A press release from Alexander Mathew Harris of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society:
On Saturday, October 27th, at 8PM, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS), located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, will host a roundtable discussion by four professional female authors on the topic of “Fantastic Heroines of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.” The discussion is free and we encourage the public to attend.
Writers Brenda Clough, Mindy Klasky, L. Jagi Lamplighter and Jeri Smith-Ready will talk about the heroine in literature, both in their own works and those that have influenced them. Colleen Cahill, Library of Congress Recommending Officer for Fantasy and Science Fiction, will moderate the discussion. “Until very recently, in sci-fi and fantasy genres, a ‘strong heroine’ meant a woman who acted like a man: showing little vulnerability, and fighting evil with violence. But as society’s perceptions of masculinity and femininity become more fluid, heroines can show strength in more nuanced and complex ways,” explained Smith-Ready, author of ten fantasy novels.
“We’ll discuss the women of modern fantasy and sci-fi, and where the best role models can be found,” added panelist L. Jagi Lamplighter. Constellation Books, of Reisterstown, Maryland, will be on hand to sell books at the event.
Before the Heroines of Sci-fi discussion, the BSFS Book Discussion Circle will be analyzing Anne McCaffery’s classic science fiction series Dragonriders of Pern: they will critique the first book in the series, Dragonflight. The Book Discussion Circle begins at 6:30PM and is also free and open to the public.