Program Schedule
Chessiecon program items will be presented in Zoom sessions.
Below is the schedule as of 28/11/2021 08:39:57.
To attend a Zoom session, click the Registration link under the "Link" column. This will take you to a page where you can register to attend the meeting. Submit the requested information and the session link will be emailed to you.
After the panel, continue the discussion on Discord. Zoom hosts will announce, at the end of the panel, where you can meet with many of the panelists and fellow guests to enjoy conversation.
Use this Discord invite link to join the Chessiecon 2021 Discord server.
Start times are given in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5).
(M) following a presenter's name indictates they are the panel moderator.
Jump to a day:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Friday | |||
| Time (EST) | Track | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 P.M. (1500) | Zoom1 | Welcome to Chessiecon/First Chessiecon/Intro to S/FF If you’ve never been to a Chessiecon, or any other S/FF convention, or are entirely new to Science-Fiction Fandom, here is the place to start. Presented by: Yakira Heistand, Linda Adams | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Writing YA for Two Audiences YA fiction isn’t only enjoyed by Young Adults: the stories should also appeal to the adult audience. How does that happen? Presented by: Harrison Demchick (M), D H Aire, Intisar Khanani | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert: Roberta Rogow 1-hour set Presented by: Roberta Rogow | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 4:30 P.M. (1630) | Zoom1 | How to panel/moderate/present at SF/F cons New to trying to herd cats? Not only does a moderator need to encourage panelists, stop one panelist from taking over the whole shebang, but also a moderator needs to be able to read the audience. Presented by: D H Aire (M), Steve Southard, Yakira Heistand | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | King of Your Castle Magic surrounding prosperity or establishing yourself as the King or Queen of your life often focuses on the forces associated with the planet Jupiter. These Jovial forces are great for these efforts but can't be all you use. In this class we will discuss combining Jupiterian magic with elemental spirits, ancestors, and nature and household spirits. Presented by: BJ Swain | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Author Reading: John L French John will read from his work “Let’s make a Deal”. There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: John L French | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 6:00 P.M. (1800) | Zoom1 | Large Publishing Houses? Small Publishers? Self-publishing? Who to go with? Do you need an editor (HINT: YES!)? Do you need an agent? If you self-publish, where does the funding come from? If you use a large publishing house, will you get screwed by a bad contract? If you choose a small publisher, will your story get tossed in the slush pile immediately because, like any other business, they need to make money? So many choices, but which one is right for you? Presented by: Harrison Demchick (M), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, D H Aire, Aleksandr Poryshkin | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Do Immortals Enhance or Detract from your story Or, are they themselves the story? From the early stories of various gods, to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, to JRR Tolkien’s elves, what are the complexities and implications of immortal beings in story telling? Presented by: Cathy Hird, Elizabeth Corrigan, Elizabeth Schechter | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert: Joshua Kronengold & Lisa Padol ½ hour set Presented by: Joshua Kronengold, Lisa Padol | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 7:00 P.M. (1900) | Zoom3 | Concert: TJ & Mitchell Burnside Clapp ½ hour set Presented by: TJ & Mitchell Burnside Clapp | Zoom Session Registration |
| 7:30 P.M. (1930) | Zoom1 | Writing Without a Net How do you write a story without an outline? Tips and tricks to pantsing a novel, novella, or short story. Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, D H Aire, Scott Edelman (M), Intisar Khanani | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Space-Based Shabbat Service A Beit Tikvah shabbat service that highlights the special role the sacredness of the stars plays in Jewish spirituality and tradition. Presented by: Miriam Winder Kelly, Maria Thompson | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 9:00 P.M. (2100) | Zoom1 | Underwater Cities: Is there merit to this idea? What are the Engineering, Social, and Environmental limitations to expanding the areas of earth’s surface that people can inhabit? Presented by: Steve Southard (M), Linda Adams, John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | The Earth is Doomed, and So is Humanity There’s the heat death of the Universe. Before that, the Sun will expand to approximately the diameter of Earth’s orbit. Before that...what? Runaway greenhouse effect? A near-earth asteroid smacking into us? An uncontrollable pandemic? Another world war? Something we haven’t forseen? Presented by: Cathy Hird, Thomas Holtz, Yakira Heistand (M) | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 9:30 P.M. (2130) | Zoom3 | Author Reading: Celia Friedman Celia will read from her work “The Dreaming Kid”. There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: Celia Friedman | Zoom Session Registration |
| 10:30 P.M. (2230) | Zoom1 | Star Wars: What Went Wrong and What Went Right? Many have panned the subsequent canon to the first trilogy. Is this justified? If so, in what ways? Presented by: Linda Adams, D H Aire, Thomas Atkinson (M) | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Author Reading: Elizabeth Schechter Elizabeth will read from-in her words: “something with a little more heat” . There may be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: Elizabeth Schechter | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Open filk Presented by: Crystal Paul | ||
| Saturday | |||
| Time (EST) | Track | Description | Link |
| 10:00 A.M. (1000) | Zoom1 | Why Read the Classics? Do they still have something to teach us, or are can they just not the something of interest to a 21st-Century audience? Presented by: Steve Southard (M), Thomas Atkinson, Melissa Scott | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Methods of Protection A comprehensive discussion of magical & spiritual protection. Group protection ritual combining both African and Western magical traditions to follow (time permitting). Presented by: James Udung (AKA Deillumine Ra) | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | How Has Diversity Affected SF/F? Scicence Fiction has diversified not only in its subject matter through the years, but also in its writing cast, portrayals of its protagonists, and even of its situationss and internal politics. What all has changed? Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elizabeth Schechter (M), J J Smith | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 11:30 A.M. (1130) | Zoom1 | Do Series Go On Too Long? Television, movie, books: when has your story line jumped the shark? Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elizabeth Corrigan, Linda Adams | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | How Do You Inform the Reader? Without using a clue-by-four as a bludgeon. The old “show, don’t tell” is usually right, but not always. An example might be the inner working of a pro-/antagonist’s mind. Presented by: Harrison Demchick (M), Scott Edelman, Melissa Scott | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | A Century of Robots There exists a claim that the first mention of an android-like mechanism occurred in L Frank Baum’s story Ozma of Oz; but the word Robot apparently first appeared Karel Capek’s play, Rossum’s Universal Robots:. The first industrial robot was introduced in 1962. A look at robotic machinery in literature and the real world. Presented by: Cathy Hird (M), Jim Williams, John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 1:00 P.M. (1300) | Zoom1 | 250 to 66 mya: what’s happened in the last year A presentation of the developments in the field of paleontology in the past year. Presented by: Thomas Holtz | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | In Memoriam A space to honor all those who have recently passed. A short prayer will be said, offerings of lit votive candles and incense will be made to the departed with time for silent contemplation to follow. Presented by: John Weller | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert Bob & Sue Esty 1-hour set Presented by: Bob Esty, Sue Esty | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 2:30 P.M. (1430) | Zoom1 | Why Aren’t They Writing Like They Used To? We all know the trope that s/ff has always has at least overtones of politics; but what other things have changed or not changed in the field? Presented by: Steve Southard, Yakira Heistand (M), Linda Adams | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Where Is the Indigenous American Fantasy? Why is American fantasy so Eurocentric? If you believe our fantasists, American cities are populated with imported Romanian vampires, Russian werewolves, Celtic faeries, Nordic gods, Germanic witches, and the (very) occasional African god or Arabic djinn, but scarcely a homegrown magical being to be found. In fact, indigenous magical beings abound in the Americas and their stories of magic, wonder and horror are widely told by spoken and written word. North American mythology is rich with magical beings. Do these stories get adequate air time? Is it easier to imagine an Old World teeming with supernatural beings than to visualize a North America enchanted with indigenous mythical beings? Is it difficult to believe that we live in a naturally magical place? And if we did, what would it look like? Presented by: J J Smith (M), Cathy Hird, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elizabeth Schechter | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Medieval Dance A teaching workshop presented by Sonya Gross Presented by: Sonya Gross | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 4:00 P.M. (1600) | Zoom1 | Pandemics Throughout History, and Their Effects on Literature 2019-2021 is not the first regional, continental or even global pandemic in history. How have these events affected literature, be it fantasy, speculative or science-fiction literature? Presented by: Steve Southard, Melissa Scott, John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Fae Lore & Representation in Media A course on the many different variations of what the Fae are in the Celtic diaspora and the six Celtic nations. This will also cover how their representation has been handled in the media so far and how to represent them without appropriating or misrepresenting culture; as well as a brief history of working with them and the importance of understanding the mechanics of how they function within their mythological and folkloric context. Presented by: Jessica Morán | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert: Maugorn the Stray 1-hour set Presented by: Maugorn | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 5:30 P.M. (1730) | Zoom1 | Author Reading: Danielle Ackley-McPhail Danielle will read from her work: “Mama Bear,” from the anthology “Bad-Ass Moms”. There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Turkey Awards Judging Panel The panel where the judges sit around and decide what the three worst entries are. The GoH is specifically excluded from this panel. Presented by: Harrison Demchick, Aleksandr Poryshkin, Beth Chandler | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 6:00 P.M. (1800) | Zoom3 | Author Reading: Melissa Scott Melissa will read from her work: “Water Horse.” There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: Melissa Scott | Zoom Session Registration |
| 7:00 P.M. (1900) | Zoom1 | eSpec Book Launch New Books, readings, and other wonderful stuff from our Guest of Honor’s publishing house. Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, John L French, Robert E Waters | Zoom Session Registration |
| 8:00 P.M. (2000) | Zoom3 | Concert: Gary Ehrlich 1-hour set Presented by: Gary Ehrlich | Zoom Session Registration |
| 8:30 P.M. (2030) | Zoom1 | Genre Mixing When does science fiction become fantasy become horror become speculative fiction? Presented by: Scott Edelman, Elizabeth Schechter, Linda Adams (M) | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Worldbuilding in your story Physical characteristics, societies, geography, languages, and what else might fit. And how this affects your stories Presented by: Cathy Hird, Steve Southard (M), Melissa Scott, John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 9:30 P.M. (2130) | Zoom3 | Concert: Harold Feld ½ hour set Presented by: Harold Feld | Zoom Session Registration |
| 10:00 P.M. (2200) | Zoom1 | Turkey Awards Presentation & Hallelujah Chorus And we all find out just who wrote the worst, and how bad the worst actually is. Followed immediately by the Hallelujah Chorus Presented by: Awards: Aleksandr Poryshkin, Danielle Ackley-McPhail. Chorus: Filthy Pierre | Zoom Session Registration |
| 10:30 P.M. (2230) | Zoom2 | What Did I Do to Survive the Great Pandemic How our panelists muddled through, and yet, still somehow are not zombies. Note: may be slightly delayed if the chorus runs over slightly. Presented by: Steve Southard, Yakira Heistand, John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom3 | Open filk Presented by: Crystal Paul | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Sunday | |||
| Time (EST) | Track | Description | Link |
| 10:00 A.M. (1000) | Zoom1 | Your Universe, Your Gods Are your gods present in your story, or are they background Does an author choose his/her beliefs in the form of present god(s), publicize yours or do you keep native beliefs? Does your spirituality inform your writing? Can you be a monotheist but build a world of multiple gods? Join us for a discussion of the role of personal religious beliefs in your writing. Presented by: Elizabeth Corrigan, Elizabeth Schechter, Linda Adams | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | How to Craft S/F Related Poetry This workshop will include a writing prompt provided by the presenter, with an eye to answering the question: What aspects make a poem sf/f-related? Presented by: Marc Drexler | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Author Reading: John Monahan John will read from his work: “Babbage & Lovelace: The Victorian Computer Wizard and the Enchantress of Numbers.” There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: John Monahan | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 11:30 A.M. (1130) | Zoom1 | Has Fantasy Lost Its Wonder? How and why the stories of Wizards, Space Wizards, Alternative Worlds with magic, and/or psychic abilities may have done itself to death. Presented by: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Linda Adams (M), Elizabeth Schechter (Note: ES may have to cut out early), Beth Chandler | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Magical Portal Stories The concept of going to a mythical land where the rules are different and strange shows up a lot in literature and across cultures. The Japanese even have a word for it: Isekai. Western examples include Alice’s Looking Glass, Dorothy’s ruby/silver slippers, the Tollbooth in the “The Phantom Tollbooth”, and in more recent times, various means of computer transport, e. g. “Tron,” and “Ready Player One.” Is it required for an author to use this device to tie it into the real world as a way of making it more plausible, while making up their own rules and throwing in magic or strange politics or physics? Presented by: D H Aire, Yakira Heistand, Fred Blonder (M) | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert: Elena Stark *** CANCELED *** 1-hour set Presented by: Elena Stark | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 1:00 P.M. (1300) | Zoom1 | Mass Extinctions Events and What Causes Them We are in the 5th or 6th mass extinction in Earth’s history. A look at the record of such events, and how they happened. With possible implications for humanity’s future. Presented by: Thomas Holtz | Zoom Session Registration |
| Zoom2 | Ancient Hellenic Oracles Learn about the way in which ancient Hellenic Oracles, the most famous of which was the Oracle of Delphi, fit into the overall structure of Hellenic religion and sacred listening. This discussion comes from a contemporary priestess of Apollon and from the perspective of trying to understand Hellenic religion for the purposes of re-birthing the relationships and traditions. Presented by: Gwendolyn Reece | Zoom Session Registration | |
| Zoom3 | Concert: Merav Hoffman ½ hour set Presented by: Merav Hoffman | Zoom Session Registration | |
| 2:00 P.M. (1400) | Zoom3 | Concert: Batya Wittenberg ½ hour set Presented by: Batya Wittenberg | Zoom Session Registration |
| 2:30 P.M. (1430) | Zoom1 | Lithomancy A course on the practice of Lithomancy. Often known as gemstone divination, this method of posing questions to gain information from the divine using psychic faculties is one of the oldest known. It has had many variations over time, John learned the practice from local teacher Patricia Murphy Swartz, and will be teaching his version which pulls from planetary and other associations. Also discussed will be alternate methods and adapting stone choices to specific kinds of readings. Presented by: John Weller | Zoom Session Registration |
| 3:00 P.M. (1500) | Zoom3 | Concert: Randy Hoffman 1-hour set Presented by: Randy Hoffman | Zoom Session Registration |
| 4:00 P.M. (1600) | Zoom1 | Author Reading: Elizabeth Corrigan Elizabeth will read from her work, “Technopaladin: Clarity’s Edge” There will be a question and answer opportunity at the end of the reading. Presented by: Elizabeth Corrigan | Zoom Session Registration |
| 5:00 P.M. (1700) | Zoom3 | Chessiecon Breakdown The Feedback Session, where the audience can tell us what went right, what when wrong, and how you can help make it better next year. Presented by: Aleksandr Poryshkin, other staff | Zoom Session Registration |
| 6:00 P.M. (1800) | Zoom3 | Dead Sea Monster Filk Presented by: Those who wish to participate | Zoom Session Registration |