KolinahrMaster Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 As mentioned in my post in the Introduce Yourself! forum, I will be the track director for the first-ever SandersonTrack panel track at the JordanCon literary convention in April 2015 in Atlanta. Brandon frequently attends this event, and when he can't make it you can rely on members of Team Sanderson (such as the Indefatigable Peter) to wave the linen shirt in his absence. In an attempt to elevate the discourse I have foolishly boldly decided to de-lurk and open the call for panel ideas or (better yet) potential panelists for the convention. I have a preliminary list of panel topics, but I don't want to reveal them because they may dampen the batshit crazy creative thoughts that may arise. My intent is for the panels to include a mix of literary discussion of Sanderson generally, some YA perspective, some religion, some hardcore Cosmere theory, and more. Also, as always with Brandon, an obligatory Magic: The Gathering tournament. Feel free to reply to this thread or, if you're attracting anxietyspren, send me a message here on the site. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Joe in the Bush Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 What are the Requirements for the Panelists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KolinahrMaster Posted September 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) What are the Requirements for the Panelists? Great question. The first requirement is, obviously, be able to physically attend JordanCon in Atlanta. The second requirement is, somewhat less obviously, be confident that you can speak in an easy, conversational flow about a topic you love for about an hour in front of up to 100 people. This includes sipping on water (of COURSE it's water) while graciously letting other panelists speak. The third requirement is some expertise or insight in at least one aspect of the panel topic. Suppose the topic panel is "Military Tactics in Sanderson's Novels." I would expect you to have read at least several relevant Sanderson texts and bring knowledge outside the immediate and obvious conclusions drawn by an ordinary reader. In this example I would expect a panelist to be able to draw on some form of outside knowledge, like "Here's how the Battle of the Tower closely resembles the maneuvers at Agincourt" [which it does not remotely, but you get it] or "Unlike 99% of fantasy readers, I can identify how armor pieces actually fit together so let me spend a minute talking about Shardplate." "I am an Afghanistan veteran so let me tell you something about warfare in mountainous climates." etc. The fourth requirement is some level of preparation in advance as to what you would talk about if everybody on the panel suddenly collapsed for 15 minutes and the audience refused to ask questions. This is a shockingly rare trait among panelists, which is a shame. Prepared panelists are usually amazing panelists. Edited September 17, 2014 by KolinahrMaster 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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