Category: conference

I’ll be at Boskone in Boston this Weekend!

Boskone is the oldest running scifi convention in Boston, and I’m honored to have been selected as a program participant this year! I attended my first Boskone back in 2011 and loved the serious attention to various scifi topics. Read my mini interview on the Boskone Blog here.

Some programming is free on Friday night, so come on down for all or part of the weekend!

Here’s my panel schedule:

FRIDAY, 2/16 at 4pm “Curse Your Inevitable Romantic Subplot”

6pm “Group Reading–Speculative Fiction Shorts” (I *think* I’ll read from my long poem, Interview with the Faerie (Part One), too add some diversity to the Reading, but I’m not 100% sure.)

8pm “The Many Influences of Horror”

SATURDAY, 2/17 at 2pm “The Orville vs. Discovery” (I’m moderating this one)

SUNDAY, 2/18 at 11am “Marketing Uphill”

I’ll be tweeting from Boskone, so be sure to follow me at suzsmuses. I’ll also be selling my books and hanging out at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room. I hope to see you this weekend!

http://www.boskone.org/program-event/

 

Come Hear Several Scifi/Fantasy Authors Read Their Work (or, What’s a Rapid Fire Reading?)

This Saturday at 10am at Arisia in Boston, several members of Broad Universe will be reading selections from their works. Each author has anywhere from 3-7 minutes, depending on the number of participants.

These types of author readings are called “Rapid-Fire Readings” (RFRs)–each author reads from one of their works for the allotted time, introduces the next reader, and so on.

These readings fly by, and are a great way to hear or discover your next favorite writer!

The RFRs by Broad Universe are particularly fun, since we have chocolate and other treats available, and give away free books and other swag.

Check out this year’s list of readers below. Hope to see you there! (I think I’ll be reading from a fantasy/horror story in progress.)

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
 

My 2018 Arisia Schedule

I’ll be attending and panellng at Arisia Boston again. This year, Arisia (large scifi/genre/lifestyle conference) takes place January 12–15.

My schedule is light this year.

Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading, Saturday 10am in Adams

Join me and  other members of Broad Universe for snippets of each writer’s work–we each get several minutes to dazzle the audience with our words, and we always have free chocolate, book giveaways, and lots of swag and other freebies. Always a fun time! Readers will include: Morven Westfield (moderator), Victoria Sandbrook, LJ Cohen, Larissa Glasser, Julie C. Day, Dianna Sanchez,  Randee Dawn, Trisha J. Wooldridge, Anna Erishkigal, Heather Albano, and me! We typically have last-minute additions as well.

 

Feminism Today, Sunday 2:30pm in Marina 4

Description: “Feminism has had “waves” – our feminism is different from our parents, and their parent’s. What are the differences? How has the current social climate changed feminism and our experience of it? Let’s examine how it influences everything from science fiction awards to our everyday interactions.”

Panelists: Me (moderator), Jacqui B., David Larochelle, Rose H., Mikki Kendall (Arisia GOH)

 

The Power of Teen Movies, Sunday 5:30pm in Adams

Description: “The teenager, as a concept, is a relatively recent invention. And attitudes and beliefs about this transitional period between childhood and adulthood have changed over the years. What’s the best way to understand how the way in which we think about teenagers has shifted? Teen movies, of course. From Rebel Without a Cause to The Breakfast Club to Mean Girls, we’ll look at the impact of teen movies and what they say about being a teenager.”

Panelists: Me (moderator), Robin B., Gabriel V., Danny Miller

 

What would you like us to discuss on the panels? Please comment below.

 

My Final Arisia Schedule

I’m looking forward to attending Arisia in Boston once again! The entire family goes with me, and my kids have fun geeking out with us 🙂  I’m also looking forward to seeing many friends, especially my peeps from Broad Universe.

If you’re attending Arisia, feel free to seek me out after my panels or find me in the Dealer’s Room at the Broad Universe table. I’ll have some books to sell, and I’ll be reading from my novella-in-progress at the Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading (see below for time.)

Geeky Parenting: Raising the Next Generation – Friday 7pm; Communities, Panel – 1hr 15min – Marina 1 (2E)Come join our panel of parents to discuss the challenges and rewards of being a geeky parent. How do you manage attending a con with children? How are you introducing your kids to SF/F? How do you share older, problematic favorites? What are your go-to tips and tricks? Dianna Sanchez (moderator), Danny Miller, David Nurenberg, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, David Weingart

Shame on Slut-Shaming – Saturday 5:30pm; Communities, Panel – 1hr 15min – Burroughs (3E)Slut-shaming is the act of treating woman as inferior or shameful for engaging in sexual behaviors that deviate from the norm, failing to uphold gender expectations, dressing in provocative ways, acquiring access to birth control, or even for being sexually assaulted. What are the psychological and sociological causes of slut-shaming? What can be done to change people’s attitudes? Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert (moderator), Inanna Arthen, Abby Hafer, Melissa Perreira-Andrews, Henry M. White

Feminism: What It Is, What It’s Not – Saturday 7pm; Communities, Panel – 1hr 15min – Burroughs (3E)Feminism has had “waves”—our feminism is different from our mother’s, and her mother’s. What are the differences? How has the current social climate changed feminism and our experience of it? Let’s examine how it influences everything from Beyoncé‘s career to our everyday interactions. Melissa Perreira-Andrews (moderator), Aaron Heuckroth, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Hannah Simpson

Mad Max & Melissa McCarthy—Genre Film Feminism – Sunday 5:30pm;  Media, Panel – 1hr 15min – Marina 2 (2E)From big action blockbusters to slapstick comedy to more Oscar-worthy fare, there are some amazing things happening with women in film. Are we now in a golden age of feminism in genre films?Does Hunger Games promote this agenda? What about Black Widow? Where are things looking great, and where are they grim? Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert (moderator), Deirdre Crimmins, Ellie Hillis, Genevieve Leonard, Julia Rios

Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading – Sunday 7pm; Writing, Reading – 1hr 15min – Hale (3W)Broad Universe is an international organization of women and men dedicated to celebrating and promoting the work of women writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Come listen to readings by as many authors as we can get in one place at one time.Terri Bruce, Randee Dawn, Larissa Glasser, Justine Graykin, Elaine Isaak, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Dianna Sanchez, Trisha Wooldridge

 

Come See Me at Arisia in January

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be at the Arisia conference in January once again. I’ve been placed on a number of great panels, and should be able to publish that soon, once programming is finalized ?

I’ll also be selling some of my books at the Broad Universe table and will be doing a reading at some point during the weekend.

Arisia takes place from January 13 – 16 at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. Hope to see you there!

 

Religion and Scifi Works from Panel at Ro-Con

It’s taken over a week, but here is the list of works mentioned at the “Scifi/Fantasy Works as Religion” panel I was on at Ro-Con. We spent the bulk of the time discussing why SF/F works take the “place” of religion for some people. Then we spent several minutes discussing some works that have religious themes–either by incorporating existing religions, creating new ones, or having religion-like aspects.

The ones with asterisks (*) are among my personal favorites.

The ones indicated with  ^^ symbols before them denote authors who have religious/political views that are offensive to many people, or the author has otherwise behaved abhorrently (in the case of Marion Zimmer Bradley.) So, if you’re interested in these works but don’t want to support the authors/their estates, try to borrow a copy or get these works from your public library rather than purchasing them.

Books:

*American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Terry Pratchett’s “Small Gods” series

Almost anything by Ursula LeGuin

*Earthseed books by Octavia Butler (Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents. And for the record, Parable of the Sower is my FAVE BOOK EVA.)

*A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

*The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons

Dune saga by Frank Herbert

^^ Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

*The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (and the follow-up, Children of God)

^^ Many works by C.S. Lewis

^^ Some works by Orson Scott Card

The Left Behind Series

Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Goodwin

Various works by Robert Anton Wilson (especially those co-authored with by Robert Shea)

The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud

 

TV:

Babylon 5

*Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Supernatural

Lucifer

*The Leftovers (it was mentioned that there is a movie by the same name, but I couldn’t find a reference to it online)

 

As you can see, this is a small list, since this was not the crux of the panel. But let’s keep the discussion going! Have any comments on what’s listed, or want to add your own suggestions? Comment below.