Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Boskone 2022

With Boskone's COVID policy in place and numbers of cases in Massachusetts sharply dropping across the board, I'm pleased to say I'll be a panelist at Boskone this year!

If you're masked, vaxxed, and ready to party, I hope to see you either in-person or virtually!

What Is Horror? Format: Panel

18 Feb 2022, Friday 18:00 - 18:50, Marina II (Westin)

Horror is a feeling. Or maybe it's a body count. For some people, it's just a four-letter word. From body horror to folk horror to slasher, we'll discuss the differences and similarities in these subgenres — and see if we can find common ground.

Jennifer Williams, Paul Tremblay, Gillian Daniels (M)


The Queer Future Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 13:00 - 13:50, Marina I (Westin)

With a much-needed surge of people openly embracing diverse genders and sexual identities, how is speculative fiction doing in representing the breadth of identities in stories set in SF/F/H? Is there still a disparity? How can SF writers/creators best write the "other" if it's outside their own lived experience? And what more do we want to see in an engaging queer future within speculative fiction?

Julian K. Jarboe, Andrea Hairston (Smith College), Gillian Daniels, Vince Docherty (M)


Scary Fairies Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 16:00 - 16:50, Harbor II (Westin)

Should you find yourself in Fairyland: eat not, drink not, and think not the folk there are of any trifling pixie kind. Tales of old warn the Fae are clever sly creatures of a most uncertain temper. Listen to our seasoned Fairyland farers, know well that certain other Rules there be … and pray their tips and tricks may shield your stay in the Seelie Court.

Gillian Daniels (M), Sarah Jean Horwitz, Anne Nydam, Esther Friesner


I Love Loki Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 17:00 - 17:50, Harbor I (Westin)

Loki: the Marvel trickster we all adore to abhor. Is it the charming actor, Tom Hiddleston? The fun of seeing his pride persistently punctured? The appeal of his battling brother act with poor Thor? Let’s talk about the God of Mischief we know from the comics, the movies, the TV screen — and the even weirder Norse legends.

Jennifer Williams, Gillian Daniels (M), Kenneth Schneyer (Johnson & Wales University), Mike Squatrito (Association of Rhode Island Authors), Jennifer Pelland


Hope in Horror? Format: Panel

20 Feb 2022, Sunday 11:00 - 11:50, Burroughs (Westin)

When it comes to horror fiction, is hope just a four-letter word? Can a successful horror story have a happy ending? Can it afford to teach us anything positive about the human condition? Or is it by definition doomed to hopelessness and nihilism?

Paul Tremblay, Gillian Daniels, Errick Nunnally (Journey Planet Fanzine)