From War of the Worlds to Carl Sagan's Contact and beyond: a discussion of first contact novels and movies.

Join Michael Cogan over lunch to get together and discuss the books you read in order to meet the authors (authors are not invited). Bring your favourite books and share your thoughts then take them to the signing in the afternoon!

NB: Location: Hotel Restaurant

Apocalypses and Sustainable Population.

Ken Macleod's Learning the World, the BBC's A for Andromeda, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, C.J. Cherryh, Sheri S. Tepper, Elizabeth Moon and Ursula Le Guin

No panellists - not this year.

Codes of Conduct, Clans, Pilots, Healers, Dramliz, Terrans, Turtles, Sentient Trees, Spies, Scouts, Traders, Soldiers, Mercenaries, Juntavas, Gamblers, Scholars, Artists, Musicians, Romance and Wonder, Space Battles and Deepest Intrigue, Cultural Pioneering and Cats.

"Of the Great Houses, there are precisely 50. And then there is Korval"

"In ...

Writer of awesome first contact trilogy Lilith's Brood (formerly Xenogenesis trilogy).

This is partially covered by the First Contact panel.

eg: Edwin Charles Tubb

Not enough votes to place this year.

Traffic Control With Flying Cars

From Orac to HAL to Skynet, come and discuss the various visions of computers in SF. Past, present and whatever they may hold in the future.

Join Richard Morgan, International Guest of Honour, as he talks about his books and writing.

The Bard has had influence over a lot more than just drama. Kate and Liz discuss Shakespearean ideas and how they have found their way into the SF world. Is this a light sabre I see before me, the handle toward my hand? A force, a force, my kingdom for a force!

Retroviruses acting like giant evolutionary computers; genetically engineered super soldiers; languages which allow you to see through time; downloading into different bodies and the strange psychology of the immortal: we discuss the wonderful places science fiction can go when it remembers that there's more to science than physics and computers.

Traditionally, Space Opera is seen as Science fiction. This panel is to discuss whether this is indeed the case, or whether the genre would be better described as a form of Fantasy. This is to be a group discussion, led by the panelists. Specific examples will be looked at, which will include LMB's Vorkosigan universe, as well as Star Wars as a counterpoint.

What's achievable versus what's in the books.

Postponed due to lack of panellists.

Who writes about it well? What are the theories? Why can't I kill my grandmother? What are the Trousers of Time? (diagrams required)

We should go to the stars... or should we, how are we going to make that work?

Discuss!

Merged with http://2009.swancon.com.au/panels/165/edit

Have you explored 'The Starry Rift'? Taken part in 'The Hunger Games'? Had a look at 'Shiny?' If not, then this is the panel for you. Ranging from picture books for the youngest 'readers' to the most challenging young adult novels, our panellists will survey the new books scene, recommend some outstanding titles and offer suggestions about where to find more ...

I'd love to see a presentation on this - and a reading list!

We've had a recent con devoted to this topic.

Discuss!

In 1985 BBC Controller Michael Grade ordered long-running SF drama Doctor Who off the air for the first time in 22 seasons. It returned in 1986, its season truncated and its viewing figures shattered. The following year the series returned for its 24th season with a new time slot, a new script editor, new writers and a brand-new Doctor in Sylvester McCoy.

A ...

Since the return of Doctor Who to television in 2005, British television has experienced a resurgence in science fiction and fantasy unheard of since the 1960s. Series like Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Spooks: Code 9, Merlin, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Hyperdrive and others have helped bring genre TV back to Britain in a big way. Why are these ...

A lot of us are familiar with "steampunk", the genre of science fiction in which the technology of the 19th century is extrapolated to create an idealised world of modern technology with a period aesthetic. But why stop there? Imagine a world of computers powered by alchemy and astrology, of a Spanish armada sailing in orbit above Europe, of wooden ...

Science fiction used to be easy. In the 21st century, surrounded by computers, with satellites massed in orbit around the Earth, medical advances leaping forward, robotic probes on Mars, and technological breakthroughs being announced every week, what is the point of science fiction any more?

Is there a need for fiction about the future if we're already ...

Lois McMaster Bujold freeform role-playing (2 hours)

Participate at your own risk!

Good science fiction is not just about gadgets and technology, but how technology changes people and society. Technology has a life-cycle from emerging to established, and show-don't-tell writing can reveal how far along a technology has come. How has society has been altered? Who has it? Who can afford it? How has the technology affected crime, romance, ...

A panel where published science fiction authors provide an overview of their major "do's" and "don'ts" for writing in the genre along with various tips and techniques for crafting stories.

The TV series Lost is scheduled to conclude in 2010, with just over twenty episodes remaining. This definite time-limit suggests that The Survivors and Others are finally headed towards some sort of climactic endgame. This panel will encourage open discussion on the current and previous seasons, as well as speculation on future events.

How are ideas commercialised? What's the reality of getting an idea from bench top to bedside, and how well does SF reflect the real world?

With so many publications folding, is there a point to writing short fiction any more? Is it a form for up and coming writers to hone their skills? Did the Internet kill short fiction or might it prove its saviour? Take a look back at the past year of SF/fantasy/horror/spec-fic and discuss the possible future in fiction.

This paper proposes to look at four pleasures of the sublime that lie within science fiction. The sublime is a historical idea that emerged as people began discovering the universe and the world around them in Europe. Thus, it is as Kant called it, the mathematical pleasures of this sublime that are one such pleasure. Another, also proposed by Kant, is the ...

From Federal Agents fighting to reveal the paranormal truth in the face of deliberate scepticism, to 'criminals' investigating the paranormal under the Federal radar. The X-files ran for 10 seasons, Supernatural is confirmed for its 5th. What makes these type of paranormal TV series successful? How does the character setting (established legitimate federal ...