I’ll be there. If you’re in the area this coming weekend, you might want to think about stopping by if you aren’t already planning to.
My panel schedule for the weekend has been released:
The Immortal Storm: The First Worldcon
Format: Panel
15 Feb 2019, Friday 17:00 – 17:50, Lewis (Westin)
Eighty years ago, in 1939, a group of fans held the first Worldcon, in New York City. Sam Moskowitz’s 1954 fannish history The Immortal Storm famously treats World War II as an anticlimax to the events of this convention. (NESFA Press will be offering an eBook edition of this easily excited epic.) Apart from the Futurian brouhaha, what legacy of NYCON is still visible in today‘s Worldcons and regional conventions?
Joseph Siclari (FANAC Fan History Project), Vincent Docherty (Mr) , Tim Szczesuil (Boskone, NESFA Press) (M) , Steve Davidson (Amazing Stories, The Experimenter Publishing Company) , Geri Sullivan
Amazing Stories
Format: Discussion Group
16 Feb 2019, Saturday 10:00 – 10:50, Galleria – Makers’ Space (Westin)
Join publisher and editor Steve Davidson for an insightful discussion about the rebirth of an iconic magazine, and all the struggles and triumphs that have come with it.
Steve Davidson (Amazing Stories, The Experimenter Publishing Company) (M)
Boskone Book Party
Format: Event
16 Feb 2019, Saturday 18:30 – 19:20, Galleria – Stage (Westin)
Come join the fun at Boskone 56’s Book Party — and meet the presses and authors who have new books coming out at the con! This is your chance to see what’s new from writers you already love, as well as those you have yet to discover.
Ms Brenda W. Clough , Erin Underwood (M) , Cerece Rennie Murphy (LionSky Publishing & NARAZU.com) , Isadora Deese , Christopher Paniccia (Gridiron Publishing) , Steve Davidson (Amazing Stories, The Experimenter Publishing Company) , Suzanne Palmer , Clea Simon , Jane Yolen , Adam Stemple , Julie C. Day , Karen Heuler , Jeff Hecht , KJ Kabza, Grady Hendrix , Kenneth Rogers Jr. (Lost Imaginations) , Clarence Young (Zig Zag Claybourne) , S L Huang , Elwin Cotman (Vanguard Classical East)
Notes
As a member of the Boskone Book Party, you’ll receive one of 15 small cocktail tables that are arranged in a U-shape in the Galleria. It’s a fun, high-energy event that fans really enjoy. You are welcome to hand out swag for free, show off your books, and even sell your books – but if you are going to sell anything, please be sure to either have sales go through a dealer in the Dealer’s Room or send your Massachusetts Sales Tax ID to program@boskone.org. Logistics: The hotel will bring the tables in around 6pm, and you’ll have about 20 minutes to get your things set up before the Book Party Swings into action from 6:30-7:30 pm at which time the event will come to a close and we’ll transition to the next item.
How Science Fiction Became Respectable
Format: Panel
17 Feb 2019, Sunday 11:00 – 11:50, Marina 1 (Westin)
Science fiction and fantasy have hit the mainstream with written works such as the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series, and media such as Arrival, Mr. Robot, various Avengers flicks, and the revitalization of the Star Wars franchise. But have they lost their cutting edge along the way? Does becoming mainstream reduce the opportunity for a valuable outsider perspective on society and on what it is to be human? Does wider acceptance weaken the power of these works?
Steve Davidson (Amazing Stories, The Experimenter Publishing Company), John R. Douglas (Freelance) , Joseph Siclari (FANAC Fan History Project) (M) , Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor Books) , Elise Sacchetti (Ladies of Comicazi) , Rich Horton
***
Looking to the two actual panels: first – I’m on them with some great people! As to what legacies has the first Worldcon passed on to us? Oh, a host of things. The one I consider to be perhaps the most important is the simple idea that we can all get together over a weekend and survive the experience well enough to want to do it again.
So far as respectability is concerned – I’m probaby going to be the contarian sitting at the table. Yes, SF has acquired much more notability – but I don’t think respectability is the word that should be used to describe that. More along the lines of mainstream culture realizing they can make money off of something if they stick robots, aliens, mutant powers and/or spaceships onto something.
But!
That’s ok because I’ll also being doing those two special panels and, at least during the Book Party, those in attendance are going to see a banner that says “Ask Me About AmazingCon®”.
Feel free to ask, but I’m not saying anything here until after the convention.
