World Fantasy Convention 2011 Roundup

For those of you who missed World Fantasy Convention 2011, here are various links to videos and recordings (some of which are mine, apologies for the bad audio quality).

Main Website

Future World Fantasy Conventions:

• World Fantasy Convention 2012
• World Fantasy Convention 2013

Important Links:

• The Hotel Rant by Mari Ness
• WFC 2011 Creeper by Jaym Gates

Video Recordings:

Founders of Steampunk (video by Moses Siregar III)

Steampunk was first defined in a letter over 20 years ago. The writer of that letter, and two of the authors whose work helped define the subgenre, talk about their inspirations and look at where steampunk literature has gone.

John Berlyne (M), James Blaylock, K. W. Jeter, Tim Powers

World Fantasy Convention Opening Ceremonies (video by Scott Edelman)

World Fantasy Convention 2011 Awards Ceremony (video by Scott Edelman)

Kathleen Ann Goonan Reading (video by Scott Edelman)


Maureen McHugh Reading (video by Scott Edelman)

Audio Recordings:

Sea-Girls Wreathed With Seaweed Red and Brown

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea /By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown/Till human voices wake us, and we drown. - T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Mermaids, Undines, Sirens, Nøkk, Ho-ha’-pe: Many cultures have tales of beautiful sea people who lure humans to their death or distruction. What myths exist? How have these beings been used in fantastic literature? (The USA Today believes that mermaids are the hot new supernatural entities.) How have

Kelley Caspari (M), Theodora Goss, Stina Leicht, Ross E. Lockhart

Kat Howard Reading and Q&A

Connie Willis Toastmaster Speech and Q&A

The Crystal Ceiling

Is there still a distinction between “women’s” and “men’s” fantasy and horror? Despite the power and importance of women fantasy and horror writers is much of the male community still dismissive of most female authors’ work? What about the number of female characters/protagonists? Do we see more of them lately in fiction written by men as well as women?

Kate Elliott, Charlaine Harris, Nancy Kilpatrick (M), Jane Kindred, Malinda Lo

The Successful Misfit as a Theme in Fantasy

Is Schmendrick the Magician endearing because he’s a lovable loser, or is there something else going on? Nerds, geeks, and absent-minded professors abound in the pages of genre literature. What is it about the social misfit that attracts readers and makes them empathize with the protagonist? Are authors and readers self-identifying?

Peter S. Beagle, Deborah Biancotti, Erin Hoffman, Tiffany Trent, Mark L. Van Name (M)

Neil Gaiman and Connie Willis in Conversation

From Elfland to Poughkeepsie: Should Fantasy Sound Like Fantasy?

Ursula K. Le Guin argued that epic or mythic fantasy should have a language that helps the story keep a distance from the ordinary. Does most epic fantasy today continue that tradition?  Is it really a necessary part of epic fiction?

Terri-Lynne Defino, Susan Forest, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner (M), Shawna McCarthy

The Year in Fantasy

Ellen Datlow, Jo Fletcher, Paula Guran, David Hartwell (M), Jonathan F. Strahan

Leslie Klinger interviews Neil Gaiman

The Not-So-Fair Folk

The fairies of folklore were no Tinkerbells. They lured humans to their realm for their own reasons, not to help. Cold iron was prescribed as a protection against them. A discussion of faeries as figures of fear, not wonder, in myth and literature.

Holly Black (M), Jenny Blackford, Patrick Rothfuss, Delia Sherman, Mercedes Yardley