OryCon 44: Full Schedule

Welcome to the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time schedule for OryCon 44! Seriously - we’re still hard at work on the schedule, but we want to give you an idea of what wonders await you in just a few more weeks. Please check back frequently for changes and additions, and see you in October!

2:00pm PDT

Comics Screen Adaptations

Friday October 18, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT

Ross Island

Marvel and DC dominate the box office. Streaming services are picking up more obscure titles to spin stories around. What's the current state of comics films, what's coming, and how will new platforms affect the continued maturation of the space?

Friday October 18, 2024 2:00pm - 2:50pm PDT
Ross Island

COMICS

3:00pm PDT

Playing LARP Villains

Friday October 18, 2024 3:00pm - 3:50pm PDT

Ross Island

Every live action role playing game needs a villain. Criminals run the gamut from Don Corleone to Malcomb Reynolds. How does one get into the mindset of someone others think is evil?

Moderators

Aaron Curtis

Panelists

Dave Howell

David D. Levine

David D. Levine is the author of Norton Award winning novel Arabella of Mars (Tor 2016), sequels Arabella and the Battle of Venus (Tor 2017) and Arabella the Traitor of Mars (Tor 2018), and over fifty science fiction and fantasy stories. His story “Tk’Tk’Tk” won the Hugo... Read More →

Eamon Dixon

Friday October 18, 2024 3:00pm - 3:50pm PDT
Ross Island

GAMING

4:00pm PDT

Villains Have a Valid Point

Friday October 18, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT

Ross Island

When the bad guy has a great idea but takes it a little too far

Moderators

Alan Olsen

Panelists

Erik Grove

Erica L. Satifka

Thomas Gondolfi

Sanan Kolva

Friday October 18, 2024 4:00pm - 4:50pm PDT
Ross Island

FANTASY AND HORROR

5:00pm PDT

Navigating a writing career

Friday October 18, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT

Ross Island

A panel of writers discuss the nuances of a writing career - alternative ways to use your skills, the ups and downs of publishing...everything you need to know about what a writer’s career really looks like.

Moderators

Sarah Chorn

Panelists

EM Prazeman

Diana Pharaoh Francis

David D. Levine

Friday October 18, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT
Ross Island

BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING

6:00pm PDT

Variety is the Spice of Life: Celebrating the Anthology

Friday October 18, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT

Ross Island

They go back decades, from collections of award-winning to stories to the "best of" print magazines to early themes around creators or concepts. Today, they\'re often found as crowd-funded projects or as a reliable part of publisher lineups. What\'s the appeal to anthologies, what makes for a good one, and who\'s publishing the ones you need to seek out today?

Moderators

Robert B McMonigal

Panelists

Tom Whitmore

Bob Brown

Remy Nakamura

Friday October 18, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT
Ross Island

SCIENCE FICTION

7:00pm PDT

The Lost Histories

Friday October 18, 2024 7:00pm - 7:50pm PDT

Ross Island

If history is written by the winners, what happens to the losers’ stories, language, and culture? Are they doomed to disappear as living memory fades away and the unpreserved knowledge of these things is lost?

Moderators

A.M. Brosius

Panelists

Irene Radford

Alma Alexander

Andrew Nisbet

Friday October 18, 2024 7:00pm - 7:50pm PDT
Ross Island

GENERAL INTEREST

8:00pm PDT

Losing Track of Reality

Friday October 18, 2024 8:00pm - 8:50pm PDT

Ross Island

Whether from false news stories created and exploited by politicians and the media, disinformation promulgated for profit, and entertainment fantasy taken too seriously, reality in history and science seem under attack. Is this actually getting worse? Could the inability of a faux-news fed public to deal realistically with the scientific issues of diseases, overpopulation, and climate change pose an existential threat to humanity? What, as writers and readers, should we do about it?

Moderators

Bart Kemper

Panelists

D.L. Solum

Debut Author of the Dark-Thriller-Urban-Fantasy series: Persephone-A Tale of Darker Seattle. Long time medieval re-enactor and arms and armor specialist.

Shoshana Glick

Daimei Jaybird Marmaduke

Friday October 18, 2024 8:00pm - 8:50pm PDT
Ross Island

SCIENCE FICTION

10:00am PDT

Living with ADHD

Saturday October 19, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT

Ross Island

Fans who have ADHD are a dime a dozen, but ADHD is more than Squirrel jokes. Find out how some people crash, others cope, and some thrive. Friends and family looking for insight are also welcome.

Panelists

Dave Howell

Marla

Alan Olsen

Clayton Mann

Saturday October 19, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am PDT
Ross Island

GENERAL INTEREST

11:00am PDT

Every Villain is the Hero of their own story

Saturday October 19, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

Ross Island

We explore how to portray villains as, if not sympathetic, at least justified in their own minds.

Moderators

David D. Levine

Panelists

Dale Ivan Smith

Aaron Curtis

Dave Howell

Saturday October 19, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
Ross Island

CRAFT OF WRITING

12:00pm PDT

Creators in Chaos

Saturday October 19, 2024 12:00pm - 12:50pm PDT

Ross Island

To be alive is to exist in chaos. There is always something to interrupt. Family, finances, death, disarray. You say, "I would make that, but.." and most excuses are genuine concerns. How do you prepare for the worst, get organized, and focus enough to create?

Moderators

EM Prazeman

Panelists

Panelists

Rhiannon Held/R. Z. Held

Bob Brown

A.M. Brosius

Saturday October 19, 2024 5:00pm - 5:50pm PDT
Ross Island

SCIENCE FICTION

6:00pm PDT

Creating a Good Villain for Your Media

Saturday October 19, 2024 6:00pm - 6:50pm PDT

Ross Island

How do you go about designing a villain for a multimedia production? How much of their attributes. motivations, goals, and backstory do you need to start and how much can you save for later? Do you need to find a look or a voice or can you leave it for someone else in the process? How is it similar to or different from writing a villain for a book or creating one for an RPG?

Moderators