WisCon!

Tomorrow morning I head North, to cross the Cheddar Curtain, to attend my very first WisCon! Here is my panel schedule:

	Schedule	Location
Chicks Dig Comics (scheduled)	Fri, 9:00–10:15 pm	Assembly
Moderator: Sigrid Ellis.
Come celebrate the delightful truth: women create, produce, read, and really, really dig comics! Join the editors and writers of Chicks Dig Comics, a just-released collection of essays, as they share their love for this medium and the stories it can tell.
SF on TV (scheduled)	Fri, 10:30–11:45 pm	Conference 4
Moderator: Richard S. Russell.
Hello to Terra Nova, Falling Skies, and the fairy-tale shows Once Upon A Time and Grimm. So long to V, Chuck, Stargate, Smallville, and Haven. Alphas is a terrific cross between Heroes and Fringe. British imports include Being Human and Merlin as well as the good ol’ Doc. Fringe, Warehouse 13, The Walking Dead, and especially Game of Thrones gave fans plenty to drool over. And more! Handouts included. Since it's impossible for anyone to keep up with all the shows, audience participation is mandatory.
Women in Comics (scheduled)	Sat, 8:30–9:45 am	Assembly
Moderator: Jessica Plummer.
What did the past year bring us for women in comics? What fates befell female characters; what women are doing good work in the field? Discussion of Marvel's Fear Itself event and DC's New 52 reboot are welcome, as well as conversation about non-superhero and indy works.
Spoiler Rules (scheduled)	Sun, 10:00–11:15 am	Conference 4
Moderator: Jeanne Gomoll.
Guest of Honor Debbie Notkin wrote a fascinating essay, "On Spoiling the Plot." http://www.strangehorizons.com/2005/20050815/notkin-c.shtml What are your preferences for plot spoilers? Do you hate it when people give away a major plot twist? Are you equally frustrated when someone gives away even minor elements of a plot in your presence? Is there a time limit for revealing spoilers? And why do the same people who hate to have book plots spoiled for themselves eagerly view very spoiling movie previews?
What I Like About You: Negotiating Layers of Fannishness (scheduled)	Sun, 10:00–11:15 pm	Senate B
Moderator: Cat Meier.
What does it mean to be a fan of a source? Fannish love takes many different forms: consumption, discussion, squee, analysis, transformative works, critique, and deconstruction are just some of the many ways we engage with fandom. How do we balance the many, sometimes competing modes of fannish engagement within ourselves and our communities?
Can We Talk? (scheduled)	Mon, 8:30–9:45 am	Conference 4
Moderator: Georgie L. Schnobrich.
Let's talk about conversational styles and unshared contexts between (among) generations. Why do both the young and old so often hear only their imagined, inferred sub-texts? How can we find a way to really listen and hear each other? What are the difficulties, and how might we solve them? From our Greatest Generation to Generation Text, can we afford not to? Bring ideas!

I'm VERY excited, as I've been hearing about the wonders of WisCon for many years, but have never been. If you will be at the show this week-end, be sure to say hello!

I've been BoingBoing'd!

Holy cats, the designs I created for Bordertownseries.com made it to BoingBoing, thanks to Cory Doctorow & Ellen Kushner. I was not expecting that. But it’s kinda nifty. The swag itself is up in my Cafepress Shop. If you'd like to learn more about the design process, I've created a Tumblr and have been posting bits about the projects I've been up to there.

What is a "Web Piskie" you ask?

In my case, being the B-town Web Piskie means that I am in charge of updating Bordertownseries.com, and also the brand-spanking-new B-town Tumblr.

I am relatively new to the world of Tumblr, this I admit. But part of the joy of the last few days has been surfing #Bordertown tagged content, and finding all the fan comments on both Welcome to Bordertown and The Bordertown Series, created by Terri Windling.

Keep spreading the love! And if you have a tumblr, please follow the B-Town Blog, and feel free to reblog! Think of us as noobs with the dust of the world still fresh behind our ears. We need some Diggers to show us the Way around town.

In the meantime, keep checking Bordertownseries.com as we're adding content practically daily, and I'm sprucing the place up with new pretties all the time. Soon Trader's Heaven will be jam packed with new B-town swag (I cannot tell you how long I have wanted a Khandromas tee-shirt, and how thrilled I am that I will soon be able to have one of my very own), new extras like desktop wallpaper and icons, and the Bring a Friend to Bordertown contest is well udnerway, with some AMAZING entries thus far!

HAIL!

FIVE exciting things to announce today!

Seanan McGuire has posted new Incryptid stories featuring Frances Brown & Jonathan Healy, and I designed the covers. Please check them out!



I've entered four tee-shirt designs in WeLoveFine's JEM design contest. The winner gets to have her or his design produced as a tee-shirt (and officially licensed by Hasbro!) in addition to a cash prize. You have to register on the site to rate the designs, and the more folks who rate them, the higher the potential cash prize. So if you have a minute, and want to indulge my passion for frighteningly PINK glamour & glitter, fashion & fame, check it out!

My Designs:
Truly Outrageous
Stormer
RESPECT THE HAIR
Showtime, Synergy!

Secondly, Welcome to Bordertown comes out in trade today!!! BordertownSeries.com has been redesigned (by yours truly), and editors Ellen Kushner and Holly Black are running a contest!

Bring a Friend to Bordertown

Thirdly, Chicks Dig Comics hits stores today, featuring an essay by me, and essays and interviews from a SLEW of amazing contributors. It's edited by Sigrid Ellis and Lynne Thomas and the official book launch will be at C2E2 this Sunday!

And lastly, Seanan McGuire's album Wicked Girls has been nominated for a Hugo Award in the "Best Related Work" category. I designed the cover, and could not be more thrilled that it has made it to the Hugos Ballot.

WorldCon 2011 - Renovation‏

As many before me have done, here is my WorldCon Schedule as it currently stands! Hope to see many of you at Renovation‏ next month.

Thu 14:00 - 15:00, For Fringe Fans (Panel), C1 (RSCC)
TV's cross between X-Files and The Twilight Zone just keeps getting richer and stranger. It's got a great mad scientist and a hot FBI agent or two. Where is Fringe going? Why do we love it so?

Thu 16:00 - 17:00, Cover Art in the Age of e-Books (Panel), A02 (RSCC)
Should an e-book cover be different than a print book? Does it have to be standard book cover size and shape or can it slip loose of standard print constraints? How the market for cover art and design might change in the age of electronic publishing?

Thu 19:00 - 20:00, Make Your Own Geek Chick Action Figure (Workshop), Hall 2 Demo1 (RSCC)
Get your doll-geek on! There aren't enough action figures of female characters from film or literature, but you can make your own! Come learn how to transform fashion dolls to geek chick icons.

Fri 14:00 - 15:00, Book Design and Layout (Panel), A11 (RSCC)
A review of the process and challenges involved in designing and producing a book once the written word is in hand.

Sat 10:00 - 11:00, KaffeeKlatsch: Sat 10:00 (KaffeeKlatsch), KK1 (RSCC)

Sat 11:00 - 12:00, The Role of the Companion: The Impact of the Companions on the Doctor (Panel), A05 (RSCC)
The Doctor's companions aren't just generic side kicks. Our view of the Doctor is influenced by his companions. And the companions change the Doctor, something examined a number of times over the last several seasons.

Sat 13:00 - 14:00, Has Dr. Who Jumped the Shark or is Steven Moffat Just Messing with Us? (Panel), A09 (RSCC)
Dr. Who has been a very popular show for generations. But is the new Dr. Who losing its way? Is bigger and younger always better? Is there a method to Moffat's madness? Since Season Six won't conclude until after Worldcon, speculations can abound!

Sat 16:00 - 17:00, Autographing: Sat 16:00 (Autographing), Hall 2 Autographs (RSCC)

Sun 12:00 - 13:00, Marketing Yourself on the Web (Panel), A05 (RSCC)
Does web site design still matter in the age of social media? How should a nontechnical artist or author approach the question of how to market yourself electronically?