Next Thursday 26th and Friday 27th April, we’ll be running our second annual Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations event, GIFCon 2018. Keynote speakers include acclaimed celtic studies and children’s literature scholar Dr Dimitra Fimi, author of the Children of the Damned series, Arianne “Tex” Thompson, SF and metafictions scholar Dr Will Slocombe, and Victorian Studies Professor Dr Alice Jenkins — plus we have creative writing workshops, and more than 50 papers across two days. It’s been a lot of hard work for the committee over the last few months, but we’re really looking forward to bringing this wonderful programme to you!
Aside from running about getting content for our social media updates, I’ll also be giving a paper and running a creative writing workshop.
Here’s where you can find me at GIFCon 2018:
Thursday 26 April 2018
4:45pm – 6:00pm (University Gardens 5, room 101)
Panel 8: There Be Dragons: Maps, Architecture, and Worldbuilding in Fantasy – Siddharth Pandey, Christopher Lynch Becherer, Lena Abraham, Ruth Booth (chair)
I’ll be chairing what promises to be a fascinating discussion about secondary worlds and the notion of creation and the constructed realities of space and map-making.
Friday 27 April 2018
8:30am – 10:00am (University Gardens 4, room 202)
Workshop 1: Discovering New Worlds Through Writing – Oliver Langmead and Ruth EJ Booth
If you missed our workshop at Edinburgh International Science Festival, Oliver Langmead and I will be presenting a special Fantasy version at this year’s GIFCon. Bring pens, paper, and a good whack of imagination, as we explore worlds beyond the portal.
10:15am – 11:30am (University Gardens 5, room 101)
Panel 11: Escape in Japan – Hannah Greenblott, Miguel Cesar, Ruth Booth Monica Vazquez (chair)
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3) Ruth Booth: Growing-up in the Time of No-Face: Escapism, Illusion, and Identity in Spirited Away.
In this paper, I’ll be examining how Spirited Away confounds the division between fantasy and reality in children’s narratives through its use of magic, identity, and the consequences of actions. Join me for an exploration of escapism in one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films!
For details of the rest of the programme, head to https://gifcon.org/programme-2018/.
GIFCon 2018 is now sold out, but you can join the waiting list by clicking here.