"...and other kinds of pottery"

Boskone is coming up this weekend, and I have a perfectly delicious little schedule, a quartet of petits fours.

One-Book Wonders
16 Feb 2018, Friday 15:00 - 16:00, Marina 2 (Westin)
Beth Meacham, Michael Stearns (M), Bob Devney, Greer Gilman, John R. Douglas

Publishers (and authors) love the continuing sales and predictable incomes of a good series. But not all readers feel happy committing to a 10-volume epic fantasy saga with 500+ pages per book. The works we cherish most may be a tale well told between a single pair of covers. Let’s share and discuss our favorite stand-alone stories.

Reading by Greer Gilman
16 Feb 2018, Friday 17:30 - 18:00, Independence (Westin)

Fantasy in Gilbert & Sullivan
16 Feb 2018, Friday 20:00 - 21:00, Marina 3 (Westin)
Ellen Asher, Greer Gilman, Timothy Liebe, Faye Ringel (M), Daniel P. Dern

Fandom and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan go back a long way. Isaac Asimov was an avid Savoyard (G&S fan), as have been many other SF/F writers. The operas themselves exemplify — and parody — the tropes of fantasy (Iolanthe), medievalism (Patience), and Gothic horror (Ruddigore, The Sorcerer). Boskone also has special connections with G&S. Why are these Victorian masterpieces still so popular in (and out of) fannish culture?

Fantasy and Folklore in Shakespeare
18 Feb 2018, Sunday 11:00 - 12:00, Burroughs (Westin)
Greer Gilman, Jeanne Beckwith PhD, Gillian Daniels, Debra Doyle (M)

Shakespeare didn't just write histories, romances, and comedies. He was also a master at drawing on folk sources, and creating compelling fantasy fictions. Let's consider the fantastic side of Shakespeare: his characters, his stories, and the magic within his writing.

Hope to see some of you there!

Nine