fbpx
ConsScifi

Dublin 2019 WorldCon: one month to go, & packed schedule is announced.

Dublin 2019, the Irish Worldcon, will have 700 programme events over five days from 15th to 19th August 2019.

More than 60 authors will give readings, including Elizabeth Bear, Marie Brennan, Pat Cadigan, Zen Cho, Aliette de Bodard, Guest of Honour Diane Duane, Joe Haldeman, Roz Kaveney, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peadar Ó Guilín, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Ada Palmer, Rebecca Roanhorse, V.E. Schwab, Catherynne Valente, John Scalzi, Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Jo Walton.

Dublin gets an extra dose of science fiction with the Irish Worldcon.
Dublin gets an extra dose of science fiction with the Irish Worldcon.

These writers and others will appear in 400 panel discussions whose topics range from Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman to the women of Marvel Comics. There will be sessions introducing Irish science fiction and fantasy, Northern Irish SFF, Afrofuturism, Japanese SF, steampunk, and grimdark (as in Game of Thrones), as well as works from emerging movements like hopepunk, silkpunk, solarpunk and dieselpunk.

Aspiring authors can learn about worldbuilding, writing and pitching their work from talks by Editor Guest of Honour Ginjer Buchanan and other editors and writers, including a panel discussion on working as a writer in Ireland. As would be expected for an event in Ireland, there will also be Irish language events.

“It’s impossible to list more than a small selection of the riches we will be offering,” said Chair James Bacon. “If anything here interests you, don’t hesitate to join because there is much more where they came from.”

Online sales will close August 1. 6600 people have signed up as members, including 5200 attending members. More than 830 people will be attending Worldcon for the first time.

Space science 50 years after the first moon landing will discussed by programme participants including NASA astronaut Dr Jeanette Epps, Irish astronaut candidate Dr Norah Patten, and NASA physicist (and SF writer) Dr Geoffrey Landis. Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell will discuss pulsars, which she first observed in 1967. Professor Bell Burnell will also explore the roles of empiricism and faith in conducting science with Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory. A panel on lunar depictions in science fiction will feature Guest of Honor Ian McDonald, author of the Luna series.

Programming for children includes Irish myths and legends, a singalong session, a live role-playing game led by author Dave Rudden, and a space flight workshop with Dr Norah Patten. Adults who want to stretch their study muscles will find an academic track with five days including papers on colonialism and decolonisation, visions of Ireland, YA literature, fandom studies, mythic heroes, Westeros, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Approximately 40 musical performances will take place, including concerts from the Library Bards, Sassafras, the Doubleclicks, the Irish Video Game Orchestra, and Another Castle, as well as a dozen open singing circles and karaoke parties.

Con-goers will be encouraged to live long and prosper through exercises for body and mind including yoga, a parkrun, morning “strolls with the stars,” Pokémon hunting, and gaming sessions with Guest of Honour Steve Jackson (Melee, Chaos Machine, Munchkin). Author John Scalzi will break out his Generation-X DJ skills to host a late-night ‘70s-‘80s-‘90s dance party on Saturday.

Events will be announced through the @dublin2019 Facebook, @dublin 2019 Twitter and @dublin2019worldcon Instagram accounts up until the convention. Further information about the convention is available on the Dublin 2019 programme pages at https://dublin2019.com/whats-on/programming/

ColonelFrog

Colonel Frog is a long time science fiction and fantasy fan. He loves reading novels in the field, and he also enjoys watching movies (as well as reading lots of other genre books).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.