A POC/non-white/mixie nerd scrapbook. Because we’re awesome.
This bit elicited a kind of horrified lol:
It is a bad look when a group of white folks get up and walk out of a panel on steam punk—a very white imaginary where colonialism and imperialism as global systems are conveniently white-washed—because they do not want to have their fantasy derailed or challenged.
Fans of colour FTW!
Ay-leen reports back from Wiscon 35 (this past May). Now I want to go even more. Which means both Wiscon and the AMC…god damn, maybe I should apply for Con or Bust.
Aliette de Bodard reports back on Imaginales, a fantasy convention in Épinal, France.
Imaginales is pretty much the event of the weekend in May: you arrive at the train station and face the first of many billboards advertising the festival, listing all the authors. Unlike Anglophone cons, which are often put together and run by dedicated fans, Imaginales has the support of the town hall (and area council, …), and they put on quite an amazing show. They have strong ties to the restaurants, hotels and high schools of the area (teachers organise visits; authors drop by for chats, and every year artists paint a fresco which is later donated to a high school); and entrance to the event is free for everyone, which insures a very steady flow of local people curious to see the wares. There’s even a special Imaginales vintage (repackaged wine probably, but still cool).
Pretty much the centrepiece is the book tent, which is a ginormous space with a looooong set of tables, where each author has a spot: you sit there behind your books and sign stuff for whoever feels like buying. It helps if you think of it as a cross between a book fair (a Salon du Livre, if you’ve ever been) and an Anglophone con: there are a few events on programming (2-3 tracks), a gaming tent, and a café area, but the heart of the show is the book tent…
Over at The Sartorial Nerd. I talk about sexist bullshit at the con, particularly in the costume contest and the amazing Alitha Martinez, creator of Yume and Ever. You should totes check out her work. She’s amazing and Yume and Ever deserves far more attention than it’s getting.
