The Norwescon Film Festival will feature films from local producers and others as well. Films have been submitted for our viewing and cover UFOs, an underwater mission, ray guns, and more. There will be a few surprises as well. Come to see what people have created for our viewing pleasure.

Be the crew, report to the bridge! Artemis is a spaceship bridge simulator where players assume the jobs of Captain, Helm, Science, Communication, Engineering, and Weapons Control. Together you operate your ship and defend the sector from evil aliens. Artemis simulates spaceship bridges by networking several computers together. One screen acts as the “main screen” of a bridge, while others serve as stations for the normal jobs a bridge crew might do. Artemis is a social game where several players work together on each bridge, and one player plays the captain, who doesn’t have a station but tells everyone else what to do. Multiple bridges can participate together in cooperative multi-ship missions.

Come sign up for a game run by our DMs or check out games from our lending library. We have RPGs, computer games, LARPs, card games, board games, and so much more! Need ADA access for a game? Please speak to our staff when you sign up so we can be sure to meet your needs.

Pathfinder Society and Dungeons and Dragons’ Adventurers League will be running games throughout the weekend. Check the gaming schedule for details.

So everything is packed and ready to go: weapons, armor, spell book, hats, & cloaks. And off you go, on paper or at the FR-PG table. Did you forget something? People, animals, and monsters have to eat. Where’s the grub? What is the grub? Match the food to your fantasy adventure.

A number of companies, among them Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and XCOR Aerospace, are deeply involved in designing and building private spacecraft. What is the latest news from the effort to make space routine, and what are the possible future plans and developments?

Put almost 3,000 people into an enclosed space for four days, and it happens: sore throat, itchy sinuses, stuffed-up nose, hacking cough, congestion, exhaustion, and at least a week of recovery. This is con crud, a respiratory infection that can strike at any convention. Join our experts as they discuss strategies to help you not get sick.

Got a good elevator pitch for your manuscript? Whether you’re seeking an agent and traditional publisher, or planning to self-publish, you need to have an elevator pitch of your book. Loglines and elevator pitches are ways to explain your story/series and pique interest in your work in one or two sentences. This workshop will teach you how to condense your 90,000 word novel or 5 book series into a quick, effective elevator pitch. Ages 18+. Space is limited and advance sign-up is required in Cascade 1.

There’s more than talent to making a living as an artist. Health insurance, taxes, marketing, organization, selling yourself, portfolios—where do you find the time to do all that and still make art?

Drop-in for a meet and greet of your fellow youngest fen and their caregivers, from newborn to two. Toys and gear available for socializing and quiet and gentle play.

Do your friends sometimes say you have too many books? Come chat with fellow bibliophiles about the wonder and grandeur of books. Also, how do you store all of them?

All weekend there are dealers and game developers running demos of games in Maxi’s Salon. Come up and see the latest and greatest games and talk to game developers.

Keeping details straight during a series can be a daunting task and everyone has a different method. Meet with our pros and learn the tricks they use to manage the nuts and bolts of such an undertaking.

Militarization of the “World Wide Web” and the “Internet of Things” has grown exponentially in the last 20 years. Cyber warfare has become the new battle space for cold wars and ongoing intelligence gathering (i.e., spying) worldwide. We’ll review the unclassified mission of the US Cyber Command and the part it is playing in our national defense framework. And we’ll take a speculative look at where we are headed.

Our panelists discuss fictional super weapons, current examples, and their place in storytelling.

Writers talk about story, but what is it really? Something with a beginning, middle, and end? A witch’s brew of words and punctuation? Come discuss with our panelists what separates a coherent narrative from a random series of events.

Say you find a nice planet in an out-of-the-way star system and decide to put down roots. Just toss some seeds on the ground and wait for rain, right? Our panelists will discuss why it probably won’t be that easy.

Dr. John Cramer takes us on a tour of NIAC, including some of the more successful projects it has assisted with, and how YOU can apply for one of their innovation grants.

Everybody wants to make a music demo, and many want to record podcasts or livestream a show. What can you do with what you’ve got? If that won’t do—and it probably won’t—what do you really need to create a good demo or show? How little can you get away with; or, if you have even a small budget, what can you do to turn a spare bedroom into decent recording space? Hardware and software solutions are discussed.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Summer of the Saucers, filmmakers Steve Edmiston and Scott Schaefer provide a special lecture presentation, “J. Edgar Hoover’s flying discs: why the Maury Island Incident is the seminal event in modern popular culture relating to UFOs, conspiracies, and cover-ups,” followed by the screening of their multiple award-winning film, The Maury Island Incident, and an audience Q&A session. The Maury Island Incident tells the forgotten, tragic story—taken directly from declassified FBI documents—of Harold Dahl’s June 21, 1947, UFO sighting near Maury Island. It explores the origins of the iconic “Men in Black” within a conspiratorial mythology set during the Summer of the Saucers in 1947, all leading directly to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The film’s honors/awards include: 2015 UFO Congress best short film, Big Island Film Festival opening night gala, Washington Filmworks Innovation Lab, Gig Harbor Film Festival best short, Seattle International Film Festival world premiere. The film was adapted into a web series distributed on Hulu.

Come to hear a story and then create a one-of-a-kind item to take home with you.

What do our young fen need to develop, support, and nourish their creativity and fandoms? How can we, as parents, caregivers, and a community do better to include and provide opportunities to youth in our fandoms, and in our own communities and families? Tips and ideas from our Youth Pros and Those Who Care For Them.

There have been so many good and bad comic book related movies and TV shows over the years. Let’s examine the best and worst comic book movies and TV shows and discuss what properties we would like to see adapted.

Agents, big publishers, small presses, self-publishing, or going hybrid: there are countless options in today’s publishing world. Which is right for your book? What about your next book? Should you stick with one or diversify? Pros talk about the various roads to publication and the reasons to try one—or all—of them.

Come learn about the commitments to a Mer lifestyle, the various kinds of Mers out there, and the varying passions they come with. How do families and friends respond when you announce a mermaid career?

The truth is, you only THINK you don’t like poetry, and we know how to fix that. Join us for some poetry, talking about poetry, and general relaxation before the Opening Ceremonies. If, at the end, you still don’t like poetry, we will refund you the hour. (Hour refund available only if the Time Travel panel is EXCEPTIONALLY successful.)

Cosplayers have become increasingly vocal about the abuse they endure from fans and media at conventions. From “news crews” for vlogs posing insulting and sexually aggressive questions, to being groped, having their bodies rudely commented on, slut and size shaming, not to mention the constant cries of “Fake Nerd Girl!” what is a cosplayer to do? How you should act toward cosplayers, and why it isn’t okay to treat them poorly.

What would happen if you traveled back in time? When you returned, what story would you tell? As a group, we’ll develop our own time travel stories and share them through drawing, reading, and writing. Bring your pen, your paper, and your imagination! Ages 4-8. Space is limited and advance sign up is required in Cascade 1.

The basic mechanics and technique for draping a “toile”, your fabric pattern, to create whatever garment you want. This is how every pattern starts and how high end designers create all their high fashion works of art. A must skill for anyone wanting to grow their costuming skill set.

Olympic 1 will be filled with sensory-friendly items and activities for our neurodivergent members and their caregivers to drop-in to a safe space to slow down, stim, or just be themselves.

“A Murder of Crones”. A selection from a soon-to-be published work. Rated G

The computer printer was invented in the 1950s, but we’ve been printing inked images on paper for well over a millennium, with techniques that are still in use today. Why do we continue to use this literally ancient approach… and how can you do it too?

There’s always room for more monsters, right? Fiendish things that lurk in dark corners. Hordes that scour the countryside. Bizarre horrors that haunt our dreams and closets. Join our panelists and the other audience members in the quest to create something truly horrific to haunt our shared imaginary spaces.

Before you is an artificial opening in the mountainside. Or perhaps that mountainside cliff displays a wide streak of silvery rock with flecks of gold. How was the opening made? How will you follow the vein of ore into the mountain? Is it safe to enter someone else’s mine? How will you break the rock in what will be your mine? Find out about historic mining techniques for your fiction, gaming, or dangerous underground touring in the Cascades.

Join Norwescon’s Mers for an inquisitive look at A Mer’s Life: Drab to Fab. You’ll learn the gadgets and gizmos of making a MERsona come to life.

The oldest form of geekmusic at SF conventions is a branch-off from folk called “filk.” It has an intentionally open and deeply participatory culture, and isn’t just folk-derived, despite the origins. This panel is your introduction to fandom’s oldest tradition of participatory geekmusic. Come on out and play!

You’re probably walking around with a movie camera in your pocket RIGHT NOW! You have access to tons of websites to post videos and powerful software to create them, all of it for free. Filmmaking once required thousands of dollars to even get started, but now it can be done with a phone and a quick trip to Home Depot. Come meet local professional film makers and learn the simple tricks and workflow that will make your vision watchable for the rest of us! In this introductory panel you get to meet the people involved and learn about what’s to come. We’re even going to film a short film on Saturday, with your help! Keep an eye out for other Norwescon Filmmaking Workshop events during the weekend and come to our Film Festival on Sunday! Come make movies with us!

Stuck in a story? Writers lead a series of quick exercises that have helped them get past obstacles. Bring pen, paper, laptop, or whatever you need to write.

Using the stars to steer by is a staple in historical fiction and fantasy, as well as actual history. How was it done? How could it have been done differently, with different technology?

Enjoy a buffet of great food and great company as you rub elbows with our Guests of Honor. Photo ops and preferred seating for the Opening Ceremonies abound. Ticket sales are limited, so get them while they are hot!

Drop by for crafts and activities for our young members.

Empowered. Agent Dale reads from the opening of his novel, Empowered: Agent, Book 1 of the Empowered series. Rated PG

Storme Crow: Sins of Our Fathers. Briannen Storme has a few problems. The last software she wrote gained a conscience and sent her banker clients to prison. Her grandmother still wants her to go to medical school. Her psychic best friend is giving her holy water by the squirt bottle, and is forecasting the apocalypse, again. She’s being stalked by mysterious monks in her mirrors. In other words, just another typical day in Seattle. Rated G

Panelists will discuss the origin and history of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), what the organization does for professional F&SF writers and the genre, and what its direction will be in coming years.

From the Assyrians poisoning enemy wells with toxic mold to influenza engineered to be highly contagious, bioweapons have been part of the human arsenal for millennia. What has been done in the past, and what might the future hold?

What is writing to market? What is it not? Is it smart business or lazy writing? In this new, faster age of publishing, should you even consider the market when you choose your next projects and if so, how much should that factor in? This panel will discuss what writing to market means to them, whether it’s a good thing or not, and how much you should analyze and worry about the common tropes in your genre, or what the bestsellers are doing.

Is someone being disruptive in your group? Are you being harassed online? Did someone flip the table? Our panelists will hear your horror stories and help you come up with calm, adult ways to resolve your gaming issues.

Captain Kirk is a feminist. Hannibal Lecter is a Hufflepuff. Imperial Stormtroopers can hit their targets—they just don’t want to. Fans on social media have put forth these innovative theories about pop culture, and many more. Our panel will discuss how 21st-century fandom has dismantled the conventional wisdom about film, book, and TV franchises and recontextualized them in ways that are mind-blowing, inclusive, and often hilarious.

We’re all here to have a good time, right? Let’s make sure we’re ALL having a good time. Tips and tricks to avoid miscommunication and accidentally hurting someone.

Despite the modern influx of computer-generated effects, sometimes your budget or the situation calls for more practical measures. Miniatures, fire, smoke, the ol’ “Enterprise is hit with phaser fire, everybody lean left” trick. Learn from a couple of industry experts how to solve a wide variety of special effects problems for your next epic summer blockbuster.

You have an idea you really want to make but are unsure of the cost and time it will take to make it. Our experts share how they break down their costumes projects into detailed monetary budgets and time requirements. These principles can apply for a single costume or for planning a whole costume plot for a stage show.

Long a staple of fiction authors, asteroid mining is being taken seriously. Several companies have expressed an interest in finding a likely candidate asteroid and mining its mineral resources. But will it ever happen? What are the problems? Are there better ways to find resources?

Through the Looking-Glass, Darkly. Rated PG

Come and get a seat!

Welcome to the official kickoff to your Norwescon 40 at the Opening Ceremonies! Enjoy interviews with our Guests of Honor, get a preview of events and essential information, and enjoy general shenanigans and merrymaking.

“The Ogg-Nat War: Lucy’s Story”. Lucy wants to move to Mars. To get there, she must defy her parents, dodge cultists, mine asteroids—and alter her genes. This story is a prelude to The Ogg-Nat War, set 150 years in the future, when Earth’s “Natural” residents and Mars’ “Augmented” colonists find themselves on the brink of interplanetary conflict. Rated PG

Sci-fi and fantasy deal with the “what ifs,” but what if that takes place in a real historic setting? From Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Miss Peregrine, to Fantastic Beasts, these and other movies have costumes that have a historic root but are cunningly different because of a fantastic or magical twist. How does one dress to fight the zombie hordes in the Regency era? We look at some of our favorite historical retrofittings.

Trains and planes and cars and boats: The ways we move from here to there are mostly old in concept, but new in detail. What’s happened since the last time you looked? What will be new the next time?

Narrative flow has three elements: story rhythm to separate plot from random events; equal parts action and reaction (yang and yin); and movement, either internal or external. In this panel we will explore how these elements can be incorporated into your own stories.

Join our panelist as they work with the audience to create a relatable, compelling antagonist.

When Justice Potter Stewart was asked to define pornography in the ‘60s, he admitted he couldn’t and then said, “but I know it when I see it.” Where does the line lie between smut and ‘mature’ content? Are there topics other than sex that render a comic offsides to younger readers?

There is no debate among climate experts that our planet is heating up; the only real question is how we can adapt to a warmer climate. Between rising ocean levels, croplands becoming desert, an increasing number of wildfires, and larger, more destructive storms, what must humanity do to survive?

Your costume is perfection and the shoes are a spot-on match, but your hair is not cooperating. Maybe it’s the wrong color or length. Perhaps you need a specific part in the middle or a strand to fall in just the right place. Whatever the reason, it’s time for a wig. But how? This class will help guide you through the thought process of buying, styling, and storing your wig.

Basic review of the missions of the land services: Army/National Guard; the sea services: Navy/Marines/Coast Guard; and the Air Force. Intended to provide those with either limited or no military experience with a grounding in who is supposed to do what during peace and war. This is a highly visual presentation so come to see and experience the services.

Do you enjoy quality singing? Do you sing with quality? Neither of these things matter. Join us to both give and receive the gift of music; well, at least singing (or something close enough).

Floodstage (working): Micah’s mother always said he wasn’t the only one born the year the river rose. He never thought much about that, until the river turned to salt and he had to go find the other. Rated PG.

Join our panelists as they work with the audience to create a relatable, compelling antagonist.

They’re all out to get you. Who can you trust? Certainly not this panel of experts who will explore the use of paranoia in horror and how to add a bit of it to your own writing.

If you plan to enter the Masquerade, you must come to this or the Friday (8-9 p.m.) or Saturday (8-9 a.m.) meetings to get all the information you need to compete and turn over your music. If you have not already registered online, we will have a computer available for you to do so. If you are just curious and have some questions, we will have the answers.

A watch embedded in the back of your hand; a Wi-Fi connection that feeds directly into your brain; implants that make you stronger, faster, and smarter. These are common in stories about a cyberpunk future. Are they part of a future we can realistically expect?

Why is the terminology of marginalized identities so important? How does this play into representation in fandom and SF/F media? Asexual, Transgender, Pansexual, Biromantic, Gay, Lesbian, Queer, Cisgender, and many more. Why is it important to have terms like Full Spectrum or Quiltbag that are more inclusive than the previous LGBT? Come learn about new terms and experiences! Note: Norwescon has a “no outing” policy toward sexual identities. Each person gets to decide when they’re ready. So, just don’t do it.

We all have our favorite from the Enterprise to the Planet Express. What is your favorite? Audience participation strongly encouraged!

Our heroines are too often subjected to hypersexualized poses and crimes against anatomy—for reasons irrelevant to their character or kickassitude. Jim Hines’ book cover project, Escher Girls, and The Hawkeye Initiative are just three of a number of movements humorously deconstructing these problematic images. Let’s point and laugh, and talk about how to fix things.

Free play will open with Laser Tag for the first half of the session, switching to Nerf for the last half. Rules for each session will be posted. Underage players must have a parent present to play. Equipment is provided at the play area.

Shubzilla and Bill Beats began working together in 2011. Originally rivals in past Vocalist/Producer Challenges, Shubz and Bill chose to join forces to work together regularly. Starting off with the single “Wonderful World” for “Bill Beats For President Vol.1,” the EPs “Dinner And A Movie” and “BOOMERS” have been the exceptional products of their collaboration. They have The Day Jobs Mini-Tour: West Coast Edition under their belts, along with performances at Norwescon, the PAXWest Nerdcore Showcase, and many others. With Shubzilla’s frank and aggressive lyrics and Bill Beats’ penchant for samples and bass-heavy compositions, they do not disappoint.

Interested in BDSM? Want to find out what it’s all about? What are these limits, boundaries, and play people keep talking about? We will endeavor to answer your questions, or if we can’t, we’ll point you to a resource that can. We will also discuss BDSM etiquette and resources for you to find out more. 18+ only, please.

Bring your books and dice and join us for a live recording of The GameMaster’s Manifesto podcast! In this episode, Jacob and Troy will be interviewing some of our gaming pros on the topic of how to deal with the technological world impinging upon game time. Facebooking at game, virtual tabletops, and video games stealing players! Oh my! Can technology be used for good or is it simply incompatible with traditional tabletop?

Kadesh Flow brings realism, consciousness, and nerd-life together in riveting flow format. He has composed original music for Toonami Asia, performed live at the Cannes Film Festival, shared the stage with the likes of Mega Ran, I Fight Dragons, The Revivalists, MC Frontalot, B.o.B., and others. He has been publicly lauded by outlets such IGN and Kotaku.

Come get shrieked at in the inaugural Norwescon 40 Open Filk! This is where you can come sing or play whatever you want, alone or with friends; to the most supportive crowd you will ever run into ever, anywhere. Seriously, you have no idea. Bring your instrument, bring your voice, and put some of that participation into participatory culture!

My music is on the darker, more crass side of things. There’s alcohol, sex, and horror in the songs…with a good dose of humor.I love interacting with the crowd and getting them dancing with a sea shanty like Drunken Sailor. I can make them laugh with a song like “Stop Being Sh*tty On Twitter”. Or I can creep them out with a bluesy number on America’s first serial killer, “H. H. Holmes”. I’m also tracking my musical (and other) adventures on YouTube with a regular vlog.