Loncon

In zwei Wochen geht es auf die Loncon, die 72. Word Science Fiction Convention. Ich nehme an insgesamt vier Programmpunkten teil, die ich unten zusammengestellt habe ... und das ist nur ein winziger Ausschnitt des kompletten Programms. So viel ist jetzt schon klar, es wird eine neue und einmalige Erfahrung für mich. Besonderer Dank gebührt Ju Honisch, mit der ich diesen Plan auf dem letzten BuCon ausgeheckt habe.

Thursday, 14 August
The World at Worldcon: German-language SF/F
Capital Suite 3 (ExCeL), 1:30pm - 3pm
Martin Stricker, Ju Honisch, Oliver Plaschka, Volker Tanger, Stefanie Zurek

Recent years have seen several major German SF novels appear in English, including Wolfgang Jeschke's "The Cusanus Game", Frank Schatzing's "The Swarm", and Julie Zeh's "The Method". Are these representative of the contemporary German field? Which other writers (and film-makers, and TV shows) are defining contemporary German SF?

Understanding Steampunk
Capital Suite 16 (ExCeL), 7pm - 8pm
Gillian Redfearn, Kaja Foglio, Kim Lakin-Smith, Oliver Plaschka, Marian Womack

Subgenre or subculture? Steampunk has come a long way since the early work of KW Jeter and Tim Powers, and is now subjected to both New York Times profiles and academic scrutiny. What were the milestones and key works along the way? How has steampunk grown, diversified, and differentiated itself from "traditional" SF and fantasy? And has the movement peaked, or is it still – to coin a phrase – still building steam?

Saturday, 16 August
YA in Translation
Capital Suite 10 (ExCeL), 3pm - 4:30pm
Elisabeth Vonarburg, Eric Senabre, Oliver Plaschka

What books did well in other cultures that didn't work in translation to English? What books would we like to see translated? Is there any special mindset that a translator needs to adopt when tackling books for younger readers? And should we translate English works into other languages, or does it crowd out the works originally published in those countries? The panel will discuss the joys, the pitfalls and the pratfalls of translation.

Sunday, 17 August
Dark Fantasy Around the World
Capital Suite 8+11 (ExCeL), 6pm - 7pm
Kin-Ming Looi, Jesús Cañadas, Marianna Leikomaa, Oliver Plaschka

Perhaps more than for other areas of the fantastic, we are used to thinking of specific national or regional traditions of dark fantasy -- Japanese horror, for instance, is established as a subgenre within the Western market. Which cities offer urban fantasy traditions distinct from their Anglophone cousins? Which other aspects or icons of dark fantasy are culturally specific, and why? Is there an additional risk of othering when reading or watching dark fantasy across cultural boundaries?