Gripe Session 10: 00 Plemont

Bid For Eastercon 2004 11: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

It’s your Eastercon, have a say in where we all gather in 2004.

Can A Subtle Story Survive A Big Budget? 11: 00 Giffard

A film costs more to produce than a novel. The audience required for financial survival of the production company is, therefore, much larger and the ability to survive, even one flop, much less. So the pressures on those involved to ensure that the maximum number of people understand and appreciate the story tend to ride roughshod over the desire for subtlety. The panel discuss. Brian Stableford, John Bark, Liz Counihan and Ian Watson.

Kaffeeklatsch: TBA 11: 00 Rozel

Numbers are limited so please sign up at registration desk.

If This Goes On: The Inventing of Political Fiction 12: 00 Giffard

One criticism of future SF is its failure of imagination in coming up with new models for societies. Can we be truly inventive when thinking about future world and alien politics?

Guitars Before Breakfast: The Growth Of Filking 12: 00 Plemont

Where did Filking originate and where is it going? A discussion on the popularity and development of Filking.

Kaffeeklatsch: Harry Turtledove 12: 00 Rozel

Coffee with our Guest of Honour, Harry Turtledove. Numbers are limited so please sign up at registration desk.

Choosing The Best Of Fannish Writing. 12: 00 Golden Room

What is good fannish writing and how do we judge it? The panel discuss.

Beyond Cyberdrome 13: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

The ever popular Beyond Cyberdrome is back with a vengeance. Not for the faint- hearted.

The Technobabble Quiz 13: 00 Giffard

Kaffeeklatsch: TBA 13: 00 Rozel

Numbers are limited so please sign up at registration desk.

Art Auction 14: 00 Giffard

Do we want to be taken seriously? 14: 00 Plemont

What good would it do the genre if it were received into the arms of the serious critics? Isn't it the maverick reputation of the genre what keeps it active and exciting?

Kaffeeklatsch: Peter Weston 14: 00 Rozel

Coffee with our Guest of Honour, Peter Weston. Numbers are limited so please sign up at registration desk.

Checking Universal Constants. Build Your Own Reality 15: 00 Plemont

Greg Bear in Eon and Eternity provides his dimension travelling cast with devices by which they can determine the rules of physics where they happen to find themselves. Would one be able to lift the power supply let alone carry the kit? How much of the locality would you need to reduce to its component atoms to get a sensible reading?

Writers Workshop 15: 00 Rozel Sunday

See Friday for details.

GoH: Brian Stableford 16: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

Future History: Cut and Shut Sagas 17: 00 Giffard

Why do some authors feel the need make a common future history for a lot of their stories, like the way Asimov combined his Robot and Foundation series? Do we feel more respect for Lois McMaster Bujold for including "quaddies" from Falling Free in the Vorkosigan stories? The panel, including Michael Scott Rohan and Liz Counihan discuss.

The Rise Of Media Fandom (And The Decline Of Everything Else) 17: 00 Plemont

Why do media events seem to be getting bigger and bigger whilst more "mainstream" conventions are struggling for numbers and locations? Does one have an effect on the other? Can both survive?

The Consumers Guide To Superfluous Technology 18: 00 Giffard

A trawl through the marvellous toys available or soon to be available for the individual who wants to carry a publishing firm in their pocket.

Peake Poems 18: 00 Plemont

Colin Fine performs a selection of Mervyn Peake's poems. This will include both serious and nonsense pieces, and culminate in his long mystical narrative poem "The Rhyme of the Flying Bomb".

Should Scientists write Science Fiction? 19: 00 Plemont

China Miéville, Alastair Reynolds, Charlie Stross and Simon Bradshaw. Does being a scientist make you a better SF writer? Or a worse one? Do SF writers need to know about science, and what should scientists learn about SF - especially if they want to write it?

The Helicon Masquerade 20: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

BSFA Awards 21: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

Masquerade Awards 22: 00 Lido/ Auditorium

Fan Room 101: Peter Weston 22: 00 Golden Room

Do you know what Peter Weston doesn't like? Come along and he'll tell you again!

Fannish Readings 23: 00 Golden Room