Masquerade photos

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

 At Flickr.

Take Back the Sci-Fi followup

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*waves hello* I was the moderator for last night's Take Back the Sci-Fi panel. I'd like to that everyone again for coming - having a full room on Saturday evening for a topic like this speaks so well of fandom's willingness to engage in discussion on difficult topics as seen through the lens of genre fiction!

I promised a reading list. This one was generated last year, and it doesn't include all of the books mentioned last night, because I don't remember all of the books my fellow panelists brought up (I'd been on the go since 11am; it's a wonder I was coherent!).

There was also a question about YA fiction and about books from the perpetrator's POV. Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch, is a book that fits both of those categories; I think it handles it well. My list of YA books about rape and sexual assault is at home; I'll post it next week.

Brochures for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center are on the freebie tables. And I talked about our 5K fundraiser last night - get more info here. You can register to walk with me on Tam Venture, or sponsor me!

( Read more... )

Books Recs from "The Changing Face of Fiction: Literature, Diversity, and Backlash"

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

I moderated the panel: "The Changing Face of Fiction: Literature, Diversity, and Backlash." There with requests for recommendations of books that are not from the default cultural viewpoint (which is whiteness and maleness).

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.
Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose (not a trilogy but three connected books).
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh.
So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy ed. Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan.
Mindscape by Andrea Hairston.
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora ed. Sheree Thomas.
Acacia: Book One: The War with the Mein and
The Other Lands: Book Two of the Acacia Trilogy by David Anthony Durham.
The Shadow Speaker and The Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu.
Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson.
The list of resources on race and racism is at: http://www.scribd.com/sparkysays

Check for these books on Dealer's Row or buy from your local independent bookstore. Indiebound.org facilitates online ordering via local independent bookstores.

(no subject)

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Thanks everyone for another good Arisia!

Looking forward to experiencing the Westin Waterfront hotel for next year. Some parts of Hyatt I'll actually miss, but, it wasn't the best venue for something like Arisia.

some thoughts/feedback on panels

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Hi folks

Just some quick thoughts and some feedback from sitting in on some panels and whatnot.

Knowing full well the vast majority of us are nerds/geeks/fans/whatever and may not have a lot of experience or comfort in presenting or talking in front of crowds, nevermind doing so in in front of a potentially vitrolic or downright mean/unforgiving audience - I do understand we're not all naturally born talkers and presenters, and I am no 'expert' myself...

But please...If you're on a panel, please learn how to speak UP so everyone can hear. I'm not expecting people to project into the next room through 6 inches of lead, but really, you should be confident and comfortable talking about whatever it is you're talking about. Try to [pretend] that you are talking to the person waaaay in the back corner who has cotton stuffed in their ears. Again, this is NOT an easy skill and can't be learned in an hour, but if you know you're going to be on panels, you should know your material and be willing and able to talk about it confidently and audibly.

Consider what a good friend of mine has said to me when I was learning about this public speaking thing: Hardly anyone complains of a speaker being too loud.

Also, I understand the conversation is usually between the panelists, but, realize you are talking with these panelists with the entire room listening. Do not break off into chit-chat with the panelist next to you - or worse - get into a heated disagreement while the moderator or other panelists or even audience is trying to forget the issue and move onto another topic.

Try to address both the panelist and the audience at the same time. Again, not an easy skill and it takes practice but it sure makes a huge difference in enjoying/engaging in the panel discussion. This is hard to do when you talk into your chest, hand, the table, or with food in your mouth.

And, having a verbal pissing contest in the middle of a panel is really annoying and immature. (I don't care how much of a devoted Fanboi/gurl you claim you are, you sound like a raving idiot - if you feel someone is somehow questioning your fandom or your manli/girliness, you need to learn to not take it personally and not get hot and bothered over such trivial things)

All of that said, again, I did enjoy some of the panels I went to, but, I know everyone is not an expert at speaking in front of people. It is not an easy thing to do! But it's a great skill to have.