25th World Fantasy Convention Program Ideas
Please note--this is not an all-inclusive (or, all-exclusive!) list. This is
just a very preliminary list of thoughts about possible topics for a
WFC. Don't think of it as a "checklist," but as a group of
(hopefully) evocative "pump-priming", starter ideas with which you
can play!
Our theme is "Voyages." We're planning our program to incorporate all areas
of fantasy: mythic, picaresque, YA, dark, urban, humorous, historical... We
also hope to cut across the genres with topics in such areas as craft,
business, art, and roots... (along with examinations of the literature,
obviously!). Additionally, we hope to tip our hats to the previous twenty-four
World Fantasy Conventions.
Can we do this in the less-than fifty program slots we'll have available at
the con? With your help--certainly!
Look these over, and select a few if you're so inclined. If you'd like,
write up a short description of what you think it means, or write
some questions about it. Where do these titles make you go?
Finally, what did we leave out? Send us your favorite topic idea
and description.
Have fun!
- Archetypes in Fantasy:
- The Weeping Wizard
- The Younger Son
- The Rascal King
- The Fool
- The Reluctant Dragon
- The Enchanted Forest
- The Princess - Alone
- Hidden Kingdoms
- (etc.)
- The Beginning of Our Voyage
- Why Adults Love YA Fantasy
- The Bastard Sons of Zelazny
- A Borges Appreciation
- Lovecraft's Poetry
- Epic Poems
- SF/Fantasy Crossovers
- Coming of Age in/for? Fantasy
- Success and Failure in the Portrayal of Evil
- Conceptual Evolution of the Devil
- The Banality of Evil
- True Grit--Quests are Hard!
- Quest Fiction for Old People
- Fantasy of Manners
- Song and Magic
- When Did We Lose Poetry?
- The Language of Fantasy
- The Long and Short of It: Story or Novel?
- Mashing the Expository Lump
- The Nature of Fantasy Criticism
- On Writing: How to Make the Reader Believe
- Setting in Fantasy - Is it limited?
- Using Real Places as Fantasy Settings
- Shadow of the Torturer: The Writer as God
- Shakespearean Traditions in Fantasy
- Historical Fantasy - When History meets Fantasy
- Urbane Fantasy
- What's Your Agenda? - Subtext in Literature
- When Is Humor NOT Funny?
- Writing and the Dark Shadow of the Self
- Horror Movies
- How does the Magic Work?
- Libraries, and their Impact on Fantasy
- Cyber-fantasies
- Archetypes of British Fantasy
- Nightmares--for Children/Adults/Writers?
- The Art of Plotting
- The Bible as Fantasy Novel
- The Brothers Grimm in the 20th century
- Creating Believable Characters
- The Dilution of Archetypes
- The Case for Generic Fantasy
- The Character of Death
- Crossing the Genres
- Fantasy Landscapes of New England
- Do It Again - the Pains (and Pleasures?) of Rewriting
- Fantasy World Building
- The Far Future: Where Fantasy Meets SF?
- Grow Old Along With Me: Aging Your Characters
- Best-selling Fantasy--Crafted Product or Rewarded Quality
- Bimbos in Bikinis (or, What Did They Do to My Cover?)
- The Cartography of Fantasy: Mapmaking for Imaginary Lands (Maps and Mindscapes)
- From Toronto to Elfland and from Arkham to Providence: Voyages Into/Out Of Our World
- So Many Books, So Little Time - How To Be a Better Reader
- The Story as Quest/The Quest as Story
- The Story Still Lost: What Grimm Story Would You Like To See Discovered?
- The Ten Worst Ideas in Fantasy
- The Transcendent Man - A Theme in Fantasy
- Fantasy in "Great Literature" (Shakespeare, Spencer, etc.)
- Who Needs Physics When You Can Have Fantasy?
- Coyote, and Others
- The Horror of Marketing--the Marketing of Horror?
- Medieval/Grotesque/Surrealistic Horror
- Different Takes on the Same Story (Cinderella, Orpheus, Sleeping Beauty, etc.)
- The Modern (Disney +) Corruption of Fairy Tales
- Fairy Tales and Enculturation
- Looking at "the Wild Man" - from Enkidu to Mad Max
- The Evolution of Djinn
- Vampires: How They Have Mutated?
- How Do Archetypes Evolve? (Gradual vs. Catastrophic)
- Retro-Fitting Legends
- It's Written in the Stars - Constellation Stories
- Deliberate Creation of Legends
- Legends or History?
- Farms in/and Fantasy
- When Should "Reality" Intrude on Fantasy?
- Fantasy Science!
- Fantasy is for Mars/Horror is for Venus
- Improvisational Storytelling Workshop
- Death is Easy, Comedy is Hard
- Explaining Too Much
- Naming the Nameless Horror (Elmer Can't Hurt You)
- The Future of Horror
- The Hero with the Nondescript Faces
- Breaking Rules, Snapping Taboos (Incest, and Fratricide, and Mother-fucking, oh my!)
- The Middle Class in Fantasy
- Choosing to Be a Hero
- The Other Point of View (Modred, The Wicked Witch, The Stepmother, etc.)
- Shapeshifters I Have Known and Loved
- Why Bad Fantasy Sells
- Why are Genies Funny?
- Collaborations - How They're Done
- Does Fantasy Prepare People for Change?
- How to Kill Your Series - the Reichenbach solution?
- Fantasy Ballads--Ancient and Modern (Storytelling in Song)
- Dialect and Dialog
- Things You Should Have Read
- Fantasy or Schizophrenia?--Does the Author's Intent Matter?
- Beyond the Black Gate (Heroic Voyages to Hell and Back--From Orpheus to Frodo)
- Voyages into Forever
- Journeys to the Center of the Earth (The World Below)
- Defending Dracula
- A Guide to the Gothic Genre
- Characteristics of the Dark Lord
- Important Non-Fiction to Read
- The End of the Journey--the Last Voyage
- But Wait, There's More!--Beyond/Around/After? Death...
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