My Final BayCon Schedule
BoF Urban Fantasy4 Jul 2024, Thursday 16:15 – 17:30, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)Birds of a Feather gathering for fans of the Urban Fantasy genre.
Julie, Sumiko Saulson
Which Dystopia Are We In?
Thursday 17:45 – 19:00, Sierra (Santa Clara Marriott)
Many say that 1984 came true, with constant surveillance…and an end to fact-checking as well! Likewise, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was written about the decline in literacy, which has certainly arrived. Futurama even showed Amazon taking over the universe, but life going on just as before. Which other predictions have become much too real? And which are we escaping—at least, so far?Valerie Estelle Frankel (Silicon Valley Authors), Steve Frankel, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press), Peter N. Glaskowsky
Speed Friending Format: Event
4 Jul 2024, Thursday 22:00 – 23:15,
Main Stage (Santa Clara Marriott)There’s no expectation of setting up a date for anyone; this is just about getting to know a bunch of people one person at a time.
Gre, Julie, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
Writing Beyond Trauma5 Jul 2024, Friday 10:30 – 11:45, Writer’s Workshop (Santa Clara Marriott)
These are perilous times for many of us. As survivors or the loved ones of survivors, how has our experience affected us as writers? How do our stories transcend and heal? Escape? Educate our audience? Are there times when the pain is so great, the words simply will not come–what do we do when we have lost our voice and how do we use writing to regain it? In this panel, we will strive to listen respectfully and to leave time between each speaker to absorb more deeply what they have said.Deborah Ross (M) , L.M. Kate, Gregg Castro (Association of Ramaytush Ohlone), Maya Bohnhoff, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
A World of Pure Imagination: Mythopoeia Across Genres Format: Talk Show5 Jul 2024, Friday 12:00 – 13:15, Monterey (Santa Clara Marriott)Some stories, some worlds, become engines of meaning. Middle-Earth, Star Wars, the Dark Tower, the Cthulhu Mythos, Lord Dunsany’s Pegana, the Hamish Cycle, the various multiverses of superhero comics, and more all achieve a dense self-referentiality and complexity that allows us to derive new meaning from them that we can then apply to our lives and worlds, much the way myths and religions do. While mythopoeia is a function commonly understood in fantasy (thank you, John Ronald Rouel!), it is found just as often in science fiction, horror, slipstream, magical realism, and other forms of speculative literature. Let’s talk about mythopoeia beyond the obvious: our favorite (and sometimes unrecognized!) examples, how to achieve it, and what we can do with it.
Emily L. Flummox (M) , Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) Introduction to Interactive Literature
5 Jul 2024, Friday 14:45 – 16:00, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)The roots of interactive literature well predate the internet, starting in the 30s and 60s, and became mainstream in the 80s with the Choose Your Own Adventure books and the gamebook genre they inspired. With the explosion of interactive forms (such as TTRPGs) and interactive technologies (including videogames, the internet, and more), the genre has only exploded in the last fifty years. We will introduce you to the rich history, possibilities, and current examples of interactive literature!Emily L. Flummox, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) Imaginary Lovers: When Fantasy Intersects With Romance6 Jul 2024, Saturday 20:30 – 21:45, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)Fantasy and romance are distinct genres but from high fantasies like GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire to contemporary urban fantasies like LA Bank’s Vampire Huntress Series, couples like Aragorn and Arwen (Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings) play an important role in the telling of the story. Some of readers favorite romantic love interests come from the realm of fantasy and often aren’t human at all. What is that makes elves, vampires, werewolves, and otherkin so popular as romantic figures in literature?Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press), Emily L. Flummox, Emerian Rich (Self and HorrorAddicts) , Jean Martin (Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild)
Horror in TTRPGs6 Jul 2024, Saturday 22:00 – 23:15, Monterey (Santa Clara Marriott)TTRPGs have always included horror, and the genre has driven much of the innovation we have seen in the last five decades of TTRPGs, from Call of Cthulhu’s innovation of personality mechanics to Vampire: the Masquerade championing LARP play to Dread using Jenga as its task resolution mechanic. However, many find evoking it an elusive skill, whether at the table or in a game’s mechanics. In addition, it is one of the three genres of TTRPG most in need of robust bravery, consent, and safety practices. This panel will approach all of this and more!Eric “in the Elevator” Z Zuckerman (Kosher Ham Studios) , Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press), Emily L. Flummox
BoF Urban Fantasy4 Jul 2024, Thursday 16:15 – 17:30, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)Birds of a Feather gathering for fans of the Urban Fantasy genre.Julie, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
Which Dystopia Are We In?4 Jul 2024, Thursday 17:45 – 19:00, Sierra (Santa Clara Marriott)Many say that 1984 came true, with constant surveillance…and an end to fact-checking as well! Likewise, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was written about the decline in literacy, which has certainly arrived. Futurama even showed Amazon taking over the universe, but life going on just as before. Which other predictions have become much too real? And which are we escaping—at least, so far?Valerie Estelle Frankel (Silicon Valley Authors), Steve Frankel, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) , Peter N. Glaskowsky
Speed Friending Format: Event (usually Main Stage)4 Jul 2024, Thursday 22:00 – 23:15, Main Stage (Santa Clara Marriott)There’s no expectation of setting up a date for anyone; this is just about getting to know a bunch of people one person at a time.Gregg Castro (Association of Ramaytush Ohlone), Julie , Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
Writing Beyond Trauma
5 Jul 2024, Friday 10:30 – 11:45, Writer’s Workshop (Santa Clara Marriott)These are perilous times for many of us. As survivors or the loved ones of survivors, how has our experience affected us as writers? How do our stories transcend and heal? Escape? Educate our audience? Are there times when the pain is so great, the words simply will not come–what do we do when we have lost our voice and how do we use writing to regain it? In this panel, we will strive to listen respectfully and to leave time between each speaker to absorb more deeply what they have said.Deborah Ross (M) L.M. Kate , Gregg Castro (Association of Ramaytush Ohlone), Maya Bohnhoff, Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
A World of Pure Imagination: Mythopoeia Across Genres Format: Talk Show5 Jul 2024, Friday 12:00 – 13:15, Monterey (Santa Clara Marriott)Some stories, some worlds, become engines of meaning. Middle-Earth, Star Wars, the Dark Tower, the Cthulhu Mythos, Lord Dunsany’s Pegana, the Hamish Cycle, the various multiverses of superhero comics, and more all achieve a dense self-referentiality and complexity that allows us to derive new meaning from them that we can then apply to our lives and worlds, much the way myths and religions do. While mythopoeia is a function commonly understood in fantasy (thank you, John Ronald Rouel!), it is found just as often in science fiction, horror, slipstream, magical realism, and other forms of speculative literature. Let’s talk about mythopoeia beyond the obvious: our favorite (and sometimes unrecognized!) examples, how to achieve it, and what we can do with it.Emily L. Flummox (M) , Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press)
Introduction to Interactive Literature5 Jul 2024, Friday 14:45 – 16:00, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)The roots of interactive literature well predate the internet, starting in the 30s and 60s, and became mainstream in the 80s with the Choose Your Own Adventure books and the gamebook genre they inspired. With the explosion of interactive forms (such as TTRPGs) and interactive technologies (including videogames, the internet, and more), the genre has only exploded in the last fifty years. We will introduce you to the rich history, possibilities, and current examples of interactive literature!Emily L. Flummox , Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) Imaginary Lovers: When Fantasy Intersects With Romance6 Jul 2024, Saturday 20:30 – 21:45, Ponderosa (Santa Clara Marriott)Fantasy and romance are distinct genres but from high fantasies like GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire to contemporary urban fantasies like LA Bank’s Vampire Huntress Series, couples like Aragorn and Arwen (Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings) play an important role in the telling of the story. Some of readers favorite romantic love interests come from the realm of fantasy and often aren’t human at all. What is that makes elves, vampires, werewolves, and otherkin so popular as romantic figures in literature?Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) (sumikoska@yahoo.com), Emily L. Flummox (werd2thenerd@yahoo.com), Emerian Rich (Self and HorrorAddicts) (emzbox13@gmail.com), Jean Martin (Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild) (jean_p_martin@yahoo.com)Horror in TTRPGs6 Jul 2024, Saturday 22:00 – 23:15, Monterey (Santa Clara Marriott)TTRPGs have always included horror, and the genre has driven much of the innovation we have seen in the last five decades of TTRPGs, from Call of Cthulhu’s innovation of personality mechanics to Vampire: the Masquerade championing LARP play to Dread using Jenga as its task resolution mechanic. However, many find evoking it an elusive skill, whether at the table or in a game’s mechanics. In addition, it is one of the three genres of TTRPG most in need of robust bravery, consent, and safety practices. This panel will approach all of this and more!Eric “in the Elevator” Z Zuckerman (Kosher Ham Studios) (zuckermann@gmail.com), Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) (sumikoska@yahoo.com), Emily L. Flummox (werd2thenerd@yahoo.com)
