Panelist Rebecca Kuang came out of the “Borrowing from History: Intention and Appropriation” item at World Fantasy Con 2017 in San Antonio and dispatched these tweets to express her dissatisfaction with the experience.
i just did the cultural appropriation panel at World Fantasy Con and i have a lot of thoughts.
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
secnd, was asked why publishers/gatekeepers should take a chance on marginalized voices if it means risking a book that won't sell
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
but also–books by white writers flop ALL THE TIME? there's risk inherent in every new author. why do they get to fail, but we don't?
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
like. yes, this is true. WOC aren't submitting, and there are myriad causes of that–economic marginalization, lack of support network, etc
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
but also, marginalized works that don't fit the mold of the "classic" diverse story don't make it through.
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
oh and fourth, everyone kept trying to talk about Scotland. We might have talked about Scotland more than we did POC. that was…odd
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
No, I lied, I have one more thought
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
It is that all I ever wanted from life was for a white man to tell me that I was articulate.
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
But a lot of the panels here are about diversity and have 0 POC on them.
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 4, 2017
the question about WOC works selling came from a well respected author I’d idolized since I could read
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 5, 2017
She argued that all the editors/agents she knew were really open to diverse stories! WOC just aren’t submitting!
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 5, 2017
In retrospect I wish I had.
— Rebecca Kuang (@kuangrf) November 5, 2017
According to the schedule, the other panelists were Russell Blackford (moderator), Elizabth Crowens, Meg Turville-Heitz, and Jacob Weisman.
[Thanks to JJ for the story.]