Here it is…
Kaffeeklatsch
Thursday 16:00 – 17:00, London Suite 4 (ExCeL)
Hard Right
Thursday 20:00 – 21:00, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL)
Hard science fiction is at its core dependent not on science, but on a world with inviolate rules. These rules can manifest as scientific realities or social constructs, but either way, these kinds of stories are often predicated on solving problems, or not, in the face of tradition. Science fiction critic Paul Kincaid has argued this idea is very similar to the worldview of conservative ideologies. While hard sf is not the domain of right wing authors, is there a link between the two? Is that link historical or fundamental? With Neyir Cenk Gokce , Charles E. Gannon, Hannu Rajaniemi and Alison Sinclair.
Space on Screen
Friday 15:00 – 16:30, Capital Suite 11 (ExCeL)
One striking contrast in 2013’s SF cinema was visual — the gleaming, luxurious habitat of Elysium versus the detailed, cramped capsules of Gravity. How do we respond to these two very different visions of life in space? To what extent could SF cinema benefit from more Gravity-esque ‘realism’, and to what extent from more Elysium-esque political consciousness? Which films combine the two aesthetics? With Chris Baker, Bridget Landry, Paul McAuley, Alastair Reynolds
Banksian
Saturday 11:00 – 12:00, Capital Suite 9 (ExCeL)
‘Banksian’ has become a commonplace descriptor in SF reviews, but what do we mean by it? What are the characteristics we associate with Iain M Banks’ work? How far has his influence travelled? Who is writing Banksian SF today? With Chad Orzel, Michael Cobley, Paul Kincaid and Ruth O’Reilly.
Reading
Saturday 16:30 – 17:00, London Suite 1 (ExCeL)
Which means, come Saturday night work will be over and play will commence. See you in the bar. Well, a bar. Assuming I can find one with reasonably priced drinks.
I’ve got three panels, but only one of them clashes with yours (the Banksian one) so I hope to get to some of yours. Will try and get to Hard Right, Space on Screen and the reading.
My panels are:
Extrapolation on Screen, Thursday 18:00 – 19:00, Capital Suite 4 (ExCeL)
2014 Hugos: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, Saturday 11:00 – 12:00, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL)
Finding an Agent, Saturday 12:00 – 13:30, Capital Suite 16 (ExCeL)
See you soon.
Might come along and heckle at the ‘Finding an Agent’ panel. Just kidding (about the heckling bit, I may well go along but stay silent).
Suspect the booze will be London prices, so expensive for us from T’North.
Alison Scott is organising the fan area, so There Will Be Beer.
S
She is the woman for the job.
Hi
John and I no longer languish in flats: we now live on a boat! We’ll be bringing it as close as we can get away with to the ExCel centre, if you want to stop by during or after the con (before is also possible, but I shall be madly scrambling to get my costume finished becasue I am an idiot who decided to make a new one with a week to go). You are welcome to stay over, but I suspect you’ll alreay have accommodation organised by now. Oops.
R/L 🙂
Commuting to Worldcon by boat? Now that is cool. We are indeed sorted for accommodation but would love to meet up with you both, and perhaps visit your boat. If you wanted to email me with a contact number, maybe we can work something out.
Sadly, the email address I have for you no longer works. Mine is (romeo).(Alpha).davenport(at)outlook.com(un-phoneticed)