I’m leaving in just a few hours to join my writer and fan compatriots at Worldcon 77! Also known as Worldcon Dublin. Also known as Worldcon 2019. We like options. 😉
I will be busy while attending Worldcon, and not just sightseeing! I’m a program participant this year, for the first time ever. I’ll have four panels, one reading, one autograph session, and one kaffeklatsch. Here’s a graphic summarizing my schedule at a quick glance.
And here’s a more detailed list, should you be attending and want to join me for any of them! I’ll, of course, be conquering my Dublin Foodie Hit List in my off-time. But I’ll also be at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America table Saturday morning, at the Hugos, and variously wandering the halls of the Dublin Convention Centre. Don’t hesitate to say hi!
Rebecca Gomez Farrell’s Worldcon 77 Official Schedule:
Thursday, 15 August
-VR and AR: the future of gaming or a fad?
Panelist, 12:00 – 12:50, Wicklow Room-1
In 2015 the gaming industry was abuzz with the potential of both virtual and augmented reality. However, the expected explosive growth of these technologies did not happen. This panel will discuss the potential of these exciting technologies and whether or not they will ever achieve the potential people believed they would have a few short years ago.
-Found in translation: SFF translated works
Moderator, 15:00 – 15:50, Wicklow Room-4
English is the current lingua franca, making it easy to forget that a lot of genre fiction is translated from other languages. Who are the best authors of translated SFF? Are particular languages more likely to be translated than others? The panel will discuss the status of translated works in the wider context of SFF and which non-English books we should be reading.
Friday, 16 August
-Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
Reader, 17:00 – 17:50, Liffey Room-3
Broad Universe is an international organization for women and female-identifying authors of science fiction, fantasy and horror, working together to promote women’s works in the genres! Our signature event, the Rapid Fire Reading, gives each author a few minutes to read from their work. It’s like a living anthology of women writers.
Saturday, 17 August
-Kaffeeklatsch: Rebecca Gomez Farrell
Author, 13:00 – 13:50, Level 3 Foyer
A Kaffeeklatsch is a unique opportunity at some conventions to meet up with a writer in a casual setting–in this case, right by one of Worldcon’s onsite cafes–and spend time shooting the breeze on whatever topic floats everyone’s boats. The cutoff is usually around 10 or so people–I’m not sure what it’ll be for Dublin, but I doubt it’ll get too high. And I’ll be thrilled if anyone comes!
Sign up for my kaffeeklatsch at the Infodesk if you want to talk about my writing, about our shared love of good food and drink, about the writing business from a small press author’s perspective, about favorite SF/F shows and movies and books this year, or about…cats! I’m planning to give away at least one book during this session as well.
-Window to the soul: a character’s favourite song
Moderator, 14:00 – 14:50, Wicklow Room-4
Creators often use a character’s musical choices to show us their inner thoughts and hidden motivations: in Guardians of the Galaxy the music Peter plays is a link to his lost mother, in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Miles’s favourite song places him as a member of Generation Z, and Alex’s callous rendition of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in A Clockwork Orange has gone down in infamy. Join our panellists for a walk through our favourite characters’ musical memories.
Sunday, 18 August
-Internet, Censorship, Control, and Influence
Moderator, 13:00 – 13:50, Wicklow Room-1
Innovations on the Internet transformed the ability to have global conversations about politics but also heightened capacities for censorship & control. Have these affected the Internet’s original doctrine? Do they provide greater transparency or muddy the water? We’ll discuss the evolution of the idea behind censorship and control as applied to the Internet in terms of law and modern society.
-Group Autograph Session
Signing, 15:00 – 15:50, Level 4 Foyer
The authors signing for this session include myself, Pat Cadigan, Derwin Mak, RJ Barker, Kathryn Sullivan, and Jim Doty, PhD.
And that’s if for my official schedule! And it’s enough, let me tell you. 😉 But I think I’ll actually feel prepared by the time I step on that plane…soon, very soon.