Sunday Schedule

Sunday Easter Egg Hunt for under five-year-olds

Come bring a game and play it with friends!

Come bring a game and play it with friends!

All weekend there are dealers and game developers running demos of games in Maxi’s Salon. Come up and see the latest and greatest games and talk to game developers.

Come sign up for a game run by our DMs or check out games from our lending library. We have RPGs, computer games, LARPs, card games, board games, and so much more! Need ADA access for a game? Please speak to our staff when you sign up so we can be sure to meet your needs.

Sunday Easter Egg Hunt for five to eight-year-olds

The Biographies of Ordinary People. A Patreon-funded novel, with a new chapter goes online every Tuesday and Thursday. It’s the story of the Gruber family: Rosemary and Jack and their children Meredith, Natalie, and Jackie. The novel begins in 1989, on Rosemary’s thirty-fifth birthday; it ends in 2016, on Meredith’s thirty-fifth birthday. If you like Mad Men or Little Women, you’ll like this. Rated G.

Today we take a look at the pictures that get the points. And we get to see who wins.

You raise your sword to the horizontal and point it at your opponent’s eyes, stare down the blade, and prepare yourself to engage your foe. You radiate psychological dominance. What is going through your mind? What is going through your foe’s mind? How can you use this knowledge to your advantage? Come discuss the “moment of truth” with those who have been there. Join Duke Manfred Kreigstrieber, an early and great King of An Tir, as he adds the mind to the sword.

A theory is not a guess or supposition; it is the best model we have of how something works based on current understanding. Join our panelists as they discuss what evolution is and isn’t, and why it is our best understanding of natural diversity.

Administrators and nominees for this year’s award discuss the Philip K. Dick Award and the legacy of Philip K. Dick.

Are you weird, geeky, or a total nerd, and proud of it? Do you express your fannishness in daily life, or do you tone it down for your day job? Come participate in a discussion and share how you show your fannish colors.

So you’re writing in a market everyone says is “done-to-death” and won’t sell. But you really love your book and readers might not be as genre tired as some people think. What are your options for publishing or marketing a story in a category that some insist has jumped the shark?

From The Fury of Dracula to Hanabi, our panelists will discuss the fun and pitfalls of cooperative games: which are terrific, which are terrible, and which don’t play well with certain kinds of players.

What does the horror genre tell us about the culture in which it was written? What does today’s horror tell us about modern society? And as creators, how can you craft stories that have greater impact by reflecting things that resonate more deeply with your audience?

Join us to watch the Masquerade and then have a debriefing of it. Contestants’ music and any lost and found items from the backstage area will be available at this panel. Any unclaimed awards will be here also.

A look at the historical figures, events, and themes that provide material for fantasy. Join our pros as they discuss where, when, and how to draw real world history into a fantasy setting.

Sunday Easter egg hunt for children ages nine to 12.

The Sunday Special Event for Norwescon 39 will be “Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator.” Come watch the crew of the TSN Artemis live on stage as they defend Terran space against Kralien, Skaran, Torgoth, and Arvonian invaders while investigating the mysterious BioMechs that live in space!

PREPARE YOURSELF! This is no eye-glazing intoning of blah blah blah! Randy will perform mouthy-soundy-magicness on an excerpt of Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free, the sequel from Tor to his “dark and quirky” contemporary fantasy Finn Fancy Necromancy! And, of course, there will be treats, prizes, Q&A, and quite possibly dancing. Rated PG.

Campaign. An advertising man gets a very unusual assignment. Rated G.

There are lots of crowdfunding options for art and comics, from project-oriented sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to general support like Patreon and PayPal tip jars. What works when?

Certain characters seem to have a knack for finding each other in any universe. We, in turn, seem quite drawn to reading and writing about them existing in alternate universes. What are the joys and challenges of writing AUs and crossovers, and why do readers find them so appealing? How do you create a new universe for them and make it fit? We’ll talk about world-building in AU fics – everything from slight tweaks of canon to entirely new realities.

If you read military science fiction, you’ll see the future is filled with mercenaries and professional soldiers detached from society, living in an isolated military bubble. If you look at our military, it is mostly made up of family men and women, fully in both worlds. Come join our panelists as they discuss what is, what should be, and why.

Most of us have jobs, chores, and family with which we must spend time. Finding time for costuming can be very difficult after all the other demands for our time are met. Join our expert panel as they discuss where they find the time, how they make the time, and what tools they use to keep track of those precious few moments.

Fangirls. You’ve seen them. Clustered around manga, squealing over the new hot actor (of any gender), discussing why exactly it is perfectly feasible for Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to be in a relationship (seriously, did you see the movie? The fanfic wrote itself). Who are they? Where do they come from? And is there an age limit? Our panelists discuss fangirl culture, and whether they themselves identify as such.

Children seeing themselves represented on screen can be a transformative experience. In the year 2016, “white male” shouldn’t still be shorthand for “default human.” Popular media has made great strides in recent years when it comes to diversity, but we still have a long way to go. Here’s what media is getting right, what’s still very, very wrong, and where we can go from here.

Wargaming comes in several flavors, from electronic games with their minimal setup and space requirements, to the full-fledged hobby of collecting, assembling, and painting armies of miniatures. Come hear a discussion of the bonuses and drawbacks of each.

Every culture on Earth has cherished its own inherent standards of beauty. But those standards have varied widely throughout the ages. So why would writers transplant earthly standards to cultures on alien planets or realms of fantasy? Discuss what qualities beyond the physical may come to be recognized as beautiful and why.

Literature may be the art of beautiful words, but sometimes great writing comes from, or cooperates with, great images. Come hear how writers use drawings, photographs, and maps for inspiration, worldbuilding, character development, and more.

Stomp and roar like dinosaurs while learning fun facts about velociraptors and other “terrible lizards.”

Join our auctioneers for a fun-filled final chance to purchase that original piece of art you saw in the art show and help us raise funds for charitable giving by bidding on items that have been generously donated by our artists, dealers, and fans.

Never Let Me Sleep. What would you do if you woke up and everyone in your house, on your street, in your town was dead? Then you discover you aren’t alone and what is out there is hunting you. YA science fiction thriller. Rated G.

Our panel of experts will discuss resources and construction of creative costume accessories using inexpensive everyday items!

One of the newest influences on tabletop roleplaying is borrowed techniques from improvisational theatre like the “say yes” family of ideas. There’s even a fascinating form of improv LARP from Scandinavia called Jeepform that’s a melding of the two. Come learn about these new ideas in roleplaying and even learn a technique or two.

When penicillin was isolated in 1942, scientists predicted an arms race between bacteria and antibiotics, one that we will inevitably lose. And we are losing it: super-resistant strains of staph, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and other diseases are emerging at an increasing rate. What are we going to do when even the most powerful antibiotics are no longer effective?

Western fiction and fantasy typically ignores the biological necessities of life. Other than the Roman baths, sanitation is largely ignored with an embarrassed silence. Even in future-based science fiction we rarely pay attention to the requirements of elimination. Stanley Kubrick was a notable exception with a fleeting glimpse of how a space toilet would function in 2001: A Space Odyssey. We’ll take this “forbidden” topic on and look at ways of incorporating the bathroom/loo into your stories without cultural discomfort.

We’ve seen them several times, but we keep coming back for more. A discussion on the common tropes in urban fantasy and the unique ways in which to address them that keeps it fresh and unique.

Pros tell you what not to do. Come for the juicy tales of angst, stay for the useful advice on what to do instead.

What would have happened if vulcanized rubber had been developed 100 years earlier? Or if the Romans discovered vaccination? Or if solar boilers were invented before the Civil War? Everything would be different, but how?

As more nations achieve manned spaceflight and the superpowers of the U.S., Russia, and China continue their space programs, will they choose to cooperate, compete, or mix the two extremes? Will a new cold war develop over the high frontier?

Since 2000, the Fandance Film Festival has celebrated low- and no-budget cinema, brought to wondrous lurching life by amateur filmmakers from all around the Pacific Northwest. This 120-minute extravaganza of entertainment also includes many of the filmmakers to regale you with terrifying tales. Be there or be a regular right quadrilateral! The Fandance Film Festival is the final terrifying phase of the Hellbender Filmmaking Workshop, in which participants make a movie, from conception to the premiere of the finished product, in one weekend.

How do you build and sustain a credible economy for your world when magic or technology grants its inhabitants the ability to create goods from essentially nothing? Discuss how story limits can or cannot be set when a narrative embraces endless abundance.

Cats In Service.” A comic short story about a woman whose entire staff of servants are trained cats. Rated PG.

Exiles of Tabat. The third in her fantasy series. Rated PG.

Everything you wanted to know about making and selling prints. Whether original prints like woodcuts, giclée prints from digital originals, or reproductions, should you do it yourself, or use a fulfillment service like søciety6?

Is it really still casual if you spend that much time on it? Tablet and phone games, as well as browser-based casual games are a huge share of the games market now, and producers are competing for your attention and cash. What’s good? What’s interesting? Is “pay to win” really all so terrible? Which games are worth your investment and which are to be avoided?

What happens after the war ends, either for everyone, or for one person at a time? What is the effect on a nation, on its military, on the individual who was a warrior and now is not? What happened in the past is happening now, and how can it be better in the future?

From making simple fabrics work to developing stunning trim, embellishing a costume doesn’t have to break your budget.

Geek policing and gate-keeping happens when someone evinces interest in something of the nerdy persuasion, and someone else starts quizzing them on it like nerddom is the Ivy League. It’s not okay. And we—all of us nerds of all races, genders, orientations, and ages—need to stop it. Period.

Where a story is set lends itself to the impact of that story. Whether you set your story in a crumbling castle, a small town in Maine, or a sleek office tower, how do you craft a setting with staying power? Come for favorite examples and ways to build your own and play against expectations to greater effect.

Ever wanted your own space program? Ever wanted to see the world from on high? This panel will tell you how to get started. Audience participation strongly encouraged!

Science fiction takes us to worlds we can only hope to imagine and the unique physics, environments, and challenges of those worlds speak to the explorer in all of us. Join us as we discuss what details and mixes make for compelling worlds worth visiting.

Did you participate in Part 1 on Thursday? Bring your samples and see what you’ve found … or show up anyway and we’ll find out just what exactly is lurking around the con!

A new short story. Rated G.

Sometimes something in fandom becomes so popular that it is more loved and respected than the canon itself. When fanon becomes more popular (or dare we say it, better?) than canon, can we as writers use it and eschew canon? Why do we find fanon more appealing in some cases, and what does that tell us about us as an audience and creators?

Have new kinds of technology made producing comics easier or harder? What are these new technologies? How much should you expect to shell out for a drawing tablet, software, and other accessories? And how much is too much?

From synthetic antibodies to fixing genetic errors, the frontiers of drug research are being pushed beyond what anyone thought was possible just a few years ago. Where is the scalpel’s edge of pharmacology now, and where might it be in the future?

You’ve seen those fancy, expensive patterns made from existing period garments but are they super complicated? Do you need an MFA in fashion design to scale up the pattern or alter the size or length? We take the mystery out of working with period patterns and offer our recommendations on the best specialty pattern brands.

There are many stories of people as young as ten who have ended their lives rather than endure another taunt. How do we take back our lives and communities from bullies and raise our kids to be kind? How do we explain terms like sexual identity, gender dysmorphia, racism, misogyny, and oppression in terms young children can understand? Or even in terms that adults can understand? What can we do to address these issues without being condescending? The timeworn strategy of “ignore bullies and they’ll stop” doesn’t work. What do we do instead?

Five years after the tsunami, meltdowns, and explosions, what does the situation look like? What has happened, has not happened, and is going to happen? Join our panelists as they discuss what we know about and what we have learned from Fukushima.

There’s more than talent to making a living as an artist. Health insurance, taxes, marketing, organization, selling yourself, portfolios … where do you find the time to do all that and still make art?

Assume a radio telescope picks up a signal that looks artificial, that is from an alien civilization. What happens then? Whom do the discoverers inform? Who gets to make the announcement? Will the government try to suppress the news?

How to show the flag for your fan group, attract and retain members, and build a sense of community within the group. How to work though growing pains and conflict.

Speculative fiction is filled with alien societies and characters based on all-too-human quirks and cultural traits. A convenient short cut, or creatively lazy? Discuss how writers build worlds that are truly alien yet are still relatable to readers.

The Last Donut Shop of the Apocalypse. As Pothole City races to rebuild, a bounty hunter-turned-building manager must find a missing Cluck Snack executive, settle a bitter dispute between warring doughnut shops, and foil another plot that threatens to eradicate the single-purpose angels. Rated PG.

“Three Voices.” A composer joins forces with a temperamental vocalist to perform a unique song that has destroyed the health and careers of previous singers who have attempted to sing it. Rated PG.

Where do you find this stuff? How do you get there? Where is it being played, outside of Norwescon? Want to see your kind of music, live, when you’re not here? Our panelists talk about the venues and events that support different kinds of geek-friendly music.

Be it the rigors of space travel or the weight of destroying an entire species, protagonists in science fiction take those fights home with them. Join our panelists as they discuss the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder in science fiction.

The Force Awakens came out last December, and fan passions are running deep. Was it a brilliant update that brought the saga to a new generation? Or a lens-flared fiasco of Jar-Jarian proportions? Either way, Disney is going all-in on all things Star Wars, so there’s much, much more on the way.

How do you find a good editor or cover artist? What’s your pricing strategy? Does free work? What are the best keywords to use? How do you get reviews? This panel discusses the best practices for putting out a professional product and the current strategies for finding success.

The Seer. Rated PG.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye—that’s it for another year, folks. This is your last chance to say adios to our wonderful Guests of Honor.

Please come join the staff of the convention to provide feedback about this year’s convention. We are constantly striving to improve, and your feedback is important to that process.