haiku Earring Party

Parties•611• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


118 (cont) Tor party

Parties•629• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


119 (cont) Scribe Agency/Farrago's Wainscot/Wheatland Press Release Party

Parties•634• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m

Kristopher O'Higgins

120 (cont) Water Logic Book Launch/Small Beer Press Party

Parties•623• Saturday, 9:00-1:15 a.m


Sunday 5/27

Sunday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

129 What the Shadow Knows About SF&F

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Sunday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

In her essay “The Child and the Shadow,” Ursula K. LeGuin claims that “most of the great works of fantasy are about that journey [the journey to self-knowledge that only the shadow can guide us in]; and that fantasy is the medium best suited to a description of that journey.” Shadow, according to Carl Jung, is the person we have no wish to be, the denied and repressed parts of the psyche. LeGuin says “The shadow is the other side of our psyche, the dark brother of the conscious mind. It is Cain, Caliban, Frankenstein’s monster, Mr. Hyde. It is Vergil, who guided Dante through hell, Gilgamesh’s friend Enkidu, Frodo’s enemy Gollum.” Let’s talk about how shadow works in fantasy and science fiction, how shadow is more subtle than a simplistic “good vs. evil,” who our “favorite” villains are and why they bring so much energy to fiction, how much darkness and dark moments are enough, and find out what else the shadow knows.

M: David Lenander, Rosanne M Bane, Margaret Ronald, Georgie L. Schnobrich

130 The New Atheism: Hope of the Future or Throwin' Gas on the Fire?

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Senate A• Sunday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

With prominent non-believers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett putting out best-selling books slaughtering the sacred cows of religion, are we reaching a point where early Iron Age cults are about to be overthrown by simple rational thinking, or is an old-school backlash the order of the day? What does Darwinian evolution offer to feminism— and what do the various holy texts? Are sf writers prone to the intellectual arrogance of atheism? Are fantasy writers prone to the parasite of belief?

M: Heidi Lampietti, Jorjet Harper, Laurie J. Marks, Gregory G. Rihn, Doselle Young

131 Doing Your Homework: Where Do You Find the Good Stuff On the Web?

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Senate B• Sunday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

Good writing requires good facts and those come from research. Libraries have been the traditional best site -- but Wikipedia and other sites are springing up and improving. These authors reveal their secret corners for "Finding Things Out" and use that information to make their fiction come alive! Bring paper, pencil and laptop (quiet keyboards preferred) and take notes for your next research session for your next story. Share warnings about poor resources or techniques to avoid.

M: Robyn Claire Fleming, David B. Haseman, Caroline Stevermer

Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

132 Transsexuality as Trope

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Assembly• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Much science fiction and fantasy of recent years deals with changing sex. But it treats it as a trope rather than a process: Larque on the Wing, I Will Fear No Evil, "Changes," the work of John Varley. While there is no denying the usefulness of transsexuality as a trope in discussing the social construction of gender, what are we missing by eliding transsexuality's nature as a process?

M: Lyda Morehouse, Charlie Anders, Elizabeth Bear, BC Holmes, Jennifer Pelland

133 Carl Brandon Society Update

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Caucus Room• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Last year's WisCon featured the debut of the Parallax Award and the Kindred Award from The Carl Brandon Society (http://www.carlbrandon.org). Come find out about the current status of the Society and where we are going from here.

M: Nisi Shawl, Candra K. Gill, M. J. Hardman, Victor Jason Raymond

134 The Allure of the Unreconstructed Stereotype

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate A• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Addicted to 1950s boys' own whizbang novels? Reading particularly hidebound comics? Absorbed in a monogender TV show? Really really want your own laser gun? Where does ironic play end and wholesale purchase into the dominant paradigm begin? And how come that paradigm tastes so good sometimes? Let's interrogate the phrase, "I don't want to do you; I want to be you" and see where the gender-play leads.

M: Graham Sleight, Jane Acheson, Eileen Gunn, Anne Harris, Karen Elizabeth Healey

135 What These People Need Is A Honky

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate B• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Tom Cruise is the Last Samurai. Kevin Costner wins the heart of American Indians with his wolf dancing. Orlando Bloom, in Kingdom of Heaven, goes from medieval England to Jerusalem to teach the Arabs how to sink wells and transport water. Is there anything that can be done about this plague of Orientalist white-guy Mary Sue-ism?

M: Doselle Young, Naamen Gobert Tilahun, K. Joyce Tsai, Janine Ellen Young

136 Can This Genre Be Saved?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Wisconsin• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

High fantasy gets a pretty bad rap, and in the world of Eragon, it's easy to see how that came about. There are lots of groovy alterations, emendations and crossovers to update this much-maligned genre, but there are also lots of people doing good writing in what is, more or less, good ol' high fantasy, as such. Let's celebrate the swords, the sorcery—the high fantasy that doesn't suck, and talk about why the good stuff gets eclipsed by the big budget bad stuff.

M: Mary Kay Kare, David Lenander, Pat Murphy, Jennifer W. Spirko

137 The Feminist (and other) Appeal of Laurie Marks' Fiction

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol A• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Let's talk about what makes Laurie's fiction interesting. For example, the problem-solving of the plot and characters -- the fantasy elements do not dictate what happens in her fiction.

M: Delia Sherman, Rob Gates, Margaret McBride, Micole Iris Sudberg

138 The President Wears Prada; or Women: The Dark Side

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Capitol B• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Here's a topic we couldn't have at early WisCons, but maybe with the possibility of two women being nominated as Presidential candidates, it's time. We used to hope that politics run by women would be innately more peacable and tolerant, less violent and punitive. Then we got Margaret Thatcher and Ann Coulter. We still want to believe that government by women would be less corrupt and more ethically, ecologically sound, but recent voting records suggest that if a woman thinks her child might be in danger, she can be as vengeful and oppressive a reactionary as any guy who ever tanked up an SUV. Can we afford to think we're better? If women get a chance at real power, what do we need to watch out for? Might the President turn out to "wear Prada"?

M: Janice M. Eisen, Karen Babich, Richard Bowes, Laurie J. Marks, Kassandra Grace Sojourner

139 Bond, Butner, Rowe, Nakashima-Brown LLC

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Gwenda Bond, Richard Butner, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Christopher Volan Rowe

140 Baba Yaga Abroad/A Postcolonial “Borders View” of Geoff Ryman’s Air

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

1) This paper considers both the traditional views of Baba Yaga, as well as her representations in the popular culture of the United States. Following a description of Baba Yaga’s complicated behavioral patterns and archetypes, Baba Yaga’s appearance in a wide variety of pop culture venues is examined. Among the materials discussed are Orson Scott Card’s Enchantment, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, and Bill Willingham’s Fables. This presentation marks the culmination of the research that I did during a Fulbright Group Project Abroad to Russia during the summer of 2006. 2) Ryman, like several other recent SF authors, has set his recent novel Air in a part of the world and a civilization that is not native to him, and one in which Western models of gradual technological advancement and cultural continuity are not relevant. This paper will make use of insights developed through post-colonial theory to examine both the conceptions of the plot and the pre-conceptions of the author with regard to oriental, in this case, Far Eastern cultures. Ryman's work makes an interesting case in that his focal culture is not a world power, and his focal characters exist at the edge of other, massive, hegemonic groups which must be negotiated both by these individuals in small villages and isolated towns and their policy makers who often have seriously ambivalent choices. Additionally, this work is a rich basis for expanding gendered and classed differences among characters and between groups, dealing as it does with a half-Chinese woman, Muslims, and Han Chinese, to name a few, and with extreme differences between the primary setting and the post-industrial, media-saturated worlds outside. Finally, the author's articulation of his characters' dilemmas can be examined from both a colonizing and a hybrid perspective in order to explore a nuanced, but nevertheless Western, codification of an Eastern, female, developing world, identity dilemma.

Janice Marie Bogstad, Catherine M. Schaff-Stump

141 Take a Ride Across Dark Energy into the Fantastic

Readings•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Suzy McKee Charnas, Tenea D Johnson, Rebecca K. Rowe, Jennifer Stevenson

142 The Object In the Story, the Story In the Object

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Objects of significance often play a part in fairy tale and fantasy. This panel would discuss the history and current use of the magical object in writing and examine the process and work of artists that create mythic arts. Are there objects that have been used repeatedly in stories? Are there similarities in these objects? How does the artist incorporate story into their art work? Does the viewer need to know the story connected with the object?

M: Kat A. Beyer, Catherine Anne Crowe, Wendy Alison Walker, Terri Windling, Erzebet YellowBoy

143 Let's You And Her Fight

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•634• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Last year there was a panel about how to flirt at WisCon. This year let's do one on how to fight at WisCon. It's not bad to want to get along; but it is when that urge causes us not to speak our minds in public, and leaves us grumbling in private. How do you speak up and explain that you think the respected panel member is talking out of her hat, while maintaining a friendly attitude towards someone who is, after all, a fellow feminist and fan? Let's practice.

M: Alan Bostick, Lee Abuabara, Liz Henry, Steven E. Schwartz

Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

144 Circulation Reboot: Basic Bellydance Moves

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Capitol A• Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Get your blood moving again! Stand up and shake out the kinks from travel and hotel chairs with a brief warm up and some basic moves from Middle Eastern Dance. Learn hip figure eights and circles, a simple shimmy, and other classic elements of bellydance. You'll end up refreshed and ready for your next intense panel!

M: Tracy Benton, Laurie Toby Edison, Taryne Jade Taylor

Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

145 Romance of the Revolution

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Assembly• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

In authors ranging from Heinlein to Macleod, Spinrad to Cordwainer Smith, the revolution is glorified — sometimes a violent one, sometimes (but far more rarely) a peaceful one. How do we avoid making the same errors of glorifying violence and hero worship when coming at things from a revolutionary perspective in fiction? (Some people may not find these to be errors — they're welcome to come discuss that POV too.)

M: Paul Kincaid, L. Timmel Duchamp, Laurie J. Marks, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Lyn Paleo

146 Male Allies

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Caucus Room• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

What does good ally behavior look like? Abortion rights, housework equity, absentee fathering, and the income gap continue as feminist themes. Can the feminist revolution move forward without the active participation of men? How do men find something for themselves in the revolution's goals rather than just seeing some of their own (arguably unearned) privilege vanishing? This panel will feature several feminist men talking about how feminism has affected their personal lives as well as their political lives, in the hopes of opening the dialogue.

M: Ian K. Hagemann, Aaron Lichtov, Gregory G. Rihn, Benjamin Micah Rosenbaum, Jef a. Smith

147 GOH Reading: Kelly Link

Readings•Senate A• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Kelly D. Link

148 Colonialism...In...Space!

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Senate B• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

This topic never gets old. Let's rehash some of the first-contact scenarios in science fiction through the lens of real, historical first contact situations among world cultures. How alien is alien? How do recent examples of first-contact stories work with, reject, or subvert the same old stereotypes? Your thoughts on modern ideas of empire are also appreciated.

M: Victoria McManus, Jane Acheson, Sara Brodzinsky, Naamen Gobert Tilahun, James A Trimarco

149 Mixed-Race Characters in Speculative Fiction

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Wisconsin• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Monstrous others, tragic mulattos, superpeople, and/or what? Let's discuss.

M: Doselle Young, Claire Light, Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbahu, Janine Ellen Young

150 The X-Women

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol A• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

The X-Men comics are well-loved and have a disproportionately high number of female fans (and strong female characters). X-Men: The Final Stand was nonetheless widely interpreted as quite sexist (out of control sexual women must be destroyed for the good of the world, etc.). Did the problems originate in the adaptation to film, or the source material, i.e., the comics themselves? What attracts women to the X-Men story no matter what format it's told in?

M: Rachel Sharon Edidin, Charlie Anders, Jennifer Dunne, Karen Elizabeth Healey, Jenni Moody

151 Sparkly Boys and Tough Girls: Raising Children Outside of the Gender Binary

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Capitol B• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Come discuss the difficulty and rewards of raising kids outside a strict binary gender system. As a parent, how do you cope with the terror that your five-year-old son will get beat up or harassed for wearing his sparkly gold spagetti-strap top? How do you steer your daughter away from Barbie and where can you find cute jammies that don't have either Spiderman or Disney Princesses on them?

M: Joell Smith-Borne, Kate Elliott, David B. Haseman, Karen H. Moore

152 The Transformative Power of Baba Yaga and the Armless Maiden

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 1• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Russian folklore and Slavic mythology are replete with stories of Baba Yaga, the wild hag of magic. Remarkably, the Armless Maiden is featured in womens' seminal initiation tales around the world, whether told by Japanese farm women or Xhosa storytellers in South Africa. Discover and rediscover the transformative power of these folktales at all stages of life.

M: Midori M. Snyder, Gregory Frost, Catherynne M. Valente, Terri Windling

153 Supersonic Stories

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Haddayr Copley-Woods, Alan DeNiro, Lena DeTar, Kristin A. Livdahl, David J. Schwartz

154 Destroying the Illusion of Traditional Gender Roles in Joanna Russ’ The Female Man / Weird Worlds, Warrior Women: The Cyberfeminists of Joanna Russ and William Gibson

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

1) This paper will show how The Female Man is both polemical essay and science fiction novel. By blending these two genres Russ produced a powerful work of fiction that is free to explore issues of feminism and gender in ways a traditional science fiction novel, or a traditional polemical essay, cannot. 2) The Female Man and Neuromancer contain two strong cyberfeminist warriors, Jael and Molly. Jael and Molly are warrior women entrenched in the middle of the war between genders. Jael is enmeshed in a literal war between the sexes, whereas Molly’s war is more symbolic. However, the similarities in the ways these women combat the patriarchy cannot be overlooked. Both women have had extensive body modifications to allow them greater capacity to compete with and protect themselves from the males, which aligns their feminism to that of Donna Haraway.

Skye Cervone, Taryne Jade Taylor

155 The Role of Women and People of Color in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis can both boast casts that have capable, interesting, and believable female and ethnic minority characters. On the surface, the show seems to hit all of the right notes. But a closer examination shows that not all is well in the Stargate universe if you happen to be a minority. Carter may be the smartest person in the room, but how often does she get to have a real conversation with another female friend? In the beginning, both Goa'uld and Jaffa could be of any race, now the Goa'uld are mainly Caucasian and the Jaffa nation is a largely black one. In Atlantis, all of the Scientists are white, the backwards, aggressive warriors are non-white. And just what is up with Elizabeth Weir? Let's get down to the nitty gritty and discuss if Stargate is ultimately a progressive show or a bastion of tokenism with a pretty gloss.

M: Patricia Bray, K Tempest Bradford, Wendy Bradley, Joanna Lowenstein

156 Adventures in Peacemaking

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

One of the most striking things about Laurie Marks' book "Earth Logic" is that it tells a rousing tale of adventure in which the heroes are focused on learning to live together peacefully, rather than making war on each other. Are there other books like this, in or out of the genre? Why are there so few? What stories are worth telling about peacemaking?

M: Jeanne Gomoll, Lesley Hall, Rosemary Kirstein, Naomi Kritzer, Jean Mornard

157 Domestic Fantasy

Reading SF&F•607• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Many people equate fantasy with epic quest narratives, but there are also certainly well-known works of fantasy -- Crowley's LITTLE, BIG, for instance -- centered on home and the family. Ghost stories, which nearly always concern family relationships and secrets, are probably the most obvious subgenre in this category; what others can we think of? Who's writing domestic fantasy, and how does the fantastic allow writers to address domestic concerns in ways that realism wouldn't? (Susan Palwick)

M: Ellen Klages, Mary Kay Kare, Susan Palwick, Alicia Kestrell Verlager

158 TBA

Kids Programming•611• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.


159 A Room Of Your Own

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•629• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Create creative space for yourself out of a wet basement, a hot attic, or a shed.

M: Holly Black, Elizabeth Bear, Davey Snyder, Caroline Stevermer

160 The Many Answers to Fermi's Paradox

Science and Technology•634• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Famed physicist Enrico Fermi originally posed the question around 1950. The Universe has been around for 15 billion years, he noted, more than enough time for intelligent, space-faring civilizations to have spread to every star system in the galaxy. So where are they all? Indeed, where are any of them? Needless to say, SF authors picked up this ball and ran with it — in 30 different directions. We'll try to go over as many as possible, and maybe even come up with some new ones.

M: Richard S. Russell, Suzanne Alles Blom, Chris Hill, Jordin T. Kare

161 So What Is The Plunkett, Anyway?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•623• Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Members of the Plunkett Board will be on hand to answer questions, take nominations, listen to advice, and generally stir up trouble at this panel; arguments almost certainly guaranteed and opinions very much solicited.

M: Steven E. Schwartz, Hanne I Blank, Nick Mamatas, Jennifer Stevenson

Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

162 The Pre-Pregnancy Program

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Assembly• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

According to recent CDC guidelines, all American women are to be considered "pre-pregnant" throughout their potential childbearing years. Women from menarche to menopause are to be officially considered wombs first and people second, apparently, with a list of behavioural modifications aimed at ensuring a "healthy pregnancy" mandated for all women the Government can get their hands on—even those who don't intend to become pregnant. How do we treat dictums like "you should all start taking folic acid 3 months before any potential pregnancy" or the injunction against alcohol—apparently any and all alcohol, since they make no distinction between certified alcoholics and a woman enjoying a glass of wine after dinner? How do we take back what is being eroded little by little—our own self worth as the female half of the human race?

M: Hanne I Blank, Alma Alexander, Janet Lafler, Lori Selke

163 SF&F on TV This Season

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

From the enthusiastically received Heroes through the return of The Doctor to the glimmer-and-gone Day Break, there were a small flock of new SF-related shows on the big broadcast networks this season, replacing last year's failed aquatic series. Meanwhile, over on SciFi, the old warhorses keep chugging along.

M: William Alexander, Patricia Bray, Penny Hill, Deborah Stone

164 Battlestar Galactica: The Debate

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate A• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Is the new BSG the most pro-feminist SF show ever, or is it a secret sexist scourge? Opinions differ — markedly. So, let's debate! Instead of a panel, this programming item will consist of one pro-BSG representative, one anti-BSG representative, and one moderator.

M: Lyda Morehouse, Annalee Newitz, Jef a. Smith

165 Writing About War

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate B• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

War — sometimes against True Ultimate Evil, sometimes against the Hatfields or McCoys — is the backdrop of countless SF and fantasy novels. When writers write about war, do we have any ethical obligations beyond simply telling a good story? How do we write in a way that reflects our beliefs, but does not devolve into propaganda for our cause? Do any of us worry about convincing people when we're playing devil's advocate?

M: Naomi Kritzer, Eleanor A. Arnason, Yoon Ha Lee, Kelly McCullough

166 Little Girls on the Hero's Journey

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Wisconsin• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Young girls have been featured in fantasy (and occasionally SF) stories from Alice in Wonderland to the Narnia stories to Miyazaki films. Many of these stories follow Joseph Campbell's archetype of the Hero's Journey: separation from home, encountering friends and enemies, gaining tools and skills, overcoming obstacles, and returning home changed. How do these stories reflect or distort the real experiences of growing up female? What can they teach young girls in modern society, and how successful are they at doing that? Does it make a difference whether the stories are told as prose, film, comics, or games?

M: Nisi Shawl, Kate Elliott, David L. Emerson, Rebecca Marjesdatter, Kerrigan Valentine

167 That's Not Scary Anymore

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Capitol A• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

With so much terror in the world today, does horror fiction need to go to new lengths to find something frightening, or is the genre dying out in favor of real-world scenarios and serial killer book deals? What can frighten even the most jaded readers in the genre, and what are editors looking for to send tingles up their desensitized spines?

M: Nick Mamatas, Gary A. Braunbeck, Kelly D. Link, Stephen H Segal, Debbie L. Smith

168 What Do Writers Owe Their Readers?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Capitol B• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

An audience of readers can sometimes have surprising expectations of an author—just think of the people (including Steven King!) who are begging JK Rowling to spare her most famous character's life. Is that a reasonable request/ expectation/ demand on the part of her fans, or not? What do readers want from authors? What can they expect? What happens when the author disagrees, disappoints, or defies those expectations?

M: Karen Joy Fowler, Dorothy Allison, Holly Black, Melissa Scott

169 This is Not Your Mother's Childhood

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Ellen Klages, Pat Murphy, Delia Sherman, Laurel Winter

170 The Author's Blog: Does It Help? Does It Hurt?

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Conference Room 3• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Many SF/F writers post entries to the web—works in progress, comments on work already out there, and more. This panel will discuss the benefits and pitfalls authors have encountered online. Come listen and consider what works and what doesn't.

M: Lori Devoti, K Tempest Bradford, Michael Mornard, Kristine Smith

171 These Kids Tomorrow

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

With YA so popular in its many incarnations, just what are some of the YA trends going on today? What will be the trends for tomorrow? What will the kids of today be reading tomorrow, and what will the kids of tomorrow be reading? Come and speculate!

M: Hilary Moon Murphy, Gwenda Bond, Sarah Prineas, Patrick Samphire

172 The Human Genome

Science and Technology•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Is our culture changing now that the human genome has been mapped? What does it mean that segments of our genes are now patented by individuals as well as pharmaceutical companies? How importan is it to know who our ancestors are?

M: Sue Lange, Vylar Kaftan, Kimberley Long-Ewing, Allan Moore, Rebecca K. Rowe

173 Just How Smart Are Animals, Anyway?

Science and Technology•607• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Did you know that dogs laugh, and wolves can count? Elephants and dolphins recognize themselves in mirrors; ravens display senses of humor; bears have figured out how break into practically every food container designed to keep them out; and cuttlefish apparently communicate by changing color. What do we really know about animal cognition and communication ... and what, if anything, sets humans apart?

M: Cat Hanna, Carol Emshwiller, Paula L. Fleming, Tom La Farge, Heather Kinast Porter

174 TBA

Kids Programming•611• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.


175 Strange Horizons Tea Party

Parties•629• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Strange Horizons' much-beloved tea party! Come drink tea and eat yummy things while mingling with your favorite Strange Horizons staff and authors. Hosted by Susan Groppi, Jed Hartman, and Karen Meisner.

Jed E. Hartman

176 Mad Scientist Japanese Tea Party

Parties•634• Sunday, 2:30-5:15 p.m.

Mad Scientist cafe designed for Otaku-girls serves as an antidote against maid cafe which has long fascinated Otaku-boys. At this cafe, Mad Scientists in white with a pair of glasses, who can't communicate with ordinary women, serve to the visitor whatever he or she would like to drink, while wind-up chambermaids and Geishas keep supporting them.

Mari Kotani

177 Speculative Fiction Theatre

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•623• Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

There’s a small but vocal group of theatre lovers in the speculative fiction community that wonders why the genre has consistently been ignoring the fertile ground of fantastic drama--that is, staged dramas and written plays with speculative elements. Yet for many years, playwrights and artists like Caryl Churchill and Julie Taymor have quietly been earning prominent raves in the mainstream media for their original plays and adaptations of works with fantastical--and, often, feminist or politically radical--content. Let’s talk about particularly effective speculative fiction theatre, on the page and on the stage, that we’ve seen or read in the last year (or five years or ten years). What are the strengths and liabilities of the theatre medium that help these works achieve their particular stripe of weird and wonderfulness?

Liz L. Gorinsky, Andrea D. Hairston, Reina Hardy, Wendy Alison Walker

Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

178 Fun Home

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Assembly• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Time magazine named Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home as its top book of the year, and it spent a good chunk of 2006 on the New York Times best-seller list. Bechdel is the artist/writer best known for her syndicated comic strip "Dykes To Watch Out For". It's pretty rare for (a) autobiography, (b) lesbianism, or (c) a graphic novel to be at the top of any critical list of best books of the year; hitting the trifecta is unprecedented. Which of these three aspects is most surprising? Does Fun Home's success bode well for the future?

M: Rachel Sharon Edidin, Janet Lafler, Jenni Moody, JJ Pionke, Vicki Rosenzweig

179 John M. Ford: In Memoriam

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Caucus Room• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

There are many in the WisCon community who knew John M. Ford, either through his works or through meeting him in person. Not as formal as a wake or a panel memorial, this is a space, set aside, for people to come, talk, meet, recall the good things he brought us, and have the chance to share that with others.

M: Davey Snyder, Debbie Notkin

180 "Overnight" Success and the Experienced Writer

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Senate A• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Most writers don't sell their first book. Many don't sell the second or third either. When articles and reviews talk about your "first" book or refer to you as a "new" writer when it's actually your third and you've been writing for fifteen years and selling shorts for eight, it can all feel a bit surreal. Especially because in many ways they're absolutely correct to use those terms. How does a writer cope with feeling old and new at the same time?

M: Ellen Klages, Shana Cohen, Lori Devoti, Kelly McCullough, Jennifer Stevenson

181 Feminism, Submission And Loving-Kindness

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate B• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Although some feminists in the 1970s stated with great assurance that "no woman would ever want to be dominated and no woman would ever want to dominate another," the experience of most SM practitioners is quite different, with some women quite enjoying all sides of power exchange. There is a certain overlap between the genderqueer, feminist, and BDSM communities. Can a political stance for equality and a sexual propensity for dominance/submission co-exist? And can one be a committed pacifist and a BDSM practictioner? Can one find the ideals of respect and compassion in kinky life?

M: Lyn Paleo, Anna Feruglio Dal Dan, Lynn Kendall, Betsy Lundsten, Laura Mina

182 SF & The Escape From The Body

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Wisconsin• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Science fiction, preeminently the literature of the mind, has historically had an uneasy relationship with the body, from (one of) its seminal text(s), Frankenstein, to modern works like The Ship Who Sang, "The Girl Who Was Plugged In," Old Man's War, the Alien movies. Vernor Vinge's notion of the Singularity provides a way for science fiction to escape the restraints of the body entirely. But should we want to?

M: Anne Harris, Elizabeth Bear, Mary Kay Kare, Alicia Kestrell Verlager, Élisabeth Vonarburg

183 How To Do Good Work in High Fantasy

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Capitol A• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

How do writers work within the genre expectations of traditional high fantasy? What limitations do they face, and how do they challenge and stretch those limits? It's possible to write good fiction without churning out yet another young-man-in-a-remote-village-discovers-his-hidden-destiny plot, isn't it? Let's explore inspirations and ideas for this popular but critically suspect genre.

M: Delia Sherman, Patricia Bray, Kelly D. Link, Sarah Monette, Jennifer W. Spirko

184 Love, Marriage, and Feminist Pair-Bonding

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Capitol B• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Last year's fairy tale panel included a spirited discussion on the fact that many traditional fairy tales end with a marriage. Even subversively rewritten fairy tales (such a "CinderEdna") frequently wind up with a marriage — though it's between people better suited to each other — and many books that would be shelved well outside the Romance section find their happy ending from pair-bonding as well. Is this inherently unfeminist? Are there books that deal intensely with relationships that don't feel the need to tie a tidy romantic bow at the end? What do feminist relationships look like?

M: Laurie J. Marks, Kate Elliott, R. Emrys Gordon, Victoria McManus, JoSelle Vanderhooft

185 Desire and Disappearances

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Christopher Barzak, Richard Bowes, Alice Kim, Meghan McCarron

186 Inherited Traits: Race, Gender, and Intertextuality in Heroes

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Heroes, NBC’s series about everyday people who develop superpowers, features a racially diverse ensemble spanning national and class lines, but bearing a common genetic marker. Inherently intertextual, Heroes references cultural tropes, media archetypes, earlier shows’ structures, and fandom culture. While it has adopted a number of previous innovations, the progress made elsewhere in treatments of gender and race has largely been disregarded. Will Heroes be able to take its sophisticated intertextual approach and use it to take its superhero tale beyond one-dimensional portrayals of race and gender issues, or will it be more of the same? This paper will explore some of Heroes’ more problematic heroes and discuss the show’s potential.

Candra K. Gill

187 Writing Violence

Solo Presentations•Conference Room 4• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Writing violence: how we do it, what we focus on, not to mention what we avoid, our assumptions and what we think it actually accomplishes, and how all this relates to class.

Dorothy Allison

188 Third Culture Kids

Reading SF&F•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Not everyone is born in one country and grows up there. Some are born in one country and then grow up in another, or several others; these are third culture kids. Often, they find themselves out of synch with both places. What is it like to a third culture kid and where can we find ourselves in sf/f? Is Temeraire of the Naomi Novik novels a third culture kid?

M: Lawrence Schimel, Alma Alexander, Yoon Ha Lee, K. Joyce Tsai

189 Welcome Back to Riverside!

Solo Presentations•607• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

When my first novel, Swordspoint, came out in 1987, I never imagined it would become the touchstone of the "Fantasy of Manners" or "MannerPunk" movement—let alone that I would go on to write two more connected novels, set 60 years (The Fall of the Kings, 2002, written with Delia Sherman) & 20 years (The Privilege of the Sword, 2006) after it! It's been a long, strange trip, and I'd love to describe, discuss and answer readers' questions about the process, the characters and the world—and what's next!

Ellen Kushner

190 SF Swim

Kids Programming•611• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.


191 Strange Horizons Tea Party

Parties•629• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Strange Horizons' much-beloved tea party! Come drink tea and eat yummy things while mingling with your favorite Strange Horizons staff and authors. Hosted by Susan Groppi, Jed Hartman, and Karen Meisner.

Jed E. Hartman

176 (cont) Mad Scientist Japanese Tea Party

Parties•634• Sunday, 2:30-5:15 p.m.

Mad Scientist cafe designed for Otaku-girls serves as an antidote against maid cafe which has long fascinated Otaku-boys. At this cafe, Mad Scientists in white with a pair of glasses, who can't communicate with ordinary women, serve to the visitor whatever he or she would like to drink, while wind-up chambermaids and Geishas keep supporting them.

Mari Kotani

192 Updates on Decluttering

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•623• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Two years ago several of us discussed how we were attempting to downsize and declutter our lives. This is a continuation of that subject. Where have we succeeded? Are we still struggling? Suggestions? Failures?

M: Karen Babich, Katie Clapham, Magenta Griffith, Joyce K. Scrivner, Laurel Winter

Sunday, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

193 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.

194 GoH Speeches and Awards 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.


195 Sunday Night Fancy Dress Party

Parties•607• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


196 Diversicon Party

Parties•611• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


197 LiveJournal Party

Parties•627• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


198 The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts

Parties•629• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


199 Doctor Who & Torchwood

Parties•634• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


200 Wyrdsmiths Party

Parties•623• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

201 Fantasy Films of 2006: The Year the Critters Ran Wild

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Assembly• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

In this and the companion panel, "SF Films of 2006", moderator Richard S. Russell will try to explain the mysterious Rise of the Penguin and why Cars count as "talking animals." Handouts. Video clips. Mandatory audience participation.

M: Richard S. Russell

202 What If You Don't Want to Have Children?

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate A• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

Is not wanting kids is the last feminist taboo? There are lots of Wiscon programming items about being a parent/being pregnant/whatever — how about the rest of us?

M: Sharyn November, Carrie L Ferguson, Paula L. Fleming, Annalee Newitz, Isabel Schechter

203 Words Like Icebergs

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate B• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

Our language is formed by the place we were born: the names for the hills, the rivers, the trees. Our writing is about our history; the etymology of place and personal names. Words are like glaciers—most of the meaning is hidden, but with great mass. Growing up speaking Creole, Yorkshire, a Down East dialect—it changes what we write. Let's talk about what we've written and how it was shaped. Let's guess where Famous Feminist Fiction of the past came from, and why.

M: Nicolle Minnerly, Nicola Griffith, Natasha Minnerly, Lawrence Schimel, Catherynne M. Valente

204 Staged Reading Performance: Juvenilia

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Wis/Cap• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

For the first time ever, WisCon presents a staged reading of a new fantasy play, rehearsed at WisCon, with a cast of WisCon-goers. Juvenilia, a comic drama about an abandoned world, will thrill your senses and break your heart. Keep an eye out for your friends on stage! Followed by discussion.

M: Liz L. Gorinsky, Reina Hardy

205 Sailing Strange Winds: Heave To and Prepare to be Boarded!

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

Kelly Regan Barnhill, Michael Merriam, Hilary Moon Murphy, Benjamin Micah Rosenbaum

206 Writing as Spiritual Practice

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Conference Room 5• Sunday, 10:00-11:15 p.m.

Convention panels on writing tend to focus either on the craft of fiction or on the business aspects of being a writer. For many of us, writing's also part of our spiritual practice. Let's talk about it! How are writing and spirituality connected? Do fantasy and science fiction lend themselves more naturally to spiritual expression than, say, writing computer manuals would — or vice versa? How do the spiritual aspects of writing intersect with the artistic and business aspects?

M: Susan Palwick, Lori Buschbaum, Patrick James Rothfuss, Nisi Shawl

195 (cont) Sunday Night Fancy Dress Party

Parties•607• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


196 (cont) Diversicon Party

Parties•611• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


197 (cont) LiveJournal Party

Parties•627• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


198 (cont) The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts

Parties•629• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


199 (cont) Doctor Who & Torchwood

Parties•634• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


200 (cont) Wyrdsmiths Party

Parties•623• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


Sunday, 11:30pm -12:45 a.m

207 Glorifying Terrorism

Readings•Conference Room 2• Sunday, 11:30pm -12:45 a.m

Vylar Kaftan, Maureen Kincaid Speller, Rachel Virginia Swirsky, James A Trimarco

195 (cont) Sunday Night Fancy Dress Party

Parties•607• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


196 (cont) Diversicon Party

Parties•611• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


197 (cont) LiveJournal Party

Parties•627• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


198 (cont) The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts

Parties•629• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


199 (cont) Doctor Who & Torchwood

Parties•634• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


200 (cont) Wyrdsmiths Party

Parties•623• Sunday, 8:30-12:45 a.m


Monday 5/28

Monday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

208 Workshop: Morning Taekwondo

Solo Presentations•Capitol B• Monday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

A short introduction to the korean martial art of taekwondo. This workshop will emphasize the applications of the two basic forms (Taeguek One and Palgwe One). No previous experience necessary. Taught by a third degree black belt.

Adrian Alan Simmons

209 InterFictions Anthology Reading

Readings•Conference Room 2• Monday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.

K Tempest Bradford, Shelley Jackson, Tom La Farge, Catherynne M. Valente

Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

210 The Future of Feminism

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Assembly• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Some of the most intense and fruitful conversations I've had at past WisCons are about how feminism needs to change as the first generation of "post-feminist" women grow up and step into a still-unequal and complicated world. Third Wave feminism is associated with everything from Suicide Girls to PowerPuff Girls to radical postmodern re-thinkings of race, gender and identity. Is "Girl Power" all we need, or is it time for a dramatic re-assessment of what it means to be a feminist today? And how can we take more action, besides rolling our eyes when another person on TV describes how boob jobs boost confidence?

M: Susan Marie Groppi, Janet Lafler, Kimberley Long-Ewing, Meghan McCarron, Andrea Diane Rubenstein

211 Teaching SF&F

The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F•Caucus Room• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Bringing SF & F into the classroom: what are some different approaches for primary school, high school, undergrad, postgrad? Creative approaches to introducing SF & F (examples: as an ethics course, in film studies, pop culture, in gender studies, science programmes, etc.) Devising syllabi and reading lists: go with the "classics," or take a cannon to the canon? What if your department head thinks science fiction has cooties?

M: JJ Pionke, Trent Hergenrader, Kelly McCullough, Cat T. Rambo, Patrick James Rothfuss

212 Boy Books? Girl Books?

Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F•Senate A• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Ever have a conversation with someone about a piece of literature and found yourself surprised and to have it dismissed (or lauded, or simply suggested) as a “boy book” or a “girl book”? Let’s discuss the characteristics that may cause a book to get one label or another. Is it the gender of the author? Of the characters? Of the readership? Its violence, or lack thereof? Its language? Its cover design? Is there any value in these designations for finding and attracting audiences, or do they just wind up ghettoizing whatever they’re applied to? How do these values apply specifically to the SF&F world and the (dying, hopefully?) perception that boys write science fiction for boys and girls write fantasy for girls? And how do non-binary gender systems play into or against these conventions?

M: Sharyn November, Lori Devoti, Liz L. Gorinsky, Laurie J. Marks, Pat Murphy

213 But The Master Has A Black & Decker Cordless Drill

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Senate B• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

How can we question literary standards that support the patriarchy/establishment/Man without suppressing critical judgment, and while maintaining a common critical language?

M: Jesse Kaysen, Jennifer Dunne, Micole Iris Sudberg, Catherynne M. Valente

214 Farthing Magazine/Nights at the Gauntlet

Readings•Conference Room 2• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Charlie Allery, Wendy Bradley, Anna Feruglio Dal Dan, Debbie L. Smith, Deb Taber, Greer Woodward

215 “Wait and See What I Become”: Gender and Performativity in James Robinson’s Starman/The Woman's Superpower: Ghosts, Empaths, and Psychics in Contemporary American Prime-Time Television

Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

1) Starman is a story about generations of families, one that presents two ages of heroes—the simply-themed, brightly colored superstars of the Golden Age and their grittier, more morally complex modern counterparts—as a foil for the relationships between parents and children. In this capacity, writer James Robinson has—and takes—the opportunity to examine and split from not only Golden Age idealism, but also more modern superhero tropes. This paper is a feminist exploration of the roles of performativity and gender in the personal and public identities of three characters: Jack Knight (Starman), the protagonist of the series; Nash (Mist), Starman's primary antagonist and Starman's only major female character; and Mikaal, a minor character whose nature as an alien and relative tabula rasa makes his perspective a particularly interesting lens on constructed social norms. I will examine each character through the lenses of superhero archetypes and culture, Judith Butler's theories of performativity, and my own perspective as a reader; and ultimately address the question, "Is Starman a feminist comic?" 2) In the wealth of supernaturally-themed television currently airing, those programs centered on women protagonists display a curious emphasis on the ability to "sense" emotions or events and to communicate with a spirit world. Scripted dramas such as Medium, Ghost Whisperer, and the now-defunct Joan of Arcadia and Tru Calling are joined by reality-style programs including Life Among the Dead: Lisa Williams. By endowing female protagonists with supernatural abilities, these shows encourage an allegoric reading of women's power in contemporary America. The leads struggle with their gifts as both blessing and curse, as they negotiate their own experience of their powers, the professional demands they face, and the integration of these abilities with a white, middle-class, heterosexual domesticity. Notably, these women find greater overall satisfaction than powerful action heroines of the past. However, the feminist potential of these programs is truncated by the emphasis on traditionally feminine characteristics of communication, care, spirituality and service to others. This feminine supernatural genre is neither coincidental nor a simplistic reinforcement of gender ideology.

Rachel Sharon Edidin, Elizabeth Ellcessor

216 How Dense Can We Get? Options for Making a Better Future

Feminism, Sex, and Gender•Conference Room 4• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

As of January 2007, the world population had passed the 6.5 billion mark, and many people feel we’re headed for trouble. Overpopulation has been linked to a whole series of possible catastrophes – global warming, resource depletion, and starvation. What should feminists do, who care about the future of the planet, and our future on it? If we need to change course, what should the new one be. The panelists will be giving short presentations on the problems associated with overpopulation, and their ideas for solutions, after which there will be time for discussion.

M: Nancy Jane Moore, Paula L. Fleming, Philip Edward Kaveny

217 The Religious Left Takes to the Streets

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•Conference Room 5• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Last year's "Where is the Religious Left?" panel determined that the Religious Left is right here at WisCon. Now it's time for the second part of the conversation. What specific actions can we take both to make ourselves more visible and to work on the social-justice issues dear to our hearts and our faith traditions? How can we do this without falling into the "us/them" dichotomy the Right has used so destructively? In the current climate, is it even possible to avoid the politics of opposition?

M: Susan Palwick, Alyson L Abramowitz, Lynn Kendall, Jean Mornard, Pamela K. Taylor

218 Board and Card Games

Kids Programming•611• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.


219 The Crutch of Religion in Moral Behavior

Politics, Race, Class, and Religion•629• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

One of the many points of contention between "the faithful" and "the rest of us" is how to tell whether we are living a moral life. For many of "the faithful," this means living in accordance with the precepts of their religion—while to "the rest of us" the externalization of authority seems like an abdication of moral responsibility. For many of "the rest of us," the nearest thing to a moral compass would be some kind of individual test such as "if it feels good, do it" or "to have and to offer no guilt, no shame, and no regrets" or "the golden rule"—while such moral relativism seems like an abdication of religious responsibility to "the faithful." This panel will focus on the "moral compass" of SF characters who grapple with these questions, such as Lauren Oya Olamina of (the late) Octavia E. Butler's Parables books and Father Sandoz of Mary Doria Russell's Sparrow series. We will also consider SF characters who are seemingly oblivious to the issue such as the heroine of Suzy McKee Charnas' Holdfast series and the protagonist of Ken MacLeod's Cosmonaut Keep series.

M: lucy ann synk, Ian K. Hagemann, Isabel Schechter

220 Charting Interstitiality: Choosing stories for InterFictions

Solo Presentations•634• Monday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.

Delia Sherman

Monday, 11:30am-12:45pm

221 The SignOut

Events•Wis/Cap• 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.

Alma Alexander, Charlie Anders, Elizabeth Bear, Steve Berman, Gary A. Braunbeck, Lori Devoti, L. Timmel Duchamp, Carol Emshwiller, Kelley Eskridge, Alicia Ellen Goranson, Nicola Griffith, Andrea D. Hairston, Rosemary Kirstein, Ellen Klages, Naomi Kritzer, Ellen Kushner, Kelly D. Link, Kimberley Long-Ewing, Will Ludwigsen, Laurie J. Marks, Sarah Monette, Nancy Jane Moore, Pat Murphy, Annalee Newitz, Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbahu, Susan Palwick, M. Rickert, James P. Roberts, Benjamin Micah Rosenbaum, Patrick James Rothfuss, Rebecca K. Rowe, Melissa Scott, Kristine Smith, Lucy A. Snyder, Midori M. Snyder, Kassandra Grace Sojourner, Catherynne M. Valente, Kerrigan Valentine, JoSelle Vanderhooft, Élisabeth Vonarburg, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Terri Windling

Monday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

222 Post–Mortem

Events•Assembly• Monday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

The last panel of WisCon is your opportunity to let us know how things went for you. Committee members who are still able to walk will answer your questions and listen to your suggestions.


223 Mid Career Writers Gathering

Solo Presentations•Senate A• Monday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.

Pat Murphy

Monday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Monday, 3:00 p.m.- 3:00 a.m.

224 OddCon/Dead Cow Party

Parties•629• Monday, 3:00 p.m.- 3:00 a.m.

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