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These are the panels we are proud to present to you., our attendees. We hope to amuse you, engage you and perhaps enlighten you to some degree. This list is by general category. We had hoped to bring you the names of the panelists as well as these brief descriptions, but time did not permit. Be sure to check the pocket program for time and location of the panels!
Horror
The Cthulhu Mythos Seen Now and Then – The enduring legacy of H. P. Lovecraft and the less than hopeful place of humanity in his world has struck a chord with readers ever since, but how has the appeal of these stories changed over time?
The Devil Made Me Do It: Demonic Possession – Get plenty of rest, and exorcise regularly. If the problem recurs, more serious remedies may be necessary.
From the World of Darkness to Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: Where Is Horror Going? – An examination of some seemingly contradictory trends in the genre and the future of horror in general.
Ghost Stories – There's a good reason that folk whistle while walking through graveyards.
Is Horror a Genre or a Mood? – There may be nothing supernatural at all about an axe murderer, but for many fans such figures are the essence of horror. What unites the appeal of the terrifying and the macabre?
The Reluctant Vampire – When did the villainous vampire evolve into an empathetic hero? An examination of "good guy" vampires.
Slick Schlock: the Glories of Gore – What horror fans love most about what disgusts some people most about the genre. How much is too much, how much is too little? Where and how do you draw the line -- or is there a line at all?
We Are the Vampire – The vampire myth as a metaphor for the human condition, including human sexuality, the desire to be forever young, and to be free from the bounds of ordinary behavior, and the efforts to place people who will not observe convention outside of society.
White Wolf's World of Darkness – The allure of the cultural phenomenon, which began with Vampire: the Masquerade.
Writing & Publishing
Advice for New Writers – What do you do first? Preparing your work for professional submission.
Agents: Saviors or a Necessary Evil? – Do you really need an agent? And if you do, where can you find the right one for you?
Peril of the Midlisters – What's killing the midlist? Changing reader interests, profit-obsessed publishers, media novel proliferation, the consolidation of the distributors... or something else entirely?
Writing Dystopias – From Greek tragedy to Thomas Covenant. A cheery plot isn't necessarily the most interesting one. How and why tragedy can also move us.
Writing Media Fiction for Fun and/or Profit – Whether you write it for fan or pro publications, media fiction appeals to a wide market.
Editors: Do They Really Edit Anymore? – Dealing with editors on a professional level, and self-editing your work before submission.
What Writers Need to Know about Ships and Boats – Nautical knowledge that more authors ought to have.
What Writers Need to Know about Horses – Contrary to what some writers might think a horse is not a car, but a creature with needs and a mind of its own.
What Writers Need to Know about Grave Bodily Injury – Reality vs. the Hollywood myth. What would really happen if your hero were shot with an M-16?
Preaching in Print: How Much is Too Much, How Much is Too Little? – The pros and cons of proselytizing in prose.
Killing Off Your Heroes – A necessary evil? When you should and when you probably shouldn't.
Single vs. Multiple Points of View – Writing POV without confusing your reader
1997: The Year in SF & F in Review – A consideration of the year in the field, with notes for prospective Hugo voters.
The Ethics of Collaboration – Can you work with a co-writer and survive? When should a writer look for a collaborator? Just what constitutes abuse in collaboration? A thorny issue.
How I Avoid Writing – Procrastination 101 (and ways around it): The why and how of not getting around to it, and of beating procrastination.
Writing Science Fiction: How Much Science Must You Know to Get It Right? – Leaving the scientifically literate in your audience gnashing their teeth isn't good for your career. Things to avoid for non-technophilic aspiring SF writers.
Writers' Workshops: The Pros & Cons – Some say they're a help, some say they hindrance. Find out if they're right for you.
When Plot Devices Become Obsolete – When do innovations become cliches? You've turned it upside down, you've put topspin on it, and still it comes out hackneyed. At what point is a device beyond saving?
The Slush Pile Panel – Literary jewels *have* been plucked from slush piles. Will yours be one of them?
How to Break In – Making that all-important first sale.
How to Break Into Screenwriting – Advice on getting a foot in the door.
The Impact of the Internet on Publishing – Is online publishing the wave of the future, or a signal of doom?
Will the Internet Destroy Publishing> – A more ominous examination of the trend.
Writing Larger than Life Characters – Can you keep them under control? *Should* you?
Getting Started -- and Finishing – How to kick-start a writing career, and keep it going. How to finish what you write and submit it for publication.
Self-Publishing: Should I or Shouldn't I? – In the ever-changing world of small presses, you need a scorecard to keep up. Helpful hints from self-published writers.
The Small Press – The impact of the small press on SF, from "Fantasy Press" to today.
But I Don't Wanna Be a Pro – There's no law that says you have to graduate from fan fiction to the "real" stuff. Advice from some of your fellow writers who are happy to remain amateurs.
I Wanna Be a Pro, but I Can't Handle Rejection – How to shrug off those heartless rejection slips and keep your work going out to all those potential markets.
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Pern – Can you bridge the schism between the sexes when it comes to reading sf? Are our tastes really that different?
"PC" SF – Current sf lit may be seeking a level of mediocrity in the interest of "political correctness." Can you write good sf without offending anyone?
Science Fiction
Why You Should Read My New SF Book – Writers talk about the new books they've had appear over the last year, or will over the next. (Editor's note: I think that this kind of panel should be held at every con. If I get the kind of response I'm hoping for here, I'll schedule multiple incarnations of the panel.)
Why You Should Jump Into the Middle of My Ongoing SF Series, and Here's How to Avoid Being Lost – Ever feel like you can't find anything but volumes three and five by authors you haven't tried before -- or worse yet, you're not sure where in a series a book comes? Writers who are in mid-series welcome you, and provide a readers' guide on where to start and how to catch up.
New Author Showcase: Science Fiction – New science fiction authors who have sold two books or fewer (or one trilogy) talk about their work, whether already on the shelves or still forthcoming. A glimpse of where the genre might be going, and a chance for readers to find new suppliers for their habit.
After the Holocaust in the Post Cold War World – Nuclear war is still a possibility, and chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction are coming into their own. Competing nationalities growing ever more hostile make a breeding ground for attempted genocide. And even if we avoid deliberate self-immolation, the wreck we've made of the planet may render that achievement only a brief victory before the end.
The Age of Steam Lives Anew – The Nineteenth Century looms large in the popular imagination as we come to the end of the Twentieth. It goes beyond Holmes and steam-punk; Tomorrowland is being refitted to remind us of Jules Verne. What is it about the last century that grips us so in the late 1990s?
Alien Animals, Alien Plants, Alien Skies – There's lots of stories about intelligent alien life. What about the flora and fauna? Not to speak of Merryweather: how would the plants and animals stand up under alien meteorological patterns?
The Alien as Benefactor – They came from the stars to show us a better life. What will it cost us? Is their better way as far superior as they tell us, or just better for them? Would a society that attained starflight early, however well meaning, be as socially mature as one which pursued other goals more intently? Or, are these visitors from beyond who can tell us how to cope with all our human ills and just take care of us, since we can't take care of ourselves?
The Alien as Conqueror – Forget about ET and The Day the Earth Stood Still. These aliens aren't noble or friendly, they're mean as hell and maybe downright evil! And they may just subjugate the entire human race! Extraterrestrial visitors you can love to hate. Xenophobia? What's that?
The Alien as Lust Object – Xenophilia. We know what that is. What is it about an alien that attracts? Or is this just exploitation?
The Alien as Victim – Yeah that's right -- WE came from outer space, and we kicked some alien butt. Of course we oppress 'em: they're subhuman. Don't even have souls. Besides, who knows what they'd do if we didn't keep 'em in line? Sometimes the best defense is downright offensive. Xenophobia? That's small potatoes.
Alternate History: Mongols Invade Europe – Instead of following the Silk Road through Samarkand into the Middle East, what if Genghis Khan had gone north above the Caspian Sea and laid waste to Christian Europe, leaving Islam relatively unscathed?
Alternate History: King George Washington – In Two Crowns for America, General Washington wisely refuses a crown. What if circumstances had driven him to accept one? What would have been the fate of the new Kingdom of the United States?
Alternate History: Manifest Destiny Stillborn – It might not have taken much. A different government in Mexico, Polk is never elected president, the British make Oregon part of Canada, and Texas and California might never join the Union, which extends only as far as the Louisiana Purchase. Does the South rebel? Do the Yanks go to Europe in 1917?
Alternate History: Nixon Stages a Coup – Suppose that the Vietnam War had gone just a little differently, and that Richard Nixon's leadership had won him greater loyalty from the military. In 1974, under great strain, something snaps inside the man, and he refuses to resign. The House impeaches him and the Senate convicts by a small margin -- and Nixon refuses to yield power, and is backed up by the armed forces. What kind of world would we have today?
Alternate History: Romae Delenda Est – If Hannibal hadn't been lying severely wounded, he might have prevented his lieutenants from wiping the city of Rome from the face of the map, and we might have a very different world from the one we have today, where the Peace of Carthage extended for centuries. Of course, the Germanic tribes might never have taken the Italian peninsula, either.
Alternate History: Spain Defeats America in 1898 – A reinvigorated Spanish monarchy throws the Americans back in Cuba and the Philippines, and reduces the American navy to so much flotsam. Teddy Roosevelt dies on San Juan Hill, and the disgraced McKinley is defeated by William Jennings Bryan in 1900. A totally different twentieth century.
Alternate History: The Triumph of the Hapsburgs – Charles V forces Rome to reform the Church and Luther and the other Protestants are reconciled. Charles' son, Phillip, weds Mary I of England and averts the Dutch Revolt through wiser diplomacy. The conquest of France is only a matter of time, and Europe faces the world united under enlightened Hapsburg control by the middle of the seventeenth century, with America under its colonial grip.
Alternative Histories We Don't Know – History is usually written by the victors. How might we be deceived, today, about the actual course of events in the past because those in power decided that the official version needed to depart from the truth?
Back in the Old Days – A consideration of science fiction prior to the 1930s.
Archaeology in Science Fiction – Alien artifacts and the ruins of lost civilizations out among the stars are a staple of the genre. Readers puzzle along with the protagonist to figure out riddles left by the ancients, and sometimes beat the hero to the solution.
Artificial Intelligence – Artificial in what sense? Must intelligence be somehow less than authentic if it exists in a machine? To what extent must its perspective be divorced from the emotional as well as the instinctual?
Anthropomorphic SF: Why Not Make Them Humans? – What is lost, or gained, in telling a story about anthropomorphic animals than about normal human beings, particularly when your medium is the written word.
Blowing Up San Diego – At least two of our guests have told the story of the nuclear destruction of America's Finest City. What incredible perverseness prompts such a tale, and what part of the city would you most like to see blown to smithereens, atomic or otherwise?
California Cities as Settings – La-La Land, the Left Coast, call it what you will: California occupies a unique position in the popular imagination. What benefits, and what disadvantages, are there to setting a story in the Golden State?
Castaways in Time & Space – The traveler's tale is as old as civilization, and one of the wellsprings of the sense of wonder. Marooning your character renders exposition not only plausible but necessary, and the motivation instantly clear. The climax can be the homecoming, or the choice between staying and returning.
Cross-Genre SF: Mystery – Plenty of sf stories involve murder mysteries. To what extent should they observe the conventions of the modern mystery novel? What place does sf have in a mystery novel?
Cross-Genre SF: Romance – Most sf tales involve romance, even in a genre that can tell a story without a romance more easily than most. There are more and more cross-overs between these genres lately. Why, and what can the combination of the two offer that neither genre does alone?
Cyberpunk: Does It Need to Have Anything to Say? – The tone of Cyberpunk will be popular for a long time to come, but does it have anything left to say? If not, how much does that really matter for the people who write it in the knowledge that it has a readership? Of course, how long will that readership last, with or without new ideas?
A Dance Has No Opposite: The Role of Ritual and Symbolism in Culture-Making – You can show more about a society by depicting a ceremony or an icon central to that culture than you can with a dozen pages of exposition. In this panel we'll explore how symbolism and ritual both create and reveal a culture, and how to use them to make your world live.
Dances with Whales: the SF Fascination with Cetaceans – Dolphins, porpoises, and whales hold a distinct place in sf. Why is this, and what does it tell us about ourselves? What does it tell us about the way that sf readers look at aliens?
The Decline and Fall of the American Republic – If we aren't at the end of history, what's ahead? Will this country lead the way as it has before? Corruption led to the end of the Roman Republic, and is sapping the legitimacy of this one. What form of government could replace the republic if the present one falls, and how and why could it happen? Will it happen?
Dismal Science Fiction: Economics in SF – Tycoons and financial wizards are frequent in sprawling space epics, but with rare exception their parts in sf novels arise from their wealth, not the skills that made them wealthy. Even the other behavioral sciences get more respect from sf writers than economics, though the world economy today has been transformed by the impact of advancing technology. Is this inevitable?
Drinking, Drugs, Tobacco & Holodecks: the Future of Addiction – Vice is no less sure than death and taxes. What means will we have devised to delightfully destroy ourselves over the next few dozen, or few hundred, years?
Ecological Horrors and What to Do About Them – What if the Lorax and his friends are right, and between them the hole in the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, and all the other environmental threats are just as dangerous as they've been saying? A look at stories about saving the world from itself: eucatastrophic science fiction.
Fleet Tactics & Strategy in an Interstellar War – Epic space battles have made for gripping sf from the attack on the Death Star to Severed Dreams and from the Lensmen books to the Exordium. How much must physics be the prisoner of the plot, and how much fun can be had from letting readers know enough about what each side can do that they can second-guess battle plans?
The Future by Design – Ideas for the nature of a genetically designed human race.
The Future of Espionage – James Bond has always lived on the edge of the future, and even the most down to earth spies need to rely on the latest technology. How will espionage change in the decades ahead?
The Future's So Dark, I've Gotta Wear Shades – Dismal dystopias and bleak futures abound in current depictions of things to come. Why is this so prevalent today, and how much is it reflective of popular culture? Should writers try to buck the trend? Do the readers who have made this material sell well just enjoy the prospect of a dark future, or do they consider this confronting a reality which we've tried to glamorize but is just as bad as these ugly visions?
Gender Bending in SF: A Theme Whose Time Has Come? – Stories involving bisexual and homosexual characters are more common in sf than ever. How much is this a reflection of the times, and how much the nature of the genre? Why is this happening in the nineties?
How Truly Alien Can an Alien Be? – Would a race that developed entirely independently of our own have enough in common with us that we could communicate at all? We might be able to get down basic concepts like, "let's not shoot one another" and "don't eat that, it's poison," but then again maybe not.
Imaginary Cuisines – Legions of scenes vital to the advance-ment of the plot have taken place over dinner, but what's on the menu is usually glossed over. What aliens eat, and how they eat it, is largely a function of their physical environment every bit as much as their science, society, or even their physiogology, and it can reveal much about their culture.
Individualizing Aliens – Individual alien characters of the same race might be similar in one sense, but different in many others, or perhaps part of their alienness is that none of them behave in a way we can understand. How do you make an alien character unique and sympathetic (or characteristically despicable) without turning them into the literary equivalent of forehead aliens?
Interstellar Law – An interstellar polity faces difficulties not only in enacting laws which are fair and just for citizens of different conditions, physical and cultural, but in terms of maintaining a coherent civilization. Rapid communications and transportation can help, but only so much. A look at the problems of keeping law and order in a star-spanning society while maintaining a legitimate interstellar government.
The Journey of the Hero – The classic hero, as understood by Joseph Campbell and others, and the path he must follow, manifested in a science fiction setting, and the similarities between figures like John Sheridan and King Arthur.
Jules Verne – A new novel by Jules Verne has been redis-covered after a century. How much better a writer is he in the original French than you can tell by reading him in translation? A new look at one of the founders of science fiction.
Life Is Hard When You're a God: Realistic Religions in Science Fiction – What makes an invented faith plausible, and what takes it that next step to inspiring awe, and making it plausible that people really practice that religion? Examples of successes and failures in such attempts.
The Limits of Invention: Physics & Engineering – What in sf is possible, and what impossible, given the constraints of physics and engineering? What, if any, limits can we foresee on future advances in these fields?
The Limits of Invention: Biology & Medicine – What can you really do with the human body in sf, and what's just not possible?
The Limits of Invention: Social Science – Social scientists should know better than to say what can and can't be done with the social and behavioral sciences, but still there are some standards that social science fiction should regard.
Linguistics and Science Fiction - People as diverse as George Orwell and Adolf Hitler remind us of the power of language to shape thought. An alien language could be the most profoundly different thing about alien race.
Made-Up Languages – Comparing Mark Okrand's "Klingon" with J.R.R. Tolkien's elven languages and other invented tongues from fantasy and science fiction.
MARS MAGNUS: the Popularity of the Red Planet in 90s SF – Mars. Mars Attacks. Moving Mars. Racing Mars. Free Mars! One Mars, Two Mars, Red, Green, and Blue Mars. What is it about the fourth planet that's gotten all this attention lately?
Poetry in Science Fiction – Why is there such a small market for sf poetry? Where can you go to even find good sf poetry to read?
Psionics & Telepathy in SF – Mental powers are the hallmark of a truly advanced race in many works of sf; in others, their possession sets one sort of Homo sapiens apart from another. A look at one of the most enduring sf themes.
Science Fiction in Latin America – SF just doesn't have the same appeal south of the border. Why not? And what differences are there between sf written in Spanish and in English, and are these reflections of the differences between languages alone, between cultures, and between wealthy nations and others not so well off?
Space Opera! – Forget about adhering to physical laws or making your starflight mechanics credible or consistent. What's important is the setting, the tone, and the attitude! Ever hear of the sense of wonder, fellow? Where to look for the greatest space opera being published today, and also in older books.
Terrorism in the 21st Century – Bigger things come in smaller packages today, and the darndest people might be honked off at you. Not to mention the things that can travel over telephone lines. A free society is meat for the terrorist, and we ain't seen nothin' yet. Not for people who spend a lot of time flying on planes, or work in a federal building.
Time Travel Tales – Stories about time travel are a natural complement to the current popularity of alternate history stories, and they're making a comeback. Or perhaps it was all arranged for by meddlers from the future?
21st Century Cop: the Thin Cyan Line – Keeping the peace in near-future sf may be as much a matter of the mastery of technology as of knowing the neighborhood like the back of your hand, having contacts with all the reliable snitches, or even being able to shoot straight. But it's always about crime and violence, injustice on one or both sides of the law, and why and how things go wrong.
The Ultimate Weapon in SF – Unstoppable floods in the Renaissance, planetkillers in the far future. The weapon you can't defend against must be thwarted at all costs, and that where real heroism kicks in. But even when never fired, living in the shadow of the ultimate weapon exacts a toll on the spirit.
The U.S. Constitution in 2048 – How will the constitution have to change over the next fifty years? How much of the change in the world's oldest government will result from technology, and how much from other pressures? Will there even be a federal government in fifty years?
Unrealized Prophecies: Predictions that Have Not Come True (Yet, Anyway) – SF writers have been hailed for their correct predictions of future developments. What outstanding prognostications of the world at the millennium have been made that haven't come to pass?
Yesterday's Tomorrows for Today's Audiences – Some of the most entertaining sf of yesteryear now describes a future that will never come to pass.
Fantasy
Why You Should Read My New Fantasy Book – Writers talk about the new books they've had appear over the last year, or will over the next
Why You Should Jump Into the Middle of My Ongoing Fantasy Series, and How to Avoid Being Lost – Ever feel like you can't find anything but volumes three and five by authors you haven't tried before -- or worse yet, you're not sure where in a series a book comes? Writers who are in mid-series welcome you, and provide a readers' guide on where to start and how to catch up.
New Author Showcase: Fantasy – New fantasy authors who have had two books or fewer (or one trilogy) published, whether currently on the shelves or still awaiting publication, discuss their work. A glimpse of where fantasy might be going, and a chance to discover new talent for readers who have exhausted the work of writers already know.
Ambiguous Fantasy: Only Her Thaumaturgist Knows for Sure – Settings evocative of fantasy, with some characters who believe magic while most of the population either doesn't believe it or approach it superstitiously, can leave the reader wondering whether he is reading an actual fantasy novel or just an historical romance. Sometimes you can't be sure even once the book is finished, and sometimes you're left with no doubt at all. What are the advantages of this approach?
Arthurian Fantasy – Why does the legend of King Arthur have such incredible staying power? Has the material been worked to death, or is there room for new ideas in its treatment? Why do readers buy one book of Arthurian fantasy and not another?
Auguries in the Oversoul: Popular Fantasy as a Harbinger of Things to Come – Much has been said about science fiction predicting the future, but not much about fantasy. Yet, fantasy by its nature must deal with the stuff of dreams and aspirations, and its deepest resonances say something about what its readership longs for. What did the fantasy written in each decade since the publication of The Lord of the Rings have to tell us about the dreams of its generation, and how is it reflected in the world that each generation made? What does the fantasy being written today say about the world tomorrow?
Burke-Style Connections in Fantasy: the Impact of Magic on Technology – In his "Connections" series, James Burke showed how one innovation helped lead to others in entirely unrelated fields. In what strange directions could magic interact with science and technology in a fantasy world, and what impact might scientific technology have on the development of magic?
Celtic Themes in Fantasy – The past ten years have seen an explosion of greater interest in all things Celtic. Fantasy literature has been drinking from this draught for much longer, yet there hasn't been a big increase in Celtic fantasy over the last decade. To what extent has the fantasy field been a forerunner of this trend, and why?
Historically Informed Fantasy – Most fantasy since Tolkien has been at least vaguely medieval, or at least pre-industrial, yet some fantasy realms seem a great deal more authentic than others, and this is often due to an author's under-standing of the history of our own world. What are the ad-vantages, and the constraints, of such a reliance on history?
Christian Fantasy: Is It a Contradiction in Terms? – Katherine Kurtz's Haldane Kings rule a Christian land, and C.S. Lewis' Narnians followed Christ in all but name, yet some people feel that all fantasy is inherently un-Christian. Why does this contradiction exist, and how can it be resolved -- or is such a resolution impossible?
Dark Lords with a Difference – Is the Great Enemy always the same, because of the banality of Evil or for some other reason, or is it possible to make a genuine Adversary an individual? When you give an Enemy a unique personality, does he become somehow less universal in his evil?
Democracy in a Fantasy World – If Hegel was right, government by people was inevitable whether magic works or not, and much of the struggle for democratic revolution was led by occultists. Does the ability to use magic give royalists an edge, or does it make it easier for republicans to overthrow a monarchy?
The Deryni and Other Telepaths in Fantasy – The desire to be able to read the minds of others is one of the oldest fantasies. An exploration of what makes this material so absorbing.
The End Is Near – Armageddon will take place in 2000, and it's up to our panelists to figure out who's the Antichrist, when the Rapture took place (or is it yet to come?), and the such details in a lighthearted look at the Apocalypse.
Eucatastrophe and the Fantasy Epic – Much of today's longer fantasies were inspired by Tolkien, but in a seemingly endless Big Commercial Fantasy, that sudden, glorious turn never seems to arrive. How can you make the finish live up to the lead-in, and not make it seem like a deus ex machina?
Fantasy in Historical Novels – Setting a fantasy tale in our own world, with familiar figures like Queen Elizabeth or Ben Franklin, can be a bit jarring, but extremely effective. What are the limits on this? The idea of Dr. Dee being a real magician is one thing, but is Nancy Reagan getting advice from an astrologer who's a real soothsayer another?
Fantasy World-building I: Theology, Mythology, Cosmology
Fantasy World-building II: Peoples and Cultures
Fantasy World-building III: History and Story-lines We've turned the old favorite world-building panel series on its head this year, and we're applying it to a fantasy setting rather than the usual science fiction venue. Bill Stoddard will moderate all three panels, and will be responsible for continuity from one panel to the next.
How Truly Alien Should an Elf Be? – The standard fantasy races are often just labels for certain personality types: dwarves are gruff or greedy, elves haughty and fair of face, and so forth. Does creating a sort of elf which is truly different, who thinks in another way and from a different worldview than a human being, impelled by physiology and habitat, in the manner of a sf alien, still leave you with an elf, or with something different? Should you still call them elves if you do?
Humor in Fantasy – Fantasy is just as well suited to comedy as to tragedy, but just making fun of the conventions of the genre can begin to seem all the same.
Law, Chaos, and the Closing of the Frontier: Where Lies the Perilous Realm Today? – Once upon a time, Faerie lay in the wild forest, where danger might lurk at any turning, and never safely within city walls, where the rule of law extended. Today, many people feel most frightened in the inner city, and feel safer in the suburbs. A riot is bad, and a street gang is a menace, but an outlaw motorcycle gang is this century's version of the Wild Hunt. Arrayed against the forces of Chaos we have Black Helicopters and cops who beat up suspects. To what extent has the ghetto become Faerie, and to what degree can this never happen?
Light Fantasy – If the griffin keeps losing his hair, trying to find a remedy can still be a quest through the fantasy landscape. What makes a fantasy "light", as opposed to the standard version? Does it matter?
The Looming Millennium: Millenarianism in Today's Fantasy – What impact is the advent of the third millennium of the Christian Era having on fantasy being written now? It's a grand opportunity for setting eucatastrophic fantasy in the contemporary world: the Four Horsemen ride out as heralds of Apocalypse, nihilistic cultists imminentize the Eschathon, and Cthulhu rises from the deep. Will we be awash with such fare for the next two years, or will there be little of it?
The Magician as an Object of Persecution – They fear what they do not understand, and no wonder. The peasants are coming with their pitchforks, and usually they're being led by their priests or preachers, or possibly by Pat Buchanan. Reaction and oppression in a fantasy world, and questions what constitutes evil.
The Matter of California – Arthurian lore tells us that the rule of Law is the Matter of Britain. C. S. Lewis speculated that the Matter of France was Reason, and there has been debate over the Matter of America, of Japan, and other nations. Lately we have seen a renewal of California spoken of as uniquely different from the rest of the USA, not uncommonly by its detractors. If there is a Matter of California, what is it? How could it be achieved?
A Question of Good and Evil: Pagan Faiths in Fantasy Tales Today – Not so long ago, the stereotypical heathen in a fantasy story followed a cruel god who demanded human sacrifices and barbaric practices. These days, some fans demand a sort of political correctness of fantasy writers to depict druids and other pagans in a strictly positive light. How and why has this happened, and how should authors of fantasy novels deal with this question?
The Uses of Mythology and Legend in the Fantasy Epic – When a writer has room to develop his own mythos, how much should he use strictly original ideas, and to what extent draw from the wealth of material available from the lore of myth and legend which drew many readers to fantasy in the first place?
Political and Topical Subjects
A Dozen Years Away: Fearless Predictions for the Year 2010 – . Our panel of prognosticators be warned: your predictions of what will happen over the next twelve years will be videotaped, and we intend to make that tape available to the organizers of Westercon LXIII.
The Future of Russia & the Former Second World – Radio Free Europe now broadcasts from Prague, as NATO and the European Union expand. Boris Yeltsin takes a few days off with a cold and the world frets, while the Communists control the Duma. Strife in Bosnia seems intractable, and Islamic Fundamentalists meet cultural resistance in Central Asia. What lies ahead?
The Growth of Corporate Power – Presidents from Lincoln to Eisenhower warned us, but today the multinational corporations wield more power than ever before. Are we headed for a reckoning between the power of the state and the megacorporations?
The Health Care Crisis in America – People pay more for less coverage, or do without. Older Americans sacrifice their retirement to meet ruinous costs for medication. Some states force adult children to pay for the cost of their parents' nursing home care, even if they must sell their homes and sacrifice their own children's college educations. Some HMOs limit what advice that doctors can give their patients in the best interests of their shareholders. How long can this go on?
Islamic Fundamentalism, Western Influence, and the Future of the Middle East – The Middle East, from North Africa to Central Asia, contains more potential flashpoints than any other area of the world. Nowhere in the world is the conflict between fundamentalism and secular liberalism so sharp nor so explosive, to say nothing of the Palestinian question, Saddam Hussein, or oil exports. A consideration.
The Legacy of Blacklisting and the McCarthy Era – It was a near thing: having saved the world for democracy, the United States flirted with repression. Careers were destroyed, and government did more to restrict freedom of expression than ever before. We never sorted to the guillotine (here in America, we lynch people), but the experience should prove that it could happen here.
Secular Humanism and the Rejection of Religion – With the collapse of their allies in the mainline denominations, many humanists no longer give lip service to tolerating what they see as superstitious rubbish. With the family values movement diminishing humanist influence over the arts, the long-simmering antagonism between the two sides is nastier than ever.
The Technological Obsolescence of Privacy – Big Brother may not be watching, but why should he bother when so much of what we write, say, and do is recorded these days? If this goes on...
Things Fall Apart, the Center Cannot Hold: Particularism and Ethnic Tensions vs. the New World Order – From Sarajevo to Waco, every part of the Post Cold War world is straining against pressure to fly apart into a million pieces. Are the passage of Proposition 187 and Saddam Hussein's ethnic cleansing of the Kurds in northern Iraq really different manifestations of the same dynamic? A provocative question.
Violence: from Jonestown to Jonesboro – Is there really a rising tide of violence in the world today, and if so why, and what can be done about it?
Women's Liberation in Retreat? – Affirmative action is deader than disco, and Pro-Life activists have seized the initiative with the Partial Birth issue. The ERA never passed, and equal pay for equal work is far from a reality. What happened, and why?
Science
Bioengineering: the Next Revolution? – The industrial revolution changed the face of the world. Now computers are doing the same. Many speculate the thing to radically change the way we live will be biotechnology. A look at current trends in biotechnology and what is in store for the future.
Bringing More Professional Women into Science & Technology – Studies indicate that girls growing up are still discouraged from pursuing science and mathematics. And women are still severely underrepresented in technological and scientific fields. How do we attract more women into the areas? How do we make these fields more open to women?
Government Funding for Scientific Research After the Cold War – Much of the funding of science and techno-logy used to be spurred by keeping up with the Jones's, if not direct strategic competition with the USSR What has happened to funding now that this impetus is gone? How do we encourage continued funding?
One BIG Step for Mankind? – Arguments for and against a manned Moonbase and its scientific and other potential uses.
The Future of the Space Program, in the United States and Abroad – What will our next steps be in space? The space race is over but now more countries are in on the act. How will this help or hinder progress in exploration? What new directions will international cooperation and competition lead to?
Burke-Style Connections in 1998: Where Might Present Developments Lead? – In his "Connections" series, James Burke showed how one innovation helped lead to others in entirely unrelated fields. In what strange directions could the science and technology of today lead?
The World Science Report, 1948 – Panelists discuss "The state of world science" as if this were Westercon 1.
The Ethics of Human Cloning – We can clone animals. We will probably soon be able to clone humans. Should we? Under what circumstances? What uses should clones be put to (if any)? And just who will make these decisions?
The Technology of Cloning – Cloning 101. A look into the scientific methods that enable the copying of a living organism for fun and profit.
A Few Good Crazy Theories: Contrary Investment in Scientific Theories – It's crazy...but it just might work. A discussion of why it may be important to fund ideas on the fringe and a look at a few that did and didn't make it.
The Return of Disease: Plagues of the 21st Century – In the middle part of this century it looked as if man might actually just beat infectious disease but now it's making a comeback. Antibiotic resistant strains, AIDS and other previously unknown or little regarded diseases threaten mankind. What happened?
Ecocatastrophe: When We Get to the Stars, Will There Still Be an Earth? – Whatever happened to all those ecological problems that were threatening mankind? It used to be you couldn't turn on the TV or radio or open a newspaper without hearing about ozone holes or threats to the rainforest. A look at problems that persist.
The Physics of FTL and Interstellar Travel – Okay, you want to go to the stars? Here's how you're going to do it.
The Proposed International Space Station – The most important current space project or incomparable boondoggle? The MIR can't get through lunch without a disaster and we're funding another station? And what is sharing control with other countries going to mean for its development and use?
Self-Sustained Manned Missions – If expeditions or colonies on the moon and Mars, even the asteroids, are going to be difficult as long as all their needs are being supplied from this big gravity sinkhole called Earth. A look at the necessities and possibilities of using space resources to maintain space missions.
Better Terrorism through Science – Sarin, Anthrax and Pocket Nukes, Oh my! You don't have to be a large foreign nation to present a major threat any more. Cults, militias and fringe political movements present larger threats as we head into the 21st Century. A look at the troubles and solutions.
Real-life Criminal Profiling – The process of building a psychological and sociological profile of an unknown criminal has fascinated viewers of The Silence of the Lambs, Profiler and the genre show Millenium. Professional profiler and teacher Nancy Smith describes what the process is like in the real world and how it can aid in criminal investigation
Asteroids: Not with a Whimper, but with a BANG! – Well, the recent clamor over a potential asteroid impact proved short lived, but many scientists still feel there is a real threat. A look at the physics and astronomy of asteroid impacts and the measures science believes we should take in our own defense.
Nanotech: Engineering or Fantasy? – Tiny machines, some no larger than a molecule. They work for the Borg but what is actually being done in the real world and what are the possibilities?
Large Scale Engineering Projects – Supertankers are so big they must take the rotation of the earth into consideration when navigating. What happens when and if we try something really big like Clarke's spacebridge? What are the new considerations for a project so massive?
Curative Genius: Would a Sane Society Still Be Creative? – It is often noted that the most creative elements of our society, such as artists, have the highest rates of mental problems. What is the link: case or coincidence? Will measures for mental health have the downside of cutting off our most creative ideas?
Replacing Psychotherapy with Microneurology? – Some medical professionals theorize that advances in microneurology can render psychotherapy obsolete.
Computers and the Internet
Online Gaming: From MUD to MUSH to MUX – Many think that they are the best form of gaming ever. Many others see them as almost an addiction. A look at "live" role-playing games on the net.
A Fannish Guide to USENET and Newsgroups – A look at fandom discussion areas on the web.
Online Fandom – Fandom is one of the most active groups on the Internet. Is this competing with or complimenting fandom as we've known it. What are the possibilities for exploiting the web for fannish purposes?
Beyond Freedom & Decency: Censoring the Internet – The incredible connectedness and freedom from boundaries on the net has its disadvantages. A few clicks and children are in territory their parents hoped to avoid. Congress and the courts are still thrashing it out, and the international complications are even worse. Meanwhile, others try to put matters directly into parents' hands.
Son of CDA (the Communications Decency Act Rises from the Grave) – Legislation is pending in Congress right now to revise and extend the CDA. What changes will be made, and what (if anything) can be done, or should be done, to limit censorship of the Internet?
The Internet & the Future of Democracy – Already laws are in the works that will put political campaigns finances out on the web for everyone to see. A candidate can make himself known to voters and distribute immense amounts of material for little or no cost. How will the net affect how our country is run?
The Internet & the Future of Commerce – Local businesses have gone national and even international. You can set up a department store with not an Inch of floorspace. You can even order your groceries over the net. What's next?
The Internet & the Future of Publishing – Can't find an interested publisher? Put your work out for the world to see. Or allow anyone to download your work for a fee which, while low, may be more than you would have gotten for a book. Of course, once something is in electronic format, reproduction – even illegal reproduction - is a snap. Is the web the next "death of the book" or a boon to writers? Neither?
The Internet & the Fate of Nations – How do you keep them down now that they've seen 'Paree'? When seen from space, the Earth has no borders. Also, when seen from the Internet. Many countries restrict Internet access, or at least they try. What effect will the Internet and the free flow of ideas have on global politics?
Literacy & the Internet – While some see the Internet as another threat to book, other are using the web to promote reading. A conversation on using the web to promote literacy.
Big Bill: Should Microsoft Frighten Us? – Is Bill Gates the Napoleon of the information revolution? Is the man everyone loves to hate really that scary?
Computer Graphics – A discussion of current methods and trends in computer graphics.
Computer/Human Interface – A key pad and a mouse is okay, but what about talking to your computer? How about a "screen" that fits on your head? In 3D? A look at the coming technology.
Distance Learning – Many colleges and universities, even some high schools, are implementing distance learning programs. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these efforts, and to what extent are they succeeding?
Urban Legends of the Internet – The Internet puts amazing amounts of information at your fingertips but not all of it is true. Mickey Mouse blotter acid has been joined by the Goodtimes virus. A look at the web of misinformation.
The Impact of Word Processors on Written Science Fiction – Word processing can certainly be a godsend for a writer, but some of its impact on the final product is less than obvious.
Interactive Narrative Or Just Dumb Fiction? The Convergence of Computers and Writers – It's the been the golden rule of writers for centuries that the writer and the reader must remain separated by the "third wall", and it's a cardinal sin to break the narrative dream. But console and computer games like Resident Evil, MYST, and the forthcoming Elysium title are being touted for their story as well as their gameplay. What does hypertext, interactivity and multiple outcome narrative mean for the future of fiction and for gaming in all genres?
Science Fiction and Fantasy in Film and Television
A New Future for Sliders – What's in store, as the long-running show that has never had the attention it deserves enters a new season?
Animation vs. Live Action – Is an actor really necessary any more? If so, for how much longer will that be true?
The Appeal of Titanic – The Oscar winner considered as a genre picture, and what its success bodes for genre films to come.
The Avengers Now and Then – This summer's movie has to live up to some incredible memories, not to mention some incredible performances by the original actors, Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee. How can the new version live up to the legend?
Catching Up – Jumping into an ongoing sf series on television can be difficult, but who knew it would be so popular?
Dealing with the Occult in Film and Television Outside of the Horror Genre – A look at this aspect of the X-Files and its spawn.
Deep Space Nine: The Finest Trek Ever?- – While its ratings haven't been the best, many fans consider DS9 far and away the best of the Star Trek shows. Can it ever get to the big screen?
Federation versus Empire (Can't We All Just Get Along?) Are the interstellar governments described in Star Trek and Star Wars and other popular sf practical at all? What are the problems associated with trying to keep an inter-stellar government from Balkanizing, given the distances and the sheer number of inhabited worlds that they seem to contain?
Guilty TV Pleasures – The worst TV sf ever made -- but we watched it just the same.
Has Anyone EVER Done Media SF Right? – Gotten the science right, that is? Panelists defend their favorites, and air their pet peeves.
Hercules and Xena: Rebirth of a Genre? – It's not quite the same sort of genre as the tales of the Mighty Sons of Hercules, but it is ground that has been plowed before. Why has it become so popular this time, and where will it go from here?
Is It Possible to Make a Good Genre Film for Over $100,000,000? – Are big-budget epics such as Waterworld just unable to appeal to wide enough audiences any more and still be good science fiction?
Is It Possible to Make a Good Genre Film for Under $100,000,000? – Without the budget for special effects, huge sets and lavish costumes, is a low-budget genre film still acceptable to today's audience for science fiction films?
Is the Federation of Star Trek a Utopia or a Dystopia? – Gene Roddenberry saw the Federation as a dream of the best that mankind could hope to accomplish in a few hundred years, but others see it as a beautifully disguised nightmare.
Is There Really Any "Science" at All in Star Trek? – Supporters and detractors debate whether or not Star Trek qualifies as science fiction.
Jackie Chan and Asian Action Film Fandom – Jackie Chan is finally beginning to penetrate the consciousness of American filmgoers. A look at the world of Asian action movies.
Obscure SF Television Series – Hard-to-find series that were really very good. BLAKES 7, SAPPHIRE & STEEL, RED DWARF, FOREVER KNIGHT and other variously obscure fan favorites.
Paranoia and Conspiracy in Film and Television – It goes beyond Oliver Stone and the X-Files. Will we be seeing more about these themes in the future?
Retro Science Fiction – Is it simply nostalgia, or have we come to the point where we have to resort to retread imagination?
Robert E. Howard Renaissance: Kull on the Big Screen, Conan on the Small One – Howard's characters are becoming known to more people than ever before, but not in their original form. Is this an entirely good thing?
Save This Show! – How to organize a campaign to save an endangered series.
Science Fiction Noir – Many visions of the future lately are darker than ever, bleak and gray.
Shock vs. Suspense – Some directors like to terrify viewers with startling surprises, while others prefer to let the audience in on the fact that there's a bomb in that briefcase, and let them agonize over whether or not the character on screen will realize the peril he's in. When is either method preferable to the other?
Sidekicks and Henchmen – Sometimes they can steal the show (especially if it's Bruce Campbell). Sure, the hero needs somebody to talk to, but what else do you do with such characters?
Starship Captain or Warrior Princess: Female Lead Characters in Science Fiction and Fantasy – And let's not forget Buffy, either. Women in leading roles in these series are doing just great. Will we ever see this trend translate from television to the big screen?
We Had to Destroy the Book in Order to Film It – Last year's Contact, Starship Troopers, and The Postman were by no means the first movies which bore less resemblance to the original novels than the fans of the books might have hoped. Can a more faithful approach be successful in moviemaking?
Why Disney Drives Me Nuts – Why does Disney produce happy endings to sad stories, bowdlerize and homogenize, and still get boycotted?
Fandom
Is Net Publishing Putting Paper Fanzines Out Of Business? – Since the World Wide Web has exploded onto the Internet scene, more and more fannish material is being published electronically. How well are they doing? How do they impact the traditional hardcopy fanzines? Are paper fanzines surviving, failing or is it just selective evolution? Which format do fans prefer? What are the costs per issue for each traditionally?
Mmrroww! Why So Many Fans Are Cat Lovers And So Few Are Dog Lovers – We all know the influence cats have on fannish literature, artwork, etc. Why is this so? Why are so few dogs seen in fannish works? Fannish households? Is there some mystique that cats have over dogs, or just a simple preference?
No Dogs Or Mundanes – Fannish Exclusivity - Fans tend not to tolerate dogs or mundane people (non-fans). Why is this the case? Many family members have dogs and are mundane by our standards. We deal with them every day. But fans have very little tolerance for socializing with them. Are there other creatures that also fall into this category?
So You're at Your First Convention? – If this is someone's first science fiction convention, how does that person see that which we do? How can we make them feel at home immediately? Tour guides upon arrival? Introductory packets? If they aren't used to fan-speak, how should communications be prepared? Do we rely strictly on panels like these?
The Internet/Computer/Online Fannish Community – More and more fans are becoming electronically enabled. Electronic correspondence, even conventions are occurring every day. What sorts of fannish-related things are available online? What does a fan need to find them? Is there a benefit over in-person events? How does someone become involved in them?
The History of Westercon – Westercon is the second oldest convention (after Worldcon). How did it come to be, why has it continued, and what were the early ones like? When did they begin to change into what we see now? What was offered that no longer is? What is offered today that wasn't before?
I Started Out as a Fan: Fannish Roots of Established Pros – Many fans aspire to become professionals in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Some of these people actually make it. What are their roots as fans? Did their fannish activities propel them into pro-dom? What did they do outside of fandom to assist them? Have they changed and lost their fannishness, or have their kept their ties to the roots that bind them?
How to Bid for a Westercon – You've been to a few cons, Westercons, whatevercons, and now you've got the itch to run one yourself. Where do you start? What do you need to know? Who should you talk to? Why are you thinking of such foolishness?
The Future of Westercon – We've come a long way from the first days of this annual convention. We offer many things to many types of fans and pros. What sorts of things should we be doing? Will we continue to offer the whole smorgasbord of things, or would more focus be in order? What is on the horizon that we haven't even dealt with yet?
Three Days of the ConDor – San Diego has an annual local science fiction and fantasy convention, held every winter. What do they offer? Who has been there? Why do they do it?
Strains Between the Generations of Fandom – Sometimes different fannish generations clash over what should be and shouldn't be. Previous generations of fans have a lot of history, experience, and knowledge, but frequently are overlooked by the newer generations. Why does this happen? How do the various generations feel about each other? What can we do to get them working together more harmoniously?
Furry Fandom – Anthropomorphic fandom is one of the fastest-growing and most energetic aspects of fandom today. Why?
Fan History Slide Show – Any pro/amateur/fan around long enough to remember the good old days who wants to share their fannish life with the rest of us.
S.T.A.R. San Diego's Silver Anniversary Year – This local science fiction club has undergone some big changes this year.
Western Fannish Groups – You may have lived in Seattle or Los Angeles all your life, or even come from the other coast or across the pond. What kind of fannish groups populate the western U.S.? Are they similar to or different from other fannish groups across the country? The western hemisphere? The world?
The History of Fandom in San Diego – goes back further than you might think. Local fans recount the story.
Sex, Fandom, and AIDS – No matter how different a world fandom might be from the everyday, we aren't living in a fantasy, and every act can have its consequences.
Art
Piracy: From Forged Paintings to Unlicenced Clip Art – A look at one of the nastiest aspects of sf art.
Designing Imaginary Alphabets – Fanciful, flowing figures are lovely, but how does the alphabet derive from the culture?
Drawing Mythical Beasts – Proportion and anatomy combined with the imagination.
Gothic Imagery in the Visual Arts – Summing up the Gothic essence.
Astronomical Art – Turning the realities of physics into the ethereal and the fantastic.
Why Can't the Artist Read the Damn Book First? – Worse yet, why he gets it wrong when you can tell that he does know the story.
Airbrushing – What it can add to your artwork.
How to Sell Your Art at Cons – A practical guide for beginning artists.
Real World Heraldry – How a practical necessity turned into a fantastic and fanciful art-form. Hoe things operate today, here-and-now, and how the three main authorities of arms in the British Isles (the Lyon Office in Scotland, the English College of Arms, and the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland) operate. Real heralds are a very elite occupation..
Computer-Assisted Art – An exploration of an expanding field.
Jewelry as an Art Form – Function versus creativity.
Furry Art – And why it's so central to furry fandom.
Character Portraits: Depicting the Actor and the Character – Doing what the photographer cannot.
Costuming
Costuming: How to Get Started – Inexpensive costumes that will look good, and look good on you. A realistic notion of the costs involved and the time required for a project.
Star Trek Costuming Through the Years – How and why it's changed, and where it might go in the future.
Capturing the Spirit of a Book in a Costume – Even the most faithful reproduction of an outfit described in detail may not evoke the flavor of the author's creation. How to add the characteristic flavor of a story so others who loved the book will recognize the source of your costume at once.
Costuming for Babylon-5 Fans – The number of B5 costumes seen at cons doesn't begin to approach its popularity in fandom. Why?
Pattern Drafting – Basic information on how to draft a pattern for an original design.
Hall Costuming – You can just wear what you wore on stage around the convention, but if you're making that costume for hall wear rather than its stage effect, there are some very different considerations involved.
The Disappearing Masquerade? – Loscon and some other conventions have dispensed with the masquerade because of the expense, and because of what the con committee sees as declining interest. Is this a sign of bad things to come?
Stage Presentation – How to show a costume off to its best advantage, and how to best entertain the audience.
Making Hats and Headgear – Even some experienced costumers have little idea of how to make a hat.
Costumes for Kids – Some of the challenges involved in making costumes for children.
On the Judging of Masquerades – What drives costumers nuts about the decisions of the judges, and how to be a good judge at a masquerade.
Singer, the Friendly Sewing Demon – How to pick and use the right machines. Seams, two-needle, three-needle, and why Velour Is Not a Good Thing unless you're really good. |
