The preliminary program schedule is now available here. Programming signup for WisCon 29 is now closed. This includes the readings, academic program, workshop, etc. The schedules are being created and refined. Please e-mail the head of programming at program29@sf3.org if you have any questions.
Program Items
Get involved! To review the list of possible items, go to the programming web site or
click here
(program@sf3.org) to email our committee.
Anyone can suggest program ideas. We collect all the ideas in the fall
and early winter. Then, we ask prospective panelists
to tell us which program ideas they are interested in. The final list
of program items is created based on the amount of interest it generates
among prospective panelists. (If no one wants to talk on the subject it
will get dropped. If many people want to join a discussion on the subject,
then the item will probably show up on the final list.)
The final program schedule will is posted in early May, several weeks
before WisCon.
Participant Sign Up Form
If you want to participate in programming as a panelist or presenter,
you must complete a Participant Sign Up form. This will not be available until mid-January 2006. However, if you enter your name on the planning page we will let you know when signup is ready.
Kids' and Teens' Programs
Kids' Programs are for older children-ages 7-12 and teens. Pre-teens
need to be signed in and
out by a parent or responsible adult. Older kids and teens can come and
go without parents. This is a separate track of WisCon programming aimed
especially at kids. Expect craft activities, supervised swimming, story-telling
and games. We also plan to have some discussion groups and interaction
with the teens.
Teens are welcome to participate in the kids' programming
but also have a separate room for more complicated activities, puzzles,
gaming, videos, music, and video games. Teens will help develop the schedule
of activities for their room. The Teen Room
provides space for teens, and, except for the room moderators, is off-limits
to both adults and younger kids. The teen room will be open from 8:30 p.m. to
11 p.m., as well as during the regular kids' room hours.
There are two Reading Streams: the General Readings and the special
Midnight Reading Sessions. If you want you may sign up for both a
general reading and a midnight session.
Readings at WisCon are organised thematically into 75 minute sessions
of three or four readers with catchy titles. Some past examples
include: New Wave YA, Snazzitude!, Sex in the City, Night Owls and
Zombies, Trouble is My Business and Awkward Ages. The aim is to put
together sessions of a common theme, style, or premise and thus attract
bigger audiences. So far, so good.
Every year more people want to read from their novels and short stories
than we have space for. With that in mind we give priority to a) people
who have a new publication out that they're promoting, b) people who
have organised themselves into a group of three or four (poetry
sessions may have more people, but we don't recommend any more than
four for a prose session).
There are no sessions of fewer than three people. This means the
longest reading possible is 20 mins.
How to take part in the readings programming
Step 1: Invite your writerly friends to form a group of three or four
and read selections that have a common theme, style, or premise. Do you
all have stories in the second person? The future tense? Have you all
written an alternate history, an Ursula Le Guin homage, or an elvish
wedding scene?
For those of you without a coven, coterie or club, when you fill out
Participant Sign Up Form give us a clue about what
you'll be reading, and we'll try our best to group you with the
like-minded and like-genred. We're not trying to pigeonhole you, just
get you together with birds of a feather. Like any dating service, the
more info you give us, the more likely you'll be to get lucky.
Step 2: The most important step of all. Sign up via our
Participant Sign Up Form. Important: If you do
not sign up via this form you will not be given a reading slot. If you
do not sign up via this form before the cut-off date for
participation you will not be given a reading slot. Every member of a
reading session must sign up via the Participant Sign Up Form.
The sign up form is where we collect data about who wants to read with
whom, what they want their session called, and their description of it.
For people without a group it's where we collect all the information
that will allow us to figure out which reading session to put you in.
The more information you give us the better placed you will be. It is
essential that everyone who wants to read at WisCon fills it out.
Important: If you have any difficulties with the sign up
form or do not receive notification that your form has been processed
contact us straight away so we can solve the problem and make sure that
you get a reading slot.
Step 3: This one's optional. Let people know when you're going to read
and invite them along. Make posters, give away chocolates to people who
attend. Last year reading sessions that employed advertising and/or
bribery were packed out. We recommend it!
Midnight Reading Sessions
This year the three midnight sessions (on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
nights) will not be part of the general reading series. They will be
reserved for any group/person who wants to tell bedtime stories, ghost
stories or any other midnight-appropriate material. Yes, you can sign
up for both a general reading and a midnight reading session.
Remember because there are only three sessions these slots will be
limited. Priority will go to a) the group/person with the most
interesting midnight-themed ideas b) people with a midnight-related (ie
scary or bedtimey) book to promote.
How to take part in the midnight readings
The proocedure is the same as for a general reading session, but when
doing Step 2 make sure you tick the box for a midnight slot and tell us
why you should get a midnight session.
Important: if you do not fill out the
Participant Sign Up Form and tell us you want a midnight reading slot you
will not get one.
WisCon Academic Programming
WisCon has a single stream of academic programming open to
undergraduates, graduates and scholars inside and outside the academy.
Over the years people have presented papers on fantasy, horror, and
science fiction literature, media and fandom, examining (among many
others) questions of race, sexuality, sex, religion, politics, and
class. The papers have ranged from historical accounts to ranting
polemics.
One of the aims of having academic programming at WisCon is to
strengthen the links between the feminist science fiction community and
those students and scholars working on feminist sf and fantasy and
related fields.
Every year in November or December a call for papers is issued. The due
date for proposals of 50-100 words is February 28 2005. They
should be sent to the convenor of academic programming,
academic@sf3.org.
We invite papers and presentations on science fiction and
fantasy, with an emphasis on issues of feminism, gender, sexuality,
race, and class. We especially welcome papers on the work of the guests
of honour.
Since WisCon 27, the science fiction
journal "Extrapolation" has created a special WisCon issue. The WisCon issue has three goals:
1. to make available the best papers of the previous year's WisCon;
2. to encourage scholarly work on science fiction culture and history,
on the communities that make science fiction conventions, such as
WisCon, possible; work about the interactions between fans and pros;
work that moves beyond readings of specific texts to the context of
their production and consumption;
3. to encourage work on feminist science fiction.
With this in mind a call for papers has been issued asking those who
gave papers at previous WisCons to revise them for publication and send them to
us. We also sent out a general call for articles on science fiction
culture and feminist science fiction.
Writers' Workshop
The Workshop is a unique part of the WisCon weekend that focuses on the needs
of writers - novelists, short story writers, and poets.
The Workshop takes place Friday morning before the convention gets rolling.
Participants work in small groups with one pro, a published writer, an editor
or an agent. The submission deadline for chapters and short stories is April
1st. For poetry, the deadline is April 30th. For submission guidelines and more
information about the Workshop, click here.
Living Rooms
The Living Rooms are informal discussions with pros about the challenges and
rewards of writing. They are programmed during the convention and are open to
anyone who would like to learn more about the craft of writing. For additional
information about scheduled Living Rooms, click here.
To reach the Living Rooms Director, send email to
respite@sf3.org.
Schedule
Programming is scheduled to run from:
2:30 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday
8:30 a.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday
8:30 a.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday
8:30 a.m. Monday to 2:30 p.m. Monday
Lunch breaks: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dinner breaks: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
How Long Do These Programs Last?
The standard program timeslot is one hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes), followed by a 15-minute hiatus between it and the next program. No one
is going to actually kick anyone out of a program room during the 15-minute
hiatus, but if you don't have any time to use the restroom, or run up
to the Con Suite for a beverage because you (or someone) kept talking...
well, it's just not our fault!
Continuing our tradition of supporting our convention attendees' need
to eat meals without missing programming, lunch and dinner breaks are
scheduled at 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Hardly anything gets scheduled
during these periods. But the Con Suite will remain open
for your refreshment. Relax, get a bite to eat and hang out!
Green Room
The Green Room is a place where panelists can meet before their
panels. It's a generally peaceful place for quiet discussions and contemplation
and/or panic attacks. Programming staff members are there to help solve
logistical problems ("Where's my slide projector?") or to offer other advice
and assistance.
The name tents that identify panelists on a panel are stored in the Green
Room. Panel moderator need to make sure they drop by the Green Room before
their panel begins to pick up their panelists' name tents!
Beverages and snacks are available here for all program participants.
Last Updated: 18 April 2005 by Jim Hudson.
Report any problems with this page by sending e-mail to
web@sf3.org.