M56 Programming Brainstorm
Minicon 56 (2023) will take place April 7-9, 2023, at the St. Louis Park Doubletree. Our Guests of Honor are: Author Martha Wells, Artist Sara Felix, Fan Greg Ketter
THE MINICON 56 PROGRAMMING BRAINSTORM WIKI page is UNDER CONSTRUCTION
READ THIS FIRST
Here's the programming ideas that we have so far. Some of them may actually become programming items, especially if YOU volunteer for them! But there's still plenty of time to suggest new items or tweaks to the existing ones. We welcome your input!
Have a programming idea to suggest? See something you'd like to volunteer for? Shoot as an email at programming@miniconxx.mnstf.org.
LITERATURE AND WRITING
LGBTQ+ Representation in SF/F
Queer characters are showing up in both YA and adult F/SF. Where are they? Are they getting it right? Which books/shows are the best? And, maybe, assuming that such representation merely a good start, what is the next step?
Archive of Our Own
The platform for writers of fan fiction won the Hugo for Other Forms, at the Helsinki, Finland WorldCon. Anybody know anything about the history of fanfic, the beginnings of AO3, who writes for AO3? And, perhaps the biggest question, why?
Professionals Writing Fan Fiction
If anyone wants to go there. Local authors??
“Ficable” Moments
An exploration of what makes a book or show open as a launch point for fan fiction. Is it a large cast of interesting characters? Lots of plot holes or moments of ambiguity? Or is it places where deeper relationships between characters are hinted at but not actually explored? Which shows/books are the most “ficable”? Are there good shows/books that do not lend themselves to fan fiction?
Chinese Stories
A discussion of books, stories, and television coming out of China, in honor of 2023 WorldCon in ChengDu, China. There are dozens of Chinese-American and Chinese-Canadian writers, for both the adult and YA audience. The Chinese epic, Journey to the West got a modern abridged translation. The graphic novel American Born Chinese is being made into a movie. And Chinese dramas are streaming on YouTube and Netflix.
Restoring the Tower of Babel
The landmark fantasy, Babel by R.F. Kuang asserts that “An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.” It might be true that, since the fall of the Biblical tower, no one has been able to truly communicate. Let’s discuss the book, along with the concept of language as a barrier to communication. Can we properly translate another language? Can we truly understand each other just with words?