Continuum 8 @ Rydges on Swanston, 701 Swanston Street Carlton

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Friday

Workshop: Write The Fight Right
Alan Baxter
Venue: Drummond Room
Tags:
Ends: 16:00

A workshop looking at the things that make a fight scene in a story read as realistically as possible, while maintaining excitement and pace. By looking at the various factors that go into a real fight, paying attention to the things that we train for when we learn to fight, we can write fight scenes that stay exciting without breaking the rules of realism that shatter believability.

Workshop: 10 Ways to Improve Your Story
Michael Pryor
Venue: Faraday Room
Tags:
Ends: 15:30

Ten nitty-gritty, highly practical tips for improving your writing, explained and demonstrated. Proven effective in clinical trials!

Short Story Workshop - FULL
Kelly Link
Venue: Pelham Room
Tags:
Ends: 16:30

16:00

Gender And Sexuality In Speculative YA
Kate Eltham, Alison Goodman
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tags: Literature, Media, YA
Ends: 17:00

Fiction is a vital forum to introduce different concepts of gender and sexuality to teenage and pre-teen minds. What ideas are being introduced by YA speculative fiction, how well are they being handled and what’s still missing?

Crafty Characters
Trudi Canavan, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Jo Spurrier
Venue: Drummond Room
Tags: Craft, Multi
Ends: 17:00

We take a look at craftspeople in speculative fiction, the stereotypes, and what crafts have been overlooked.

Splicing Genres
Jenny Blackford, Claire Corbett, Rjurik Davidson, Lisa Hannett, Jane Routley
Venue: Faraday Room
Tags: Literature, Multi
Ends: 17:00

Fantasy murder mysteries, horror spy novels, science fiction romance… do the best stories defy genre boundaries?

Events Continuing at 16:00

Short Story Workshop - FULL From 14:00 until 16:30

17:00

The Forgotten Frontier?
m1k3y , Alexandra Pierce, Jonathan Strahan
Venue: Pelham Room
Tag: Sci-Fi
Ends: 18:00

In the late 90s and early 2000s space opera was THE thing and reinventing itself with a gritty realism. Less than a decade later it’s nowhere to be seen. What happened? What’s new and noteworthy in the genre today?

Daikaiju Go Heavenly!
Dirk Flinthart, David McDonald, Cat Sparks
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tag: Entertainment
Ends: 18:00

What if the gods were daikaiju? Could Buddha beat Jesus, could Loki outwit Allah? Is anyone strong enough to defeat Thor and his mighty Hammer? Jade Emperor, Kali, Ganesh. Which deity will reign supreme, or will king of the daikaiju Godzilla crush them all?

I Flunked Physics: Hard Science Versus Accessible Science-Fiction
Alan Baxter, Steve Cameron, Gillian Polack
Venue: Faraday Room
Tag: Sci-Fi
Ends: 18:00

Closed time-like curves? Light cones? Multi-dimensional manifolds? Or just reverse the polarity and beam us up? How important is accurate science in your science-fiction?

A Sendak Celebration
Rachel Holkner
Venue: Drummond Room
Tags:
Ends: 18:00

An informal rumpus to celebrate the life of well-loved author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak (1928-2012). There will be old favourites to read and rediscover, Sendakian crafts and face-painting for all the Wild Things.

18:00

Turning The Gears: Steampunk Craft
Nicole Canal, Paul Poulton, Michael Pryor, Jo Spurrier
Venue: Drummond Room
Tags: Craft, Sci-Fi
Ends: 19:00

The steampunk aesthetic is based on power: pistons that pump and cogs that turn. So is it cheating to just stick gears on something and spray-paint it brass? Does steampunk craft need to be functional?

Tales As Old As Time
Jenny Blackford, Lisa Hannett, Kirstyn McDermott, Jane Routley, Angela Slatter
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tag: Fantasy
Ends: 19:00

Fairytales are in vogue again, all over TV and movie screens and for years collected by Ellen Datlow in retold anthologies. Why are we so fascinated with these stories? And with so many retellings and versions out there how do writers make them new again?

Book Launch: Walking Shadows, by Narelle Harris
Lindy Cameron, Narrelle Harris, Jason Nahrung
Venue: Faraday Room
Tags:
Ends: 19:00

Writing Different Genders, Sexualities And Cultures
Deborah Biancotti, Trudi Canavan, Louise Cusack, Gillian Polack
Venue: Pelham Room
Tag: Writing
Ends: 19:00

In which our fearless authors delve into the ethics, issues and techniques for writing characters who are ‘different’. We’ll discuss how to work with unfamiliar, alien, or just plain diverse perspectives, and we’ll delve into the dangers and satisfactions of writing from another point of view. Finally, we’ll examine some of the reactions to ‘other’ writing and ask what motivates a writer to keep working with genders, sexualities and cultures that are not their own.

19:00

Workshop: Legocraft
Sue Ann Barber
Venue: Drummond Room
Tags: Craft, Workshop
Ends: 20:00

What says “potential” like a big pile of coloured bricks waiting to be snapped together?

Twelfth Planet Press Hour
Narrelle Harris, Alisa Krasnostein, Jason Nahrung
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tags:
Ends: 20:00

Ever wondered how your favorite Twelve Planet collection would taste like in cupcake form? Then come along to the Twelfth Planet Cocktail hour, to celebrate the launch of the newest Twelve Planets, ‘Through Splintered Walls’, by Kaaron Warren, and ‘Cracklescape’ by Margo Lanagan, plus the new TPP novella ‘Salvage’ by Jason Nahrung and a surprise announcement! Each book will be lovingly interpreted as a cupcake by master baker, Terri Sellen. Your cocktail choice is entirely your own…

Taking Wing: From Daedalus To Deus Ex
Claire Corbett
Venue: Pelham Room
Tag: Sci-Fi
Ends: 19:30

A personal reflection on the history and mythology of the passion for human flight drawing on my research for When We Have Wings.

19:30

Project Sky Dinosaur
Louise Angrilli
Venue: Pelham Room
Tags:
Ends: 20:00

Would you like to help fund a dinosaur drawn in the sky? Come along and find out more.

Events Continuing at 19:30

Workshop: Legocraft From 19:00 until 20:00
Twelfth Planet Press Hour From 19:00 until 20:00

20:30

Continuum 101
Hespa , David McDonald, Sarah Lee Parker
Venue: Pelham Room
Tags:
Ends: 21:00

Everything you wanted to know about fan conventions and con-going – an ideal starting point for anyone relatively new to conventions. Learn the secrets from those who have been around long enough to know better.

Sara Douglass Remembered
Russell B. Farr, Jane Routley, Lucy Sussex
Venue: Faraday Room
Tags: Fantasy, Literature
Ends: 21:30

Sara Douglass’s (1957-2011) passing last year has left a void in the genre. Australia’s first fantasy bestseller, Sara was publishing right up until her untimely death. This panel will examine her impact and share stories of one of our most important writers.

21:00

I Don't Get It!
Peter M. Ball, Deborah Biancotti, Ian Nichols, Patrick O'Duffy, Alan Stewart
Venue: Pelham Room
Tag: Multi
Ends: 22:00

There are certain works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that all of fandom seems to love…except me. What are these so-called classics? Why don’t I share the love? Is it possible that a lot of people like these things just because they know a lot of people like these things? Who’s missing the point, here – everyone else, or me?

Spicks And Speckulations
Sue Ann Barber, Alison Goodman, Narrelle Harris, George Ivanoff, Kelly Link, John Richards
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tag: Entertainment
Ends: 22:00

Inspired by the ABC music game show, two teams of ‘experts’ go head to head as their spec fic and music knowledge is tested to its hilarious limits. Who will prevail? How silly will things get? We suspect, quite silly.

Events Continuing at 21:00

Sara Douglass Remembered From 20:30 until 21:30

22:00

In Defence Of Romance
Louise Cusack, Amanda Pillar, Jane Routley
Venue: Faraday Room
Tag: Literature
Ends: 23:00

Paranormal romance, or romance in general, is often dismissed as bodice-ripping fluff. But these are stories for and about women, written by women. They can be more than a guilty pleasure, exploring important issues. Do they have a duty to? Why aren’t novels written by and for men called dudelit and treated to the same derision? Are the cover designs doing the genre a disservice?

You Say You Want A Revolution
m1k3y , Dave Cake, Rjurik Davidson, Roman Orszanski, Sarah Stokely
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
Tags:
Ends: 23:00

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
— Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

In the last 18 months multiple decades-old dictatorships have fallen, people are occupying the streets worldwide protesting capitalism, and Twitter has been at the centre of it all. Is Twitter the catalyst or the tool of the global social revolution? Why was it Twitter and not Facebook? Is Twitter here to stay, and if not, what will replace it? And where is all this revolution leading? Are we headed into a brave new world or will it be more of the same?

Beautiful Nightmares: Alien vs Predator
Terry Frost, Grant Watson, Jules Wilkinson
Venue: Pelham Room
Tags: Horror, Media, Sci-Fi
Ends: 23:00

Ridley Scott’s science fiction thriller Alien terrified audiences worldwide with its groundbreaking blend of serious science fiction and visceral horror. John McTiernan’s smash hit Predator combined classic monster themes with 1980s American action cinema. After numerous sequels and forays into other media, the two cinematic monsters went head to head in Alien vs Predator. What is the core appeal of these two SF movie franchises? What are their influences? Do they work better as a single universe or separately? And what lies in each of their futures?

The Best Games You Never Heard Of
Hespa , Ben McKenzie, Alan Stewart
Venue: Drummond Room
Tag: Gaming
Ends: 00:00

Forget Monopoly, who’s up for some Tsuro? Bartok? Martian Coasters? Join us for a quick introduction to what’s out there and where to get it, after which we open our game-boxes so you can give something new a try.

23:00

Whedonites Assemble!
m1k3y , Nicole Canal, Alice Clarke, Cheryse Durrant
Venues: Argyle Room, Lincoln Room
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Ends: 00:00

We have to talk about The Avengers, right? Right! We’ll also explore why evil, faceless corporations like Wolfram & Hart, Rossum and Blue Sun are recurring entities in Joss’s work.

Fanvids: Meta In Motion
Liz Barr, Emilly McLeay
Venue: Pelham Room
Tags:
Ends: 00:00

From character studies to parody, serious thematic commentary to wholly new narratives the original show never dreamed of… Basically, we think fanvids are awesome and we want to show you why! May contain spoilers for anything and everything.

Events Continuing at 23:00

The Best Games You Never Heard Of From 22:00 until 00:00