As visibility of fans, creators and organizers from marginalized communities increases, geek communities are having more discussions about diversity, tokenism and re-examining just how "welcoming" geek spaces are. This moderated panel will discuss what "diversity" in geek culture means, what it looks like, and why it's necessary. This panel is sponsored in part by the Chicago Nerd Social Club.
This panel will be held in ROOM S401CD.
Moderator:
Jeffery Smith - President/Founder, Chicago Nerd Social Club
Panelists:
Mary Robinette Kowal - Hugo Award-winner author of Shades of Milk and Honey and Glamour in Glass. Her stories appear in Clarkesworld, Cosmos and Asimov’s.
Mary Anne Mohanraj - author of The Stars Change; founder of World Fantasy Award-winning and Hugo-nominated magazine, Strange Horizons; founder of the Speculative Literature Foundation.
Karlyn Meyer - local gaming enthusiast who has received national publication for her scholarship regarding video games and copyright law. She was also a panelist on last year's Exorcising the Spectre of the Fake Geek Girl panel at C2E2.
Scott Snyder - Comics author of American Vampire, The Wake (Vertigo), & Severed (Image), as well as the writer of Batman and Superman Unchained for DC.
Michi Trota - Chicago-based blogger & speaker covering topics of inclusion, diversity and social issues in geek culture. She is also a fire performer, community organizer and on the Board of Organizers for CNSC.
Link to panel on C2E2 site: http://c2e214.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=18A9CE