Tor Post: “GeekGirlCon 2012: Better the Second Time Around”

My new favorite geeky band, The Doubleclicks, featuring Molly Lewis at the GeekGirlCONcert at GeekGirlCon. Photo by Moi.

At long last, my write-up on GeekGirlCon 2012 is up at Tor.com! This con really only has gotten better in its second year. Read on to find out how!

EXCERPT:

Driving from L.A. to Seattle and back is hard. So hard, that I needed a couple of days to recuperate. (i.e. Totally pass out and nap for three days, then re-learn English.) Now that I’m back on solid foods and putting sentences together again, I’m happy to report that GeekGirlCon has done nothing but improve and thrive in its second year. Remember last year, when I told you that GeekGirlCon was the most important con of the year? Well, it still is, for many of the same reasons. Same warm, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Same lack of judgement no matter how you identify, whom you’re dating/married to, or whether or not you have children. Same wonderful spotlight on female contributions to genre storytelling, the sciences, and fandom. But there have been some changes this year, too, which have improved the con immensely, expanding on its mission statement and offering attendees even more.

To read the full write-up, or to comment on the post, CLICK HERE!

Moffat’s Women at GeekGirlCon (Or, My Super-Successful Panel Of Which You Should Be Terribly Jealous)

Me and the standing room only crowd that came out to see my Moffat’s Women panel at GeekGirlCon 2012! What an awesome, attentive, intelligent group! Photo by Miley Yamamoto.

Driving to and from Seattle for GeekGirlCon 2012 was tumultuous to say the least. So tumultuous, in fact, that I don’t even want to re-live it by writing about it. Needless to say, Miley (my friend, panelist, and exec producer for RETCON) and I got from L.A. to Seattle and back in one piece. While in Seattle, Miley and I stayed with my friend LiAnn, who generously let us crash at her place for the weekend. On the way up, we had a nice, brief stay with some of Miley’s friends in San Jose, too. And while in town, we hung out with Miley’s fabulous friend, Pam, and I made a really cool new friend in Michelle. So, despite the hardship, we were constantly surrounded by good people (not to mention those that helped us through our ordeals, including a kind Toll Booth Angel).

Best of all, though, was that the reason for our going to the con in the first place, the panel I was moderating – Moffat’s Women: Companions, Travelers, Gender Roles and TARDISES in Doctor Who - went amazingly well! First, the room was packed, standing-room only even, which stunned me, because we were the first panel of the day. I figured people would either be too tired to make it in the morning, or be too busy getting badges at registration. Neither of those things proved to be true, and I happily walked into a crowded room.

I was also so lucky to have the best panelists. Miley, Natalie Reed, and Alan Kistler are some of the nicest, funniest, and most knowledgeable people I could’ve ever asked to have on this panel. Also wonderful was that they complimented each other so well personality-wise. Alan and Miley (actors both, as well as writers and huge Doctor Who nerds) did an awesome job of keeping the crowd warmed up before the panel, and Natalie chimed in with a quip or a fun anecdote when needed, a nice, reserved balance to their boisterousness. They played off each other both before the panel and during, so that even when they disagreed on certain points, they always treated each other with respect, let each other speak, followed my lead when needed, and were articulate and thoughtful when expressing their opinions.

We discussed their general impressions of the way Moffat writes women and writes about gender (we all have trouble with something he does, though what those things are and the degree to which we are bothered varied from person to person), whether there ever would’ve been a panel called “RTD’s Women” (probably not, as he tended to include female and gay/lesbian characters in a more organic way than Moffat does), and the fact that the strongest female characters Moffat has written have been during RTD’s tenure as showrunner. We discussed our favorite Moffat females (Sally Sparrow, Madame de Pompadour, Molly Hooper – not a Who lady, of course, but Natalie cited her as a Moffat woman done well), our least favorite (Lorna Bucket, Madame Vastra and Jenny), and the ones we couldn’t quite pin down either way (oh Amy and River). We talked about Sexy the TARDIS and that, while she was a lovely character, it was sad that something like the TARDIS had to be gendered at all, and doubted that the character would’ve been received in the same way had the Spirit of the TARDIS inhabited a male body instead. We touched upon our love of Rory and how he showcases the best of masculinity, but we also discussed the fact that the very notion that we see things in a “masculine/feminine” binary at all in a universe that purports to be beyond that is in itself problematic. Natalie expressed something that I think we all feel is important and for which the room agreed the viewing public is ready. It’s time for Doctor Who to put its money where its mouth is. Rather than continuing to tell us what a gender-diverse universe The Doctor inhabits, it needs to really start showing us. Show us characters on a spectrum, characters that don’t sit comfortably in any one box. We. Are. Ready.

All in all, this was my best panel experience yet, and I feel so lucky to have been blessed with such a great group. Even though we didn’t have time for Q&A with the audience, they were completely attentive, and told us afterwards that they got a lot out of our conversation. Afterwards, several attendees with whom I struck up casual conversations throughout the con would say things like “There was this Doctor Who panel in the morning that I wanted to get into, because it sounded really interesting, but I couldn’t get in, because it was full” not realizing it was my panel. I saw tweets citing the panel as many people’s favorite on the Saturday of the con. I was thrilled. And proud.

Huge thanks to Jennifer K. Stuller, GeekGirlCon’s illustrious Programming Director, for allowing me to be a part of GGC this year. And, of course, an ENORMOUS thank you to my wonderful panelists: Natalie Reed, Miley Yamamoto, and Alan Kistler. You were great!

And if any of you out there happened to have recorded it, hit me up at Twitter or my FB page, as I’d love to link to it from here! Thanks! And keep your eyes out for my full GeekGirlCon write-up, which should be going up at Tor.com very soon.

GeekGirlCon: The Squee-port

I’m also working on an “official” “journalisty” (journalisty? Shut up. It’s a word now.) post about GeekGirlCon for Tor.com, but since this is my blog, I’m giving you my personal, squee-ful account of the first ever GeekGirlCon in all its inspiring, wonderful glory.

But first:

Union Station, Portland, OR

I took an Amtrak from Los Angeles to Seattle for the con. Actually, I was supposed to take a train from L.A. to Seattle. What happened instead was that that legendary L.A. Traffic™ caused me to miss my train, so I had to take a bus from L.A. to Bakersfield, a train from Bakersfield to Martinez, then I’d be able to catch up to my original train there and take it the rest of the way to Seattle. Whew! The things I do for geekery!

Somewhere in Oregon.

Eugene, OR

The GeekGirlCon Vendor Room

All of that to get to…GEEKGIRLCON!

GeekGirlCon was the most chill, welcoming, and inspiring con I’ve ever been to. It was about more than pop culture. It’s not hyperbolic to say that it was about changing the world. Granted, it was primarily about changing the world by focusing on media – but that’s what we all have to do, right? Find our own little corner of the world that we’re interested in and make it better?

Sure, there were some technical glitches I heard about, and the timing of the panels could’ve been tweaked to give con-goers at the Seattle Center time to go from room to room across the expansive grounds, but on the whole, GeekGirlCon was run extremely well, and in many ways better than other larger cons I’ve been to. The staff was extremely helpful, the design of the show was great, and all of the programming was actually substantive. There wasn’t a “fluff” panel on the entire schedule. Each one either taught you how to do something, or brought together panelists who were truly knowledgeable and articulate about the topic being addressed. Unlike other cons, there were panels I was genuinely upset about not being able to get to. The panels also weren’t just about promoting something. Even those that were clearly about a new release (Scott Westerfeld’s panel promoting his illustrated guide to the world of Leviathan; my, ahem, panel about Whedonistas) were interactive and provided more information and insight than a mere overview of a product.

Nancy Holder, Jane Espenson, and Me at the Whedonistas signing at GeekGirlCon 2011

The Whedonistas signing in the morning on the first day was a lot of fun! But it was also really funny. It’s times like this when I’m made accutely aware of how low I am on the writerly totem pole. I’m sitting next to Jane Espenson and Nancy Holder at the University Book Store table for this signing, and people were handing me their books expecting me to ring them up while asking me how much other books on the table cost. I was like “Um, I’m in this book, actually…kthxbye.” Heh. Such is life. One day, my name will be on the COVER of a book, and then all those people will pay! THEY’LL ALL PAY! You know…for my book. What did you think I meant? I did manage to get some copies of On the Ground Floor into people’s hands - I gave them to everyone who bought a copy of Whedonistas. Getting my work out there, and all that…

See that empty plastic book stand? That's where our copies of Whedonistas USED to be! We sold out in an hour! Boo-yah!

Incidentally, the University Bookstore had limited copies of Whedonistas, ordering on the “safe side” because this was the first GeekGirlCon. Whedonistas sold out during our morning signing. ALWAYS order many copies when Jane Espenson is doing a signing, is all I’m sayin’…

Mariah Huehner, Jane Espenson, Nancy Holder, and Me on the Whedonistas panel at GeekGirlCon 2011

At the Whedonistas panel, Jane, Nancy, and Mariah – all of whom are more experienced at everything than I am – gave the audience thoughtful replies to their questions about everything from Whedon’s work to women in the television/publishing/comics industries. Also, we had a giveaway where trivia questions = a signed Husbands crew hat from Jane and a free copy of Whedonistas. Much fun! I was so nervous about the panel all day, it being my first time moderating one, but people kept coming up to me as I was walking around during the rest of the con and were like “The Whedonistas panel was great!” or “Thanks for a great panel! It was awesome!”

It’s sometimes easy, as a relative newbie to this “Putting Your Writing Out There, Publicly” thing, to feel like I don’t matter, or that I’m not getting anywhere. But the fact that I was sitting on a panel with these ridiculously talented women, and afterwards was treated as if I deserved to be there? Well, that made me feel rather good.

I also felt really good, because I felt like I’d actively helped promote Jane’s new webseries, Husbands, which is one that I believe deserves oodles of attention along with The Guild and Awkward Embraces. When I interviewed her about it for Tor, I asked her to be on a panel for Whedonistas at GeekGirlCon, but I mentioned it too, because I thought it would be a great place to reach a target audience for Husbands. She was already scheduled to be in Seattle doing a talk that was done in partnership with GGC, but she was unaware of the con itself. As she told people about Husbands at the signing, and at the panel, there were people who hadn’t heard about it, despite being fans of hers, and I think she was happy that she was reaching people she hadn’t yet reached. I’m proud to have had a hand in that, and will take this moment on my personal blog to pat myself on the back.

*pats self*

I love bringing people/stuff together for Mutually Beneficial Awesome.

Bonnie Burton

And then there were the other folks I got to meet! In addition to meeting the fabulous Mariah Huehner for the first time, I got to meet Bonnie Burton (whom I’d chatted with on Twitter, and who’s friends with just about all of my other L.A. friends) who is lovely; writer Amy Berg (Eureka and The 4400) very, very briefly; and Mary Higgins, at long last! After years of the two of us writing for Pink Raygun and corresponding via the intarwebz, Mary and I were finally in the same place at the same time. She’s got a really fun webseries she’s produced called Mind My Brains, Darling! If you love Britishness…and zombies…check it out!

Me and Javier Grillo-Marxuach

I met Javier Grillo-Marxuach, whom I knew primarily from Lost, but who’s written a jillion other things (like The Middleman comic and television show, for instance). This was particularly exciting for me, not only because I was (am?) Lost-obsessed, but because having a firmly-established, talented television writer/showrunner (and comics writer!) who also happens to be Puerto Rican for me to look up to is rawther nice. Between him and Jane, I’ve got role models that appeal to both my brown-ness and my ovary-having-ness covered!

Anita Sarkeesian and Me

I also got to meet the fabulous Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency, who headed up the vlogging panel along with Maile Martinez of Reel Girls. I’d seen her YouTube videos before – especially this one she did on Sam Adama from Caprica, which I disagreed with heartily, but whatevs - but didn’t put two and two together that this was the same woman until about halfway through the panel. She’s incredibly smart; really knowledgeable about feminist history while also being a huge pop culture geek, and she effectively combines the two. She pretty much does through video what I do with my writing. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better – and taking notes and pointers as I do!

And then there were the lovely and wonderful people I met throughout the con! There was the lovely Jedi family whose picture I took (you haven’t emailed me! I have your photo if you want it!), Jenn (of JustJennDesigns fame), Christina (whom I’d met at the Single Geeks L.A. event, but got to talk to more this time around), Ginny (she of the fabulous Ravenclaw cosplay), Vavia (who helped me pass the time between panels), Talina (who helped me figure out how I can edit videos on a PC), Ryan (of the awesome kilt ensemble)… So many lovely people, all of them as friendly as could be.

And Gail Simone totally let me cut in front of her in line at the Registration table, because I was cutting it close for my morning signing.

GeekGirlCon was an amazing, inviting, inspiring, and safe environment for women and geekery. The entire staff did an incredible job at making it all happen. (Shout-out to Jennifer Stuller, the programming director!) I’m really looking forward to it next year, and you should, too!

See You At Geek Girl Con!

I’M GOING TO GEEK GIRL CON!

Thanks to several generous folks in response to my This Little Whedonista effort, as well as a well-timed direct deposit from one of my writerly employers, I WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO GEEK GIRL CON! I can barely contain my excitement.

Why? Well, lemme see:

1) I’ll be crashing with the fabulous Cunning Minx, and apparently, there may be a brownie and porn party if I time my arrival just so.

2) I’ll be doing a signing for Whedonistas along with with JANE ESPENSON, NANCY HOLDER, and  MARIAH HUEHNER at the University Book Store table (Booth  308-309) Saturday, October 8th – 10:30-11:30AM! Come on by, grab a copy of this fabulous collection of Whedon-related essays, and have a chat with us!

3) I’ll be moderating a Whedonistas panel that same day from 5;30-6:30PM with JANE ESPENSON, NANCY HOLDER, and MARIAH HUEHNER. There will be talk of Whedon (natch), as well as the Whedonistas reading short excerpts from their pieces in the book, plus some Q&A, and some Whedon Trivia, where you might be able to walk away with a free copy of Whedonistas (and perhaps some other prizes!). Do you love Joss Whedon? (and really, how could you not?) Think you know everything about the man and his work? Put your knowledge to the test at the Whedonistas panel at Geek Girl Con!

4) My Geek Girl Traveler self will be staying in Seattle for the week following Geek Girl Con as I explore the city for geeky hotspots! It’s my first time in the city, and I’m looking forward to it! If you have suggestions for geeky Seattle locales I shouldn’t miss, email them to me at geekgirltraveler[at]gmail[dot]com!

I would like to take a moment to thank Angela VonSchmittou, Ken Rokos, Matt Curry, Olga Branson, Robert Ropars, and Jade Takakuwa for their generosity in response to my. I will be sending you your copies of On the Ground Floor and/or your autographed copies of Whedonistas once I return from the con.

If you haven’t yet purchased a copy of On the Ground Floor and/or you’d like me to get you an autographed copy of Whedonistas while I’m at the con, the terms of my This Little Whedonista plea will continue to stand through October 5th! Get me thine orders!

And I’ll see you in Seattle!

This Little Whedonista Needs To Get To GeekGirlCon!

So, you might have heard about this panel I’m moderating for Whedonistas at Geek Girl Con in Seattle in a couple of weeks! I’m very excited about it, and hope that each and every one of you reading this – well, those of you on the West Coast at the very least – will come out not only for the first year of what I’m sure will be an awesome convention, but for this amazing panel of fabulously talented ladies. And also, me.

Here’s the thing. I’ve just made a cross-country move from New York to L.A, which cost me a lot. I’m a freelance writer, which means I get paid monthly and not weekly, so budgeting is very tricky business. Long story short, I’m reaching out to the geek masses the same way I did to do the Whedonistas panel at Gallifrey One back in February.

Since then, I’ve gotten a lot more Twitter follwers and Facebook friends, so I’ll explain that I’m not asking for donations per se (though I certainly won’t turn them down). Rather, I’m asking you – if you’re following me and enjoy the things I write – to let now be the time when you decide to purchase something of mine!

My chapbook, On the Ground Floor, is available for $5.00 (plus S&H, more if you want it signed/inscribed), and can be purchased HERE.

I’m also selling autographed copies of Whedonistas: A Celebration of the Worlds Of Joss Whedon By the Women Who Love Them, in which I have an essay, (signed by me, Jane Espenson, Nancy Holder, and Mariah Huehner) for a $30 contribution to the cause ($15 is the price of the book, and the S&H comes out of the rest, leaving the remainder as your donation!) If you can’t make the con, this is the only way to get a copy that is signed by these wonderful contributors! If you’d prefer this to my chapbook, go directly to PayPal HERE and send me your contribution using my email address teresajusino[at]gmail[dot]com.

If you’d like both, please specify that in your note to me on PayPal!

My goal? To raise $400 for the whole shebang. More would be wonderful, as I need to stay in Seattle for the week (the friend I’m staying with is having a houseguest and she’ll need my bed, so I’ll need to be gone then), but $500 is the bare minimum I need to get there, and be able to eat and get around. And I would need to have it in my PayPal account no later than September 30th so I can transfer it to my bank in time to use it.

So, what do you think, intarwebz? Think I can do this? I hope so! I’ve already put oodles of planning into this panel. What I didn’t plan on was being this insanely broke by October! Such is life.

It always amazes me how wonderful people on the internet can actually be. Sure, there are a lot of trolls and there’s lots of meanness. But there are also some really great people who make wonderful things happen. I want to thank those who helped me in my Gallifrey effort (I’m excited that I’ll have NO trouble getting to that con this year!), and hope that you all think that Geek Girl Con and this very special Whedonistas panel is worth the effort. Even if you can’t donate yourself, please spread the word.

Thank you all, so much!

Whedonistas Panel At Geek Girl Con!

As you might have seen on Twitter or Facebook, I have the privilege of moderating a Whedonistas panel at Geek Girl Con in October! SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8TH from 5:30-6:30PM to be exact. There will also be a pre-panel signing that morning, from 10:30AM to 11:30AM in the vendor room at the University Book Store table (booth 308-309).

But whom will be on this panel, do you ask? I mean, in addition to fabulous, wonderous me?

None other than the fabulously talented JANE ESPENSON (Buffy, BSG, Caprica, Torchwood, and her new webseries, Husbands), who has an exclusive interview in Whedonistas; NANCY HOLDER (NY Times bestselling author of The Watcher’s Guide among a million other things) whose piece in Whedonistas talks about her time spent on the set of Buffy; and MARIAH HUEHNER (IDW Comics – writer on Angel and True Blood comics, among others!), whose Whedonistas essay talks about why she loves Buffy even when Buffy is sometimes difficult to love. I get to share a stage with these women, y’all. So, if you can get to Seattle, you need to come check it out!

If only to catch me when I pass out and fall off the dais because of the sheer awesome of it all.

So, the deets once again:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8TH

10:30AM-11:30AM – Whedonistas signing with JANE ESPENSON, NANCY HOLDER, MARIAH HUEHNER, and TERESA JUSINO at the University Book Store table (Booth  308-309).

5:30PM-6:30PM – Whedonistas panel with JANE ESPENSON, NANCY HOLDER, and MARIAH HUEHNER. Moderated by TERESA JUSINO. There will be talk of Whedon (natch), as well as the Whedonistas reading short excerpts from their pieces in the book, plus time for Q&A, and some Whedon Trivia, where you might be able to walk away with a free copy of Whedonistas (and perhaps some other prizes!). Do you love Joss Whedon? (and really, how could you not?) Think you know everything about the man and his work? Put your knowledge to the test at the Whedonistas panel at Geek Girl Con!