This Black Friday marks the advent of SFContario 4, where I will be a panelist (among many others). Here is my schedule, for anyone who may be interested.
Saturday, 11:00am, Ballroom BC: “No, I’m Hero Support.” Good sidekicks aren’t just ciphers. They have back-stories that may be as rich as the main character’s. A good sidekick does more than point, ask questions, and scream. Our panelists discuss what goes into creating a good companion or sidekick. (I’ll probably spend this time talking about Javier.)
Saturday, 1:00pm, Courtyard: “Social Commentary and SF.” The SF genre has long delivered a conduit for discussing controversial contemporary issues and has often offered insightful social commentary on potential future issues. The presentation of disconcerting issues can be made more acceptable when they are explored in a future setting. Does current science fiction continue to explore social and political issues? Should it? (Someone will probably ask me about pedophilia and robots.)
Saturday, 3:00pm, Courtyard: “Multiculturalism in SF.” Multiculturalism in SF: We live in a real world of cultural contact and immigration, yet a reflection of the immigrant experience seems to be rare in our imaginary worlds. Is the success of stories such as Ken Liu’s “Paper Menagerie” evidence that we want a more nuanced portrayal of being between two cultures than we can get from angsty half-elves and intergalactic vagabonds? (Yes. Yes it is. Christ, I hope so.)
Sunday, 10:00am, Gardenview: Reading I’ll probably read from Company Town, because I’m really excited about it. After that, Dave reads in the same room. Let us nurse your hangovers with much cursing and squick.