All in the morning betime

Off to Boskone, in remarkably unarctic weather.  I have a lovely little Valentine's Day box of panels, with some chewy centers.


Agency and Free Will in Speculative Fiction
15 Feb 2019, Friday 18:00 - 18:50, Harbor III (Westin)

Fantasy often makes use of prophecy. But when a protagonist is the prophesied one, how can they experience true conflict, risk — or agency? They can’t fail, right? Shouldn’t this deflate the reader’s interest? What happens when you have conflicting prophecies? And if we’re in a mechanistic universe, governed by the laws of physics, where is free will?

Juliana Spink Mills (M), Gillian Daniels, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greer Gilman, M. C. DeMarco (mcd@mcdemarco.net)

Where Do Elves Come From?
15 Feb 2019, Friday 21:00 - 21:50, Harbor II (Westin)

Elves have their roots deep in northern European folklore, and their branchings support much of modern fantasy literature. Why? What makes elves so interesting? Are there different kinds of elves? Are Tolkien's elves — beings who are almost preternatural humans — different in kind from cute Victorian elves, or from the grimmer elven folk of Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword? And what about the modern elves that appear in the night in many urban fantasies — why are they there? What's the significance of a separate magical or supernatural race of human-like beings?

Melanie Meadors (M), Sarah Smith, Elwin Cotman, John Clute, Greer Gilman

Lost in the Woods
16 Feb 2019, Saturday 11:00 - 11:50, Marina 4 (Westin)

Characters in fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror often find themselves lost in the woods — with the story's plot hanging over their heads, waiting to drop. What is it about this particular setting that is so well suited for a suspenseful story? Or are authors, especially modern-day authors, using the woods as a metaphor for the city ... or vice versa? What is it about the woods and nature that is so unsettling?

Paul Tremblay, Christopher Irvin, John Langan (M), Erin Roberts, Greer Gilman

The Work of John Crowley
16 Feb 2019, Saturday 18:00 - 18:50, Marina 4 (Westin)

John Crowley is an author with a powerful gift for examining what he describes as "the human condition and the human situation as it is now." Let's explore his works and try to understand his influences — from Byron to Le Guin — as well as how his fictions have influenced others. From Little, Big to Ka, where should a reader who is new to Crowley start? What expectations should we leave behind as we move more deeply into the worlds he's created?

Rich Horton, Joe Monti (M), Faye Ringel, Steven Popkes, Greer Gilman

Reading by Greer Gilman
17 Feb 2019, Sunday 14:30 - 14:55, Griffin (Westin)

Nine