Content tracks

This is the list of content tracks that we ran at Nine Worlds 2013.

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We'll be running all kinds of board games through the days of the con, with several tournaments. You don't need to know how to play, we're happy to teach! Drop in any time and join a game, do some shopping for games, watch a demo or take part in our great debate. Read on for more ...

Play doesn't have to involve sitting down. From Wink Murder to Werewolf to open Nerf warfare, most of us have played social games. Now imagine someone turned creation of social games into an artform, then ran them in a large hotel in the middle of a convention. The Haberdashery Collective are doing just that, and you can check out their existing games and previous work here.

What's on

We're running three different types of social gaming event at Nine Worlds this year.

Video games are an incredible, evolving art form which offer emotional attachment, moral exploration and team building like no other medium. We'll be discussing the culture and community around video games, as well as talking about game development.

Nine Worlds presents the coolest in alternative, small press, and self-published comics. Check out our panels on comic creation and the industry, join conversations with some of the UK's top comics artists, and check out their work at our pop-up artists' and authors' market, 3-5pm Saturday and Sunday.

For all those who believe that the pen is mightier than the lightsaber! We have talks on putting the science into science fiction, making monsters and writing time travel so it makes sense.

Costumes are a hugely important facet in creating the atmosphere at sci-fi events. We at Nine Worlds absolutely love it when folks come along in costume - so much so that we're hosting workshops on costuming so everyone from newbies to seasoned cosplayers can learn something new from all sorts of aspects of costume creation and design. Our costuming workshops aim to be accessible and fun, and will be curated by Lee and Rose, the team at Cosplay UK.

All things geeky and feminist, from discussing gender roles in speculative fiction, to looking at women's representation in gaming, film and TV, to working out how to make geek spaces and industry more inclusive.

We will celebrate our storytellers and female superheroes, and we will look forward, and discuss how we can make geekdom a better place for us all.

READ ALL THE THINGS.

Originally named SFF Literature, we renamed this stream when it became clear there were other things we wanted to talk about too, like YA and Horror Fiction, as well as Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Browse our guest list below or download our programme for a look at all the exciting events we've got to offer!

FRIDAY

Not ones to shy away from controversy, we're covering both Tolkien's books and the films based on them. With talks by noted Tolkien academics such as Dr Anna Caughey and Edmund Weiner, to cosplay cross-overs and roleplay, there's something for everyone here!

Curated by The Skeptic Magazine, the Nine Worlds Skepticism track will host talks and discussions on science and critical thinking, with topics including mathematics, supernatural beings, conspiracy theories and much more. They will also be hosting a live recording of the popular Pod Delusion podcast on the Sunday evening.

In the 50th anniversary year of the Doctor, we're planning discussions, showings, panels, and one or two surprises. Join our team of writers, critics and geeks to discuss all things Who, including religion, racism, villains, the Classic series, spin-offs, and of course the age old question: 14-foot long scarf, converse and pinstripes, or bow-tie and fez?

Our SF&F Academia Track will host a series of lectures, discussions and paper presentation by students, researchers and academics who study Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Saturday

10.00 – 10.30, Hel Gurney – SFF before SFF: Margaret Cavendish’s Fantastical World

We're here, we're queer, we're looking to the stars! This track is dedicated to celebrating and exploring LGBT themes, characters and creators throughout SFF media and fandom - including Steampunk, comics, games, fanfic and much more. We will be presenting an inclusive, intersectional programme of panels, workshops and socials for queer fans, creators and their allies to get together and share ideas and knowledge.

The Steampunk strand at Nine Worlds looks forward to welcoming you to the “future that never was” hosted by the Victorian Steampunk Society; organisers of The Asylum, Europe’s biggest and longest established steampunk festival.

Fanfiction is a broadly defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator(s). This track will feature a mix of panels with your favourite fanfic writers, writing workshops, reader discussions, and celebrations of our favourite transformative works. We'll look at rare fandoms, crossovers and alternate universes, fanon, and cross-fandom phenomena such as wing!fic and the omegaverse. We'll investigate the mainstreaming of fanfiction, and how fandom has been affected.

We're very pleased to announce that our Harry Potter Academia content will be headed up by the team behind Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion, the first full-length undergraduate module on Harry Potter, based in the University of Durham's Education Department. The team will be delivering lectures and seminars on all things Potter to Nine Worlds attendees, as well as hosting an opening forum with the whole team on Friday, and a closing plenary to wrap up on Sunday.

Have you ever watched a film and thought that the characters did something stupid? Roleplaying games are your chance to be in those films and make the right choice. There's a massive selection of games and they range from High Fantasy (Game of Thrones) to far future adventuring (Star Wars and Star Trek). We've also got authors and publishers on this track who will be holding seminars on games and game design

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin is one of the richest and most rewarding series currently being published in SFF, and is notable for bringing a more modern, realistic take on sexual and social mores, medieval life and the waging of war to the fantasy genre. This track celebrates both the books and the TV series, with workshops, gaming, discussion and more, and you can whet your appetite beforehand by following the track on Twitter and Tumblr.

Nine Worlds 2013 will have a dedicated knitting track. The importance of this manifestation of geek culture warrants more than just a crafts corner, so we've rustled up a whole weekend of unadulterated knitting-based pleasure. The treats we have in store for you are as follows, and check us out on tumblr for lots more knitting joy!

Friday

3.15 - 4.30 – Knitting at Nine Worlds
Meet the organisers and fellow knitters, decorate the room and even yarnbomb the rest of the con!

A multi-fandom track designed to appeal to lovers of any or all things fanged, with references to Anne Rice, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, True Blood, Lost Boys, Let The Right One in/Let Me In, Carmilla, and The Anita Blake series, among others. The track has content from PG to Adult only, and is marked accordingly on the programme, so don't be shy, we promise we don't bite! :P

We're very pleased to be joined by the organisers of BUCK, Europe's largest Brony convention, who will be running Brony content all weekend in the Friendship (is Magic) room. Whether you're completely new to the Brony fandom or you're a seasoned fan, do drop in and join one of the many parties, music sessions and social gatherings that'll be going on. See you there!

Theatre-Style Live Action Role Play

Theatre-style LARP is a live action non contact form of roleplaying game. Participants each have a single character, which they play in person (in our games costume is optional but encouraged). Each character has their own background, capabilities, and suggested goals, but there is no script. Players must decide for themselves how their characters would act, and the choices they make will influence the course of the game. Unlike combat LARPs, the emphasis is on talking to the other players, and no weapons are involved.

Ever tried dressing as a zombie but struggled to get authentic-looking injuries? Perhaps you'd like to enhance the realism for a play or video? Fancy recreating the special effects from your favourite scary movies? Learn to create realistic and terrifying wounds for costume, film and fun!

Registration is now closed.

Come into the Split Worlds…

Dynastic families feud across the ages, furthering the agendas of their supernatural patrons.

Innocents are protected by monsters and the beautiful ones are not what they seem.

Come into the Split Worlds and experience the blurring between the magical and the mundane…

Science! Going where no human has dared go before! Join us to hear just a few of these brave and intrepid explorers share their stories about the unknown, the unusual and the totally awesome. What will our relationships look like in twenty years' time? When will we be able to colonise space? And can mathematics really save us from the upcoming zombie apocalypse?