WorldCON Schedule

Since all the cool kids are posting theirs, here's my MidAmericaCon II / WorldCON schedule:

Wednesday Aug 17, 2016
7:00 PM
The Interstices of Historical and Fanfiction 1 hour | 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2204
Lyda Morehouse | Dr. Heather Urbanski (Fitchburg State University) | Ms Sumana Harihareswara | Teresa Nielsen Hayden
Historical fiction is a work of literature, comic, film, or television program set in the past. Fanfiction is a work of fiction produced by fans for fans, using famous people or source texts as their inspiration. Frequently the worlds overlap. Let's discuss the overlaps, benefits, and pitfalls of working in these genres. The overlaps include writing fanfiction about historical fiction, setting fanfiction in an alternative universe by placing the narrative in a different historical era, fanworks about real-life historical figures (Historical RPF), or historical fanworks -- any fanwork set in the past.

Thursday Aug 18, 2016
12:00 PM
What is a Fan Writer? 1 hour | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2206
Lyda Morehouse | Rich Lynch | Mr. Guy Lillian | Foz Meadows | Goldeen Ogawa | Teresa Nielsen Hayden
What we mean when we say: Fan Writer. Is it a professional writer doing some work for free? Is it a way of life? Some say that the internet made us all fan writers. What does (and doesn't) this term encompass, is it a tradition, and how has the interpretation changed over the years?

Thursday Aug 18, 2016
10:00 PM
Anime Stories to Watch in the Dark 1 hour | 10:00 PM -11:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2504B
Lyda Morehouse | Mr. John Wiswell
When one hears "anime", horror may not be the first thing to come to mind. This panel might change that. Don't be scared, and join us as we explore horror in anime.

Friday Aug 19, 2016
11:00 AM
Living in a Cyberpunk Society 1 hour | 11:00 AM -12:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2208
Catherine Lundoff | Takayuki Tatsumi | Lyda Morehouse | Allan Dyen-Shapiro | Ms Pat Cadigan
We may not be able to jack in directly, but we are part of the Cyberfuture. When technology thrives but society decays, seemingly dystopic worlds arise. To what extent is our world a cyberpunk universe and what more can we expect to happen to take us there?

Friday Aug 19, 2016
1:00 PM
Autographing: Jeanette Epps, Alex Jablokow, Lyda Morehouse, Lawrence M. Schoen, Mary A. Turzillo 1 hour | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, Autographing Space
Jeanette Epps | Alex Jablokow | Lyda Morehouse | Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen | Dr. Mary A. Turzillo Ph.D.

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
10:00 AM
Complexity of Character: Coming Out in Teen Spec Fic 1 hour | 10:00 AM -11:00 AM, Kansas City Convention Center, 3501B
Catherine Lundoff | Mark Oshiro (Mark Does Stuff) | Lyda Morehouse | Jaylee James
Young adult speculative fiction is doing a fairly good job of featuring a diverse and varied cast of characters, but books that feature LGBT, asexual, and nonbinary characters are still not always easy to find. Let’s talk about what books and characters are out there, and what themes and identities are still underrepresented in YA SF? What challenges do spec fic authors face when writing and publishing books about teen sexuality and love? Beyond the main characters, what roles do the secondary and tertiary characters play in helping to advance the conversation about teen sexuality?

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
12:00 PM
Comics on the Small Screen 1 hour | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2503B
Terrence Miltner | Melissa F. Olson | Pete Balestrieri (University of Iowa) | Mr Lee Harris | Lyda Morehouse
From Batman in the 60s to The Incredible Hulk in the 70s to The Flash, Jessica Jones and Supergirl, we do love our superheroes on the box. But why do some comic heroes make a successful transition to the small screen and others tank on arrival, or even before?

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
1:00 PM
Representation in Comic Books: From Absences to Affirmatives 1 hour | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 3501B
Anna Raftery (TAFF) | Ms Sumana Harihareswara | Lyda Morehouse | Bill Campbell (Rosarium Publishing)
Bitch Planet gives us a larger woman who is proud of her body, the Lumberjanes show queer teenage romance, Hawkeye is deaf, and yet Oracle was ejected from her wheelchair and became Batgirl again, echoed in the TV series Arrow, where Felicity Smoak was 'fixed' by science. Our panel discusses representation within comics, where we are succeeding, how representation is moving forward, and where it still needs to avoid harmful stereotyping, assumptions or tokenism.

Saturday Aug 20, 2016
5:00 PM
Yaoi and Yuri: Japanese Graphic Romance 1 hour | 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Kansas City Convention Center, 2205
Lyda Morehouse | Lauren Schiller | Jaylee James
*The nature of this session may result in adult themes being discussed.*
Fans of manga, graphic novels, romances, and LGBT characters – come learn about yaoi and yuri; terms for manga about m/m and f/f romance, respectively. This introductory session discusses where you should start. We also discuss some of the debates around the representation of gay characters in these comics, and the wider impact of these manga.