Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Rocket Stack Rank at WorldCon 76

We will both attend the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose this week. For the benefit of fans who want to meet us and chat a bit, here's a part of our schedule.

Stroll With The Stars

Fans meet with a few program participants for a casual walk around the convention center.

This event happens every morning, from Friday August 17 to Monday August 20, at 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. It always meets in the Lower Level Plaza (San Jose Convention Center).

Greg is one of the featured people on the Friday morning walk, but we plan to attend all four of them. It's probably the best place to meet to say hello, pick up a ribbon, and have a casual chat.

Panels

Greg will be on three different panels. By all means attend, ask questions, or just come up afterwards to say hi. Here's how the WorldCon schedule describes those panels:

Evolution of the Fanzine

17 Aug 2018, Friday 16:00 - 17:00, 210C (San Jose Convention Center)

"The earliest form of fannish communication was through the letter columns. Fans found this didn't give them enough interaction and the fanzine was born. Although more immediate forms of social media now exist, fanzines have evolved, and they still exist alongside Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. What do fanzines have to offer that other forms of communication don't have? Where does fanzine activity take place and how can someone find fanzines in an electronic world so far removed from the original fans?"

Panelists: Christopher J. Garcia, Steven Silver (Moderator), Vance Kotrla, Greg Hullender

Author vs Fan Ownership

18 Aug 2018, Saturday 17:00 - 18:00, 210DH (San Jose Convention Center)

"How much do readers "own" the books they read? Writing is a private art intended for public display. Once the story is out of the writer's hands, it can take on a life of its own--inspiring fandoms, fantheories, and fan interpretations that can vary widely from the author's. How much do the fans own the work? Can you (and should you) divorce the writer from their fiction? What is the writer's role in participating via social media in debunking or encouraging fan theories? Can the author be "wrong" about their own work? Our panel of authors and expert fans discuss the various and increasingly complex interactions between work, author, and reader."

Panelists: John Scalzi (Moderator), Foz Meadows, Greg Hullender, Renay Williams, Eric Kaplan

Getting Zoomed! Virtual Technology on the Rise

19 Aug 2018, Sunday 15:00 - 16:00, 210DH (San Jose Convention Center)

"The Worldcon76 team has been using a variety of virtual meeting technologies, ranging from Google Hangouts to Zoom. The technology has drastically changed in just a few years.  Where do we think it's going next? Do we see more Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) or even Artificial Intelligence (AI) coming into use? Will the face-to-face contact be replaced by tech evolution? Does this give us an opportunity to remove face-to-face meetings? How will this tech better include disabled readers and writers in SFF? How will AR, VR, and AI change our in-person communications? Panelists discuss the future of communication, near and far."

Panelists: Bill Parker, Greg Hullender, Norman Cates, Veronica Belmont

Other Events

We expect to be attending a number of other panels, we'll attend the File770 meet ups, we'll meet with a few people one-on-one, and, of course, we'll attend the events for Hugo Finalists. If you'd like to make time to meet with us about something specific, just let us know.

Enjoy the convention!

5 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves, and got back home safely.

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    1. Thanks! We look forward to meeting you in New Zealand in two years. We're planning to dress warmly and bring rain gear. :-)

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    2. With any luck we will meet each other in Dublin in 2019.

      Yes - rain gear in NZ for winter is essential, and it needs to be able to cope with strong winds. Anything you bring needs to be able to cope with strong winds.

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  2. Thanks, we had a good time and just posted our trip report!

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