My Glasgow 2024 Worldcon programme, a few notes, and more dates

Juliet August 3, 2024 Leave a Comment

I am very much looking forward to travelling up to Glasgow next Wednesday, for the upcoming Worldcon August 8th-12th. I foresee some excellent discussions ahead with the panels I’ll be on, and the programme offers so much other stuff that I know I’ll enjoy.

My books will be on sale in the Dealers Room, and if you can’t make the autograph session on Saturday afternoon, I’ll be happy to sign books, new or old, whenever our paths cross – as long as I’m not actually on my way to one of these actual programme commitments.

Cut From Whole Cloth, Thursday 8 August 2024, 17:30 GMT+1 Alsh 2
Farah Mendlesohn, E. C. Ambrose, Heather Valentine, Juliet E McKenna, Mary Robinette Kowal

Who makes the royal robes, who weaves the flags of the republic, and what are those snazzy spacesuits made of? Fabric and clothing are an integral part of the world, and this is no less true in SFF: so who does it best? What worlds best use fabric and crafts in their creation, and which writers give us clothes we want to wear?

Don’t Go Into the Forest: Monsters and Feminism Saturday 10 August 2024, 11:30 GMT+1, Castle 1
Juliet E McKenna, Ellen Datlow, Genoveva Dimova, Rivers Solomon, V. Castro

Monsters have been used historically as metaphors to keep women in line. Don’t go into the forest; don’t stray from the path. They have often also been used to represent and demonise women. Are we seeing a change in monster narratives? Are books today starting to explore how the monstrous might be used to empower women instead?

Autographing: Saturday 10 August 2024, 16:00 GMT+1, Hall 4 (Autographs)
Incidentally, if you simply want to say hello, or to arrange something with me, this will be a good time to do that.

Strong Female Leads Who Don’t Kick Ass Monday 12 August 2024, 11:30 GMT+1, Hall 1
Taeyeon Song, A. Y. Chao, Juliet E McKenna, Lorraine Wilson, Nnedi Okorafor

“Strong female character” has too often been a euphemism for a sword-wielding amazon battling those who wronged her. Fun and glorious though those women are, this panel will talk about the women who lead through intelligence, charisma, patience, or other skills.

In further diary news, if you can’t get to Worldcon

I’ll be at the BFS Fantasycon in Chester, 11th-13th October, and at Bristolcon 26th-28th October.

Then I’ll be in Stockholm for Fantastika 2024 (also the 2024 Swecon) 1st-3rd November, where I have the tremendous pleasure of being a Guest of Honour alongside T. L. (Tendai) Hushu, Lena Karlin and Åsa Schwarz.

Excuse the brevity of this post. I have a lot to get done before Wednesday!

And yes, there will be news of the next Green Man book in due course.

Author: Juliet

Juliet E McKenna is a British fantasy author living in the Cotswolds, UK. Loving history, myth and other worlds since she first learned to read, she has written fifteen epic fantasy novels so far. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, began The Tales of Einarinn in 1999, followed by The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. The Green Man’s Heir was her first modern fantasy inspired by British folklore in 2018. The Green Man’s Quarry in 2023, the sixth title to follow, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. The Green Man’s War continues this ongoing series. Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter stories include forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for the James White Award, the Aeon Award, the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2015 she received the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.