Boskone52 – catch Eva Darrows and Lauren Roy in action

Boskone52 – Eva Darrows and Lauren Roy appearance schedule

Eva Darrows (THE AWESOME) and Lauren Roy (The Fire Children) will be at Boskone 52, February 13th – 15th at Boston Westin Waterfront. Here’s where you can catch them and what our top picks for the weekend are:

Friday 13th 

7pm

Eva Darrows in her Hillary Monahan disguise joins Mur Lafferty (moderating), Maya Bohnhoff, Christopher Golden and Charles Stross to talk Angels Demons and Saints

Religion has always played a strong role in fantasy, and we’ve seen an influx of fiction that specifically features characters that have been touched by higher powers — especially in today’s urban fantasy. What role do these characters play within the story? How do we see these roles changing or morphing into something new? Why do we keep coming back to these types of characters? And what are some examples of stories that use these characters especially well?

RAVENSTONE TOP PICK

Lauren Roy joins Veronica Koven-Matasy (moderating), A.C.E. Bauer and Bruce Coville for It’s Complicated: Kids and the Culture They Consume

As the lives of young adults in our ever-changing modern society become more complicated and diverse, so do their personal interests and experiences. Panelists discuss how the growing complexity of our world affects the content of young adult literature, comics, games, and film. How do the philosophical issues that impact today’s society affect how teens see themselves within the fiction they consume? What are some practical ideas for better connecting today’s children and teens with yesterday’s or tomorrow’s literature?

8pm

Lauren Roy provides the Gaming Review 2014-2015 with Bill Todd (moderating), Heather Albano, Michael Sharrow, and Brianna Spacekat Wu

What are the hot new board/card/RPG games for 2015? What’s trending? What new expansions to previously released games are out now? Let’s discuss all things related to new games.

9pm

RAVENSTONE TOP PICK

Eva Darrows (Hillary Monahan) joins Carrie Vaughn (Moderating), Melissa Marr and Paul G. Tremblay, Jordan Hamessley for Writing for Teens VS Adults

With so much crossover, is there a difference anymore? And where does middle-grade fiction fit? Editors and authors discuss.

Saturday 14th

10:00am

It’s definitely worth getting up with the raven’s dawn chorus for this one:
Eva Darrows (Hillary Monahan), Bruce Coville (moderating), A.C.E. Bauer, Jordan Hamessley and Veronica Koven-Matasy dive to some of the best speculative children’s literature in  KidLit: Great Spec Fic for Young Readers

There’s some pretty spectacular speculative fiction available for children these days. What’s behind the ongoing boom? Panelists talk causes and trends, while plugging their favorite authors and stories — including some that grownups could also learn to love.

Lauren Roy will be signing her debut Night Owls and you can pester her for sneaky spoilers for The Fire Children too

12:00pm

RAVENSTONE TOP PICK

Lauren Roy is joined by Charles Stross (moderating), Susan Jane Bigelow, Don Pizarro and Jarvis Sheffield to talk about a key issue for 2015: Finding Diverse Fiction

There is a clear desire for increased diversity within SF/F fiction and fandom. There are also a lot of emerging writers who are bringing diversity to the genre, but many of them are still flying below the publicity radar. Authors and publishers come together to share their “must read” lists and tips on where to find some of the new up-and-coming authors.

2:00pm

RAvenstone top pick

THE AWESOME Eva Darrows will be joining Veronica Koven-Matasy (moderating), Felicitas Ivey, Stacey Friedberg and A.J. Paquette for one of our most anticipated panels:PG-13: Violence, Sex, and Teen Readers, seriously it’s like they created this just for her:

When writing for teens or choosing books for young adults to read, is there a PG-13 line that needs to be drawn? Is there more violence and sex in YA books today? Or have we just become more aware of it? How does a writer address difficult or sensitive topics without going too far? Panelists discuss danger zones within YA fiction.

4:00pm

Eva Darrows will be signing Mary the Summoning in Hillary Monahan form. We’re sure if you ask really nicely she’ll scrawl you a quick Eva out too…

5:00pm

Lauren Roy, Chris Jackson (moderating), James Cambias and Mur Lafferty lead the discussion on Authorship, RPGs, and the Legacy of D&D

Dungeons & Dragons, the first commercially available role-playing game, was published 40 years ago. D&D ushered in a new era of cooperative storytelling that has inspired Game Masters, players, and authors to dream big and create their own fictional universes. Panelists explore the many facets of RPGs — from developing challenging and believable frameworks for cooperative story construction to taking the story beyond the game.

Sunday 15th

11:00am

Our reigning queen Eva Darrows (here present as Hillary Monahan) sets the fairytale world to right with Sarah Langan (moderating), Ingrid Kallick, Carrie Vaughn and Tom Shippey in The Fairytale Princess, Circa 2100

Before Disney appropriated Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and the rest of the “princess clique, ” these were characters who presumably served a deeper purpose in structuring the fables of bygone years. What parts do they play for today’s children? What meaning might these reminders of a fairytale feudal past still hold a hundred years from now?

12:00pm

Ever wanted to hear some of your favourite writers talk about how they create the worlds you want to inhabit? Lauren Roy, E. C. Ambrose (moderating), Myke Cole, Peadar Ó Guilín, and Rosemary Kirstein star in Writers on Writing: Worldbuilding from the Ground Up

Some spectacular stories take place in worlds very different from our own: from life on (or in) a gas giant to a civilization that lives on a world-tree as big as the Himalayas. But there are perils associated with venturing far beyond human experience. An inconsistent or poorly described worldscape can furnish a confusing story, or challenge a reader’s ability to suspend disbelief. Hear from writers who have created fully realized worlds that their readers can almost see, touch, and smell.

1:30pm

RAVENSTONE TOP PICK

In a two-for-one-in-one body Eva Darrows and Hillary Monahan will be reading from THE AWESOME and Mary the Summoning

Sunday 15th @ 2:00pm

RAVENSTONE TOP PICK

Lauren Roy will be giving an exclusive preview of The Fire Children in her lunchtime reading. EXCITING.

Head to the Boskone52 website for a full schedule and more information