Co-moderated with Michael Solis, fellow SFWA member

This panel discusses the best sources for current criticism and reviews for books, media and more. Come hear about the big names and the little hidden gems!

Panelists will discuss the pleasures and perils of co-writing. Do you both work up a contract first? Do you get an agent to represent both? What is your method of writing together, and how do you resolve the inevitable clashes when two creative minds are passionate about their way of doing things? Each panelist has published at least one co-written work.

The TV adaptation of the Murderbot series offers us the chance to interact with our favorite snarky, pessimistic, paranoid SecUnit in a whole new way. Murderbot's quest offers insight into individuality, identity, neurodivergence, found family, and the love of entertainment media. Hack your governor module, download your feed, and join us as we get to know Murderbot better.

Bisexual identity in media is too often erased or misrepresented. Explore how bisexual representation is portrayed in storytelling, why authentic imagery matters, and how creators can move beyond stereotypes to depict bisexual characters with nuance and respect.

Andrew Rubin (moderator), Brandon Ketchum, Hyeonsu, Jadie Jang, Sarah Rees Brennan - Disabled characters have been part of speculative fiction for a long time: from Dr. Jekyll to Miles Vorkosigan and more. For many fans, those stories offer powerful moments of recognition. Take a look at disability across SFF, discussing the characters that have shaped readers and writers and the representations they want to see more of.

Gwynne Garfinkle, Leslie S Klinger, Neil Ottenstein, Sarah Gulde, Stephen W Potts (moderator) - It's elementary, dear Watson, that Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest, and certainly best known, detectives of all time. Portrayals of Holmes have included gender bending, alternate timelines, and more. Our panelists will discuss the various depictions of Conan Doyle's detective through the years, and using their powers of deduction, may even decide upon which ones worked best!

Tips on how to create a furry sidekick in stories: developing personalities, how to make readers feel attached to animal characters, and how to avoid the whiff of slavery, where the companion apparently exists only to nurture the protagonist without any life of their own. Examples will, of course, be provided.

Women and other marginalized genders are part of historical fantasies, but how have they changed over time? What books and shows showcase historical these folks realistically?

Since their modern forms emerged in Japan in the last century, anime and manga have become a global phenomenon, whose influence can be found in every corner of genre fiction today. Panelists will discuss the influence of manga and anime on their own work and the work of others, and how both art forms continue to influence new generations of writers today.

A panel on truly alien protagonists featuring Alex Kingsley, Ben Francisco (moderator), Julie Soskins, Kathryn Sullivan, Malachi Lily

Taking literature in one language and transforming it into a new work in another language is an art with plenty of tension and high stakes in terms of transmitted meaning. Come hear the translators and the translated bemoan and celebrate the pitfalls and powers of translation. Participants: S. Qiouyi Lu, moderator; Alex Shvartsman, Andy Dudak, John Chu, Sue Burke.

We're living in "interesting" times: between climate change, political upheavals, pandemics, AI, and, soon, quantum computing, what's a fan to do? How do we talk about this time of polycrisis? For example, do we prioritize political action or climate action, or try to make whatever we do do double duty? Is this as bad as it feels? How can we frame our thinking to pull a positive future that we want to live in out of these troubling times? With Annalee Newitz, Brenda Cooper (moderator), Luka Dowell, Nikhil Prabala, T. K. Rex.

Writers have feelings and fears about AI seeping into our tools, bringing with it multifold biases and skills erosion. Like it or not, everyday writing software is being AI?ified. Is Grammarly now too AI?driven to trust? Is it okay to use LLMs for research or reverse outlining? The panel discusses the costs, concerns, and compromises being made when AI enters the frame - even with our unconscious engagement.

Writers have feelings and fears about Al seeping into our tools, bringing with it multifold biases and skills erosion. Like it or not, everyday writing software is being Al-ified. Is Grammarly now too Al-driven to trust? Is it okay to use LLMs for research or reverse outlining? The panel discusses the costs, concerns, and compromises being made when Al enters the frame - even with our unconscious engagement.

Humanity will eventually spread to the stars, but travel between these systems will take years if not decades. Is there anything that will be worth physically transporting from one star system to another? Will trade be exclusively in information transmitted at light speed? How will prices be negotiated, given the years-long delays? Will systems simply send information out there and trust that others will do the same? Participants: Sue Burke, moderator; Debora Godfrey, Geoffrey A. Landis, Humphrey Price, Mat Kaplan, WA Thomasson.

A panel on joy, optimism, and coziness in queer SFF featuring Ben Francisco (moderator), C. B. Lee, John Chu, Julie Leong, and Theresa Jean Tanenbaum ("Tess")

With Angela Liu, Brandon O'Brien, Jennifer Hudak, Mari Ness, and Theodora Goss. Our Best Poem Finalists read their nominated poems and have space to discuss them

Shiraki Press invites you to join them at a book launch for author Ian Patterson, with several other Shiraki Press authors.

More fantasy books feature queer characters as our discussions about queer identity grows. What are some books that showcase the LGBTQIA+ community well? What are the trends as more SFF includes queer characters and culture?

More fantasy books feature queer characters as our discussions about queer identity grows. What are some books that showcase the LGBTQIA+ community well? What are the trends as more SFF includes queer characters and culture?

Andy Peloquin, Brandon Ketchum (moderator), Cassidy Ellis Salter, Charlie Jane Anders, Julie Leong - A party of heroes becoming a new family unit is a staple of the fantasy genre. What makes this trope so likeable? And where can you read about fantasy found families?

Does extra-terrestrial life really need water? From the building blocks of galaxies and stars to the known environments of planets in our Solar System and beyond, we can seek clues about the nature of potential life. This panel will discuss these connections including elements in the universe, cells as factories, and extra-terrestrial habitats to see what life needs to survive: in science or in fiction. Participants: Sue Burke, moderator; Angela Horner, David Tucker, Ph.D., Joanna Rivers, Sam Scheiner.

Fiction has been flooded with cautionary tales of dystopias. However, when the real world seems already dystopian, how can speculative fiction provide a guiding light to get us through the turmoil? Which books should we reach for in order to help us plan our own path through the world? With Chris Kluwe, Daphne Singingtree, Jadie Jang, Stephen W. Potts (moderator), T. K. Rex.

We are always trying to depict the alien, but how far do you have to go to be truly out of this world? What tools and techniques can help create believable creatures and technology? What in the natural order can you change? Are there rules you should never break?

What does it mean to write speculative fiction in English while coming from a non-Anglophone country? How do geography, culture, and language shape the futures we imagine? This panel invites writers, especially those writing in English as a second language, to discuss the unique opportunities and constraints of working from outside the UK/US market.

Panelists and the audience conspire to turn familiar stories, and maybe even some poetry, into unrecognizable hilarity. Panelists will be challenged to read the results out loud, in front of an audience, without totally cracking up.

Popular settings for science-fiction are space stations or remote outposts across the universe. What is so attractive about this? How much into the science do writers need to get when describing these settings. Can the space station itself serve as a plot device?

So many stories with fantastical creatures feature the well-known types: werewolves, dragons, faeries, and vampires. What other creatures should be featured? Where can we find stories, film, and TV shows that look at the lesser known magical or folkloric creatures? With Claire Davon (moderator), Megan Haskell, Muaiyd Abu Ali, Stephannie Tallent, Wen Wen Yang.

Story structures in Eastern cultures often differ radically from Western story structures. This presentation examines how cultural values dictate structures: specifically, the four-act structure and circular/nested structures which naturally arise from Buddhist and collectivist values.

The age of women characters in fiction used to mostly skew young or old, with heroines in their prime making up the minority. This trend has reversed in recent years, as middle-aged protagonists have become increasingly popular in fiction. Panelists will discuss how middle-aged women have been portrayed throughout literary history, and how and why this representation has been changing in more contemporary works. With Beth Anderson / A.E. Dethlefsen, Jean Lamb, Kat Bradbury (moderator), Samantha Mills, Stephannie Tallent.

With the majority of the population living in light-polluted cities, it is becoming harder to look up and see constellations in the night sky. Ideas like beaming light to places on Earth from orbit, or orbital billboards are being seriously explored. How does losing access to the stars affect our sense of wonder and our understanding of our place in a vast universe? Participants: R-Laurraine Tutihasi, moderator; Howard V. Hendrix, Logan Uber, Norman Sperling, Sue Burke.

There are movements afoot to give whole ecosystems, rivers, non-human species, and even AIs. Some of these rights already exists in some places. What does this mean? Will it change anything? And who or what should have rights? With Clara Ward, D. Wes Rist (moderator), Eric Linus Kaplan, Margaret McGaffey Fisk, T. K. Rex

(Moderator) Some of the best speculative fiction out there imbues its setting with an attitude and personality all of its own. How do they accomplish this with and without going full Al? What are the best examples, and how can we apply it to our own work? Join these authors as they talk about the least lauded character: Place.