The Boskone schedules are posted. I hope you are all planning to go because I’d love to see you there, if you’re in the Boston area on February 14-16, 2014. It should be a terrific convention. Visit the Boskone website and buy a membership. See you there!
Classic Movie Monsters
Friday 18:00 – 18:50
Godzilla. The Blob. Dracula. The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Mummy. The Wolfman. King Kong. These are just a few of the classic film monsters that continue to keep us coming back for more movie magic with each new remake and reboot. Why do these creatures make such compelling stories? What does it take to create a great movie monster? Why do we love them? Will we ever grow tired of these old creature features?
Panelists: Erin Underwood (M), Bob Eggleton, Daniel M. Kimmel, Paul Di Filippo, Mallory O’Meara
Exploring the Whedonverse
Friday 21:00 – 21:50
From “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to the new “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” Joss Whedon has had a hand in some of the most significant genre television programming ever. How have Joss and his Whedonverse shaped TV (including shows he didn’t actually develop) and affected the wider genre community? What is the Whedon Effect? What would primetime television be like if Buffy never came to Sunnydale, or Serenity never lifted off? What was Dollhouse all about?
Panelists: Stephen P. Kelner (M), Dana Cameron, Nancy Holder, Gillian Daniels, Erin Underwood
Gravity and the Hard SF Film
Saturday 14:00 – 14:50
The movie Gravity comes packed with an incredible story of desperation and hope and potential. What does it tell us about ourselves? Is it a feminist film? Is it a scientific impossibility? What is it about this film that makes it special? Are there other SF films out there that do it better?
Panelists: Melinda Snodgrass (M), Erin Underwood, Daniel M. Kimmel, Allen M. Steele
The Light Fantastic
Saturday 15:00 – 15:50
Much critical attention is always devoted to dark fantasy: the more miserably hopeless the outcome, the more accolades. Why else is _1984_ considered a masterpiece? But how about the happy stuff? After all, isn’t fantasy supposed to help us escape from a society where Big Brother _is_ watching every move? Let’s consider the best of serious and humorous fantasy with positive conclusions. Great writing; interesting, complex, and evolving characters; beautifully described and consistent world-building; well-plotted stories — check, check, check, check.
Panelists: Erin Underwood (M), Mary Kay Kare, Bob Kuhn, Tom Shippey, Sarah Beth Durst
Flash Fiction Slam
Sunday 09:30 – 10:50
Join Boskone’s first Flash Fiction Slam. Eleven (11) writers compete for the title of The Flash, reading their own original fiction — which must tell a complete tale within a 3-minute period. Our expert panel of judges will score your work on a scale of 1 to 10, and you automatically lose 1 point for going over your 3-minute time. You may only read your own work. The reader with the top score wins! Sign up before the con for one of eight (8) advance reading slots on a first-come, first-served basis by e-mailing erin.m.underwood@gmail.com. (Please put “Flash Fiction Slam” in your e-mail’s subject line.) Or sign up onsite at Program Ops in the Galleria for one of three (3) at-con openings. A waiting list will also be available.
Panelists: Erin Underwood (M), James Patrick Kelly, Nancy Holder, Walter Jon Williams, Paul Di Filippo
Future Fantasy and the Teen Protagonist
Sunday 12:00 – 12:50
Edgar Rice Burroughs once used the phrase “future fantasy.” Could this term find fresh usefulness today, for instance to describe developments in young adult (YA) literature, where we see a growing mix of fantastic elements? What works might qualify as future fantasy? Could blending the scientific with the fantastic lead to further innovations in fiction — or in science itself?
Panelists: Erin Underwood (M), Nancy Holder, Stacey Friedberg, Anna Davis
