Early March: I get a lot of advertisement emails, as a Librarian, to attend various conferences with long acronyms for names: YALSA, ASCLA, PALA, etc etc. So when I got one that simply said “BookCon”, I was intrigued by the overt simplicity of the name. BookCon. A Book Convention. A quick look told me it…
Those Turtle Guys. Rebekah Issacs, and How it Feels to Sell Your Book to Total Strangers
Achem. Hi. My name is Kristi McDowell. You may remember me from such articles as I Am Captain Marvel, Code Monkey Steal Heart, and 0 Shades of Grey: Female Antiheroes on TV. I sort of fell off the face of the planet over the last few months as I’ve shifted some of my focus from…
Kate Beaton and Lynn Johnston at TCAF 2014
This year, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival kicked off with an hour-long panel discussion with Kate Beaton and Lynn Johnston, moderated by Raina Telgemeier. Almost an embarrassment of riches for the audience, the cartoonists chatted informally about their careers, their ambitions, and the state of the comics and cartooning industries. It was savvy scheduling, particularly with the recent finalization…
BookCon Notices #WeNeedDiverseBooks
The same day ReedPOP, the company behind BookCon, added more diverse authors to their line up, they announced a panel called “The World Agrees: #WeNeedDiverseBooks,” based on the popular hashtag that trended around the world. ReedPOP has suffered under the backlash of public indignation at the lack of diversity in their original lineup, yet, like…
BrickFair: LEGO Fan Festival
This weekend, BrickFair New England hit Manchester, NH. From their site, they boast LEGO models, displays and trains over 30,000 square feet. I arrived around 1pm and the exhibit hall was busy. The event appeared to attract mostly families and there were games and activities geared towards younger children. For $5, you could buy a…
TCAF Screening — Lost Heroes: The Untold Story of Canadian Superheroes
My TCAF weekend started last night with a free screening of the new documentary, Lost Heroes. The film seeks to bring to light the forgotten history of Canadian superheroes from the Golden Age and beyond. Outside of Canada, the names Alpha Flight and Captain Canuck might ring bells, but Nelvana, Johnny Canuck, Northern Guard, The…
BookCon Gives Itself a New, Inclusive Look With Diverse Line Up
As we’ve reported in the past, BookCon experienced controversy the last few weeks due to its lack of diversity in its guest list, as well as with a kids lit panel that featured an all white male line up. Well, we have good news: BookCon has finally diversified! It only took a lot of angry tweets,…
Con Diary: C2E2 Day 1
This was my second time going to C2E2. Two years ago I boarded the shuttle to McCormick Place by myself, and without plans to meet anyone there, and I had a great time. This year I brought a friend, which just made it better. We stopped by M Burger to get appropriate fuel, then headed…
Diversity Doesn’t Mean Talking About John Green… Again
BookCon was yet again in the news this past Tuesday but not in the way you would be expecting. The Daily Dot, an online site focused on community news, has written a piece on the issue of diversity over at BookCon but rather than shinning the spotlight on the authors of colour who’ve been speaking out since…
BookCon: Caucasians, Cats, No People of Colour
Once again, the lack of diversity in BookCon’s line up has many furious on Twitter today. The guest list is up with 30 Caucasians, 1 cat and 0 persons of color which has many scratching their heads wondering how ReedPOP, the organization producing BookCon, could have messed up so severely in the representation department. As…
Con recap: Boskone
* Note: I volunteer for this con as one of their blog writers. This weekend I attended Boskone, the annual science fiction and fantasy convention put on by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) in Boston, Mass. This year was the convention’s 51st year, retaining its claim to being the oldest science fiction convention…
News & Things: Crossovers, Conventions and Couture
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s news day! Megan P. and I share our latest and greatest tidbits for you to check out and be informed. Cheerio, off you go.