Thursday Schedule

It’s ThursdAGE with Owen KC Stephens and the disembodied voice of Troy Hewitt! ThursdAGE will be streaming one hour earlier than usual, at 1 p.m. PDT, and on this special All Fools Day edition, we’re streaming live from Norwescon! Norwescon is only the single best fiction and fantasy convention in the nation, and we couldn’t be more excited to open the day! We’ll of course be talking Fantasy AGE, but we’ll have our Norwescon pals, like Veronica Templar, joining us to talk about all the history, mystery, and burlesque twistery that’s going into this year’s all-digital convention! Toss in some updates on what Green Ronin has cooking and some AMAZING surprises for those tuning in live. Well, let’s just say you won’t want to miss it!

When the characters are asked to escort aging civil servant Sevra Compline on a transplanar vacation, the assignment seems dull, if unusual—why would anyone need minders traveling through such well-known worlds? Game developer Malcolm Sheppard leads players through “Tour Guide,” an introductory adventure for Green Ronin’s Modern AGE role-playing game created specifically for Norwescon, using the Threefold setting. This session will be simulcast to Twitch, with live audience interaction available within Airmeet for Norwescon attendees.

Set 50 years after climate change floods reshape the coasts, a single mother, Coral, attempts to make a future for her son in the regionwide junkyard that Appalachia has become, and to carve out a life for herself as an artist. 2021 Philip K. Dick nominee Alison Stine’s forthcoming novel, Trashlands, will be published in October 2021. Rated PG.

Giger’s alien, Dracula, etc. What led to such ideas? Warning: you may not want to know…

From the neighborly old Satanists in Rosemary’s Baby to the flower-bedecked pagans in Midsommar, cults are a go-to horror threat. It’s easy to see why, since even in the real-world cult members have been known to do horrific things that don’t make sense to outsiders. How do the fictional cults in horror compare to real cults? What defines a cult?

Dance like a dinosaur, get up and move like a mammoth! We’ll learn about ancient, monstrous animals, how they moved, and what they were like. Appropriate for all ages.

When making up worlds from whole cloth, it can be easy to gloss over or erase issues that plague our own cultures. What kind of work do we need to do to recognize and avoid “colonial creep” in our fiction, and how do we fight it?

Role-playing, whether tabletop or LARP, involves people, and people have boundaries. This panel will explore various ways to establish communication and clear consent in order to avoid hurting people. Panelists will examine common mechanics such as “lines” (content a game will not include) and “veils” (retaining certain themes or content, but avoiding active role-play/descriptions). The panel will discuss other mechanics for specific situations, and how and when to use them.

Norwescon’s ticketed Guest of Honor Tea Party event starts with an introduction to tea by professional tea educator and certified tea specialist Roberta Fuhr. Get into the mood by learning about the history of tea and how to prepare it. You will learn what tea is, where it is grown and produced, and how tea becomes white, green, oolong, black and pu’erh. You’ll learn the difference between tea and tisane (and does it matter?). There is fun history, myth and lore shared—and we’ll talk about teas included in the GoH tea gift package! Tickets for the GoH Tea Party are available through the registration kiosk. Ticket holders will be provided with a Zoom link to access this event.

Participants who have entered the masquerade by the March 20 deadline must come to one of two pre-masquerade meetings, on Thursday at 4 p.m. or Friday at 1 p.m., to go over your video, introduction, and confirm the details you want our mistress of ceremonies to say about your entry. If you are just curious and have questions, we will have answers. You may not like those answers, but we will have them.

There are many different ways to publish. Self-publishing, big presses, audiobooks, web-based subscription services—and let’s not forget Patreon. Which options are best?

Throughout history, literacy has been at turns fostered and forbidden. What factors lead to these societal actions? When and why did the general trend to universal literacy begin, and how is it continuing in modern societies?

Bump your costumes to a new level by learning techniques used by master couturiers, dressmakers, and tailors. Create daring designs with the help of hidden integrated foundations and structural supports! This panel includes a look at skirt supports through the ages, as well as how to pack your big ideas for travel.

Give your bad guy the love they need and deserve. Well-constructed and developed anti-heroes and antagonists give stories balance. Using familiar archetypes to create these characters gives the writer both a proven road map to success and a means to up the stakes and keep readers guessing.

Alien invasion is a theme that never seems to get tired. Is this because many of us secretly long for it? Are we all a bit hurt that it hasn’t happened yet? Is it time to give some extraterrestrial a chance to improve on the human race? Let’s discuss some alien invasion scenarios from books, film, and TV that we kind of wish would happen.

Norwescon’s ticketed Guest of Honor Tea Party event provides a great way to spend time with our honored guests in an intimate setting. In addition to the opportunity to hang out with our GoHs, each attendee will have a special package shipped to them containing hand-selected teas, a commemorative Norwescon mug, and a delicious baked good from a local pastry chef. This event is open to all Norwescon members. Tickets are available through the event start for only $35 through the convention registration kiosk. Ticket holder will be provided with a private Zoom link to enter the event, which begins with an introduction to tea at 4 p.m. Ticket purchasers after March 25 will have their package shipped after the convention.

Characters, like children, come in all shapes, sizes and abilities. Some have obvious abilities, and others have abilities that aren’t so obvious. This panel explores how characters relate to themselves and the world when they have both obvious differences, like requiring wheelchairs or hearing aids, and invisible differences, like autism, schizophrenia, and other mental health issues.

Learn about different types of mermaid tails available on the market; fabric, neoprene, scubaknit, silicone, and hybrids. Which is best to start out in, and what are the pros and cons of them all?

For a telescope that began development in 1996 with a launch target of 2007, the James Webb Space Telescope sure hasn’t been making very rapid progress. The latest estimate for launch was March 2021; as of March 1, NASA says it has completed final functional tests. Will it ever get off the ground? Will it live up to the original plans and hype?

The oldest form of geek music at science fiction conventions is an offshoot from folk called “filk,” and it has an intentionally open and deeply participatory culture. Open filk is where you can sing or play whatever you want to the most supportive crowd you will ever run into ever anywhere! Online audio delays make it difficult to perform together, so we encourage filkers to “raise your hand” and we’ll bring you to the stage one at a time. Listen or play along at home!

Kurt Cagle reads an excerpt from Quantum Key. Jacqueline is a rising scion of the corporate world in the wake of environmental collapse. Jill is a hard-scrabble journalist, trying to make a name for herself in the flooded streets and islands of New Seattle. First adversaries, then friends, together they discover a dark and powerful secret about their origins and the murky world they live in. Rated PG.

How can you take that idea in your head and make it a reality? Join our panel of seasoned costumers as they discuss their methods for designing costumes. What are ways to get inspired, research, and create?

What do you do if you aren’t seeing the kinds of romantic relationships you want in mainstream media? For fanfic authors the answer is: write it yourself! In the process, consciously or not, many adult-rated fanfics explore their subject in a way that recasts and reexamines social attitudes and behavior through the lens of transformative works. Ages 18+.

Writing talent doesn’t have an expiration date. It’s never too late to be successful. The panelists have suggestions, directions, and words of encouragement.

Amateurs talk about strategy; professionals talk about logistics. Winning a war begins with getting the beans, bullets, and Band-Aids to the battle. Victory usually goes to those who arrive first, with the most, and out-sustain their opponents. Napoleon’s failed attack of Russia, the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, and many other great battlefield disasters began as logistics failures that manifested themselves in battlefield defeats. Logistics is often the unsung basis for realism and believability.

(TEENS ONLY) You all know the adventures of Inigo, Westley, Buttercup, and Fezzig. There are other dark plans afoot in Guilder and Florin, and it’s up to you to stop them! Whether you’re a fencer or a pirate, a princess or a member of the Brute Squad, this is your chance to perform a few odd tasks, save the day, and maybe even perform a miracle or two!

A place of meditation and discussion, contemplation, and thought for those who have passed since the last Norwescon. Honor those who have passed on with a thought, memory, story, or simple prayer to whatever you wish.

Join Norwescon members for an evening of science fiction and fantasy movies. We will use a Chrome browser plugin called Scener to sync the movie and allow members to chat with one another. Due to licensing issues, you must have a subscription to today’s streaming service (Amazon Prime) and have logged into it before clicking on the link below. Movie description: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO. Rating: R for strong bloody violence, language, drug use, and some sexual content. Runtime: 1h 35. Join the watch party here!

Ticketed event. Additional time to mingle and socialize for attendees of the Guest of Honor Tea Party.

Please come and enjoy the official kickoff of Norwescon 43 at the opening ceremonies. There will be introductions and interviews with our guests of honor, a preview of events and essential information, and general shenanigans and merrymaking.

Meet up with fellow fans to discuss the rich worlds of Norwescon’s writer guest of honor Jacqueline Carey. Find us at the Little Free Library booth in the arena!

Sarah Donner is an alt pop singer/songwriter who has embraced her inner cat lady. Her songs teeter between playful, nerdcore, and ballads, tied together with bright melodies and driving, energetic instrumentals. Sarah is a graduate of Westminster Choir College. After stretching her legs with musical theatre, she picked up a guitar, abandoned her classical roots, and started rocking out (with fantastic breath support). Sarah’s music has been featured on Conan O’Brien’s blog, NPR, Buzzfeed, i09, Showtime, and CBS. She collaborates with The Oatmeal to bring the internet gems like “The Motherf**cking Pterodactyl Song” and “Tesla vs. Edison.” When not touring, Sarah Donner fosters kittens, teaches privately, and paints portraits. sarahdonner.com, Twitter @sarahdonner, Instagram @sarahdonnerparty, Facebook @sarahdonner.

For all we know, the universe is teeming with intelligent life, but in decades of careful listening and observation of the universe, not one sign of an extrasolar civilization has ever been detected. So where are they? Is it possible humans are the only intelligence in the cosmos?

In science, credit tends to go to the person whose name is on the first paper published. This leaves a lot of important and interesting people out of the history books. Join us and celebrate some of their stories.

Hear tips from artists and writers on self-marketing and promotion. Learn from the creators who have gone before you—where to post, how to present yourself, and how much work will go into your showcase for the five people who show up. Perhaps we will share horror stories of shows gone wrong.

Networking is important in creative industries. But does it have to be so hard? How do we push through imposter syndrome in order to forge connections in our community? How do we project a professional persona without losing ourselves in the process?

The Drag Royalty of Norwescon brings to you an all-ages and all-genders drag workshop—The Norwescon Drag Academy. This two-part workshop will bring you the history of drag performance and its cultural impact along with information you need to get you started down the Fabulous Way, culminating with a participation-optional runway show Saturday evening to virtually strut your stuff. Your tour guides and mentors for these workshops are the Disney Drag Princess herself, Allen Ryde, and Seattle’s Dandiest Dandy, Mercury Divine!

The more society grows and flexes its muscles, the more sexual orientations we end up with. For many, the more the merrier! But, as shows like Big Mouth begin to address some of the more nuanced aspects of sexual orientation, we see that the more we have, the murkier explanations can get. This may end up alienating the very people these labels were created for. Join our panelists as they respectfully share their thoughts on this topic.

The art and science of assassination is an ancient one, and no young person’s education is complete without a thorough grounding in eliminating rivals, inconvenient witnesses, or vengeful ex-lovers. This panel looks at the nefarious practices of the dagger in the night, and why nailing the details in your writing can mean life or death for your story.

Join Norwescon members for an evening of science fiction and fantasy movies. We will use a Chrome browser plugin called Scener to sync the movie and allow members to chat with one another. Due to licensing issues, you must have a subscription to today’s streaming service (Netflix) and have logged into it before clicking on the link below. Movie description: A super-powered construction worker falls in with a group of criminals to raise the funds to help his ill mother. Rating: Not Rated – Mild sex, moderate violence, severe profanity. Runtime: 1h 38m. Join the watch party here!

Come to the convention Arena between 8–10 p.m. and make your way through the art show virtual booths to meet-and-greet this year’s artists. Grab a seat at a booth table to chat with artists and fellow fans, or click through the artist’s webstore to purchase some amazing art!

Sci-fi singer-songwriter Aaron J. Shay is a balladeer who blends old-world twang with catchy folk-punk melancholy, layered over driving banjo rhythms and stomping beats. His performances are highly interactive experiences, featuring many sing-alongs and stomp-alongs, all punctuated by his funny and heartfelt musings on relationships, creativity, magic, and the future of humanity. Influenced heavily by indie rock and Americana, his songs fall in some strange realm between Phil Ochs, Tom Waits, and The Mountain Goats.

The Faithful Sidekicks are the award-winning acoustic geek/filk musical duo of Eric and Jen Distad. They write and perform catchy original folk pop songs about all the fannish things they love. With a fun mix of songs, ranging from Star Trek country songs, to upbeat anthems like “Han Solo For President,” to a love song written entirely in SQL Code, they have something for nerds, geeks, and fans of all kinds. They’ve been nominated for three Pegasus awards, released two CDs, and have been entertaining audiences around the U.S. and parts beyond since 2014. For more information, head to The Faithful Sidekicks.

Join Norwescon members for an evening of science fiction and fantasy movies. We will use a Chrome browser plugin called Scener to sync the movie and allow members to chat with one another. Due to licensing issues, you must have a subscription to today’s streaming service (Netflix) and have logged into it before clicking on the link below. Movie description: On the planet Latimer, reawakened Takeshi Kovacs must protect a teenage tattooist named Holly while investigating the death of a yakuza boss alongside Gina, a strangely familiar no-nonsense CTAC agent. Animated, based on a Philip K. Dick Award-winning novel. Rating: TV-MA – Violence, gore, sex, nudity. Runtime: 1h 14m. Join the watch party here!