The last WorldCon I attended was in Kansas City in 2016, and I’m thrilled to be headed over the pond for the Dublin WorldCon this year!
Happy to say I’ve also been asked to serve on three panels, and to deliver an academic paper. I’d love to see you! Here’s my schedule:
Living in the future: 2019 depicted in film, Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 12:00 - 12:50, Liffey Room-2 (CCD)
1982 saw the release of some very different takes on the year 2019: Akira, The Running Man, and Blade Runner. How does the future now differ from what the creators of the 1980s predicted? How relevant are the issues they foresaw, whether or not the details were correct? What contemporary works are looking at the future 40 years from now, and which do we think portray more or less plausible futures?
Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Annalee Newitz, Rick Wilber (Western Colorado University), Robert JE Simpson (CinePunked) (M)
Unfamiliar philosophies, Academic Paper
16 Aug 2019, Friday 14:30 - 15:20, Odeon 6 (Academic) (Point Square Dublin)
1. Dyrk Ashton – ‘Deleuzian Reflections in The Lord of the Rings’
2. Sean Robinson – ‘Closer than Brothers: Grindlewald’s Crime was Love’
3. Dr Kristina Hildebrand – ‘Characters of Colour in the Whedonverse’
Mythological science fiction, Panel
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 14:30 - 15:20, Alhambra (Point Square Dublin)
Science fiction has been described as modern mythology, but it also has a long history of taking themes and tropes from existing mythological traditions and reworking them. The panel will discuss science fictional stories whose structure or themes echo those of existing mythological tales from around the world.
Deirdre M Murphy (M), Dr Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame (U.S.A.) in England), Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Vida Cruz
Fantasies of Irish emigration, Panel
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 16:30 - 17:20, Stratocaster BC (Point Square Dublin)
Urban fantasy abounds with characters from Irish mythology and folklore, but most of these stories are set in London or America rather than Ireland itself. The panel will examine the influence of Irish culture on urban fantasy and the abiding popularity of Irish mythology across the diaspora.
Randee Dawn (Variety/LA Times), Deirdre M Murphy, Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Veronica Belmont (Sword & Laser) (M)