The full program for Archipelacon is now available online. Here’s what I’ll be doing.

Thursday 17:00 – Fear and Loathing in Hugoland
This year’s Hugo Awards received an unprecedented amount of coverage in mainstream media. Sadly not about the quality of the finalists, but rather a highly successful campaign to fill the final ballot with works that have a particular political slant. Our panel looks at “Puppygate” and asks what can/should be done about it.
with Jukka Särkijärvi

Friday 18:00 – LGBT in SciFi / Fantasy
It was standing room only at last year’s Finncon, so we are doing it again, this time with added gay guy. The LGBT+ (Lesbian Gay Bi Trans+) panel takes us over the rainbow to see what is new and topical in queer SF&F. Where are we today, What way did we come, Where may we go? Come and join us on the way.
with Dirk M. Weger & Suzanne van Rooyen

Saturday 13:00 – Music in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Many writers publish a playlist of music they listened to while writing, sometimes even in the book. What are the benefits of writing to music? What sort of music is suited? Does the music get you in the mood for the book, or is it just background? Our panel discuss their various musical tastes, and try not to come to blows over them.
with Bellis, J. Pekka Mäkelä & Suzanne van Rooyen

Saturday 20:00 – Masquerade
Take the stage on your own or bring your friends. Costumes from SF and fantasy, from books to films to comics to games to original work, are all welcome. Both performance and costume will be scored by our panel of judges, with prizes awarded at the Archipelacon closing ceremony.
with Jukka Särkijärvi

Sunday 10:00 – LGBT Superheroes
Are Batman and Robin actually a gay couple? Which famous superhero hired a New York gang to beat up some lesbians? How far back can we trace queer characters in comics? Cheryl Morgan peers into comics archives and reveals that sometimes wearing brightly coloured spandex tights really is as gay as it gets.

Sunday 12:00 – Hell Is Other People: Gender Issues and Reader Response in Neil Gaiman’s “A Game of You”
My contribution to the academic conference

Sunday 15:00 – Science Fiction and Fantasy Translated in English
Much SF&F is written in languages other than English, but the Anglophone world is generally the most lucrative market. What recent works are available in English translation? Which problems face writers trying to get translated into English? And how can we increase the number of published translations?
with Ian Watson, Sini Neuvonen & Tanya Tynjala

The rest of the program looks really good too. In particular I’m impressed at the international nature of the panels. They have panels on Spanish, Greek and Chinese fandoms, at a Finnish/Swedish convention. Awesome.