Oh, you BEA people, have fun this week navigating the somewhat soul-deadening rows of booths at Javits and hitting the much more fun parties. (Two words important to BEA survival: Chair massage.) Anyway, I wrote a number of little pieces for the BEA Show Daily, so you can keep an eye out for those too. Unable to squeeze in BEA and Wiscon, we chose Wiscon (yay!), because Javits vs. the Concourse Hotel? No competition.
So, here's my Wiscon schedule of Official Programming Items:
- Saturday, 10-11:15 a.m. in Conference Two: Three Dashing Gents and One Classy Dame – Dave Schwartz, Christopher Rowe, Richard Butner, and Gwenda Bond read from recent work.
- Saturday, 1-2:15 p.m. in Capitol A: YA: Why Then? Why Now? Moderator: Sharyn November. Panelists: Gwenda Bond, Michael Marc Levy, Alena McNamara, Anastasia Marie Salter. In 1967, The Outsiders was published. The YA genre was quickly off and running. Now, over thirty years later, YA is rapidly expanding again. Both adults and teenagers are reading it, and YA books pop up on every bestseller list. What happened then, and what's happening now that causes YA to grow so wildly?
- Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m. in Caucus: The Work of Kage Baker. Moderator: David J. Schwartz. Panelists: Gwenda Bond, Shira Lipkin, Margaret McBride, Gregory G.H. Rihn. Best known for her Company (Dr. Zeus Incorporated) series of mysterious, powerful, time–traveling operatives, Kage Baker's speculative fiction deftly ties history, fantasy and science with ribbons of adventure, romance, irony and keen cultural insight. She wanted more time to spend with us; let's spend some time with her life work.
Otherwise, I'll be findable in the usual haunts–the Small Beer table, the Governor's Club, following Ted Chiang to panels, etc. etc. See you there?
(OH, and if anyone has suggestions for smart stuff to say at the panels, especially the YA one, please to post in the comments or email.)
10 AM! Oh god you guys are killing me
Well, at least we gain an hour, right? So really it’s like 11!
Oh goodness! That YA panel really is the eternal question, isn’t it? I just read/reviewed Liz Hand’s Illyria and that seemed to me to be the quintessential YA title (not that there aren’t many fab ones, as you know). I loved that it dealt with adults not knowing everything (and making mistakes), with teens finding their way on their own (not necessarily the right way but still) and with how significant those choices you make at 16 can end up being. In other words, it’s a great book about growing up. In this case it is a sad one, but that’s how it is sometimes. Adults would read it with an air of nostalgia and love the tragic beauty of the story but for teens it would carry a real sense of urgency – it would make them think of just how big this whole growing up thing can be.
It really is one of best examples of what YA can do/be that I’ve come across in a while. (Again – many fab books out there but this one stood way out.)
Sharyn sent it my way – she’s always right, isn’t she?
Grr, I think your YA panel–which I would have loved to have attended!–is at the same time as my Not Another F*cking Race panel. I’ll have to look to be sure. But maybe I’ll run into you elsewhere.
Oh, about YA: why not? It’s got a lot fewer restrictions, it’s willing to explore new topics and ideas, and it examines what it really means to be who you are, both as an individual and as part of a greater society/world. This even extends to examining the problems in our current world. What’s not to love?
All true. Liz is a genius.
Oh, your panel sounds interesting too. And thanks for the thoughts! Definitely grab me and introduce yourself. 🙂