Main Program Schedule

Main

Fri 7:00PM in 403 -- Sex Toys Of The Future (#211)

   Really stimulating technology. Sex toys of the future…eh, hem. Come in, this is serious speculation.
 
Fri 7:00PM in 404 -- Can Comic Books be for Kids Again? (#229)

   Comics have evolved into graphic novels. They’re sophisticated, adult, and expensive. Once upon a time comic books recruited new readers for SF. Can they reach out to children again?
 
Fri 8:00PM in LIBERTY A -- PSFS Meeting - Speaker: Tom Purdom (#19)

   
 
Fri 8:00PM in 404 -- The Economy Of The Future (#174)

   Today’s economy is (theoretically) based on gold, in reality (?) on credit. How will it work 100 years from now? 200 years from now? Can SF writers come up with something that is both radically different and plausible?
 
Fri 8:00PM in 407 -- Getting The Message To The Mundanes (#192)

   Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green were a wake-up call to the general public about the power of SF/Fantasy as social commentary. Why is genre literature so good at making points people don’t want addressed?
 
Fri 8:00PM in 413 -- Her Breasts Trembled as He Looked at Her Across the Room (#220)

   What can SF learn from the literature of romance?
 
Fri 9:00PM in Franklin A -- Meet The Pros Party (#72)

   
 
Fri 9:00PM in 404 -- Hot New Writers You’ve Never Heard Of (#189)

   Join us for a look at the best of the “next.”
 
Fri 9:00PM in 406 -- Beating SF Writers At Their Own Game (#191)

   Embarrassingly, too many of the really great novels of SF come from writers outside the field. Brave New World, 1984, and A Clockwork Orange to name a few. Why is this and is it still true?
 
Fri 9:00PM in 407 -- Demons, Gargoyles, and Imps…Oh, My! (#213)

   Making the fantastic plausible.
 
Fri 10:00PM in LIBERTY B/C -- SF Quiz Show (#21)

   Test your knowledge of SF trivia against the pros.
 
Fri 10:00PM in 404 -- Beyond The Black Gate: Voyages To Hell And Back From Orpheus To Frodo. (#212)

   Discuss the classic voyages and examine what they mean and why thy’re typical to fantasy/quest stories. How does the “master myth” differ in a woman’s versus a man’s voyage, i.e., Isis vs. Orpheus. What do the characters usually encounter on such voyages (why?) and how can you make these characters, these encounters, and the voyage new and exciting?
 
Fri 11:59PM in LIBERTY B/C -- Eye of Argon Reading (#22)

   Supposedly the worst genre story of all time. Join us and see how far you can get without laughing.
 
Sat 10:00AM in Salon I -- Things I Wish Some Pro had Told Me (#129)

   
 
Sat 10:00AM in 401 -- The Sins Of Blurb Writers, Or Hype And Hysteria (#178)

   When the book cover copy describes a different book than the one you just bought. Is a little white lie a useless tool?
 
Sat 10:00AM in 403 -- Re-Exploring The Solar System In SF (#180)

   New databases give us in effect a new solar system. Mars is not what it used to be. Europa may be an abode of life. How do recent writers take advantage of this?
 
Sat 10:00AM in 407 -- Put a Fork in It (#221)

   How to end a good story. Making your ending go with your beginning and the rest of your story.
 
Sat 11:00AM in Salon I -- Science Fiction And The Literary Establishment (#28)

   Has science fiction attained literary respectability? Is this even desirable?
 
Sat 11:00AM in 406 -- How The Mighty Have Fallen – Shifting Tastes And The Ex-Classics (#185)

   Some books formerly regarded as the standard classics of science fiction have fallen into obscurity. Which books are these? Did they deserve it? Will any of them come back?
 
Sat 11:00AM in 407 -- Getting Started (#200)

   So you want to be a writer – how to go about it. How the SF wannabe becomes the SF professional.
 
Sat 11:00AM in 408 -- Heroic Rodents And Questing Chickens (#201)

   Anthropomorphized animals in SF and Fantasy.
 
Sat 11:00AM in Salon L -- Future Satire Becomes Reality (#223)

   Think of all those crazy, far-out ideas about future America prevalent in the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as “fear factor” reality TV, women’s jello wrestling, robot wars, etc. Are we living in Robert Sheckley’s future?
 
Sat 12:00PM in Salon I -- Is Phillip Pullman The Next J.K. Rowling? (#29)

   Is the His Dark Materials series the next breakout fantasy success?
 
Sat 12:00PM in Salon G -- SFWA EMF Benefit Auction (#31)

   An auction of rare signed memorabilia to benefit the Science Fiction Writers of America Emergency Medical Fund.
 
Sat 12:00PM in 406 -- Books That Changed My Life (#208)

   Books can have a profound effect on one’s life. Come hear our panelists tell which books have affected them and come share with our panelists stories that have affected you.
 
Sat 12:00PM in 407 -- Changing Parameters Of Censorship In Science Fiction (#215)

   Why we used to be able to write that we now cannot. What was forbidden that is now fair game.
 
Sat 12:00PM in 408 -- Abracadabra…who was that demon I saw you with last night? (#224)

   Why do SF people enjoy magic and the supernatural?
 
Sat 1:00PM in Salon I -- Bad Guys Are More Fun (#30)

   By giving evil characters appealing personalities, are we in danger of blurring the edges too much? Do we run the risk of confusing our ability to distinguish between good and evil?
 
Sat 1:00PM in 406 -- Non-Western Influences on Science Fiction (#216)

   
 
Sat 1:00PM in 407 -- Never Give a Succubus an Even Break: Funny Horror (#222)

   Horror and humor are two sides of the same coin…or is one the train wreck of the other?
 
Sat 1:00PM in 408 -- Writing Workshop (#260)

   
 
Sat 2:00PM in Salon H -- Guest of Honor Speech: Anderson & Moesta (#23)

   
 
Sat 2:00PM in 404 -- Do They Call It Hard SF Because It Is Difficult To Write? (#167)

   The trials and rewards of writing hard SF.
 
Sat 2:00PM in 413 -- Alternate Historical Vampire Cat Detective Stories And Other Strange, Generic Mixes (#170)

   Some combinations work, some do not. Is the time ripe for a revival of spicy oriental zeppelin stories?
 
Sat 2:00PM in Salon I -- Fascinating Disgusting Ideas for SF Stories (#225)

   Diseases, disgusting behavior, mental disorders – the ideas that both repulse and appeal to us. Who are favorite F & D writers?
 
Sat 3:00PM in Salon H -- Artist Guest of Honor Slideshow: Joe Devito (#24)

   
 
Sat 3:00PM in 404 -- I Know This Means Something, But What?: Difficult Works And Why We Stay With Them. (#175)

   What are the special pleasures of the books you have to read carefully and more than once? The joys of allusion, symbolism, and subtext.
 
Sat 3:00PM in 406 -- Making Characters Vulnerable Without Making Them Wimps (#198)

   Characters have to have human limits, but they don’t have to be sniveling losers. The balance between dull supermen and real, believable heroes.
 
Sat 3:00PM in 407 -- I’ll Remove Your Third Set Of Limbs And Rip Out Your Eyestalks (#205)

   Violence in SF. Have we gone too far? Is there anything wrong with violence as a theme?
 
Sat 3:00PM in 408 -- Klingon Language Institute (#214)

   Lawrence Schoen teaches us the Klingon language.
 
Sat 3:00PM in 411/412 -- Film: Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water (#284)

   On August 1, 2003 a human delegation gathered in Philadelphia to speak and celebrate a language from outer space. This film captures the life, passion and quirks of the Klingon Language Institute, an entity structured to support and facilitate the only "Constructed Language" to emerge out of popular culture. This visually unique film with a "Sci-Fi" flair examines the intricate interplay between culture and language, communication and emotion, and the razor-thin line between reality and fiction.
 
Sat 4:00PM in Salon H -- Principal Speaker: Pam Sargent and George Zebrowski (#25)

   Speeches and book signings for our Principal Speakers...
 
Sat 4:00PM in 404 -- My Favorite Minor Characters (#177)

   Fans and authors alike have their favorite minor characters that they want to see developed. Would you want to see them in their own books as major characters?
 
Sat 4:00PM in 406 -- Overlooked Books And Overrated Novels (#197)

   
 
Sat 4:00PM in 407 -- Steaming Spurts of Hot Subtext: Literature vs. Erotica (#228)

   Can literature that sexually arouses us still be appreciated as art?
 
Sat 4:00PM in 408 -- McDonald’s Uber Alles (#231)

   Will corporations be the nation-states of tomorrow?
 
Sat 5:00PM in 404 -- Noire in Science Fiction (#194)

   The influence of the hard-boiled detective novel in science fiction. We see it so pervasively in the works of Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and others that Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett may almost be claimed as science fiction.
 
Sat 5:00PM in 406 -- No One Would Ever Believe It If I Made It Up (#204)

   Fiction writing is the art of editing life into a believable and coherent pattern. What must you use and what can’t you use in fiction?
 
Sat 5:00PM in 407 -- Imaginary Authors And Non-Existent Boos (#209)

   Think of Kilgore Trout, Marshall France, M.M. Moamrath, Kirk Poland…some imaginary authors and their works have become quite famous. Exploring the art and artistry (and fun) of creating not merely imaginative but imaginary literature.
 
Sat 5:00PM in 408 -- Fantasy Without Fairies And Wizards (#210)

   New directions in fantasy. Fantasy without the standard medieval tropes.
 
Sat 8:00PM in 401 -- What Are The Big Ideas In SF Today? (#188)

   Time travel, space travel, and immortality have been the past BIG IDEAS in SF. Are there new big ideas on the horizon?
 
Sat 8:00PM in 403 -- The Industry Fans Do Not See (#196)

   Marketing, production, and all the other things that go into getting books on the shelves.
 
Sat 8:00PM in 404 -- The Romantic Time Travel Story (#219)

   Exploring the literature of love, longing, and time-travel, from Berkeley Square to The Time Traveler’s Wife and everything in between.
 
Sat 9:00PM in 401 -- The Passing Of The Golden Age (#181)

   Critic John Clute calls it “thinning.” Much fantasy expresses a sense of regret and nostalgia for some purer, richer, or more magical time in the past. The elves are leaving Middle Earth. The magic goes away. Why do such stories arouse such deep emotions?
 
Sat 9:00PM in 403 -- We Lack The History (#184)

   Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War is quite a different book if you haven’t read Heinlein’s Starship Troopers;
 
Sat 9:00PM in 404 -- The Strangeness Horizon (#207)

   How far can you go before the future becomes incomprehensible?
 
Sat 11:59PM in 401 -- Spooky Stories At Midnight (#169)

   Professional writers present their chilling tales of horror.
 
Sun 10:00AM in 401 -- Finding The Science Fiction In The Science Fiction Section Of Your Local Bookstore (#176)

   There are so many things in the SF section that are not science fiction. How do you tell the difference?
 
Sun 10:00AM in 406 -- For Those About To Grok… (#232)

   When the hippie culture and ideals met SF, what did the literature get? How has SF been shaped by hippie ideals and experiences?
 
Sun 11:00AM in Salon I -- Preposterous SF Ideas (#130)

   The most far-out concepts that make for publishable science fiction.
 
Sun 11:00AM in 401 -- Slipstream (#171)

   What does it mean and can you consciously set out to write one?
 
Sun 11:00AM in 406 -- The Magical World Of T.H. White (#173)

   Exploring the works and life of one of the 20th centuries greatest fantasists, the author of The Once and Future King and Mistress Masham’s Repose.
 
Sun 11:00AM in 407 -- So God Is Dead, Now What? (#202)

   Will the future produce new and different religions?
 
Sun 11:00AM in 408 -- The New Novels of Kevin Anderson (#261)

   
 
Sun 12:00PM in Salon H -- Guest of Honor Speech: Blackburn and Johannsen (#33)

   
 
Sun 12:00PM in 406 -- Why Harry Potter? (#168)

   The world of children’s fantasy features many excellent, well-written series, many of them about young wizards. Why did the Harry Potter books become such a breakout success instead of, for example, LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea or the works of Diana Wynne Jones?
 
Sun 12:00PM in 407 -- Living Forever (#187)

   If it were possible for everyone to have an indefinite lifespan, what would this mean for society, religion, and sex?
 
Sun 12:00PM in 408 -- You Don’t Have To Be Crazy, But It Helps (#193)

   Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, and Edgar Allan Poe: genius or madmen?
 
Sun 12:00PM in 413 -- Bad Writers Who Refuse to Die (#233)

   We know they are awful, but their work goes on and on decades after its original publication. Should we resent this or should we look for its hidden merit? Our list will inevitably offend someone, but here it is: Doc E.E. Smith, Lin Carter, Lionel Fanthorpe.
 
Sun 1:00PM in Salon I -- Why The World Would Be A Better Place If We Could All Read Science Fiction (#127)

   It is known as a literature that promotes scientists and as a tool for educators to give reluctant readers. What are the other benefits the literature bequeaths on its readers?
 
Sun 1:00PM in 401 -- Realism in SF, Fantasy, and Horror (#190)

   What level of “realism” is necessary for a believable story? Does it change depending on whether it is a SF, Fantasy, or Horror story? What level is too much?
 
Sun 1:00PM in 404 -- Changing The Past With An Idea (#206)

   If you go back in time and give Aristotle a calculator, he will be impressed. If you could go back and explain to him the scientific method, you might change the entire future of the world. Is it possible what the time traveler says is more important than what is in his pockets?
 
Sun 1:00PM in 407 -- Sex and Aliens (#217)

   A very intimate encounter with an extraterrestrial.
 
Sun 1:00PM in 408 -- The Role of Stupidity in SF and Fantasy (#227)

   Why must the hero and heroine rundown into that dark basement? Why don’t they just call the police or the exterminator?
 
Sun 2:00PM in Salon I -- Women as Eye Candy? (#128)

   Despite it all, are women in SF still sidekicks and arm ornaments?
 
Sun 2:00PM in 401 -- A Tribute To Asimov’s During The Gardner Dozois Years (#172)

   
 
Sun 2:00PM in 404 -- Dreams As A Source Of Fantasy (#186)

   How do dreams influence fantastic writing? Are dreams a good source of fantasy ideas?
 
Sun 2:00PM in 406 -- Ruining Your Life, But Filling Your House With Books (#195)

   The care and feeding of the SF book collector. How to decide what to buy and what to prune?
 
Sun 2:00PM in 407 -- Does Size Really Matter? (#230)

   What is the “ideal” length for science fiction? Is there such a thing?
 
Sun 3:00PM in Salon I -- Fantasy Worlds We Don’t Want To Live In, But Still Want To Read About (#126)

   The world of Perdido Street Station, for example, is dank, dirty, crowded, and dangerous, but the book is a best seller. Why do people want to read about places they would never dream of setting foot in?
 
Sun 3:00PM in 401 -- Great Openings (#183)

   Great openings to classics and little known stories and why they are great
 
Sun 3:00PM in 404 -- Meet The Editors Panel (#199)

   Leading editors in the field describe what they do and what they look for in a story submission. Look at your writing from the other side!
 
Sun 3:00PM in 406 -- Post 9/11 SF (#218)

   The effects of September 11th on science fiction.
 
Sun 3:00PM in Salon K -- Lovecraft Goes Mainstream (#299)

   From Penguin Classics to stuffed Cthulu dolls. Lovecraft and his creations are now everywhere. Does this mean we will all go gibbering mad and the Old Ones will return?
 
Sun 4:00PM in Salon G -- Feedback Session (#124)

   Come by and give your comments and suggestions to the current and future chairs so that we can improve Philcon for next year.
 

Readings

Fri 8:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Greg Frost (#99)

   
 
Sat 10:00AM in 308 -- Reading: Lawrence M. Schoen (#318)

   
 
Sat 11:00AM in 308 -- Reading: Susan Shwartz (#100)

   
 
Sat 12:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Jack McDevitt (#101)

   
 
Sat 1:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Stephanie Burke (#102)

   
 
Sat 2:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Paul Levinson (#103)

   
 
Sat 3:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Esther Friesner (#104)

   
 
Sat 5:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Keith DeCandido (#296)

   
 
Sat 11:59PM in 308 -- Reading: Margaret Riley/Changeling Press (#317)

   
 
Sun 9:00AM in 308 -- Reading: Eric Kotani (Yoji Kondo) (#108)

   
 
Sun 10:00AM in 308 -- Reading: Pam Sargent (#319)

   
 
Sun 11:00AM in 308 -- Reading: George Zebrowski (#105)

   
 
Sun 12:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Kevin J. Anderson/Rebecca Moesta (#106)

   
 
Sun 1:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Judith Berman (#107)

   
 
Sun 3:00PM in 308 -- Reading: Josepha Sherman (#110)