TOD 058 State of the Weird 2019, A Roundtable Discussion featuring Victoria Dalpe, Gwendolyn Kiste, John Langan and Teri.Zin

October 24, 2019
7 mins to read

In this podcast Victoria Dalpe, Gwendolyn Kiste, John Langan, and Teri.Zin (Zin E Rocklyn) join Scott Nicolay for the 2019 edition of The Outer Dark’s epic annual roundtable discussion of the State of the Weird. The State of the Weird Roundtable 2019 was recorded live on Saturday August 24 at NecronomiCon in Providence, RI.

Show Notes

Victoria Dalpe, Gwendolyn Kiste, John Langan and Teri.Zin (Zin E Rocklyn) join host/moderator Scott Nicolay for the most epic episode of The Outer Dark since The State of the Weird 2018. The roundtable conversation kicks off with reactions to pronouncements that the Weird Renaissance/boom is over at a time when so many talented writers from disenfranchised groups (women, PoC, LBGTQ+, disabled) are expanding and transforming Weird fiction with game-changing work. The authors discuss how more perspectives lift all writers and increase readership, the importance of having editors of color and other marginalized groups, changing the definition of agency especially in relation to mentally ill characters, the need to retool storytelling in ways that reflect diverse experiences and not just the same old archetypes, why Weird fiction is a fertile space for exploring different narrative and genre expectations, steps writers and readers can take to support new voices, recognition of Michael Kelly for the now retired award-winning Year’s Best Weird Fiction series (Undertow Publishing), Nightscape Press as an example of a risk-taking press, ‘Trojan Horsing’ diverse authors into anthologies along with the same big names, a Small Press Challenge for listeners, questions from the audience, and the future of Weird fiction. This event was recorded live on Saturday August 24 at NecronomiCon 2019.

Scroll down to Additional Links to find out more about the authors mentioned in this episode.

The Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird is the only annual conference centered around contemporary Weird fiction. Our mission is to foster conversation and connect communities among the diverse slate of creators and audience members under the umbrella of speculative fiction—inclusive, safe and welcoming to women, LBGTQ+, and writers of color. The fourth annual symposium will be held March 26-27, 2020 at Silver Scream FX Lab. Find out more, including a link to purchase supporting and attending memberships at TheOuterDark.org.