World Fantasy
by wjw on October 29, 2020
Another weekend, another virtual convention. This weekend is the World Fantasy Convention, which would be held in Salt Lake City if there weren’t a pandemic, but which will now be held online.
Here’s my schedule:
Norse and Germanic Fantasy: The Northern Thing
Date and Time: Friday Oct 30, 6:00 p.m.
Panelists: Ann Chamberlin, Jessica Day George, Greg Bear, David Drake, Walter Jon Williams
Norse and Germanic fantasy has held British, American, and Northern European readers in thrall for centuries. From Scandanavian epics to gothic novels to Wagner, from J.R.R.Tolkien to George R.R. Martin, trolls and elves and dwarves have threatened our literary and political systems almost without surcease. Our panelists explore the nature of this fascination.
How Swordplay in Fantasy has Changed
Date and Time: Friday Oct 30, 7:00 p.m.
Panelists: Cindy Lynn Speer, Marie Brennan (M), Troy Carrol Bucher, Walter Jon Williams
Those swashbuckling pirates and battle-hardened warriors had better know how to fight with swords, or the realism will drop out of the story and hit the floor with a clang of steel. Nothing stirs a fantasy-lover’s blood like the clash of blades, the ring of metal-on-metal, the dodge and parry of a skillful fighter. Panelists discuss effective sword fighting in fiction, from Sabatini and Howard to The Princess Bride. Has the art of fantasy swordsmanship changed along with reader’s tastes and interests?
Reading:
Sunday, 12:30pm
So that’s two panels in a row on Friday night! We’ll see if my voice survives.
If you show up and participate, you’ll help to ease the strain on my voice. Please join us!
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