Formalities being as they are. Here’s my Nine Worlds schedule.

Mythology and Fairytales: pernicious supernaturalism or meaningful exploration of existence?

Friday, 1.30pm – 2.45pm
County C&D
Where do myths and fairytales come from, and how are they influencing genre today?
Panel: Lauren Beukes, Joanne Harris, Rochita Loenen Ruiz, Aishwarya Subramanian, John Connolly

Likeable Bad Guys
Loving you is easy; explaining you is so hard
Saturday, 1.30 – 2.45
County C&D
We love to hate them, we hate to love them: from great one-liners to a sympathetic backstory, from the evil laugh to villian-fabulous fashion: what makes bad guys soooooo good?
Panel: Ed Fortune, Rochita Loenen Ruiz, Stephen Aryan, Anna Caltabiano, Den Patrick

Reading SF While Brown
Sunday, 11.45 – 1.00
For many of us, reading science fiction and fantasy was a formative experience — one that introduced new ideas, and shaped what we knew or hoped to be possible. But what imaginative leaps does a reader have to make to buy into worlds that don’t include anyone who looks or talks like them? And what impact does making that imaginative leap, time and again, ultimately have? Genre writers and readers talk about their experiences of reading SF while brown.
Guests: Aishwarya Subramanian, Taran Matharu, Camille Lofters, Rochita Loenen Ruiz