Loncon Loometh

The World Science Fiction Convention, otherwise known as Loncon 3, is now less than a week away. I shall be at large, and may be spotted at these times and places:

Thursday 14th August: 20:30-21:00, London Suite 1 (ExCeL)

Reading

Frances will be reading an extract from her latest book, Cuckoo Song

Friday 15th August: 10:00-11:00, London Suite 3 (ExCeL)

Panel event: Fallen London – Recreating London in Games

Panellists: Frances Hardinge, Jonathan Green, Kate Nepveu, David Cheval, Christi Scarborough

This panel celebrates some of the ways that London has been represented in games; including LARP, tabletop, point-and-click and videogames. We also explore some of the darker aspects of seeing London with a player’s eye.

Friday 15th August: 18:00 – 19:00, London Suite 4 (ExCeL)

Kaffeeklatsch

An hour of coffee and conversation with Frances, author of the Tales of the Terran Republic series and a wealth of shared world fiction, and writer for many role-playing games.

Friday 15th August: 21:00-22:00, Capital Suite 7+12 (ExCeL)

Panel event: You Write Pretty

Panellists: Geoff Ryman, Greer Gilman, Frances Hardinge, Christopher Priest, E. J. Swift

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say, so let us behold some fine fantastical sentences. Our panel have each picked a sentence, and will have a chance to make their case for why theirs is the fairest of them all — but it will be up to the audience to decide.

Saturday 16th August: 12:00-13:30, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL)

Panel event: Where is the YA Humour?

Panellists: Gail Carriger, Frances Hardinge, Jack Campbell, Jody Lynn Nye, Suzanne McLeod

Much of what we see in the YA shelves is dour, grimy and deadly. Why is that? Where can we find the lighter side of young adult fiction? Which authors should we look to for a satisfying happy ending or a good belly laugh?

Saturday 16th August: 19:00-20:00, Capital Suite 10 (ExCeL)

The Education and Training of a Young Protagonist

Panellists: Zen Cho, Gail Carriger, Jack Campbell, Dave Luckett, Frances Hardinge

Kids have to go to school, whether it’s a modern day educational institution or the school of hard knocks in a futuristic dystopia. How is education treated in SF? What might a futuristic classroom look like? What are some great examples of how education and training have been used by other authors?

Hope to see you there!