FIYAHCON 2020

A special talk with author Rebecca Roanhorse about her new epic fantasy book BLACK SUN

It is almost obvious that as media strives to include more voices--writers of color, disabled writers, queer writers in the broadest sense -- that the entire pipeline must be as diverse to support them, from creator to critic. This panel would explore this idea, that a writer/creative exists in an ecosystem of support that includes vibrant, diverse critique from people within with-out of their community. The internet seems to make this easy, anyone can express their opinion, so how do professional (or semi-professional) organizations produce useful critique? How does it differ based on media? What’s the place of a review website or blog in the publishing environment? Is it getting better? Worse? Growing? Changing? Where has it been where is it going?

Real talk about the challenges of growing around institutional limits expectations, finding joy in difficulty, the freedom that lies on the other side. A survival guide roadmap: Here's where we fell down. Here's who helped us up. Here are the doors that were closed to us. Here's how to fly over them.

A special talk with author Cassie Hart about her upcoming works journey in the SFF industry.

In the age of social media, fandom continues to be more complicated and sometimes divisive. But there is also a lot of joy and community be found in it. In what ways do SFF fandoms create room for acceptance and community? How do you see fandom growing in the future?

Writing can be a solitary act, but all writers need community for both creative and business purposes. Reading is perhaps the easiest way to connect with authors. This panel explores how talking about stories can be the vehicle for a writer to build a genuine creative network.

A special talk with SFF author organizer Yasser Bahjatt about his work journey in the SFF field.

Speculative fiction perspective can often stagnate around US and UK conferences and publishers, but SF is truly global, with rapidly expanding genre reading markets across the world. Come and learn more about SF from places outside of the industry's usual gaze.