Readercon 32 kicks off tomorrow for the first time since 2019. If you’ll be in Quincy, Massachusetts as well, here’s where to find me (when I’m not off visiting the grave of the inventor of the donut, that is) —

Escapism and Allegory in a Pandemic
Friday, July 14, 11:00 a.m., Salon 4
SF is full of escapism and of allegories, and works sometimes move from one category to the other as time passes. During COVID lockdowns many writers incorporated pandemic themes, using art to process the new situation. Simultaneously, readers pleaded for a break from the pandemic on social media. “No pandemic stories” started to crop up in submissions guidelines from editors who needed more variety. As a reader or writer, did the pandemic change where you fit on the escapism/allegory spectrum?
with Stephanie Feldman (m), John Wiswell, Sarah Jean Horwitz

How can short story authors build an audience?
Friday, July 14, 3:00 p.m., Salon 4
Short stories today are published across a wide variety of media, formats, and imprints. As a result, writers specializing in short stories have difficulty connecting with and building an audience over time. How can you find the people who enjoy your work, and how can they find you in a cost-effective way? We will discuss short story collections, social media, conventions, and other ways of finding and keeping in touch with our favorite short fiction writers.
with F. Brett Cox (m), Arley Sorg, Christopher Mark Rose, and Katherine Crighton

Reading
Saturday, July 15 10:00 a.m., Blue Hills

History of Readercon
Saturday, July 15 3:00 p.m., Salon 5
Veteran Readercon participants and organizers will tell stories of Readercon’s nearly 40 year history. Learn about the awards and ceremonies that are or have been hosted here, events that have come and gone, clandestine attendance by rockstar authors, and maybe a little bit of drama if the panelists think it wise to share. Come to the first of this potentially annual panel and join the circle of knowledge in this con’s legacies and culture.
with David G. Shaw, B Diane Martin,The joey Zone

Speculative Memoir
Sunday, July 16, 11:00 a.m., Salon A
The two Hav novels by Welsh travel writer Jan Morris, published in a combined volume under the title Hav in 2006, detail the author’s experiences in a city state that does not exist. How do such works achieve the effect they do, and how are they like (but also unlike) the memoir-esque frame stories that we are familiar with, from The Princess Bride to much of 19th century fiction? How can we carry their legacy forward? Who else is writing this way? Is “speculative memoir” a useful characterization, as opposed to “fake history”?
with Henry Wessells (m), Alexander Jablokov, Greer Gilman, Matthew Cheney

Kaffeeklatsch
Sunday, July 16 1:00 p.m., Concierge Lounge

I hope to see you there!