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What good news is out there in the world? Advances in medicine, breakthroughs in climate change, what do you have for us? Does it come with a Professor Farnsworth caveat?
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Anna is the author of two YA fantasy series (Ember of Elyssia Quartet, Fortune's Calling Trilogy), an adult romantasy (The Bridal Party), and adult high fantasy (The Prince With Six Faces). All of her books feature queer and disabled characters. She is headed to the University of... Read More →
Dawson (she/they) has been seen in places like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Escape Pod, Lightspeed, and DSF. Her debut novel, The First Bright Thing, is now available from Tor. Find her at www.jrdawsonwriter.com and on twitter @j_r_dawson.
Mainstream media is dominated by western storytelling structure. This panel offers alternative structures and also promises to expand your reading and watch list with stories that go beyond.
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
A space to discuss the way US immigration law is becoming actively hostile and making conventions like WisCon in person potentially seriously unsafe for non-US-based fans.
Chris Gerrib has been an avid fan of science fiction and space exploration since he was a child riding his bicycle to his small town’s library where he memorized every book they had on the subject. Since then he spent a tour in the US Navy, got an MBA, and now has a day job with... Read More →
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Melissa A Watkins is a writer now, but used to be a teacher, a singer, an actress, and a very bad translator(thankfully, not all at the same time).. Her short stories have previously appeared in midnight & indigo, khoreo, Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed and The Magazine of Fantasy... Read More →
K. M. Enright is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of MISTRESS OF LIES and the upcoming LORD OF RUIN (August, 2025). Find out more about his writing at kmenright.com or follow him on social media at @KM_Enright.
Hone your editing eye with this interactive and practical editing talk from a speculative fiction expert. Writers will learn best practices for developmental and line editing for fantasy and science fiction projects as they work through story samples with author and book coach Rebecca M. Zornow.
Protest signs, NICU hats and octopi, postcards to Senators, stickers and wheatpasting. Using craft and art in protest and revolution. We'll cover how to get started and find community. Bring ideas and examples. Feel free to stab things with a needle while attending.
Denise is a writer, fiber artist, and professional chaos manager residing in Ohio with her husband. She has two kids, three cats, and more sewing machines and looms than anyone should practically need. Denise spent much of her childhood in Pern, Tortall, Prydain. A Viable Paradise... Read More →
There are so many ways to tell stories and reach readers. This panel will discuss the perspectives of a variety of professionals working in different forms of publishing
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Contrary to past assumptions, neurodiversity presents in many forms across all genders and backgrounds. As neurodiverse creatives work to empower ourselves, how can we promote more varied and positive representations across books, shows, and comics?
This panel will feature two academic paper presentations followed by a live Q&A.
Liberation Through Queer Romance in Fembot Narratives Panelist: Faye Lynch (she/her) Abstract: Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods (2007) and Ros Anderson’s The Hierarchies (2021) both depict fembots which are subject to forms of suppression or entrapment, and both texts use the romantic and sexual relationships that the fembots have with human women as a metaphorical shorthand for, and doorway to, freedom. This freedom does take the form of a physical escape, but also has mental and philosophical aspects, with the fembots and their paramours both having their perception of the world expanded through their relationship with the other. This paper examines this depiction of queer-coded love in fembot freedom narratives and asks whether it is compelling enough to avoid the tropes of the oft problematic romances depicted between men and the machines built to serve them.
No, We’re Not Too Strong: Asserting Women’s Power in a Time of Backlash Panelist: Nancy Jane Moore (she/they) Abstract: Building on my earlier papers on the relationship of our bodies to feminism, I will focus on the recent misogynistic definitions of appropriate body type and behavior for women, particularly those of international sports organizations and the current United States administration, including bans on participation by transwomen, requirements that some women take hormones because of their genetic makeup, and claims that some athletes are too strong to “really” be women. The paper will also discuss the value to women in discovering their own physical power and address the importance of SF/F as a tool to undermine these attacks.
What's new in trans SFF? We'll talk about new books, new authors, new shows, new games. What's got us excited? What's out there? Let's celebrate it and talk about it!
K. M. Enright is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of MISTRESS OF LIES and the upcoming LORD OF RUIN (August, 2025). Find out more about his writing at kmenright.com or follow him on social media at @KM_Enright.
Ursula Whitcher is a writer, mathematician, and poet whose work has appeared in places including The Deadlands, Frivolous Comma, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. A collection of linked short stories, North Continent Ribbon, is published by Neon Hemlock Press.
Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of 90 books on pop culture, including Women in Doctor Who and Hunting for Meaning in the Mandalorian. Many of her books focus on women's roles in fiction, from her heroine's journey guides From Girl to Goddess and Buffy and the Heroine's Journey... Read More →
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Andor season 1 delved into themes of revolution, political resistance, colonialism, solidarity, and prison abolition. Can season 2 live up to the standard set by the first season? Will we finally learn more about the differences between separatist, neo-republican, the Ghorman front, the Partisan alliance, sectorists, human cultists, and galaxy partitionists? And can any show produced by the House of Mouse really embody a radical politics? Let's discuss!
In her essay "A Few Rules for Predicting the Future", Octavia Butler talks about a few ways to do just that, and she has done it quite well in her Parable books. The Simpsons has also done it. Have you yourself done it, in writing, in art, in a social media post, or talking to friends and family? You've predicted the future, now what? We've predicted the future, now what do we do?
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of 90 books on pop culture, including Women in Doctor Who and Hunting for Meaning in the Mandalorian. Many of her books focus on women's roles in fiction, from her heroine's journey guides From Girl to Goddess and Buffy and the Heroine's Journey... Read More →
This panel presents a variety of ways of vetting and evaluating small presses. Why they'd be a good fit for you. What to look out for with predatory contracts, hybrid presses, distribution and creative control.
To what degree do the magic systems in your SFF really need to have all the rules explained, a la RPGs? When do you use a hard magic system? A soft magic system? Do your deities need to be consistent? Shall we fight about Brandon Sanderson's Rules of Magic?
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
A 2016 MBA graduate and published author, Priya Sridhar has been writing fantasy and science fiction for fifteen years, and counting. Capstone published the Powered series, and Alban Lake published her works Carousel and Neo-Mecha Mayhem. Priya lives in Miami, Florida with her fa... Read More →
The cost of producing a new video game has increased exponentially, causing major producers to invest in developing few and often more conservative, less risky projects. Come talk about games that you feel are doing creative work and going beyond standard narratives
Ursula Whitcher is a writer, mathematician, and poet whose work has appeared in places including The Deadlands, Frivolous Comma, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. A collection of linked short stories, North Continent Ribbon, is published by Neon Hemlock Press.
Cecilia Tan is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels (and three collections of short stories) including the Magic University series and The Prince's Boy . Her work has appeared everywhere from Ms. Magazine and Asimov's to Nerve and Best American Erotica. Her novel Slow Surrender... Read More →
A 2016 MBA graduate and published author, Priya Sridhar has been writing fantasy and science fiction for fifteen years, and counting. Capstone published the Powered series, and Alban Lake published her works Carousel and Neo-Mecha Mayhem. Priya lives in Miami, Florida with her fa... Read More →
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Many conversations about disability focus on 'accurate' or representative characters, which is great. But many times they are most recognized as disabled because they live in a world of able assumptions. What then does disabled worldbuilding look like? Who has done it? Where do we start? Panel can include a discussion of HBO's See, and John L Clarke's Touch the Future.
Anna is the author of two YA fantasy series (Ember of Elyssia Quartet, Fortune's Calling Trilogy), an adult romantasy (The Bridal Party), and adult high fantasy (The Prince With Six Faces). All of her books feature queer and disabled characters. She is headed to the University of... Read More →
K. M. Enright is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of MISTRESS OF LIES and the upcoming LORD OF RUIN (August, 2025). Find out more about his writing at kmenright.com or follow him on social media at @KM_Enright.
Severance season 1 explored themes of personhood, labor exploitation, bodily autonomy, and psycho-sexual waffle parties. With season 2 airing this year, let's discuss! What does it mean to make the metaphor of alienation from one's work literal?
Agriculture these days has some wild and woolly frontiers happening, between precision agriculture, vertical farming, fermentation technology, and more that can cross over into areas of security, pharmacology, and more. It ain't Grandpa's farm anymore.
Ursula Whitcher is a writer, mathematician, and poet whose work has appeared in places including The Deadlands, Frivolous Comma, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. A collection of linked short stories, North Continent Ribbon, is published by Neon Hemlock Press.
Chris Gerrib has been an avid fan of science fiction and space exploration since he was a child riding his bicycle to his small town’s library where he memorized every book they had on the subject. Since then he spent a tour in the US Navy, got an MBA, and now has a day job with... Read More →
From fairy tails, to Disney, to comic books, it seems old stories are much more likely to be recreated than new stories told. Why is this happening? What is the value of telling old stories again? What are the pitfalls?
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Cecilia Tan is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels (and three collections of short stories) including the Magic University series and The Prince's Boy . Her work has appeared everywhere from Ms. Magazine and Asimov's to Nerve and Best American Erotica. Her novel Slow Surrender... Read More →
Melissa A Watkins is a writer now, but used to be a teacher, a singer, an actress, and a very bad translator(thankfully, not all at the same time).. Her short stories have previously appeared in midnight & indigo, khoreo, Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed and The Magazine of Fantasy... Read More →
This panel will feature two academic paper presentations followed by a live Q&A.
The Mothership: Embodiment of/as Domestic Space in Shawl and Little Badger Panelist: Tessa Crosby (she/her) Abstract: This project examines the “colony ship” trope in SF, from its imperialist, heteropatriarchal roots to its queer, feminist, decolonial resurrection. In its mainstream configuration, the colony ship distills and embodies the problematics of social reproduction: “her” raison d’etre is not only to maintain and reproduce humankind, but to maintain and reproduce the structures and hierarchies that “her” programmers believe will afford a productive labor force. This presentation highlights texts that challenge this trope’s logic and, more broadly, the logic of a genre that seems stuck in rigid, overdetermined formulations of love, care, and kin.
Speculative Reproduction in Joanne Ramos’ The Farm and Cherie Dimaline’s Hunting By Stars Panelist: Dana Smith (she/her) Abstract: This talk argues that speculative fiction is a prescient framework through which to analyze the critical and pressing stakes of the contemporary fight for reproductive justice. By analyzing two near-future speculative fiction novels, I demonstrate the inextricable nature of extractive capitalist practices and the state’s prioritization of heteropatriarchal reproductive futurity–and how this is deeply tied to settler-colonial projects which commodify vulnerable populations to reproduce whiteness. Yet, while each text reflects tensions between “choice,” power, and survival–differentially mediated by hegemonic constructions of cultural, gender, and/or racial difference–they also present the powerful potential of reproduction and kinship as resistance.
Science is often seen as a limiting factor in creativity, but this panel wants to turn the tables and use science as a source of creativity, taking what is possible and using it as a launching point for the creation of new species.
Cecilia Tan is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels (and three collections of short stories) including the Magic University series and The Prince's Boy . Her work has appeared everywhere from Ms. Magazine and Asimov's to Nerve and Best American Erotica. Her novel Slow Surrender... Read More →
Naomi Kritzer is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Outside of the Twin Cities, she is best known... Read More →
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, playwright, poet, and L. Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor Emerita of Theatre and Africana Studies at Smith College. She ran away from the physics lab to the theatre when she was a young thing and has been a scientist, artiste, and hoodoo conjurer ever since... Read More →
Come join us for this special WisCon edition of the crafting circle. Work on your project, whether that's needle crafts, woodworking, rocketry, baking, home repair, or whatever else you're working on. Talk as much or as little as you like. We tend to have pauses in conversation as people concentrate. It's a nice place to make a little progress! We usually meet twice a month, on the first and third Mondays.
I've been attending WisCon for over 25 years, but I have not been there in person since 2019. I host the community Zoom hangouts and craft circles that began during the gap year (ask me for the schedule and links). I'm hard of hearing, neurodivergent, and weakened by various medical... Read More →
