Potlatch 17: Feb. 29 - March 2, 2008


Main Program - Deca Ballroom


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2008


7:30-8PM Clarion West Annual General Meeting
Everyone is invited to find out what Clarion West has been up to and their plans for the future. This is the meeting where the Board reports to interested members of the public, so you’re all welcome.

8-9pm Clarion West Confidential
Come thrill to tales of 25 years of Clarion West as told by attendees, instructors, and volunteers. If you’ve got a good, or funny, or inspiring story we want to hear it! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to sign up immediately. Master of Ceremonies: Debbie Notkin.

9-10PM Clarion West Thanks You!
Yes, you for your support and help over the years with a swell reception. You’re at Potlatch aren’t you? Then you’ve helped. All Potlatch members are welcome.


SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008

10-11:15AM Man and Aquaman
A discussion of the issues of bio-modification of humanity in fiction and the ethical questions that arise in these cases. What makes us human, and how much change to our morphology and to its attendant culture can we make before we lose it? Panelists: Stu Shiffman, Andi Shechter, Jack Bell, Diane Dieter, David Levine.

11:30AM-1 PM Lunch!

1-2:15PM Book of Honor Panel
Focusing on the ways in which Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower reflects the intersection of gender, race, and class with religion in American culture. Panelists: Eileen Gunn, Nisi Shawl, Mary Rosenblum, Suzy McKee Charnas.

2:30-3:45PM Second (or even Third?) Wave GLBT fiction
New writers like Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, and Scott Lynch write queer characters as a matter of course. Is this truly emblematic of changes in our society? What's next for LGBT issues in fantasy and science fiction? Panelists: Phoebe Harris, Bob Angell, Elise Matheson, Tamara Vining.

4-5:15PM Coming out as Atheist
In a recent Gallup poll, 53% of Americans said they would not vote for an otherwise well qualified candidate for president if they knew that person was an atheist. That was the worst score of the survey. Is it possible that Americans don’t trust or like atheists because they don’t know they know any? Do we need to come out of our closet and campaign for acceptance for *this* despised and distrusted group? What are the implications for the sf community? Panelists: Ulrika O’Brien, Jay Lake, Vylar Kaftan, Mary Kay Kare.

5:30-7:30PM Dinner!

7:30-8 PM Trivia for Chocolate
If you didn’t have time for dessert, let your encyclopedic knowledge of fantasy and science fiction earn you some.

8-10 PM Clarion West Benefit Auction
The highlight of the weekend and definitely the place to be on Saturday night. Tuition pays only a part of Clarion West’s expenses. We’ve contributed thousands of dollars to help. Come and help us do some more!


SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2008


11 AM-1 PM Banquet!
Announcements. Nisi Shawl on the Carl Brandon Society and its Butler scholarship. Leslie Howle on Octavia Butler. Announcement of next year’s Potlatch and the traditional acceptance of money

Reading Track - Governor Room

Featuring students and instructors of Clarion West


SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008

1-1:20PM - Pat Murphy

1:30-1:50PM - David Levine

2-2:20PM - Cat Rambo

2:30-2:50PM - Vylar Kaftan

3-3:20PM - Mary Rosenblum

3:30-3:50PM - Nisi Shawl

4-4:20PM - L. Timmel Duchamp

4:30-4:50PM - Suzy McKee Charnas

5-5:20PM - Bob Angell

NANOPROGRAMMING AT POTLATCH

The program at Potlatch has a limited number of panels, presented in a single track. This focus allows the entire membership to share a continuing conversation all weekend. Such a focused program cannot touch on everything that interests our members, though. For those additional topics, for subjects that play better in a smaller group, and for those ideas that arise during the course of the weekend, we offer what we call "nanoprogramming". These program items are not on the provided schedule; they are created and facilitated by you, the members.

We provide the place to announce your nanoprogramming items, and we offer suggestions for times and places to hold your discussion or event. The rest is up to you. Nanos from prior Potlatches have included: poker games; field trips to interesting food stores; a single-malt scotch-tasting expedition; a round table about community, over breakfast; an organized chat about dinosaurs, over lunch; visits to local bookstores, and to the Mecca of Tat, Archie McPhee's; and a breakfast for fans of historical mysteries to swap favorite titles and authors.

You may find, whether you're on a panel or in the audience, that there's just not enough time during the alloted hour to dig down into all that interests you in the conversation. Some topics spark other topics and you all leave the panel room still following all the threads. Don't want the panel to stop? Head to the nanoprogramming board in the Registration area and create a followup discussion. Moderators, if your panel has generated more interesting ideas than you can cover, help your yearning masses find each other by suggesting where and how to seed a followup nano.

Some nanoprogram is already in the works. Check back here to see what's listed, so you can plan ahead to participate. And let us know if you want to announce a nano event of yours here before the convention.

Marci Malinowycz,
Head of Nanoprogram

Mary Kay Kare,
Head of Programming