fromashandflame, posts by tag: programming - LiveJournal

Those of you who are subscribed to one of the Phoenix Rising, Terminus, or Narrate Conferences newsletters, as well as those of you who have registered for either Phoenix Rising or Terminus, have already heard the news: The Phoenix Rising compendium is now available! You can find out more information about the included papers and presentations and how to obtain a copy here. Thank you again to all the presenters who contributed!

It's just two months and twenty-eight days until the start of Phoenix Rising--not long at all! As a reminder, the registration price jumps tonight at 11:59 p.m. Eastern from $160 to $180. Register today and save that $20 for a ticket to Transformation: From Influence to Inspiration (10 tickets remaining) -- or add in another ten to that saved $20 to sign up for the Borders Riverside Quidditch Tournament, which includes a chance to compete for the coveted Delta Cup and a personalized jersey with your preferred name and number, or choose a Storyville ticket which comes with a full dinner, a drink ticket, and a night of wizard rock on Bourbon Street. Click here to purchase your registration.

If you haven't booked your travel yet, it's a good time to start watching for airline deals, and to make sure that you have your room reserved. Use our link under Rate and Reservation Information to get a special deal on the Sheraton New Orleans, the official conference hotel. (It's already 75% sold out!)

Of course, we'd also like to continue to highlight the diverse programming that's on offer at Phoenix Rising. Visit the Accepted Proposals page to get a feel for the exciting array of presentations! This week, we'd like to highlight a couple of presentations that analyze some darker themes in the Harry Potter series.

Blood in Her Pen, Ink in His Veins: Writing Violence in the Harry Potter Novels
Jill Treftz
This paper presents an analysis of the intersections between the written word and violence throughout the series, focusing in particular on Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix, as each book presents instances of writing used as a physical and psychical weapon. Rowling’s use of these intersections situates her novels within a long discourse of literary metacommentary on the communicative function and potential toll of composition and reinforces the critical role that language plays in the magical world.

Evil and the Loss of Identity in the Harry Potter Series
Annette Doblix Klemp
Through her depiction of Voldemort and his followers--particularly Quirinus Quirrell, Peter Pettigrew, and Barty Crouch--J. K. Rowling presents a powerful argument that an alliance with evil leads to loss of freedom and, eventually, to the loss of personal identity. Quirrell loses control of his own body; Pettigrew lives as a rat and a despised servant; Crouch goes from imprisonment in Azkaban to the impersonation of Mad-Eye Moody. Rather than romanticizing Voldemort, Rowling stresses that his overreaching and the severing of his own soul directly lead to his physically grotesque state and a life dominated by his fear of Harry.

As always, please feel free to contact help@thephoenixrises.org with any questions.

First, we're pleased to have had so many of you participate in the Paintbrush and Quill Society! Unfortunately, to allow unmatched teams enough time to complete their illustrated fiction, and allow the Paintbrush and Quill Society enough time to print copies for the conference, we will have to close artist signups on February 19th. (Author slots were filled long ago.) At that point, we'll be asking pinch hitters to help out the remaining authors, so if you're interested in working on a collaboration as an artist, even in a non-traditional way (such as paper-making, needlework, or some other artistic take on illustrating a short story), head on over to the Registration page and use the "Change My Registration" option to add the lagniappe.

Next, over the coming weeks, we'll be pointing you over to visit the Accepted Proposals page to get an idea of what's in store for the conference. We're very excited about the presentations that attendees put together! There are more presentations than we could ever highlight, of course, and a handful still to be published on the Accepted Proposals page, but we hope that you'll be inspired to visit the page and find out more.

Today, we'd like to point out two presentations dealing with the wizard world of old and with the wizard world of today.

Hogwarts: A History
Harper Robertson
This presentation seeks to portray Hogwarts accurately, using information provided in the Harry Potter series. By combing the series for every quotation, reference books for every fortress, and the Internet for every other clue, Robertson shows how text builds the castle that we imagine.


Harper is going to bring her scale model of Hogwarts along to help illustrate the research she's done into just where those towers would have to be and where that classroom really is, and how the Hogwarts castle reflects different elements of historical castles. As a high school student from California, Harper will also be one of the youngest ever accepted to present at any Harry Potter conference.

At the other end of the spectrum, Carrie Harris explores how the most modern Muggle technology can be connected to the wizarding world.

Comparing the Magical and Muggle Communications Networks: Using Muggle Engineering as the Basis for “Magiceering” Wizarding Technologies in Fanfic
Carrie Harris (Droxy)
Muggle communications technology can be explained in non-technical terms and compared to Harry Potter magic. Reverse engineering / deconstruction methods are employed on the Floo, magic mirrors, and magical photos, building the foundation for writers to create and expand functional magic based on Muggle technologies such as the internet, television, radio, and telephony-computer integration. This presentation explores how to magically solve modern networking issues such as security, congestion, and integration, as well as explores differences between Muggle and magical world cultural acceptance of new magic and technology. Learn to enhance your fan creations by deconstructing technology and “magiceering” to create your own enchanted communication products and infrastructure.


Click here to read about other presentations. Questions specifically about progamming can be sent to programming@thephoenixrises.org, and general questions are always welcome at help@thephoenixrises.org.

We are pleased to announce that all of the notifications regarding proposals for Phoenix Rising's art gallery have been e-mailed. If you have not heard whether your art was accepted or declined, please first check your bulk mail folder and whether your e-mail allows messages from addresses that are not on your contact list. (AOL and Earthlink, in particular, will sometimes not allow messages through if the sender is not in your address book when you have strong spam settings activated.) If you still cannot find your notification, e-mail gallery@thephoenixrises.org from the address you used to make your submission, and include some identifying information (a program book name or title, for example) to have your notice re-sent.

If you submitted art for the gallery, thank you. We're excited to be able to feature this fabulous art in both 2-D and 3-D media, and in such a variety of styles and approaches.

Thank you again -- and congratulations to the artists!

If you have questions about the gallery, please e-mail them to gallery@thephoenixrises.org.

First, we are pleased to acknowledge one of several corporate sponsors involved with Phoenix Rising that we’ll be announcing over the next few weeks. Listening Library, a division of Random House, has partnered with Phoenix Rising and has been named the honorary sponsor of the Overture Dinner, which will bring together all attendees for a Southern-style banquet and then be followed by the opening of the Phoenix Rising Gallery, the vendor room, and a special edition of PotterCast.

Unfortunately, though, Listening Library Vice President Tim Ditlow, presenter for the Keynote Event Transformation: From Book to Audiobook, will be unable to speak on May 19, 2007. The Ditlows will be welcoming a new family member, and we hope that you’ll join us in wishing them the best during this very exciting time and in understanding the circumstances. We’d also like to thank Mr. Ditlow for lending us so much support during the past months and hope to work together again soon.

Susan Aikens of Borders, Inc., has graciously agreed to speak in Mr. Ditlow’s place. As she brings a very different perspective on the Potter phenomenon, we have renamed the keynote to reflect her particular expertise on the Harry Potter books.


Transformation: From Boxes to Bookshelves and Beyond

Susan Aikens, Independent Reader Buyer at Borders, Inc., will speak on the myriad changes that the Harry Potter books have had on the publishing and bookselling industries, including the trends in what publishers accept and stores stock in fantasy and science fiction, the cross-over phenomenon between the adult and children's/young adult audience, and how new promotions, such as midnight release parties, became key pieces for promoting sales and connecting fans.

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We are happy to answer any questions regarding this change at organizers @ thephoenixrises.org.

See you in New Orleans!

Cheers,
Hallie Tibbetts
Lead Event Organizer – Phoenix Rising
www.thephoenixrises.org

We are pleased to announce that all of the notifications regarding proposals for Phoenix Rising's programming have been e-mailed.* If you have not heard whether your proposal was accepted or declined, please first check your bulk mail folder and whether your e-mail allows messages from addresses that are not on your contact list. (AOL and Earthlink, in particular, will sometimes not allow messages through if the sender is not in your address book when you have strong spam settings activated.) If you still cannot find your notification, e-mail programming@thephoenixrises.org from the address you used to make your submission, and include the submission's title to have your notice re-sent.

As presenters register and confirm their participation at Phoenix Rising, they will be added to the listings here. We will update the listings about every other week. If you've been accepted and are not yet listed, you might not be registered; we also have some accepted proposals by registered presenters in the queue to be added shortly, as well as many, many additional accepted proposals to add as presenters register!

If you made a proposal, thank you. Congratulations to those who were accepted! I can say that the vetting boards had more proposals than I've seen for any conference I've been lucky enough to work on, and they were very strong overall. I know that the boards had a tough time making decisions from the plethora of what was received, as well. If you were not accepted for Phoenix Rising, we hope you'll consider revisiting your proposal in the future.

Thank you again -- it was fabulous to see such a strong showing from the fan community in areas fan, professional, academic, and creative. As always, you can e-mail programming@thephoenixrises.org with questions about programming, and help@thephoenixrises.org for other questions.


* Except for gallery notifications, which will be complete by January 20, 2007.