Yay! Arisia is THIS WEEKEND and I'm on four panels, three of which I'm moderating. Looking forward to seeing friends and absorbing energy for a new year!
Come and say hi!
In Praise of Unlikeable Characters Marina 1 Literature Sat 1:00 PM 01:15
Gillian Daniels (m), Maya Garcia, Lorrie Kim, Ken Schneyer, Sonya Taaffe
Description Bring us your curmudgeons, your cantankerous jerks, your deliberately unlikeable characters of all genders without which the plot might not move so smoothly. Someone's got to do the dirty work, after all. Let's talk about our favorite unlikeable characters in genre fiction, and the purposes they serve.
Queering Up Canon Marina 3 Fan Interest Sun 1:00 PM 1:15
Gillian Daniels (m), Lee C. Hillman (Gwendolyn Grace), Konner Jebb, Cassandra Lease
Description Bring us your curmudgeons, your cantankerous jerks, your deliberately unlikeable characters of all genders without which the plot might not move so smoothly. Someone's got to do the dirty work, after all. Let's talk about our favorite unlikeable characters in genre fiction, and the purposes they serve.
Queering Up Canon Marina 3 Fan Interest Sun 1:00 PM 1:15
Gillian Daniels (m), Lee C. Hillman (Gwendolyn Grace), Konner Jebb, Cassandra Lease
Description Much fanfic has a large interest in QUILTBAG themes. Maybe your fic involves making characters of the same gender fall in love with each other, having a character established as cis turn out to be trans, or asking if Sherlock has never shown any interest in a "proper" Victorian marriage because he's asexual. Can fanfic writing and QUILTBAG activism potentially intersect? What does it mean that fans of works with cis, straight characters are looking for more variety in the fiction they consume?
Sexuality and the Superheroine Adams Comics Sun 7:00 PM 01:15
Sexuality and the Superheroine Adams Comics Sun 7:00 PM 01:15
Juliet Kahn (m), Gillian Daniels, Ed Fuqua, Alisa Kwitney Sheckley, Maddy Myers
Description A lot of the debate around female characters in comics centers around their sexuality—case in point, Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. It’s a contentious issue: can these characters truly have agency? What does it mean for a female character created and written by men to “own” her sexuality? Is there a difference between “empowered” fishnets and “degrading” ones, in the context of superhero comics? Can a fictional character be slut-shamed? Let's tackle these questions and more!
Short Sharp Shocks Hale Literature Mon 1:00 PM 01:15
Description A lot of the debate around female characters in comics centers around their sexuality—case in point, Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. It’s a contentious issue: can these characters truly have agency? What does it mean for a female character created and written by men to “own” her sexuality? Is there a difference between “empowered” fishnets and “degrading” ones, in the context of superhero comics? Can a fictional character be slut-shamed? Let's tackle these questions and more!
Short Sharp Shocks Hale Literature Mon 1:00 PM 01:15
Gillian Daniels (m), Andrea Corbin, Morgan Crooks, MJ Cunniff, Keffy R.M. Kehril
Description Simply put, you can do things in short fiction that you can't do anywhere else. Experiments that only hold up for a few thousand words, twists that would fall flat at greater length, intense playfulness with form and function, unrelenting emotional intensity, and more. Let's talk about the best short fiction of today and what makes it great.
Description Simply put, you can do things in short fiction that you can't do anywhere else. Experiments that only hold up for a few thousand words, twists that would fall flat at greater length, intense playfulness with form and function, unrelenting emotional intensity, and more. Let's talk about the best short fiction of today and what makes it great.
***
Today, I attended the Day of Denial hosted by 350 Massachusetts. It was a short demonstration asking the governor to take further action on climate change.
I made up a list of resolutions that I expect to stick to with varying degrees of success this year, but the one I take the most seriously right now is continuing to protest.
