DisCon III has published the daily schedule of program items for the 2021 Worldcon. The entries list the titles and descriptions of programs but do not yet include the names of panelists. The convention runs from December 15-19 in Washington, DC.
Program subject areas include:
- Academic
- Art
- Beltway
- Children’s and Teen programming
- Comics
- Costuming
- Gaming
- History
- Literature
- New Media
- Music
- Publishing
- Science
- TV and film, including showings
- Writing and Editing
Other activities will include readings, signings, concerts, and dances.
[Thanks to Michael J. Walsh for the story.]
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For those staying home, the program includes a good number of virtual items, such as Representing Multilingual Worlds and Xenolinguistics.
I’ll be home recovering from right hand surgery, my sixth surgery in five years with right shoulder surgery still to come, so I’m delighted that a significant virtual element was retained this year. Hot chocolate and interesting conversation will make the recovery much easier,
So no fan history panels of any kind, looks like. That’s disappointing.
There are not many history panels period, since DisCon III prefers to focus on the current state of the genre.
What a bizarrely myopic program schedule. Not just no panels on older fan and fiction items, but hardly any panels on TV or movies. But tons of panels for writers, and a bunch on gaming and costuming.
The following may be of interest:
Talking About the Big Heart Award — Blue Room, Thursday 5:30 pm EST
The Convention Career of Ben Yalow — Palladian Ballroom, Saturday 1:00 pm EST
Geri Sullivan interviews Fan GoH, Ben Yalow — Blue Room, Saturday 2:30 pm EST
They could have done look-backs at the first two Discons but they didn’t. These would appear to be low hanging fruit that remains unpicked.
The 1974 Discon — such memorable events as andy offutt’s eternal introduction to Roger Zelazny’s short GoH speech, and Harlan Ellison with LQ Jones showing reels of A Boy and His Dog. That con is where Ro Nagey introduced me to George R.R. Martin, and in the byplay between them Ro claimed he was a hot writer, and George answered, “Before you can be hot first you have to catch fire.” A line I am still waiting for the opportunity to spring on someone else…
The 1963 convention was my first worldcon. My mother didn’t want me to shell out the enormous $3.50 a night or so for the hotel, so I had a room at a YMCA near the White House—which ironically was the scene of a famous gay outing episode a few weeks later. Also, it meant I had to walk across DC late at night. And my un-air-conditioned room was next to the Y elevator shaft, so I heard it going up-and-down-and-, all night. Lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the con suite, and a daily White Castle burger, then, I think, 25¢.
Met various fans I would know later in NY fandom, and declined to buy a copy of “A Sense of FAPA” from Dick Eney.
Still unsure whether or not I’ll go this year. Can always cancel my hotel reservation, but will likely have to forfeit my train fare…