As you might already know, with thousands of other people, I’ll be heading to Dublin to attend the WorldCon for the first time. I’ll arrive on Wednesday, August 14th and will come home on the 20th. It’s going to be a whirlwind of a week and I hope to meet several of the friends I made over this past 1,5 years.
If I want to be honest, at this point I’m more terrified than excited. I admittedly don’t do well in a crowd, or in any social situation and my biggest fear is that I’ll be so freaked out that I’ll just retreat in myself, will sit in a corner by myself and wish I was somewhere else. So, if you see me somewhere, feel free to come up to me, give a hug or something so I could feel like a human being. Or at least feel like I’m not completely invisible. I’d be greatful. I also never go up to people, because “OMG I have to talk them, oh god, please let me disappear”. But I promise I’d like to chat, I’m just an introvert with anxiety issues….
I swear, I’m excited to be at WorldCon, but holy shit, I really have no idea how my brain will react to all that people. It’s going to be a nice test of how I’m coping with things now and how far I’ve got. Let me tell you, anxiety and low self-esteem to boot isn’t fun to carry around.
Unless, I’ll be hiding in a corner, I plan to attend a number of panels, and do a bit of sightseeing as time and weather prevents. You will more than likely find me at these progammes:
Thursday, August 15th
| Time | Title | Panelist(s) |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | Convention Tour | Leane Verhulst |
| 12:00 – 12:50 | Liking Problematic Things | Leo Adams, A. T. Greenblatt, Sam Hawke, Sarah Gulde |
| 16:00 – 16:50 | Finishing Touches: Jewellery | Deb Geisler, Helen Foster-Turner, Jackie Burns |
| 16:00 – 16:50 | Celtic’ Fantasy and Mythology | Kristina Perez, Deirdre Thornton, David Cartwright, Kathryn Sullivan, Kerry Buchanan |
| 18:00 – 18:50 | Talking Animal Characters in SFF | Lise Andreasen, Robert V. S. Redick, RJ Barker, Virginia, Adrian Tchaikovsky |
Friday, August 16th
| Time | Title | Panelist(s) |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | Where Words Fail, Music Speaks’: Literary Soundtracks | Tom Toner, A.J. Hackwith, R.F. Kuang, Ian McDonald, Kieron Gillen |
| 12:00 – 12:50 | Done to Death: The Art of Killing Characters | Aimee Ogden, Su J. Sokol. Veronica Roth, Patrick Rothfuss, Daryl Gregory |
| 15:00 – 15:50 | Angels and Demons: Christian Mysticism in Fantasy | Guy Consolmagno, Meg MacDonald, Christian (Miles) Cameron, Anne Corlett |
| 15:00 – 15:50 | Once Again Upon a Time: Modern Fairy Tales | Lucy Hounsom, E. Lily Yu, Mari Ness, Sara Norja, Jean Bürlesk |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | Reading: Jon Courtenay Grimwood | Jon Courtenay Grimwood |
| 18:00 – 18:50 | Introduction to Grimdark | Devin Madson, Elliot Craggs, Kim ten Tusscher, Cameron Johnston, Jenn Lyons |
| 18:00 – 18:50 | Ireland’s Legends and Lore | Paddy Finn, Susan Conolly, Fionnuala Murphy, Lora O’Brien |
Saturday, August 17th
| Time | Title | Panelist(s) |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | Reading: Simon R. Green | Simon R. Green |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | Crafting a Fantasy Novel from Mythology | Mark Tompkins, Karolina Fedyk, Tony Keen, Claire Light |
| 14:00 – 14:50 | Window to the Soul: A Character’s Favourite Song | Seanan McGuire, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Joao Goncalves, Kieron Gillen |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | Editors panel: Challenges and Anecdotes | Michael Rowley, Eleanos Teasdale, Ginjer Buchanan, David Thomas Moore, John R. Douglas |
| 21:00 – 21:50 | Send in the Crones: Older Women in SFF | Lauren Roy, Ali Baker, Sam Hawke, Devin Madson, Julie C. Day |
Sunday, August 18th
| Time | Title | Panelist(s) |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | Musical Influences: Emotions, Health, and Memory | Jennifer Mace, Joao Goncalves, Su J. Sokol, Gabrielle de Cuir |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | The Shapes in Water: Aquatic Myths and Monsters | Mari Ness, Umiyuri Katsuyama, Lora O’Brien, Ash Charlton, Rivers Solomon |
| 12:00 – 12:50 | Fantasies of Irish Emigration | Randee Dawn, CE Murphy, Deirdre M Murphy, Dyrk Ashton |
| 12:00 – 12:50 | Portrayals of Mental Health in Genre | Alasdair Stuart, Penny Jones, Glyn Morgan, Devin Madson |
| 13:00 – 13:50 | Gods, Religion and Atheism in the Genre | Derwin Mark, Dominic, Ehud Maimon, Naomi Kritzer, Meg MacDonald |
| 16:00 – 16:20 | Reading: Joe Hill | Joe Hill |
| 17:00 – 17:50 | Fantasies of Modern Ireland | Deirdre Thornton, Rachel Scanlon, Daniel Kelly, Gareth Hanrahan |
| 19:00 – 19:50 | Invented Mythologies in SF | Fonda Lee, Marina J. Lostetter, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Marie Brennan |
Monday, August 19th
| Time | Title | Panelist(s) |
| 11:00 – 11:50 | Fairy Tunes and Ghostly Croons | Carol Connolly, Marguerite Smith, Daniel Kelly, BE Alatt |
| 12:00 – 12:50 | Dragons, Wyrms, and Serpents: Why the Myth Endures | Marie Brennan, Karen Simpson Nikakis, Aliette de Bodard, Naomi Novik, Joey Yu |
| 13:30 – 14:20 | Shifts in Irish Mythology Across the Diaspora | Randee Dawn, Jeffe Kennedy, Mark Tompkins, Paul Anthony Shortt |
How many of these I’ll actually be able to attend remains to be seen. I have a few places where I’ll have to decide between panels, and it’s a question how many panels in a row I can bear. Also, plans can change, so I might be finding myself at totally different places. Who knows? But as you can see, I’ve left a few hours here and there to mingle, take a look at everything, go out to the city or do whatever I want, really.
I’m looking forward to meet new and old friends, so if you see me, come and say hi!
You are going to have a blast!! I’m not super social either, lots of times at conventions I DO spend few hours each afternoon in a quiet hotel room. Socializing, even getting from point A to point B, it can be overwhelming. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, it’s ok to retreat for a little while. you don’t have to talk to people all the time.
have fun, attend lots of panels, hang out with your friends, and be good to yourself. 🙂
Thank you! 💜
Ooh have fun! I’m terrible in social situations too. I would totally come up and talk to you if I were going😁
Haha, thanks! 😁
Damn I’m so jealous! Those look like some awesome panels. Safe travels and I hope you get to meet some good friends while you’re there!
Thank you! 💜