Guess what's next weekend? Arisia 2021! And I'm on programming! Which you can see from the vantage point of Zoom!
Here's my schedule:
Hold Your Enthusiasm: Problematic Things - Communities, Panel - 55min - Zoom Room 1, 5:30pm FridayIn recent years, J.K. Rowling made clear her transphobia. This year, The Flash fired its Ralph Dibney, actor Hartley Sawyer, after several racist, mysoginist, and homophobic tweets resurfaced. Knowing that these people and many others have said and will continue to say incredibly problematic and harmful things, can we continue to enjoy their work? Or is everything they’ve ever done cancelled? If we do continue to enjoy these works, how can we do so in a way that doesn’t harm others?Writing in the Age of COVID - Writing, Panel - 55min - Zoom Room 1, 7:00pm FridaySpeculative fiction writers have imagined all manner of plagues, pandemics, and post-apocalyptic scenarios. Having lived with COVID-19 for the better part of a year, how did speculative fiction writers do? What did they get right and what did they get wrong? This panel will discuss how writers can draw from this collective disaster to make plague fiction more relevant or realistic in the future.
The Octavia Butler future is now - Literature, Panel - 55min - Zoom Room 1, 4:00pm Saturday
In her Earthseed series, Octavia Butler gave us a vision of the 2020s that is disturbingly close to our reality, including storms, and droughts brought on by climate change; escapism through addictive pharmaceuticals and games, and perhaps most chillingly a far-right US President backed by extremist evangelical Christians. This panel will review the highlights of these books and discuss the influences on Butler’s writing as well as the influence these novels have had since their publication.
Gillian Daniels (m), Bunnificent, Rob Cameron, Andrea Hairston, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Sam Schreiber
Go Team Venture! (and close the door behind you) - Media, Panel - 55min - Zoom Room 2, 11:30am Sunday
Growing quickly from its start as a spoof of 60s Hanna-Barbera action cartoons, The Venture Bros. built a full universe populated by complex characters with intertwined story arcs that kept us coming back for 7 seasons released over the span of 16 years. Many hearts broke when it was abruptly announced the show was not getting a season 8. Why did we love this show so much, how did it change over the long term, and what might have happened with The Monarch and Dr. Venture next?
Gillian Daniels (m), Lyndsay Ely, Eve Leonard, David G. Shaw, Hildy SilvermanSunday Afternoon Readings 1 - Literature, Reading - 55min - Zoom Room 4, 4:00pm Sunday
Join some of Arisia’s wonderful authors, while they read from their own work.
