{"id":1091,"date":"2015-07-10T12:07:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T12:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2015-07-12T18:21:44","modified_gmt":"2015-07-12T18:21:44","slug":"readercon-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/readercon-26\/","title":{"rendered":"ReaderCON 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

Final Update Sunday, 12 July 2:00 PM<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

***A note on reading the full post. \u00a0The RED<\/span> timestamps indicate separate sections. Start at the timestamp at the bottom of the post and work your way up<\/strong> ***<\/p>\n

Sunday is both a thrilling and depressing day at ReaderCON. \u00a0The parties have ended, friends line up in the lobby to check out. \u00a0Taxis and ride shares begin to leave with ever increasing rapidity.<\/p>\n

Let’s walk through the abbreviated program day first, and then i’ll share my final thoughts.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1062\"<\/a>9:00 AM<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Wish Fulfillment for Happy Adults.<\/b>\u00a0John Benson, LJ Cohen, Betsy Mitchell, Sheila Williams, Ann Tonsor Zeddies<\/i><\/p>\n

And interesting discussion on how speculative fiction can capture older audiences. What defines happy for older readers is somewhat different than the younger generations. Mystery stories have that “sense of justice” at the end (for the most part). Romance formulae dictates that the lovers end up together in the end. \u00a0How can SciFi, Fantasy and other such genres satisfy the happiness gene for adult readers?<\/p>\n

Personally, I’m satisfied when the demons are blasted to ash by the protagonist. \u00a0But I’m simple like that…<\/p>\n

From the program:<\/p>\n

Wish fulfillment for teenagers and wish fulfillment for adults with happy stable lives are necessarily going to be different. Speculative stories are great for navigating the trickiness of coming-of-age, but there’s precious little for those who are already of age and have started to prioritize comfort over adventure. Female readers in particular often turn to romance novels for stories about families and love and kindness, and to mysteries for stories about grown women with agency and purpose. Can speculative fiction draw in those readers by fulfilling different sorts of wishes?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"IMG_1063\"<\/a>10:00 AM<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Ghostbusting Lovecraft.<\/b>\u00a0Mike Allen, Gemma Files, John Langan, Adam Lipkin, James Morrow.<\/i><\/p>\n

What does “dogs and cats living together” have in common with Cthulhu? More than you think–as the panelists compare\u00a0Gozer, the Gatekeeper and the Key Master to Lovercraftian ideals.<\/p>\n

Who ya gonna call? Lovercrafters!<\/p>\n

In Max Gladstone’s blog post “Ghostbusting Lovecraft,” he writes: “Ghostbusters\u00a0is obviously taking the piss out of horror in general. But while the busters\u2019 typical enemies are ghosts of the Poltergeist persuasion, the Big Bad of the movie, a formless alien god from Before Time summoned by a mad cultist\u2013cum\u2013art deco architect, is basically Lovecraftian.” Unlike typical Lovecraftian protagonists, however, the Ghostbusters prevail over the eldritch horrors by exploiting the power structures and emotional connections that exist between people. Is the\u00a0Ghostbusters\u00a0story arc an alternative to the standard horror tropes, one that replaces fear with humor, defiance, and camaraderie? How else does it subvert our expectations of the conflict between humans and horrors?<\/em><\/p>\n

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11:00 AM<\/i>\u00a0The Shirley Jackson Awards.<\/b>\u00a0Mike Allen, John Chu, Ellen Datlow, Daryl Gregory, Nicola Griffith, Gary K. Wolfe<\/i><\/p>\n

\"57155-o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. Jackson (1916\u20131965) wrote classic novels such as The Haunting of Hill House<\/em> and We Have Always Lived in the Castle<\/em>, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, The Lottery.<\/em> Her work continues to be a major influence on writers of every kind of fiction, from the most traditional genre offerings to the most innovative literary work. The awards given in her name have been voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors, for the best work published in the calendar year of 2014 in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.<\/p>\n

NOVEL<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner:\u00a0Annihilation<\/i>, Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finalists<\/p>\n