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Tolkien as a Horror Writer
There are scary bits, undoubtedly. Did Tolkien have any coherent horror aesthetic?
Christopher Cervasco, Jeanne Cavelos (m), Douglas Anderson, Ysabeau Wilce, Nicholas Ozment

This got delayed and delayed, so it's very uncertain in spots.

( cut for length )

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The Pre-Christian Ghost
Ghostly fiction and apparitions before the European Middle Ages. A starting point for this might be L. Collison-Morley's Greek and Roman Ghost Stories. How were the ghosts of the ancients different from the more familiar ones? For one thing, they certainly didn't wear trailing white shrouds, which are a product ( Read more... )

Wow, this won the poll in a landslide. So:

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What Are the Taboos in Fantasy Today?
They shift with the times. Is the writer ever really free to write about ANYTHING?
Sharyn November (m), John Grant, Tom Doherty, Steven Erikson, Lucienne Diver

November (sdn) is Editorial Director of the YA line Firebird. Grant is a novelist and co- ( Read more... )

Wiped out for no obvious reason today, so no new panel reports. Here's a poll to help me decide which to do next:
Poll
Also, the "tell me which fictional character I am" meme is very much fun, even if I absolutely suck at coming up with answers. (I've been thinking about it on and off most of today, and the only person I've decided on is veejane, who hasn't ( Read more... )

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World Fantasy Con: Urban Fantasy-Beyond the Usual Suspects
It seems as if most urban fantasy uses the familiar European myths. What other possibilities are there? Which authors have successfully exploited them?
Ekaterina Sedia, Ernest Lilley (m), Marie Brennan, Melanie Fletcher, Jenna Black

(In post-panel conversation, Sedia and ( Read more... )

Very quick notes on the Joseph Bruchac performance. Much of this will be in reference to the Native American Spirits panel report.

He told five stories, about two different cannibal skeletons, Toad Woman, a wendigo, and a snake. The first cannibal skeleton story was about a man who got eaten by said cannibal skeleton as a direct result of his ( Read more... )

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Native American Spirits.
How are they different from transplanted European ghosts?
Linda Donohue, Lawrence Connolly (m), Laura Ann Hill, Adam Niswander

Joseph Bruchac (bio) was added when the moderator spotted him in the front row and asked him to join them, which is a damn good thing because otherwise the panel on Native American ( Read more... )

An attempt to do a quick (later: hah!) overview of the con before I crash completely. Responses to comments on the last post, panel reports, and miscellaneous substantive stuff forthcoming.

Organizational Problems: My problem with this World Fantasy Con was not what everyone warned me about, people spending all their time networking and not having ( Read more... )

Here's what our free-books bags at World Fantasy Con contained:

• The First Betrayal (The Chronicles of Josan, Book 1) by Patricia Bray (2006)
• The Curse of the Raven Mocker by Marly Youmans (2006)
• Undertow by Elizabeth Bear (2007)
• Carmen Dog by Carol Emshwiller (2004) (two copies)
• The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm (2006)

So, who can tell me about World Fantasy Con? Specifically: Is this a thin year for programming, or is it always like this? Are there announced parties, or just generally social stuff that doesn't require waving your publication credits to get in? Anything we should particularly plan to do or to avoid?

And, of course, who's going? =>