In August I was in Anaheim, California (USA) as part of the World Science Fiction Convention. It was wonderful and life affirming to be around so many people so curious about the world.
I attended filking for the first time, and most nights. There’s something so powerful about making music together and I learned a lot just looking at how different people play guitar! I need to figure out how to get more filking and live music performance in my life.
I was so inspired by conversations with artists and talking to people about my art that I’ve created an Artist Portfolio section on this website!
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Contagion and COVID
Noon 256A (ACC North) and streamed online
The film Contagion (2011) provided an eerily prescient vision of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s look at the portrayal of pandemics in television and film, which have loved a good medical thriller for decades now. Which ones do we look back on now and think accurate versus the ones that seem much more science fictional? Is the difference in the portrayal of the medical condition or in the way that society responds?
- Bruce Davis
- Liz Argall
- Orbzine (moderator)
- Perrianne Lurie
- Seanan McGuire
Collaborative Visualizations
6pm Manhattan (Hilton) and streamed online
In visual media, we can rely on everyone agreeing on what’s being shown. But when we’re reading a novel or a short story, writing a fanfic, or playing a roleplaying game, we’re all using our imaginations, and our imaginations will differ. How does that affect our shared experience of these artworks? And when we transform them, whether through fanfic, through play, or something else, how can we make sure we’re all sharing the same world?
- Kendra Tornheim
- Liz Argall (moderator)
- Sho
Friday, August 28, 2026
Epidemics and Pandemics: Truth vs. Fiction
1:30pm Malibu (Hilton)
Plagues have been used in literature since before the Bible. Now that we’ve seen one in person, how does that change the way we view tropes around illness and human responses to disasters? What stood up to reality, and which were absolute lies? How has this changed how we write about disease and disaster?
- Glen Olson (G.W.Olson) (moderator)
- Laura Antoniou
- Liz Argall
- Richard Swan
- Sam Scheiner
Ableism and Horror: A Match Made in Hell
4:30pm 263A (ACC North)
The horror genre has a sordid history of portraying anyone on the margins. The villains and monsters have so often been disfigured or disabled, and the murderers are usually some nonspecific kind of unstable. It’s not only prejudice, it is also lazy, unimaginative writing. Let us get beyond these clichés and discuss ways that disabled characters can be much more than a collection of scars or a deranged mind. Yes, even the monsters.
- Colin Fisk (moderator)
- Dr. JA Grier
- Hyeonsu
- Liz Argall
- Sho
Saturday, August 29, 2026
COVID-19 Lessons: Practical Takeaways for the Next Pandemic
El Capitan (Hilton),Starts: 18:00Duration: 60 mins
What have we learned from our experience with COVID-19? Panelists will discuss what we’ve learned in terms of disease monitoring, public health, and steps individuals can take to keep themselves healthy. We’ll also discuss some missteps in science communication, and accommodations that didn’t end up being helpful, such as tiny plastic screens.
- Ash Charlton
- Dana Bridges
- Liz Argall (moderator)
- Norman Sperling
- Perrianne Lurie
- Sam Scheiner
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Liz Argall Table Talk
9am, Salinas (Hilton)
We can chat about everything from making comics, non profits, mental health or pandemics!
Communication Tools in TTRPGs
3pm, 261A (ACC North)
Communication tools in tabletop roleplaying games have come a long way since Ron Edwards first developed lines and veils for Sex & Sorcery and John Stavropoulos invented the X-Card. Our panel will introduce the concept of communication tools and why they are important. Then we’ll discuss how we use them to work towards happier tables that work better for everyone playing.
- John Coxon (moderator)
- Lisa Padol
- Liz Argall
- Tim White
- W. Jade Young
Monday, August 31, 2026
Liz Argall Virtual Reading
9am-9:15
Aspirational Games (or the Shelf of Shame)
10:30a, Palos Verdes (Hilton) and streamed online
Many of us have games that we own that we have never gotten to the table. The panel discusses the nature of the aspirational game, whether that’s a huge board game we’ve never got the people together to play, a tabletop roleplaying game that you’ve never quite got around to reading, or a video game that you want to play but never quite find time to do so.
- John Coxon
- Lavanya Lakshminarayan
- Liz Argall (moderator)
- Meg MacDonald
Liz Argall Autographing
1:30pm Pedestrian Bridge (ACC North)
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