I am really looking forward to taking part, I am getting to interview Darren Shan, which I am really looking forward to. If you have questions you’d like me to ask him, put them in the comments.
This post is brought to you after I read this on facebook https://www.facebook.com/joch.mcarthur/posts/10103074134267273
The diversity in SFF (Science Fiction & Fantasy), what ever the medium comics, film, Tv, books and video games is why I am a fan. I have had people wonder how my feminism, parses with my interest in SSF, what I have read, watched, played and loved as frankly fed my feminism.
Helped me dream of the world being a better place and of people dealing with each other with compassion. Helped me figure out what I would do in horrid situations, let me explore possibilities.
SFF has never been prefect, it won’t ever be, it is created by flawed humans, but it has never been the preserve of cis white hetro men not from the very beginning.
Yes as it has become mainstream and those looking to target the biggest section of the market for profit have started to present it as being of and for cis white hetro men, but that is spin.
SSF has always been diverse, women and girls have always created, organised, wrote, drawn, been the back bone of fandoms.
Yes Fandom and conventions are not perfect either, but they are a hell of a lot better then they were 20 years ago in my experience.
Which is why I am proud of the conventions I have been involved with, Shamrokon and Octocon and the work done to try and reflect that diversity and the joy SSF brings.
Hope to see many of you this weekend in the Camden Court Hotel for Octocon.
I will be in the wonderful geeky bubble which is www.octocon.com all weekend.
Mind yourselves while I am off event running and getting to be on so many panels which are so inter sectional it has made me squee.
Panels on bodily autonomy in young adult fiction, on bisexual representation in fiction, on sex workers in fiction, on genderqueerness in fiction, on mental health & neuro diversity in fiction and fandom community and magic & pagan ism in fiction.
This is my schedule for the weekend, you can have a look at the rest of line up here
Scifi/fantasy fandom has this rep of being all older cis white hetro men. It’s not. Both guests of honor this weekend are amazing and also women. Many of out guest authors joining us are women I admire, and I know I will also be surrounded by lovely feminist men.
I will be tweeting from @Octocon over the weekend if you want to see what I am up to.
