I’ll be attending the Worldcon in Dublin in two weeks’ time.

My schedule is below. Note that:

-I’m always happy to stop and chat because this is what I go to cons for: if you see me and I don’t obviously look like I’m hurrying away to go someplace else, feel free to come and say hi.

-I will have copies of my f/f Beauty and the Beast with a dragon retelling In the Vanishers’ Palace and of the Hugo award finalist The Tea Master and the Detective with me at the con: these are self-published and I’m quite happy to sign them (note that this is the only edition of Tea Master that’s going around since the Subterranean one is out of print). The easiest way to find them is at the Hodges Figgis bookstore table in the Exhibits Halls (I think they are in the Dealers’ Area?). I’ll also have some copies for sale at my events, especially my signing on Thursday. Note that this is first come first serve and that once I run out they’re all gone!

-If you’re coming over from North America and would like to grab a copy of The House of Sundering Flames, the concluding volume to the Dominion of the Fallen trilogy, I highly encourage you to hop over to the dealers’ area or to a Dublin bookseller: this title has, right now, no North American release (long story but I’m out of contract in the US) so this is your best chance to get a copy from a bookseller! I’m also quite happy to sign these obviously.

Oppy or Armstrong? Autonomous vs human space exploration

14 Aug 2019, Wednesday 19:00 – 21:00, Fringe (Other)

The Mars Explorer Rover, nicknamed Opportunity (‘Oppy’), launched in 2003, cost US$400 million and operated for 15 years. While an impressive achievement, what more could have been done with a sustained human space programme that was focused on Mars? Can the flexibility of an onsite human team justify the undoubtedly higher cost? What is the role of humans and robot probes in the exploration of space?

Our panelists examine the various (dis)advantages of both human and robotic exploration of Luna and Mars.

This is a free, ticketed event that must be booked in advance, and is taking place at the Science Gallery Dublin, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

Jeanette Epps (NASA), Noelle Ameijenda PhD (M), Aliette de Bodard, Dr Inge Heyer (Loyola University Maryland), Geoffrey A. Landis

 

Crime and punishment in the age of superheroes

15 Aug 2019, Thursday 11:00 – 11:50, Liffey Hall-2 (CCD)

Superhero TV shows repeatedly borrow the structures and tropes of cop shows, with many superheroes being ‘Cowboy Cops’ – operating according to the Rule of Cool with a sketchy adherence to notions of due process and civil rights. Can these hybrid narratives really acknowledge the ways in which real law enforcement is tangled up with race, class, and so on, and what do they reveal about attitudes to contemporary policing?

Chris M. Barkley (M), Rachel Coleman, Dan Moren, Aliette de Bodard

 

Reading: Aliette de Bodard

15 Aug 2019, Thursday 14:00 – 14:20, ECOCEM Room (CCD)

 

Autographs: Thursday at 16:00

15 Aug 2019, Thursday 16:00 – 16:50, Level 4 Foyer (CCD)

 

Dublin 2019 fountain pen meetup

16 Aug 2019, Friday 15:00 – 15:50, Wicklow Room-5 (Workshops) (CCD)

An informal meetup for people who love and want to talk about all things fountain pen and ink! Join us to chat about your favourite pens and how you use them.

NB: feel quite free to bring your own pens and inks, or to come look in on us even if you have no pens–we’ll have some starter pens and inks for you to handle!

Aliette de Bodard (M)

Autographs: Saturday 11

17 Aug 2019, Saturday morning 11:00-11:30, Gollancz table in Dealers’ Area (CCD)

 

Invisible Work: Mothers and Caretakers in SFF

Format: Panel
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 12:00 – 12:50, Wicklow Hall-1 (CCD)

A query online for mothers in SFF led to endless lists of the most badass mothers, but why must mothers always be badass in order to be valid? Do characters like single mother Nicole Reese in Raising Dion represent a change in the depiction of SF motherhood? The panel will discuss the depiction of mothers and carers in SFF and how it aligns with the politics of motherhood in the wider world.

Aliette de Bodard, Kate Elliott, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (M), Rivers Solomon

 

What I learned along the way

17 Aug 2019, Saturday 15:00 – 15:50, Wicklow Room-3 (CCD)

Writing is a many wondrous thing filled with highs and lows, but those lows can be really tough to navigate either after a great success or after a lack of success. Rejection is something every writer has to face, but how do writers keep writing in the face of failure? What lessons have they learned along the way? Our panellists share the ups and downs of a writing life.

Aliette de Bodard, Ian R MacLeod (M), Karl Schroeder (Tor Books), George Sandison (Titan Books) , Nina Allan

Kaffeeklatsch: Aliette de Bodard

18 Aug 2019, Sunday 13:00 – 13:50, Level 3 Foyer (KK/LB) (CCD)

 

Dragons, wyrms, and serpents: why the myth endures

19 Aug 2019, Monday 12:00 – 12:50, Wicklow Hall 2A (Dances) (CCD)

There are a lot of mythical beasts that can and do feature in fantasy, but the dragon/wyrm/serpent seems to be one of the most popular. What are the reasons for this enduring popularity? What roles does it perform? What mythic properties does it embody and why do these continue to resonate (if they do)?

Marie Brennan, Karen Simpson Nikakis (M), Aliette de Bodard, Naomi Novik, Joey Yu (Kino Eye Ltd. / Freelance)