Nine Worlds GeekFest 2015 - Find Steve

Hey folks, Steve here.

The Nine Worlds GeekFest 2015 will be taking place this weekend at the Radisson Blu Heathrow Hotel. If you're there, then there's a good chance of tracking me down for the purposes of making me really embarrassed and awkward. Also, nice things as well, but I can definitely guarantee the awkwardness! I'll be working as a full-time steward during the days and evenings of the convention, and as the evening becomes the night, you'll probably find me in or near a bar.

On Saturday 8th August, I'll be taking part in three panels as part of the podcasting and comics tracks of programming.

First up, at 10am, I'll be taking part in:

Show, Don’t Tell: Wordless Comics - Why make wordless comics? What do they represent?

Connaught A, 10:00am - 11:15am (Comics)

Tracks: Comics

Sally Jane Thompson, Sarah Gordon, Kieron Gillen, Howard Hardiman, Steve Lacey

From sign-language to space to animal speech, why make wordless comics and why are they so effective?

Yes, that's Kieron Gillen on the panel. Of Phonogram, Journey Into Mystery, Young Avengers and The Wicked + The Divine fame. And Howard Hardiman of The Lengths fame. And Sally Jane Thompson of several awesome UK small press comics. And Sarah Gordon, who is, admittedly, a creator I've not yet experienced. If you're wondering if I'm feeling a little out of place and under qualified to be on this panel, then you're a little right. But, having spent the past few weeks reading comics without dialogue (including more comics from Marvel's 'Nuff Said event than I'd really like to have done), I'm looking forward to seeing what the discussion turns up.

At 11.45am, I'll be pulling on my podcaster hat and participating in:

The Second Annual Podcaster Games - The ultimate geek quiz

Room 32, 11:45am - 1:00pm (Podcasting)

Tracks: Podcasting

Simon Potthast, Anne Louise, Alasdair Stuart, Dan Marshall, Barry Nugent, Gavin Jones, Marguerite Kenner, Steve Lacey

Come see Dan and Gavin from the Sidekickcast preside over the second annual podcaster games, and see which of our teams are worthy of winning the coveted 'Golden Mic'.

I'm not sure what to expect from this panel, other than that I'll probably either do really well or really terribly. Either way, I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun!

Finally, at 8.30pm, it'll be an evening of discussion on space and comics, with the wonderfully-titled:

Laika biting Thanos: Galactic Comics - Five ten-minute talks on SPACE and AWESOME Updated!

Connaught A, 8:30pm - 9:45pm (Comics)

Tracks: Comics

Ed Fortune, Hazel Southwell, Natalie Wilkinson, Steve Lacey

Four speakers present different aspects of cosmic comics: from whether tech leads comics or the other way around, to why we can’t stop thinking about Soviet Space Dogs, via a whole lot of prog headgear.

I'll be talking about the first comics I read which took me into space, how they influenced me, and why they're amazing comics that genuinely transcend the medium. As for what these comics are... well, I don't want to give too much away just yet. But don't worry - all will be revealed on this weekend's Fantasticast.

I hope that some of you (admittedly, it's going to be a very small portion of our audience) are heading over to the convention, and I look forward to meeting you there!