Mythcon 50 - Progress Report #1
August 2-5, 2019
Mythcon 50
Looking Back, Moving Forward
San Diego, California
August 2-5, 2019
August 2-5, 2019
DEADLINE for Room & Board packages, banquet tickets, and parking permits for Mythcon 50 at San Diego State University is JULY 15, 2019. We may not be able to add or change room requests after that date.
Progress Report #1 for Mythcon 50 - August 2-5, 2019
Contents of PR#1 - downloadable PDF please note: PDF still lists original Author GOH
About MythconGuests of Honor
Call for Papers
Alexei Kondratiev Award
Glen GoodKnight Starving Scholars Fund
Art Show
Dealers' Room
Masquerade
Conference Schedule
Conference Registration
Conference Venue
Room & Board
Parking
Other Accommodation
Getting to San Diego
Things to Do in San Diego
About Mythcon
The Mythopoeic Society Conference, informally known as “Mythcon,” is an annual Tolkien and Inklings-focused conference held over an extended weekend late-July to mid-August; the location moves throughout America, beginning Friday afternoon and concluding Monday at noon. Mythcon has historically been held at a college or university campus. Each conference is constructed around a theme related to Inklings studies and/or fantastic and mythic literature. Conferences usually feature an author and a scholar guest of honor. Papers, panel discussions, readings, entertainment, an art show, a dealers’ room, and other activities fill the four-day event. Another Mythcon highlight is our annual banquet, after which the Mythopoeic Awards are presented. A small (usually 100–200 people) size and intimate setting makes Mythcon an excellent venue for meeting people with common interests. You may see the full history and individual conference pages by visiting our Mythcon History page.The Mythopoeic Society has always encouraged scholarship in mythopoeic and Inklings studies by providing a venue in which scholars, new and established, may present papers which may in turn be considered for publication in Mythlore, assisting scholars in need of financial aid to attend Mythcon, and recognizing student scholars with the Alexei Kondratiev Award.
Mythcons are also a lot of fun and feature some serious play: the Not Ready for Mythcon Players, performing a semi-spontaneous piece of topical silliness, a caucus-race of a Masquerade (prizes for everyone), Bardic Circles in the evenings, and Golfimbul (Mythcon 45 Chair and former GOH Mike Drout explains it in his entertaining report on the 2014 Mythcon). This year’s conference is the third in a series of golden anniversaries for the Society, this time celebrating the 50th year of our Mythopoeic conferences. We are indeed looking back and moving forward.
Guests of Honor
Verlyn Flieger, Scholar Guest of Honor: One of the most prolific and beloved scholars in our field, Flieger won Mythopoeic Scholarship Awards for A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Road to Faerie (1998), for Tolkien’s Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth, co-edited with Carl Hostetter (2002), and Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien (2013). She is co-editor of the journal Tolkien Studies and has written fiction as well. Retired from the University of Maryland in 2012, she continues to teach courses online through Signum University.
Tim Powers, GOH Emeritus: Tim Powers is a science-fiction and fantasy author and arguably heir to the legacy of Charles Williams. Tim has been Author GOH at Mythcon twice; first in Berkeley for Mythcon 26 and most recently at Mythcon 41 in Dallas, Texas. Tim has received numerous awards and nominations for his works, including the World Fantasy Award twice, for his novels Last Call (1992) and Declare (2000). He has been nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award five times, winning the award in 1990 for The Stress of Her Regard.
Call for Papers
Our conference theme references Roman mythology’s Janus, the god of beginnings and endings, gates and doorways, transitions, passages, and duality. We are moving forward into the future while also, at least for this Mythcon, looking backward to the places from which we’ve come. For this conference, while work on any topic is welcome, we are particularly interested in presentations that- * acknowledge the long history of scholarship on fantasy literature while looking ahead, sometimes in new and unexpected ways
- * incorporate or reference past developments in research
- * survey the development of critical response to an author or a topic, the use of a certain theoretical approach, or the history of a strand of criticism
- * look forward to future areas of research
- * consider the genre’s place in history and its development into new media and new ways of involving the reader or consumer
- * introduce us to new or neglected mythopoeic authors and other creators
- * consider liminality, border situations, or the pivot point between old and new
Alexei Kondratiev Award (Student Paper)
At Mythcon 41, the society introduced a new award for the best paper presented at Mythcon by an undergraduate or graduate student. This award was named in honor of Alexei Kondratiev, long-time Society member and a scholar of wide-ranging interests in mythopoeic and related studies, who passed away in 2010. The winner of the award receives a certificate, a one year subscription to Mythlore, and half-off registration for the next Mythcon he or she attends. The winner will be announced at the Mythcon banquet, on the society’s website, in Mythprint, and is encouraged to submit their paper to Mythlore for publication. More information and the award application can be found on our web site: www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/alexei.htm In order to be considered for the award, the application form must be submitted to the committee chair, Janet Croft, at mythlore@mythsoc.org by July 2nd, and the finished paper must be submitted electronically by July 23rd. The paper must follow Mythlore style guidelines and should be 4000–9000 words long. Applicants must be accepted in or currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at the time their abstract was submitted. Applicants must attend Mythcon and present the paper to qualify for the award.Glen GoodKnight Starving Scholars Fund
The Starving Scholars Fund was renamed in honor of our founder, Glen GoodKnight, upon his passing in November 2010. Glen always emphasized the importance of encouraging scholarship in Inklings studies and was happy to see this fund come into existence. The Fund supports attendance at Mythcon for scholars and other participants. Preference is given to persons presenting a paper or participating on a panel, though others are not automatically excluded from consideration. Awards generally consist of a contribution toward room & board costs or, very rarely, other conference expenses such as travel costs. The Mythcon Papers Coordinator, in consultation with the Mythopoeic Society Council of Stewards and the Conference Committee, makes the final decision in regard to award recipients, amounts, and application of funds. No more than half of the Fund’s balance may be used in any given year. Contact mythlore@mythsoc.org for more information.Art Show
Mythcon 50 will have an art show. If you’re interested in bringing your art to display, please contact Sue Dawe by email at suedawe@inetworld.net and she will provide more details.Dealers' Room
Mythcon 50 will have a Dealers' Room. If you’re interested in selling your wares, please contact J'nae Spano by email at autumn.fox@cox.net and she will provide more details.Masquerade
Mythcon 50 will have a masquerade as part of our Saturday night entertainments. A Mythcon masquerade is a staged costume presentation that ranges from the sublime to the silly; its focus is fun and entertainment. Everyone is invited to participate; sign-up forms will be at Mythcon. Please note: family-friendly costumes are welcome throughout the conference.Conference Schedule
For planning and travel purposes, Mythcon 50 registration will open at noon on Friday, August 2, and there will be program items starting at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon until dinner. After dinner we will have our casual meet-and-greet Reception hosted by the Society’s Stewards; other entertainments and activities to be announced. Saturday morning, August 3, the Procession and Opening Ceremonies will start at 9:00 a.m., including our first plenary Guest of Honor address, followed by more papers and panels throughout the day, breaking for lunch and dinner. After dinner: entertainments including the Masquerade and post-programming activities (e.g., Bardic Circle). Programming continues Sunday, including the Society Auction in the afternoon, and the Banquet, second Guest of Honor address, and Awards presentations on Sunday evening. Final program items will start Monday morning at 9:00 a.m., followed by the Annual Mythopoeic Society Members Meeting (all are welcome) and closing ceremonies, concluding at noon.Conference Registration
Current registration rates are as follows. Rates are likely to rise and will be higher “at the door.”Full Conference Registration for Mythopoeic Society Members - $75
Full Conference Registration for Nonmembers - $90
Full Conference Registration for Students* - $60
Please note: Join the Mythopoeic Society and then register for Mythcon 50 at the Society Members rate to save money and receive other member advantages. See the Mythopoeic Society’s website for details. If you are uncertain of your membership status, please contact our Membership Secretary, Lynne Darga, at membership@mythsoc.org. To register or to make room and board payment (see below), PayPal registration is available on the Mythcon 50 registration page. To pay by check, please make payable to the Mythopoeic Society and mail to:
The Mythopoeic Society
PO Box 6707
Altadena, CA 91003
* Full-time students are those taking 12 or more credit hours per semester/quarter at an accredited college or university. Must present a current, active student ID at check-in. For children attending with parent(s) or legal guardian(s), 12 and under are free, 12 to 18 pay the student rate.
Conference Venue
San Diego State University provides wonderful programming space and dorm housing is similar to suites we’ve recently occupied in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Berkeley Mythcons. Programming will be located in the Aztec Student Union, approximately 800 feet from our housing units, across the Aztec Walk East “sky-bridge” — fun for the Procession!Room & Board
ROOM:please note there is now a secondary room option; click through on the link
We will be staying in the Cuicacalli Residence Hall (“kweeka-cal-ee”) which is comprised of a central building (24-hour front desk), with The Garden cafeteria upstairs (there is an elevator), and two towers (Tepeyac or Tacuba, basically identical - we will be in one of them). There is an outdoor swimming pool which we will be able to use, barring closure for some unexpected reason. The dorms are arranged in suites (see rough layout, below) which generally have six bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a common area with full-size refrigerator, microwave, and sink; you can take a virtual tour or look at a slide show here.
Here is a rough layout of a sample suite, very much NOT to scale, but it provides the idea. Please rest assured the bathrooms have doors.
There are two hallways (one to the left, one to the right) with three bedrooms and a large-sized bathroom off each hallway; one of the two bathrooms
in each suite is ADA-compliant.Bedrooms have 1, 2, or 3 extra-long single beds. The 3-bed room is generally laid out with two upper bunks (desk/dresser where the lower bunk would be) and there’s only one per suite; we will use them as larger singles, barring the actual need for a triple (IF you need a triple, please email mythcon@mythsoc.org). Full occupancy for suites during Mythcon will be 6 or perhaps 7 persons.
We will place people in double rooms (two beds in one bedroom) according to your roommate requests, assuming you both request each other. We will try to put people into suite groupings according to your requests but we cannot guarantee it. If you book a double room without specifying your roommate, we will try to assign you a suitable roommate. Doubles may be upgraded to singles at no cost, depending on availability.
BOARD:
The full conference room & board package will include Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in the dorm; meals include dinner Friday and Saturday, breakfast Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, all at The Garden cafeteria in the Cuicacalli Residence Hall. The Sunday night banquet will be in nearby Tula Community Center and is also included in the room & board package. If you have food allergies, please email mythcon@mythsoc.org and let us know your specific limitations so we can advise the cafeteria and banquet catering.
To reiterate, the meals included in the room & board package are:
Friday night dinner; Saturday breakfast; Saturday dinner; Sunday breakfast; Sunday night banquet; Monday breakfast.
Lunches are NOT included in the Room & Board package but will be "on your own" - there are many options within easy walking distance, some within the Aztec Student Union itself (including Oggi's Pizzeria, The Habit Burger Grill, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. There's also a Starbucks, although it's possible that specific location may be closed during the summer). On campus to the north there is a Rubios Coastal Grill, Panda Express, and Subway Sandwiches. Just south of the campus are many eateries for those willing to walk a block or two; we will provide a list.
The option to come early and/or stay late on campus is available. Two meals per day are required to stay on campus, so those who come early and/or stay late on campus will include breakfast and lunch in the Garden cafeteria (the least expensive meal combination).
NOTE: The Garden cafeteria does sell individual meals so, if you are commuting or staying off-campus and want to join us, you may buy a COMMUTER MEAL TICKET from us which includes Friday and Saturday dinners and the Sunday night banquet; you may also be able to buy a meal at the check-in desk as you enter (no cash).
Full Conference Room & Board at Cuicacalli:
DOUBLE occupancy, three nights, six meals* - $350 per person
SINGLE occupancy, three nights, six meals* - $430
EXTRA night(s) w/breakfast & lunch:
DOUBLE occupancy, per night - $90 per person
SINGLE occupancy, per night - $120
Parking
Parking will be available in P3 or P4 (parking garages across Campus Drive from Cuicacalli); we recommend buying a one-week parking pass, available on our website. It’s also possible to buy parking from the machines located within the garages. There is no free parking at SDSU, not even for those with disabled plates/permits. Detailed information is here. Lot 3 and Lot 4 are the closest to our location on campus; please note that Level 3 by the elevator in Parking Lot 3 puts you on street level and you won't have to deal with any stairs. Please see partial campus map at the bottom of this page.SDSU Parking Permits bought in advance via our website:
$25.00 Overnight week
$17.00 Day Week (no overnight)
$8.00 One-day pass (no overnight)
Please note: Parking Permits must be purchased by July 15, 2019
Parking permits purchased on your own at the kiosks, current costs (Pay Stations & PayByPhone):
1 - 4 hours $3 per hour
5 to 10 hours $15
Overnight $20
Weekend $30
Other Accommodation
For those who cannot or don’t wish to stay onsite, there are many hotel options. For ease of commuting on the Green Line trolley, we recommend the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Diego–Mission Valley, on Hazard Center Drive; it is across the street from the Hazard Center Station and only 15 minutes (7 stops) from the SDSU Transit Center. Town & Country hotel is also a short walk (approximately a quarter mile) from the Fashion Valley Transit Center, one stop further along the Green Line. Marriott Mission Valley hotel is a slightly longer walk (approximately half a mile) from the Rio Vista Station but it is a few stops closer on the Green Line trolley. You can also search Google maps for other hotels along the Green Line. You can check out the Green Line trolley schedule online and note that "Seniors/Disabled/Medicare" fares are half-off (senior status starts at age 60).Getting to San Diego:
San Diego is a beautiful city to visit and you can easily drive, fly, or take the train. There is a very good public transportation system of buses and trolleys, as well as taxis and ride-share services, so you don’t need to rent a car in order to visit any of the wonderful local destinations.San Diego International Airport (SAN, Lindbergh Field)
Amtrak (SAN)
Things to do in San Diego:
San Diego is a city on the water, with miles of beautiful beaches, harbors, and bays. The San Diego Zoo is very large and impressive and, 30-some miles north east, their sister Safari Park is even larger and in many ways more impressive. Balboa Park, “the nation’s largest urban cultural park,” is beautiful and well worth visiting, as of course is Sea World. The Maritime Museum of San Diego and the USS Midway Museum are fascinating.San Diego visitor web sites include:
https://sandiego.org
https://www.sandiegovisit.org/
https://hiddensandiego.net/
San Diego County is also considered by many to be the “Craft Beer Capital of America” — in a later Progress Report our staff zymologist Jason Fisher will provide some details.
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