Guests of Honor

Carol Kendall, fantasy author








Jane Yolen, fantasy scholar and author

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News & Miscellany

Rivendell's Mythcon 24 page

Rivendell's Carol Kendall page

Rivendell's Jane Yolen page

Mythcon 24 Program (this page)

Mythcon 24 Papers (this page)

Readings from Rivendell (this page)

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Program Book Highlights

Down the Hobbit-hole & Through the Wardrobe

by David Lenander

This theme was chosen several years ago to invoke particular books and their authors. First of all, the titles of the Alice In Wonderland books by Lewis Carroll: Down the Rabbit Hole and Through The Looking Glass. Probably the most famous children's books of the Nineteenth Century, the Alice books are also representative of the Victorian Fantasy that has been of great interest to the members of the Rivendell Group, and members of the English and German departments for a number of years. Such past and present members as Ruth Berman, P.C. Hodgell, Michael M. Levy, Louisa Smith, David Lenander, Rick Henry, Donna White, Peg Kerr Ihinger, Ruth Jeffries, James Maertens, and Cathy Parlin, have studied with such professors as William Madden, C. Michael Hancher, Stephen Prickett, Margery Durham, Rodney Shewan, Gordon Hirsch, Jack Zipes, and Karen Nelson Hoyle, many of whom have also spoken to the Rivendell Group. The Nineteenth Century roots of the work of the Inklings-Owen Barfield, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and the others-have been explored in the discussions of the Rivendell Group since its beginnings in 1973. Of course it was the works of the Inklings that brought us together, many of us first discovering children's fantasy in Tolkien's The Hobbit or Lewis's Narnia books, beginning with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. And so it is these stories that we call to mind along with Carroll's.

The Mythopoeic Society came together in 1967, in California, as a discussion group devoted to the Inklings' fantasy. It soon grew to include discussion groups scattered all across North America, and gradually developed interests in the Inklings' critical approaches and scholarship as well as their biography and fiction. The Inklings were themselves originally a college group, celebrating not only their shared creativity in their original fantasy, but their friendship and common interests in literature of all periods, talk and argument. They were not the first such group, or even the first such school of fantasy writers, but they participated consciously in a rich literary tradition that we continue today, however much we may expand or add to that tradition. They were certainly among the first critics to take fantasy and Children's books as seriously as they took Beowulf, Chaucer or Milton. However seriously they took their Nesbitt, Caroll or Macdonald, they never failed to enjoy it, nor became so tangled in theory as to lose either the original texts or intelligibility in theoretical jargon. Today, at Mythcon 24, we celebrate not only the Inklings' fiction, but also such essays as "On Fairy Stories," and "On Three Ways of Writing for Children." And recognize some of their true heirs in Carol Kendall, Jane Yolen and Jack Zipes.

Even as the Society and Rivendell have studied the "Roots of Tolkien's Tree" (as we called them in a lecture series we sponsored some years ago), so have our members and mentors gone on to harvest new fruits of our studies and conversations. Articles, dissertations, stories and poems, and less tangible fruits in the teaching and scholarship informed by our discussions in many ways. Some of these are in evidence this weekend, not only in the program detailed in this book, or the novels and Mythlores for sale in the Goblin Market, but in the conversations in the hallways, the questions asked, the jokes cracked and the songs sung in the evenings.

This weekend we hope to peer down Bilbo Baggins' hobbit-hole into the past, examining again the foundations of our fantasy literature, and to accompany Lucy through the Wardrobe, exploring new worlds of fantasy in papers, panels and readings by familiar and new writers. We've asked three authors who have taken those journeys, and journeys of their own, to be our guides. Jack Zipes will talk about "The Wizard of Oz as American Myth," while Jane Yolen, who has often acknowledged her debt as a story teller to such writers as Rudyard Kipling, and J.M. Barrie, will re-examine some of the fantasy texts like Kingsley's Water Babies in her talk on Saturday, "Dark Mirrors." On Sunday evening we'll listen to Carol Kendall share some of the wisdom that has enabled her to create characters like Muggles and her Maxims.

Fantasy in the Midwest

by Eric M. Heideman

Mythcon XXIV's subtheme is "Fantasy in the Midwest." This subtheme will run through panels on "The Fantastic Tradition in Minnesota and Wisconsin" and on Minnesota children's writer/illustrator, Wanda Gág, readings by several Midwestern writers, a video tape of a Minnesota children's theatre production, as well as some of the scholarly papers. We have a number of programs relating to the great, American midwestern dream of the Land of Oz, notably our keynote address by Minnesota resident Jack Zipes.

Wisconsin is the longtime home of Arkham House and the current home of Amazing Stories. Robert Bloch lived and wrote there for many years. Clifford D. Simak grew up in southwestern Wisconsin and repeatedly wrote about his youthful environs during his many decades as the patriarch of Minnesota SF writers. Poul Anderson went to college in Minnesota and Thomas M. Disch grew up here. Current Wisconsin writers of the fantastic include Joan Vinge, P.C. Hodgell, Phyllis Ann Karr, and Kris Jensen. Of the many SF writers currently living in Minnesota, Gordon R. Dickson is the best known. Current Minnesota speculative writers who have written novels partly set in the state include Charles V. De Vet (Special Feature), John Sladek (Roderick and Bugs), Eleanor Arnason (Daughter of the Bear King), Emma Bull (War for the Oaks), Pamela Dean (Tam Lin), and Caroline Stevermer (River Rats).

Minnesota has a strong two-decades old tradition of SF writing groups, currently including the Aaardvards, the Scribblies and The Workshop. The Minnesota Imaginative Fiction Writers' Alliance (MIFWA) serves as a resource sharing network for Minnesota SF & F writers. Tales of the Unanticipated is a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine published by the Minnesota Science Fiction Society.

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Mythcon XXIV is pleased to offer you a wide selection of daytime programming, including scholarly papers, panel discussions, readings, storytelling, and other events, beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. We recommend studying our Pocket Program to choose the events you wish to attend each hour and to plan when to visit our Art Show and Dealers' Room.

Special Events

The calendar of Special Events at Mythcon XXIV begins Friday Evening with the Keynote Address by Professor Jack Zipes in the Comstock Ballroom, "The Wizard of Oz as American Myth." Afterwards there will be a brief reception, and a musical performance by Lynn Maudlin and Phil Ayling. Later, in the ballroom, there will be a video screening of the Children's Theatre Company production of Alice in Wonderland.

At 8:00 p.m. Herman Schouten will conduct a very special role playing game of "The Battle of Pelennor Fields." Participants and observers are welcome.

On Saturday morning the traditional Procession will form at 9:00 a.m. in front of Comstock Hall and wend its way to the site of our Opening Ceremonies and an address by Guest of Honor Jane Yolen, "Dark Mirrors." All Mythcon members are encouraged to join the Procession; costumes and banners are not required but very welcome!

Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. we will enjoy the Masquerade costume competition and various entertainments for your pleasure, including an informal presentation by Gary Gisselman of the Children's Theatre Company on "The Value of Stories and Why We Tell Them." Jane Yolen's bedtime stories will follow. The evening's events begin in Coffman Theatre/Lecture Hall. If you are interested in entering the Masquerade competition, you must turn in a registration form by noon on Saturday. Registration forms, as well as rules and other Masquerade information, may be picked up at the Registration Table.

The annual Auction of art works from the Art Show and Mythopoeic Society collectibles will take place on Sunday afternoon. Please check the Pocket Program for time and place.

On Sunday Evening at 7:00 the annual Banquet will feature an address by Guest of Honor Carol Kendall and the presentation of the Mythopoeic Awards. The banquet is in the Comstock Dining Hall. If you did not make a banquet reservation, you are welcome to join us at 7:45 for the after-dinner speeches and announcements.

The annual Members' Meeting of the Mythopoeic Society, open to all Society and Mythcon members will be on Monday. Closing Ceremonies will follow. Please consult your Pocket Program for times and places.

Autographs by our Guests of Honor

We have arranged a special autographing session for our three special guests--Carol Kendall, Jane Yolen, and Jack Zipes--on Sunday morning. They'll be happy to sign your copies of their books at this time. In consideration for our guests and your fellow conference members, please limit yourself to three books per author. The location and time of the autographing is announced in the Pocket Program.

Bardic Circle

A Bardic Circle on at least one night is a long-standing Mythcon tradition, maintaining a shared historical connection to the Greyhaven writers of Berkeley. (The best description of what a Bardic Circle is like may appear in the fantasy story anthology, Greyhaven, in the introduction by Marion Zimmer Bradley). As of this writing it is doubtful whether any of the Greyhaven writers will be with us in Minneapolis, but many of the past participants in Mythcon Bardic Circles are already registered.

At a Bardic Circle-well, as Diana Paxson put it in 1982: "The Circle works round-robin style. In the first round, everyone is expected to perform a short piece (this rule is sometimes relaxed at conventions) which may be their own work, or a favorite by another poet. In subsequent rounds, people may pass." My own favorite Bardic Circle memory is from Mythcon 19, when a couple of musicians proudly announced that they were going to play a song they'd just learned in Texas, and launched into "Waltzing With Bears." They were a bit taken aback to have practically the whole circle join in, and the center of the circle suddenly filled with waltzers (no bears, though). After all, we'd learned the song a few years earlier, from Anne, Mary Jo and Dolores, when Mythcon was at Wheaten College. For many Mythcon goers, the Bardic Circles have been unexpected highlights, rediscovering an all-but lost form of entertainment dating back to the days of Bards, and really surviving through the Victorian and Edwardian eras to be displaced only in our day by phonographs, radio and television-but never at Mythcon!

So along with that twenty page paper on theoretical approaches to the fictions of Jane Yolen, Carol Kendall and C.S. Lewis, we hope you packed your recorder or guitar, and that dog-eared notebook where you copied out your favorite poems and started writing your own. But we'll have some poetry anthologies and songbooks nearby if you haven't brought your own. In past years, some Circles have continued until dawn.

Pun Tournament

Puns will fly fast and furious at the traditional Pun Tournament. If you like to dish out mild to awful wordplay, or you simply enjoy subjecting your ears and mind to it, you should attend and at least listen. Prizes to be awarded by judges Steve Deyo, Lee Speth and Mary Himmelsbach (robes and wigs optional).

Gary Gisselman

Mr. Gisselman is the Associate Artistic Director at The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, a position that he has held for three years. Prior to that he was the Artistic Director for the Arizona Theater in Tucson and Phoenix for eleven years, and the Founding Artistic Director of Chanhassen Theater in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Mr. Gisselman has just begun rehearsals for Strega Nona Meets Her Match, Tomie dePaola's magical and colorful new storybook. His other productions this year include Crow and Weasel, an epic fable that explores our spiritual relationship with the landscape, American Indian traditions and the wisdom of a culture rooted in respect for the earth, and Alice in Wonderland. Among the productions that he directed for CTC last year was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Gary will be giving an informal presentation Saturday evening on The Value of Stories and Why We Tell Them. He has also provided us with a video tape of an earlier production of Alice in Wonderland that was mounted by the Children's Theatre Company several years ago. Please check the schedule for showing times.

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In line with the recently inaugurated juried process for the acceptance of papers in the Mythopoeic Society journal, Mythlore, we decided to do likewise for Mythcon 24. We were hoping that out of this process would come not only better papers, but also other kinds of programming opportunities. After announcing our new process, and extending our deadline, we found ourselves with only about half the papers we needed to make up the program at Mythcon. In fact, we'd received about as many paper proposals as actual papers. In our paper guidelines we had announced that we would also be reserving some spots for non-juried papers and presentations, meaning to include papers prepared too late to meet our deadline for the jury process, papers by beginning scholars (for instance, including students in high school), works-in-progress which the author wished to share without final closure, and other sorts of presentations. The result of this was that we were faced with a choice, to have comparatively few papers at Mythcon, or to accept enough additional papers to fill out our schedule. We thought the latter choice the best for Mythcon.

What is the outcome for Mythcon, and what is the future of papers at Mythcons? Well, future committees will have to determine the latter question, deciding whether this was a transitional phase between unjuried presentations and referred papers, or a failed experiment. I believe that the papers that were referred and revised in accordance with our readers' suggestions will be stronger for the process. But, truthfully, among the papers that reached us too late, there are some papers that did not need revision (though one can almost always improve a paper after some editorial suggestions from a good reader). I very much appreciate the extra work that our expert readers and our paper writers put into the juried papers. At the same time, I'm excited about some of the other papers, and looking forward to some that I have not had an opportunity to preview. Please let us and future Mythcon committee members know what you think.

One last point, we always intended to keep a place for beginning scholars, and for the kind of untheoretical, informational or survey papers, and personal essays that have always been present at Mythcon. Our purpose in jurying papers was to help make even these kinds of papers better expressed, internally consistent, not to strain out unfashionable critical approaches. Clearly, some of these sorts of papers don't readily lend themselves to a referral process, I do not know how I would refashion the process, but I am not sorry that we undertook it. The referred papers are designated with an asterisk.

• Sarah Beach, "Breaking the Pattern: Alan Garner's The Owl Service and the Mabinogion."
• Ruth Berman, "Lang and Tolkien,"*
• Dainis Bisenieks, "The World of Tove Janssen's Moomins."
• Jan Bogstad, on Lawrence Yep and the Legends, Myths and Realities of Growing up Chinese-American,
• Bernadette Bosky, "Charles Williams & the Golden Dawn II: Supernatural Tensions and Resolutions in The Greater Trumps"
• Michael Cadden, "The Illusion of Control: The Influence of Environment(s) in the Making of 'Hero' in Robin McKinley's Beauty and The Blue Sword"*
• Howard Canaan, "'All Hell in his Knapsack:' the Spirit of Play in Two Fairy Tales"*
• Tim Callahan on "Censoring the World Riddle" (about censorship of children's Fantasy by religious groups, and its importance to the development of compassion in the adult personality).
• Joe R. Christopher, "Alice's Adventures in Narnia; or, Through the Wardrobe, and What Alice Found There"* and "Superman in Wonderland" (about a comic bk.).
• Joel N. Feimer, "Biblical Typology in Ursula K. LeGuin's The Eye of the Heron: Character, Theme, and Structure"*
• Laura French, "The Sword and the Shuttle: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland and Ursula LeGuin's Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight?"*
• Grace Funk, "Here and Then There." (a paper on devices and movement of children from this world to others in fantasy stories)
• Gwyneth Hood, "Angelic and Sacrificial Strategies in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings"*
• Cornelia Hoogland, "Hero 'Walks' His 'Talk': Narrative as Loving Conversation."*
• Carl Hostetter & Pat Wynne, "Stone Towers," (Pre-Celtic influence on Tolkien's language and mythology)
• John Hruschka, "Anne Sexton and Anima Projection: Transformations as a Critique of the Psychology of Love in Grimm's Fairy Tales."*
• Gary Hunnewell, Examination of the changes in Lofting's Voyages of Dr. Doolittle texts to remove racism
• Michael Johnson, "An Ozdyssey in Plato" * (Not being in Kansas any more: going where Plato has gone before).
• Judith Kollman, "Masculine and Feminine: The Kabbalah and Charles Williams' Arthuriad"
• Corinne M. Larsen, "The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi: Structural Analysis Illuminates Character Motivation"*
• David Lenander, Two Short Papers on fantasy in two 18th Century writers.
• Sandra Lindow, "Touch Magic: The Importance of Teaching Folktales to Emotionally Disturbed, Disabled Readers"* (on teaching reading, using fairy tales, relying on Yolen's Touch Magic).
• Nancy-Lou Patterson, "'The Glorious Impossible:' Mystery and Metaphor in the Fantasies of Madeleine L'Engle"*
• John Rateliffe, "Hobs, Hobyahs, and The Denham Tracts," (a brief survey of the old question "where did Tolkien get the word 'hobbit' from?").
• William A.S. Sarjeant, "A Forgotten Children's Fantasy: Philip Woodruff's The Sword of Northumbria"*
• J.W. Stewig, "The Witch Woman: A Recurring Motif in Recent Fantasy Writing for Young Readers."*
• Michael Underwood, "Down the Rabbit Hole and Out the Hobbit Hole, Worlds Turned Upside Down" (about Alice and The Hobbit)
• Ellen R. Weil & Gary K. Wolfe, paper on the Holocaust in Jane Yolen's fiction
• Donna White, "Villainy in the Social Fantasies of Carol Kendall"

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Panel Discussions, Meetings, and Other Program Events

This list of events in our daytime program is in alphabetical order according to title or last name of author being discussed. Please consult your pocket program for times and places.

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Notes about the paper readers

Sarah Beach is the Recording Secretary of the Mythopoeic Society. Art Editor of Mythlore, she has also illustrated many Mythlore covers, herself. She currently works in Hollywood.

Ruth Berman's 1979 PhD thesis was "Suspending Disbelief: The Development of Fantasy as a Literary Genre," she has been an active fan for many years in The Mythopoeic Society, The Wizard of Oz Club, and Star Trek fandom. She has published dozens of professional stories and poems in the SF and literary markets, and is currently Poetry Editor for Pandora.

Dainis Bisenieks wrote one of the papers collected in the Proceedings of the famous Mankato Conference, perhaps the first to be devoted to Tolkien's works. A long-time Rivendell member, he now lives in Philadelphia.

Jan Bogstad is Collection Development Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire library. Her past Mythcon presentations touched on Feminism and SF, particularly in French language fiction.

Bernadette Bosky's earlier paper on Charles Williams and the Golden Dawn came as a revelation to many of her auditors. She has also presented at least one other paper at Mythcon.

Michael Cadden is a doctoral student at Illinois State University. He is interested in Children's Literature.

Howard Canaan is a professor at Mercy College in New York.

Tim Callahan graduated from the Chounard Art School. He has worked in the Hollywood animation industry for many places, he is currently with the Disney Feature Animation Unit. His poetry & art regularly appear in Mythic Circle, and he has presented at least one paper at Mythcon XXII.

Joe R. Christopher's C.S. Lewis received the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award. He has also been Mythcon guest of honor, and has contributed many articles to Mythcon and Mythlore. He teaches at Tarleton State University in Texas, and writes poetry. A new edition of his Tolkien poetry is available from Gary and Sylvia Hunnewell.

Joel N. Feimer is an English professor at Mercy College in New York. A previously presented paper appeared in a recent Proceedings volume from the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts Conference.

Laura French teaches out east, in western Pennsylvania, but is currently at home in Minnesota, at least for the summer.

Grace Funk is a retired librarian who lives in British Columbia. She is active in the Mythopoeic Society's Children's Fantasy apa, where she periodically contributes essays that inspire much thoughtful discussion.

Gwyneth Hood teaches in West Virginia. Her first novel appeared last year from Tor. She is active on GEnie, and contributes stories regularly to Mythic Circle.

Cornelia Hoogland, a professor of English and Modern Languages at the University of Western Ontario, was unable to be present at the Conference at the last minute. We are arranging to have her paper read for us.

Carl Hostetter is a computer programmer for NASA. He is editor of Vinyar Tengwar, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, a Special Interest Group of the Mythopoeic Society. He is also a member of the Mythcon XXV committee.

John Hruschka lives in Bloomington, Illinois.

Gary Hunnewell. When he is not trying to track down every known Tolkien fanzine, he is kept busy with family and work as a systems specialist at Southwestern Bell Telephone. His current projects are chronicling Tolkien fanzines (for microfilming at Marquette University), and creating a Tolkien Year End Review for 1992. He also edits Ravenhill.

Michael Johnson is a professor in the Foreign Language Department at the Statue University College at Buffalo, New York.

Judith Kollman is a Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Flint, where she teaches biblical and medieval literature, and, when possible, a course on the Inklings or fantasy in general. She has published several articles on Charles Williams (some of these in Mythlore) and has been Scholar Guest of Honor at Mythcon.

Corinne M. Larsen has been a virtual fantasy discussion activist in the Twin Cities. A member of Rivendell since about 1976, she later formed and coordinated the Twin Cities C.S. Lewis Society, and also formed a George MacD/donald discussion group for some time. She has been a student at the University of Minnesota.

David Lenander was one of the founding members of the Rivendell Group, he has been a grad student at the U of M and is Secretary for Discussion Groups for The Mythopoeic Society. He has presented a number of papers at past Mythcons, and at the Children's Literature Association Conference.

Sandra Lindow's Heroic Housewife poems were collected in a little chapbook a couple of years ago. One of her poems in last year's Tales of the Unanticipated was nominated for the SF Poetry Rhysling. She teaches reading in Wisconsin.

Nancy-Lou Patterson has been Mythlore Reviews Editor for many years, and has also contributed a number of illustrations. Now Professor Emeritus of the University of Waterloo, Canada, she writes: "I wish with all my heart that I could attend [Mythcon this year], but by having a drawing and a note on Sayers [in the program book] I will feel as if I were there in person.".

John Rateliffe's PhD dissertation from Marquette University focussed on the short stories of Lord Dunsany. His paper at the Wheaton Mythcon examined a small, marginal detail of the Lord of the Rings manuscript, and in the process blew a large hole through the accepted understanding of the Tolkien-Williams relationship per the Carpenter biographies. He is now working on a book about the manuscripts of The Hobbit.

William A.S. Sarjeant teaches in Canada. He has published four Fantasy novels as Anthony Swithen, none of them available in the U.S.-except at Mythcon 24!

J.W. Stewig is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is currently working on his fourteenth book. Some of his earlier books include: Spontaneous Drama: A Language Art, Children and Literature, and Read to Write.

Michael Underwood has attended a number of Mythcons, and has often been seen in costume.

Ellen R. Weil has previously written on the Holocaust in Jane Yolen's fiction, but is expanding her thesis and working with Gary Wolfe on her new paper.

Donna White teaches English at Clemson University. Her U of Minnesota PhD thesis work took her to visits with Alan Garner and Lloyd Alexander as she studied the use of The Mabinogion in Children's Literature.

Gary K. Wolfe is Professor of Humanities at Roosevelt University in Chicago. His The Known and the Unknown received the 1981 Eaton Award, and he received the SFRA Pilgrim Award in 1986. He regularly reviews for Locus.

Pat Wynne is best known for his artwork, on the cover of Mythlore, in the Celtic Calendars, and now in a growing number of books, like Ursula K. LeGuin's recent Fish Soup. At Mythcon (where he was guest of honor in 1990), he is even more popular for his wit than his art. He is active in the E.L.F.

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Readings of Original Works

An annual tradition for the Rivendell Group is the reading of original stories. (This is true of some of the other Mythopoeic Society Discussion Groups as well). Because most of the Rivendell members were too busy with Mythcon responsibilities to hold a Rivendell meeting at Mythcon, we've decided to designate all readers honorary Rivendellers for the duration of their readings. As Gandalf said, of the Hall of Fire in the Last Homely House at Rivendell, "Here you will hear songs and tales if you can keep awake."

Jane Yolen
will read "some short stories and/or part of my new children's fantasy novel," all not yet published. Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Jack Zipes
will read selected portions of his book, The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood, revised edition, to be released in September, 1993. He will also read his new translation of a fairy tale by Herman Hesse, which will be published in about two years. Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Terry A. Garey
...has been published in the small press for 15 years and has had over 150 poems, essays, and stories published. She is the editor of Time Frames, a speculative poetry anthology, and the former poetry editor of Tales of the Unanticipated.
She will be reading a section of a new work in progress called The Apricot Tree, which is kind of hard to describe. She promises not to do anything too weird, nor will she drool or froth at the mouth.

Gwenyth E. Hood
My novel, The Coming of the Demons, was published in hardcover through William Morrow in 1982. It is a story of some futuristic people who blundered into Medieval Italy and made a mess of things. Since then I have had some short fiction published in Mythic Circle and some scholarly articles published in Mythlore as well as several other places. (The latest is a review Article called "And the Plague Rages On," which was published in the Journal of Social and Biological Structures.)"
The author will read from a work in progress, which includes "some mythological stories-within-the-story."

Deborah K. Jones
...has published several articles in The Costumers' Quarterly and is one of the artists featured in the Hugo-nominated book The Costume Maker's Art, edited by Thom Boswell.
The author will be reading from The Company of Guenevere (working title), a novel in manuscript of intrigue, humor and general insanity set in a university community in the far future. The protagonist copes with betrayal, sabotage, overdue library books and other strange goings-on--or is it all her imagination? The Rivendell Group has heard many selections from this novel and recommends it highly.

Dr. William Anthony Swithin Sarjeant
"My four novels lie on the very verge between science fiction, science fantasy, and historical novels, being set on an essentially imaginary island within the real world--specifically, in the North Atlantic Ocian--in the early 15th Century. The quartet has the general title The Perilous Quest for Lyonesse. All were published in the Fontana series by Collins (later Harper Collins) in London, as follows: Princes of Sandraste (1990), The Lords of the Stoney Mountains (1991), The Winds of the Wastelands (1992), The Nine Gods of Safaddne (1993). None has yet found a U.S. publisher, alas! but they've done well in Canada and are also available in Australia and New Zealand."
The author, who writes under the name of Anthony Swithin, will read selections from his first three novels.

Joan Marie Verba
"I have had six Darkover stories published in the anthologies from DAW Books (Free Amazons of Darkover, Four Moons of Darkover, Domains of Darkover, Renunciates of Darkover, Leroni of Darkover, and Towers of Darkover), and I have had one short story appear in Science Fiction Review. My first book, a nonfiction children's book, Voyager: Exploring the Outer Planets, was published in 1991."
The author will read "The Madwoman of the Kilghard Hills," a story of Kennard Alton's childhood, just published in Towers of Darkover.

Laurel Winter
"Much of my fiction and poetry involves 'real' things that are twisted or shifted or just changed--things like supermarket shopping mixed up with immortality, or discovering an alien child in a daycare center. Among my credits: a poem to Aboriginal Science Fiction and four stories sold to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the first of which, "Infinity Syrup", made The New York Review of Science Fiction 1992 Recommended Reading list for short fiction. I am the poetry editor for Tales of the Unanticipated.
The author will be reading "Permanent Natural Boy," a story about nine-year-old "identical" boy/girl twins and some strange paint. It will appear in F&SF at some point in the future.

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Readings from Children's Literature

David Bratman - Wolf Story by William McCleery
"Wolf Story is not a fantasy in the strict sense: what it is, is an account of a man improvising a bedtime-story animal fable for his 5-year-old son over the course of several days. Both the actual wolf story itself and the frame story about the man and his son are quite amusing.

Dainis Bisenieks - Tales from Moomin Valley by Tove Jansson
"The Invisible Child"

Eric M. Heideman - The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
"A tale of the Cool People who had 'stars upon thars'--and the folks who didn't." Plus another Dr. Seuss story, to be announced.

Laura Krentz - The Sleeping Beauty by Jane Yolen
"The traditional tale of the princess who is cursed to sleep for 100 years is retold beautifully by Jane Yolen."
The Man Who Lit the Stars by Claude Clement
"One day a vagabond enters a village carrying a leather bag and a long ladder. His statement that he polishes the stars is greeted with laughter and mockery. But a ragged young boy follows him to see his work."

The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
"When a witch's broom loses power and is left behind with a widow, she discovers it can do much more than sweep. But her neighbors call it a wicked and dangerous thing, and want it destroyed."

Marion Van Loo - The Deliverers of Their Country by E. Nesbit
"Two children, caught in an alarming plague of dragons in a country quite short of heroes, become the deliverers they never expected to be."

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The Mythcon Art Show and Auction

The Mythcon Art Show is in Coffman Union, Room 310. Artists' check-in is from Noon to 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The Show is open to the public from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The live auction of works from the show, along with books and collectables/memorabilia will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Many pieces in the Art Show are for sale by auction. Look for bidding and buying rules posted in the Art Show room. We will also have a "Print Shop" where certain pieces will be available for direct sale.

Works which receive two or more written bids by the close of the show will be put into the Live Auction on Sunday. Art works may be paid for and picked up at the Auction or immediately after. Artists' check-out is 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

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Goblin Market

The Mythcon Dealers' Room

Hours of the Dealers' Room will be approximately the same as those for the Art Show, though probably starting earlier on Friday, and running later on Sunday.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Hospitality Room

Our coffee house-style hospitality room, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, will open at 4:00 p.m. on Friday in Comstock Hall. (See the registration area for a posting of the Mad Hatter's location.) We are offering coffee, tea, lemonade, and other light refreshments, and the opportunity for good, informal conversation. The room will be open at various times in the conference, but the Mad Hatter (Eric Heideman) would like to see some of the conference, too, so we'll open longer hours if some of you volunteer to help host. Come on down!

Films

Looking for something to do at Mythcon after the evening program? Come to the Mythcon Film Program! Each evening, beginning about 9:00 p.m. and continuing into the small hours, there will be a program of videos related to our conference theme, including both familiar favorites and rarely-seen treasures. A listing of each day's videos will be posted at the entrance to the Video Room. (Fill in location.)

T-Shirts

Yes, it's true, this year we have two Conference T shirts! No it's not because we are in the Twin Cities and Minneapolitans and St. Paulites can never agree on anything. It's because we received such great artwork!

Sylvia Hunnewell's rendition of Carol Kendall's Muggles will be printed on Raspberry colored shirts, while Maggie Lindorfer's "Down the Hobbit-hole and Through the Wardrobe" will be reproduced on Turquoise colored shirts. These are high quality, 100% cotton, heavy weight T shirts by Beefy T. They are available in Large, Extra Large, and Double X from either the registration table in Comstock or the registration/Society table in the Dealer's room. At just $10 apiece (there is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota), you won't have to choose between the two styles, you can buy one of each!

Meals in Comstock Hall Dormitory

The Comstock room and board package begins with dinner the first night of your stay and ends with lunch the day you check out. If you need to buy extra meal tickets, ask at the Comstock Information Desk.

·Breakfast 7 - 8 a.m.
(Continental on Saturday and Sunday)

·Lunch (Friday) and Brunch (Saturday and Sunday)
11 a.m.-1 p.m.

·Dinner 5 - 6 p.m.
(served until 6:25 p.m. Friday)

Regular dinner on Sunday is not available to people who have signed up for the Banquet

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Acknowledgements

Mythcon XXIV Committee Ruth Berman, Steven Mark Deyo, Mike Dorn, Giovanna Fregni, Marianne Hageman, Eric M. Heideman, Jo Ann Johnson, Deborah K. Jones, Greg Ketter, David Lenander, Cathy Parlin, Polly Jo Peterson, Joan Marie Verba

The Mythcon Committee would like to thank our co-sponsoring organizations: The University of Minnesota Departments of English and German, the University Mythopoeic Society Rivendell Group, and especially the University Libraries' Children's Literature Research Collections, and Curator Karen Nelson Hoyle

We also thank the Minnesota SF Society, SF Minnesota, the Minneapolis Union (Coffman Union) staff, Comstock Dormitory staff, Linda Escher and the Children's Book Illustrators' Guild, The Children's Theatre Company, David Bratman and Sherwood Smith of The Mythopoeic Society, Eleanor Arnason, Gary & Sylvia Hunnewell, Laura Krentz, Maggie Lindorfer, Nancy-Lou Patterson and Louisa Smith.

Program Book Art Credits: Charles Dodgson, Sylvia Hunnewell, Maggie Lindorfer, Nancy-Lou Patterson, Laramie Sasseville and John Tenniel.

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