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Mythcon 52

July 29 - August 1, 2022



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Mythcon 52
The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien

Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 29 - August 1, 2022





Songs for Closing Ceremonies

Progress Report #2

Papers and Panels

Download the full Conference Program Book here.
Mythcon 52's program is free online, or you can purchase a print copy of it after Mythcon through our Proceedings page.

Mythcon hotel is full!
Hotel rooms at the Mythcon rate are now full. So, if you plan to attend Mythcon 52 and have not yet booked your hotel room, see this link for options.


Theme: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien


Mythcon 52’s theme provides multiple opportunities to explore the Other in fantasy and mythopoeic literature. Tolkien spoke in “On Fairy-stories” of “the desire to visit, free as a fish, the deep sea; or the longing for the noiseless, gracious, economical flight of a bird.” We invite discussion about the types of fantasy that are more likely to put us into contact with the alien, such as time portal fantasy and space travel fantasy. In addition to Inklings, some writers who deal particularly well with the truly alien who might be explored include Lovecraft, Gaiman, Le Guin, Tepper, and others. Other topics that might be fruitfully explored are: depictions of the alien Other in film and television (Contact, Arrival, HBO’s Watchmen, etc.); developing constructed languages that are truly different from those of Earth-based humans; fantastical Others in indigenous myths (such as Coyote and Spider Woman from Native American mythology); and American folklore about the alien (flying saucers, alien abduction, Area 51, Roswell).


Guests of Honor

Rivera Sun

Rivera Sun - Author Guest of Honor

Rivera Sun is a change-maker, a cultural creative, a protest novelist, and an advocate for nonviolence and social justice. Her young adult fantasy series, the Ari Ara Series, has been widely acclaimed by teachers, parents, and peace activists for its blending of fantasy and adventure with social justice issues. Going beyond dragon-slayers and sword-swingers, heroes and sheroes in Ari Ara’s world stop wars and wage peace. In all her works, Rivera Sun advocates that if we want to build a culture of peace, we have to tell new stories that still appreciate, but go beyond the old myths, epics, and legends that rehash outdated war and violence narratives. The Way Between, the first book in the Ari Ara Series, has been read by numerous groups of all ages, while the second book in the series, The Lost Heir, won the 2019 Nautilus Award Silver Medal.

Rivera Sun’s essays have been published in hundreds of journals nationwide. She is a frequent speaker and presenter at schools, colleges and universities, where her novel The Dandelion Insurrection has been taught in literature and political science courses. Rivera Sun is also the editor of Nonviolence News, an activist, and a trainer in making change with nonviolence. Her essays and writings are syndicated by Peace Voice and have appeared in journals nationwide. She lives in an Earthship house in New Mexico. For more about Rivera Sun, visit her website at www.riverasun.com.

David Bratman

David Bratman - Scholar Guest of Honor

David Bratman has been reading Tolkien for over fifty years, and has been writing Tolkien scholarship for nearly as long. His earliest contribution to the field was the first-ever published Tale of Years for the First Age, right after The Silmarillion was published. Since then he’s published articles with titles like “Top Ten Rejected Plot Twists from The Lord of the Rings,” “Hobbit Names Aren’t from Kentucky,” and “Liquid Tolkien” (on Tolkien and music). He’s been co-editor of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review since 2013, and has written or edited its annual “Year’s Work in Tolkien Studies” since 2004. David edited The Masques of Amen House by Charles Williams and contributed the bio-bibliographical appendix on the Inklings to Diana Pavlac Glyer’s The Company They Keep. He has also written on C.S. Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, Mervyn Peake, Neil Gaiman, and others.

For the Mythopoeic Society he was editor of the monthly bulletin Mythprint for fifteen years, and has worked on many Mythopoeic Conferences, including serving twice as chair. He’s a retired academic librarian and an active classical music reviewer who lives with his wife, Berni (a soprano and violinist), and two cats in a house they call Minnipin Cottage.





Location

The Mythcon 52 planning committee is delighted to welcome you back to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and back to conferencing in person! During the pandemic, many businesses and business models have changed, so we were forced to change venues at a late date—thus many of the delays! However, you can rest assured that Mythcon 52 is happening, the dates are set, and we have sleeping and conference locations confirmed.


Hotel

Mythcon 52 sleeping arrangements will be at the Hampton Inn University/Midtown. The room options (two queen beds or one king) can currently be reserved for a special rate of $88 per night (plus tax, currently at 13.25%). Connecting rooms are also available if booked together, and accessible rooms may be requested. Amenities include free hot breakfast, free parking, free wifi, outdoor pool, and fitness center. Located in Albuquerque’s midtown, it allows easy access to the I-40 freeway and is a 14-minute drive, taxi, or rideshare from the airport.

Conference attendees are encouraged to room with family or close friends and to plan room sharing according to vaccination status and comfort level. Because the planning committee cannot commit to pairing up people according to their safety preferences, first-time attendees or those who want to share rooms are encouraged to reach out on Discord, Facebook, and our Mailing list on Groups.io to solicit roommates. For those who want to pack a room tight, rollaway beds can also be reserved.

Attendees will want to reserve rooms for the night of Friday, July 29 (half-day programming), Saturday, July 30, and Sunday, July 31, with half-day programming on Monday, August 1. As rooms are available, the Hampton Inn will honor the reduced room rate for anyone who arrives earlier or stays later.

We are not planning a complete meal package at this time, due to the wide variety of needs and safety restrictions; you can read about meals at Mythcon 52 in Progress Report #2.

Hotel rooms at the Mythcon rate are now full.

So, if you plan to attend Mythcon 52 and have not yet booked your hotel room, your options are:


Conference Venue

The Hampton Inn, unlike more expensive hotel options, does not have meeting space that fits our needs. So we have reserved 21st Century Public Academy, a local charter school, for our conference panels and presentations. The school, whose mascot is a purple dragon, is a great fit for us, evoking past Mythcons held in university classrooms, but with the added perk of not sleeping in university dorm rooms!

The school is .25 miles or a 5-minute walk from the hotel on a road with very little traffic. It’s a flat, easy walk for the able-bodied, even in the summer (it’s a dry heat!). We are working on arranging free transportation between the hotel and the school for attendees who need or want assistance. Still, attendees are encouraged to consider their footwear and remember any needed assistive devices such as canes or braces when packing.



COVID Safety Policy


Our Organizing Committee has worked hard to ensure the safest possible environment for our presenters and attendees during this time when COVID variants are still a concern. Only in the event of an unavoidable circumstance (such as a state government ban of all gatherings over a certain number) would we consider canceling Mythcon 52. So, rest assured we are going forward. However, participating in any kind of gathering poses some risk of infection. Developed from input in a survey sent to members and approved by the Council of Stewards, our COVID Policy for Mythcon 52 participants that requires: Beyond these requirements and others outlined in our full COVID Policy, participants are encouraged to follow their own risk/comfort levels when choosing among events to attend. The Mythopoeic Society accepts no responsibility for any spread of COVID-19 (or any other communicable health risk) as part of travel to, from, or participation in Mythcon 52.


For more information

If you have questions or ideas, please email chair@mythcon.org and/or co-chair@mythcon.org.





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