Panelists Opportunities
Below is a list of panel suggestions and ideas. Please read through them and at the bottom of this form indicate to us which ones you would be interested in being a panelist on! Panelists make our convention successful, we couldn't do it without you!
Writing:
Dangerous Dance: Writing Compelling Scenes of Physical Combat - You know what's dangerous? Writing a fight scene. It seems easy in theory. What could go wrong when writing a high-stakes confrontation between two or more characters? The answer: EVERYTHING! Come learn the best strategies for creating fight scenes with bite. Let's get ready to rumble!
Self Published Authors Roundtable - Come learn from self-published authors about their strategies as well as their experience and levels of success.
Where Do We Go From Here? - To create new technologies and cultures in the worlds of speculative fiction, one must often make assumptions. When new technologies, discoveries, and understandings achieved by humanity break central concepts or mechanics of your work, how do you react? Do you ignore it an dforge ahead? Do you adapt gracefully? What other tips can you offer those just starting in their journey as creatives?
World Building 101 - Join in a discussion on how to build fantasy and science fiction worlds, dabbling in everything from flora and fauna to realms rich in lore, magic, and technology. All this informStop Motion Animation (also called stop frame animation) is animation that is captured one frame at a time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When played sequentially, it creates the illusion of movement. Come learn more about how stop motion animation is done, some notable examples, and discuss the possibilities that the artform has to come!ation can be used in writing and game building. Come with questions!
Writing Fundamentals - How to Plan a Novel - We all know the importance planning makes for writing. It is as important for novels as it is for short stories. Come learn some of the basic tips that will help make your novel more straightforward, and easier for new readers to follow as well.
Science:
How Big is Big Data? - In the last 5 years, the amount of data in the world has exponentially exploded in both quantity and value. 90% of the data in existence was created in the last two years, and the amount of data humans possess doubles every 2 years. Now, with the use of artificial intelligence, we can parse through and analyze data literally faster than humanly possible. What will the future hold now that computers can know more about us than we do ourselves, and where will we go from here?
If You Have the Greek Gods You Don't Need Science - Ancient Greek history was famous not only for its extensive pantheon of dieties, but also for its understanding of science, mathematics, and medicine. If medical knowledge failed to help, then surely they would turn to pray to Apollo and his son Asclepius to help turn the tides, but turning to them in lieu of actual medicine and science was never seen as virtue... ever. Come discuss how advocating for prayer over science was not in the spirit of ancient Greeks, and how that compares to the modern world.
Modern Cargo Cults In the World of Technology - The term "Cargo Cult" arose to denote various cultural changes that arose among indigenous people, after being exposed to the culture and logistics during war in the mid-20th centure, in a misunderstood effort to mimic the technology and culture they had been exposed to. In the modern era, we can see similar trends arising, as companies begin to follow the rituals and culture of successful technology startups without understanding the other aspects that resulted in their success. Come learn more about how cargo cults exist within our daily world.
The Fall of Pluto - In 2006, the International Astronomical Union officially definied the term planet. As a result, Pluto, not meeting all three major requirements to be considered a planet was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Many citizens of Earth felt that Pluto's demotion was a break from tradition and objected to it. What are your thoughts? Is it an insult to Pluto, or is it a positive step towards new perspectives?
Uncountable Infinities, the Decision Problem, and the Invention of the Turing Machine - The concept of Uncountable Infinities was demonstrated by David Hilbert in the late 1800s. His theorem was expanded upon by Alan Turing and ultimately led to the invention of the Turing Machine and modern computer science. Come learn more about how the concept of uncountable infinities, and how leveraging them has enabled the modern computers that exist in most aspects of our lives.
Creativity:
Sketchbook Swap - Bring a sketchbook and your drawing tools of choice. Come doodle in this round table activity; we'll have an open conversation while drawing in the company of others. By the end of the hour, you should be able to go home with a couple drawings to commemorate your ICON experience.
Stop Motion Animation - Stop Motion Animation (also called stop frame animation) is animation that is captured one frame at a time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When played sequentially, it creates the illusion of movement. Come learn more about how stop motion animation is done, some notable examples, and discuss the possibilities that the artform has to come!
The Formulas of Fantasy: A Study of Tropes - From the hero's journey to the chosen one, magical boarding schools, and princesses meeting paupers, we are all familiar with tropes of fantasy storytelling. They are often used to simplify and bring in the audience with something familiar, but some also see using them as a lack of creativity. Come learn more about the tropes of fantasy, how to leverage them, and when relying on them is too much.
Fandom:
A History of Fandom - The culture of fandom has been around for more than a century, yet many still consider it to be a recent phenomenon. The term "fan" is derived from "fanatic". Since the late 1800s, it has evolved from an appreciation for the art forms to the relationships of characters. Come learn of the origins of fandom, where it has come from, and it exists (and is seen by others) today.
Dungeons and Dragons had a Baby... in Japan - Sword and sorcery has been a genre in fantasy since the 1920s (Conan the barbarian). It includes the most famous works in fantasy (LoTR and GoT). Beginning with D&D it moved into RPG and eventually computer games (Link). But it also is the basis for shônen isekai (adventure stories in another world) one of the largest genres in Anime and Manga and includes some of the biggest titles (Frieren, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken). This talk will tell how this all happened and when isekai got started, and how it is branching out.
Invasion of the Pod(cast) People: What New Media Do You Follow? - We all know how to find sci-fi/fantasy-related pop culture things like TV shows and movies, but what about smaller venues? What podcasts are you listening to? What YouTube channels should everyone know about? What web-based fiction should we be reading?
Speculative Fiction and the Stages of Life - How does a character's age affect its story? We are all familiar with the teenager's journey of self-exploration, the wise advisers, and the middle aged supporting cast, but what other stories can be told for characters of varying ages? Can aging characters still sell books/movies/tv, or are we hard-wired to gravitate towards younger characters for our escapism? Additionally, we as readers continue to age, should the heroes of our stories age alongside us, and how do we approach exposing our fandom as we age?
What's Your Favorite Mythological Creature? - From Dragons to Sphinx, Eloko to Werewolves, Golems to Oni, humanity has come up with nearly countless mythological creatures. Come share your favorites and learn about many you've likely never heard of!
Other:
Dungeon Masters Workshop - Want to be a Dungeon Master, could use help with your campaign, love the idea of helping others, or just curious? We will host and help with the following: Basics of being a DM; Preparing for a game; Tips and Tricks behind the screen; Building your campaign; Constructing a world; and any other questions you may have.
Anubis to Zeus: Nonbinary Mythological Gods - Across Greek, Egyptian, Native America, and several other mythologies, gods and other characters have been potrayed as genderless or multigendered, with some even having the ability to change on a whim. Non-binary figures were not only common but prolific in previous civilizations. Let's talk about it!
Multi-Masking of Trans Autistics - Both autistic people as well as queer people often hide their true selves, and project portions of their personality to the world in an effort to protect themselves and be accepted among society. Transgender individuals with autism often will mask in this way, often without realizing they are doing so. Come hear stories from queer and autistic people, their journeys and discoveries, and share your own stories as well.
Women and Superheroes - Come discuss women's fandom of comics, especially Marvel and DC, as well as our favorite (and least favorite) female characters in Marvel and DC!