Sirens 2012
Oct. 7th, 2012 12:14![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ahorbinskiI'm thrilled to be returning to the Sirens Conference again this year, now being held at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington. I'll be appearing on several panels:
Beyond Werewolves: Telling and Retelling Shapeshifter Stories
Janni Lee Simner, Cora Anderson, Mette Ivie Harrison, Andrea Horbinski, Cindy Pon
From pookas and kitsune to selkies and frog princes, shapeshifters have long played a role in the stories we tell. Although wolves may be contemporary fantasy’s most beloved werecreatures, other animal shifters appear everywhere from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels. This panel will take a wider look at the range and nature of shapeshifters of all species in folklore and fantasy novels, at the varied stories different creatures lead us to tell and retell, and at where our fascination with taking on forms not our own comes from in the first place.
Fans and Fandom as (Re)Tellers of Tales
Andrea Horbinski, Marie Brennan, Rachel Manija Brown, Hallie Tibbetts, Sarah Rees Brennan
It’s a common jump from loving a book, a story, a TV show, or a movie, to wanting to play around with its elements oneself. Fandom offers many girls and women a space in which to do just that. This panel looks at fandom and fans as retellers of tales, asking questions such as: what kinds of stories do fans choose to retell? What are some of the most common, or most interesting, kinds of fannish retellings? What is the line between “fannish” and “professional” retellings of stories such as fairy tales? What makes fandom (and retelling) original and creative?
Retelling History
Marie Brennan, Andrea Horbinski, Mette Ivie Harrison, Juliet Grames
Whether it simply uses the culture of the period or features real people and events in starring roles, whether it hews closely to reality or flings in vampires and zombies, historical fiction takes the past and reshapes it for a modern audience. What methods do writers use to retell history in fiction? And what obligation does the writer have to their source?
This will be my third time attending Sirens, and though the con is slightly pricey compared to many other small conferences, I've been consistently impressed at the quality and caliber of the discussions among the attendees, not only on programming but at meals, in the hallways, and at the fancy dress ball. There are still a few on-site registrations available, and if you're in the area, I really do urge you to consider joining us, and if not, please do think about next year! It's a wonderful event for women in fantasy literature, and we'd love to have you.
Beyond Werewolves: Telling and Retelling Shapeshifter Stories
Janni Lee Simner, Cora Anderson, Mette Ivie Harrison, Andrea Horbinski, Cindy Pon
From pookas and kitsune to selkies and frog princes, shapeshifters have long played a role in the stories we tell. Although wolves may be contemporary fantasy’s most beloved werecreatures, other animal shifters appear everywhere from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels. This panel will take a wider look at the range and nature of shapeshifters of all species in folklore and fantasy novels, at the varied stories different creatures lead us to tell and retell, and at where our fascination with taking on forms not our own comes from in the first place.
Fans and Fandom as (Re)Tellers of Tales
Andrea Horbinski, Marie Brennan, Rachel Manija Brown, Hallie Tibbetts, Sarah Rees Brennan
It’s a common jump from loving a book, a story, a TV show, or a movie, to wanting to play around with its elements oneself. Fandom offers many girls and women a space in which to do just that. This panel looks at fandom and fans as retellers of tales, asking questions such as: what kinds of stories do fans choose to retell? What are some of the most common, or most interesting, kinds of fannish retellings? What is the line between “fannish” and “professional” retellings of stories such as fairy tales? What makes fandom (and retelling) original and creative?
Retelling History
Marie Brennan, Andrea Horbinski, Mette Ivie Harrison, Juliet Grames
Whether it simply uses the culture of the period or features real people and events in starring roles, whether it hews closely to reality or flings in vampires and zombies, historical fiction takes the past and reshapes it for a modern audience. What methods do writers use to retell history in fiction? And what obligation does the writer have to their source?
This will be my third time attending Sirens, and though the con is slightly pricey compared to many other small conferences, I've been consistently impressed at the quality and caliber of the discussions among the attendees, not only on programming but at meals, in the hallways, and at the fancy dress ball. There are still a few on-site registrations available, and if you're in the area, I really do urge you to consider joining us, and if not, please do think about next year! It's a wonderful event for women in fantasy literature, and we'd love to have you.