Boskone is delighted to announce Mary Robinette Kowal as our Guest of Honor. Mary will be joining us February 16-18, 2018 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel for a terrific convention!

Join us at Boskone by buying your membership today.

Hugo-award winning author, Mary Robinette Kowal is a novelist and professional puppeteer. Her debut novel Shades of Milk and Honey (Tor 2010) was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel. In 2008 she won the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, while two of her short fiction works have been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story: “Evil Robot Monkey” in 2009 and “For Want of a Nail” in 2011, which won the Hugo that year. Her stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Asimov’s, and several Year’s Best anthologies, as well as in her collection Scenting the Dark and Other Stories from Subterranean Press.

Kowal is also an award-winning puppeteer. In high school, she took up puppetry as a hobby, but as Kowal says, she “never thought of it as something you could get paid for.” Instead, she went to East Carolina University to pursue an art degree, minoring in theater and speech. While performing as Audrey II in a performance of Little Shop of Horrors, she learned that a professional puppeteer had come to the show. It was a turning point. Kowal went on to intern at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. With over twenty years of experience, she has performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures and founded Other Hand Productions. Her designs have garnered two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence, the highest award an American puppeteer can achieve.

Her career in puppetry consumed much of Kowal’s creative energy for over ten years. Although she wrote in high school and college, it wasn’t until her brother moved his family to China that she began writing again. Like Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie, she started creating children’s fantasy as a way to stay connected to her young niece and nephew. Reminded of how much she enjoyed writing, she began submitting short stories and made her first sale in 2005, and her first professional sale to Strange Horizons in 2006.

When she isn’t writing or puppeteering, Kowal brings her speech and theater background to her work as a voice actor. She is a member of SAG/AFTRA. As the voice behind several audio books and short stories, she has recorded fiction for authors such as Kage Baker, Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi. She likes to describe voice acting as “puppetry, without the pain.”

Mary lives in Chicago with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Sometimes she even writes on them. Visit www.maryrobinettekowal.com.

 

Buy your Boskone membership today!

 

It’s the middle of summer, which can only mean Boskone 55 is coming in fewer then 6 months and our team is kicking into high gear as we plan for next year’s convention. We will have a few new announcements coming soon, which should be a lot of fun!

In the meantime, to help us in the early stages of planning, we have set up two forms: one to help gather ideas for Boskone and one to enable potential program participants to request a survey. If you’d like to share your thoughts with us, this is the best way to let us know what you are thinking.

Here are the links to the Boskone 55 planning forms:

• Program Participants:  If you would like to be considered as a potential Program Participant, please send us your contact information via this form.
• Program Ideas: If you have a program idea that you’d like to share with us, please visit our Program Idea Form.

Register for Boskone — Weekend Rates are Now Available:

Save save some time and buy your membership today for Boskone 55. Plus, buying your membership early is a great way to let us know you are coming. We look forward to seeing you there!

• Adult Full Convention: $55
• College Student Full Convention: $35 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• Kids-in-Tow: $0 (children ages 7–12 who stay with their parents)

Boskone 55
February 16-18, 2018

Visit the Boskone website for more information.

 

The Boskone Flash Fiction Slam returned for its fourth year with nine writers stepping up to the challenge of writing and reading a short story in under three-minutes. A panel of esteemed judges offered critique for each author. Each story was rated on a scale of 1-5 with scores tallied to determined the winners.

This year’s winner is M.Adrian Sellers with second place to George Galuschak and third place to Mihku Paul. Two years ago, M. Adrian Sellers placed third in the Boskone 52 Flash Fiction Slam. Since Boskone Flash Fiction Slam is a regional qualifier to the New Hampshire Writers’ Project annual Three Minute Fiction Slam, Mark is invited to participate in the finals held NH Institute of Art on March 9, 2017.

Thanks to judges James Patrick Kelly, Dana Cameron, Bruce Coville, Leigh Perry, to moderator Rob Greene and to all nine writers who participated: Bob Kuhn, M. Adrian Sellers, Robin Orm Hansen, Mihku Paul, Jason Febery, Christopher Cornell, George Galuschak, Chia Evans and Mike Ciaraldi.

 

On Saturday, February 18, 2017, the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) held its awards ceremony and announced the winners of the 2016 Skylark Award andthe Gaughan Award. Congratulations to our winners!

2017 Skylark Award

The Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark) is presented annually by NESFA to some person, who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the personal qualities which made the late “Doc” Smith well-loved by those who knew him.

 

2017 Skylark Award Winner:
Jo Walton

Jo Walton has published thirteen novels, three poetry collections and an essay collection. She won the John W. Campbell Award in 2002, the World Fantasy Award for Tooth and Claw in 2004, the Hugo and Nebula awards for Among Others in 2012, the Tiptree Award for My Real Children and the Locus Non Fiction award for What Makes This Book So Great in 2014. She comes from Wales but lives in Montreal. She reads a lot, enjoys travel, talking about books, and eating great food. She plans to live to be ninety-nine and write a book every year. Her most recent novel is Necessity.

2017 Gaughan Award

The Gaughan Award honors the memory of Jack Gaughan, a long-time friend of fandom and one of the finest SF artists of the 20th century. Because Jack felt it was important to encourage and recognize new blood in the field, The New England Science Fiction Association, Inc., presents the Gaughan Award annually to an emerging artist (an artist who has become a professional within the past five years) chosen by a panel of judges.

2017 Gaughan Award Winner: Kirbi Fagan

Kirbi Fagan is an award-winning Metro Detroit based illustrator who specializes in creating art for young readers. Her illustrations are known for their magical themes, nostalgic mood, bright colors, and powerful characters. Kirbi’s work has been acknowledged by organizations such as Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and New York, ImagineFX, Art Order and the International Writers & Illustrators of the Future. Recent clients include, Marvel, Capstone Publishing, Stone Arch Books and Dark Horse Comics. Kirbi lives by two words… “spread joy.”

Not everyone can brave the cold New England winter to make it to Boskone. If you’re using social media, like Twitter or Instagram, considering tagging your posts with #boskone to share your experiences and photos.

 

 

Welcome to the first day at Boskone 54!

Registration is open on Friday from 1pm-8:30pm.

If you have already purchased a Boskone 54 membership or if you need to purchase one, head to our Registration area by taking the up escalators near MJ O’Connor’s pub. Registration will be located at the top of the escalators in the Harbor Foyer.

Here for the Free Friday Programming from 2pm-6pm? You don’t need to stand in line at Registration, but  you’ll be able to pick up a pocket program on tables in the area.

With one day left until Boskone 54 begins, we give you the last of this year’s mini interviews. Thanks to all the program participants who took part!

Jo Walton

Jo Walton has published thirteen novels, three poetry collections and an essay collection. She won the John W. Campbell Award in 2002, the World Fantasy Award for Tooth and Claw in 2004, the Hugo and Nebula awards for Among Others in 2012, the Tiptree Award for My Real Children and the Locus Non Fiction award for What Makes This Book So Great in 2014. She comes from Wales but lives in Montreal. She reads a lot, enjoys travel, talking about books, and eating great food. She plans to live to be ninety-nine and write a book every year.

Her most recent novel is Necessity. Find her online at her website or on Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m just finishing writing my first ever actual science fiction novel. Fantasy is easy for me, because fantasy leans on history, and I’m pretty good on that. Alternate history too, it’s history. Science fiction, while it has always been what I most like to read, is more challenging, because when you’re dealing with the future you have to make it all up but you can’t get it wrong. I always worry about scientific consistency and getting everything the right level of real. I’ve written science fiction at short length, but this is the first time I’ve done it as a novel. So that’s exciting!

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

Does it have to be something that was already written when I was a teenager? Because when I was a teenager I did nothing but read, and most of what I read was SF, and so there really wasn’t much that was available that I didn’t read at the time. I’d do insane things like order the complete backlist of Robert Silverberg from the library. Of course there have been a lot of things published since that I’d have loved when I was a teenager, and that would have been really useful to me, but they weren’t around then.

What were the gaps? Stuff that never had a UK publication, of course, but I’m blanking on what specifically would have been around then.

Hmm, waaaay back — oh, I know. Tale of Genji! I didn’t read that until this year and it’s really bizarre and really great. I’d have loved it. The Decameron! Yes, totally. Purgatorio and Paradiso. I read Inferno, but I never got on to the other two, and they’re amazing, did you know there’s no gravity in Paradiso? It all takes place floating in the air and rising upwards. It must be the first book in zero gravity. Some idiot told me they weren’t as good as the first volume, but I shouldn’t have listened, the whole trilogy is great. Not sure if the Ciardi translation was around then, but it is now. But not Orlando Furioso. I tried to read that when I was a teenager, because C.S. Lewis compared it to Tolkien, but I couldn’t.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

I think today I’ll say Therem Harth rem i’r Estraven. I love his honour and his openness and his curiosity and his forward-looking open-eyed vision, and his practicality, and his tenderness, and the complexity of his past, and the fact he really is human without being a man or a woman. He’s always my first pick for “if you could have a dinner party with anyone from history or fiction”. I like to imagine him sitting down with Pico and Cicero and Ada and Emilie du Chatelet and Alexander the Great and asking them quiet incisive interested questions.

Robert B. Finegold, MD

Robert B Finegold, M.D. is a radiologist living in Maine. He has an undergraduate degree in English (Creative Writing and British Literature), has been a university newspaper cartoonist, and served as a Major in the U.S. Army during the first Gulf War. He is a two-time Writers of the Future Contest Finalist whose work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, GigaNotosaurus, Straeon 2, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, and the anthologies Robotica: The Real Relationships of Artificial Lifeforms, 1st & Starlight, and 2nd & Starlight. On Facebook, find him at Robert B Finegold’s Kvells and Kvetchings.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’ve a completed an “occult thriller”, a novel-length sequel to a Kabbalist novelette that will one day appear in Marc Blake’s Straeon 2. I’ve written the first third of a Jack Vance-like “science fantasy” that takes place on Precipice, the cliff world setting of my tale Lirazel’s Heart that appeared October 2015 in Elizabeth Hirst’s anthology Robotica: The Relationships of Artificial Lifeforms.

This is my “throw wide the doors” romp with world-building: descendants of crash-landed Society of Creative Anachronists, “alien” natives, political intrigue, loss of innocence/coming of age, a wealth of strange characters, unique cities and cultures above and below the Sea of Clouds, and…skyships. It has been a lot of fun to write.

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

This is my first Boskone. I’ve long wanted to attend, but family, career, and nasty pixies have long thwarted my attempts.

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

My grandfather, of blessed memory, shared a story of students who were told they each must speak to the learned assembly regarding chesed and tzedakah, i.e. kindness and charity…and the assembly had already begun! As the students ran to the assembly hall, each passed a beggar who sat shivering in the cold, his empty supplication bowl before him. In their alarm at being late, and in their self-absorption in recalling their lessons, none of the students paid heed to him–none save one.

The doors of the assembly hall closed. The students formed a line upon the stage, jostling for position. The first awaited his invitation to speak; but the seated rabbis said nothing, their expressions dour.

The door to the hall opened again, and the last student entered, hatless and coatless. Together, the rabbis and students turned and stared silently at him. He blushed; and murmuring apologies, got to the end of the line. Still, none spoke.

The door opened a final time, and the beggar came in, wearing the student’s coat and hat. From his bowl he placed a small coin into the tzedakah (charity) box, and took a seat among the assembly.

The rabbis smiled.

*[ It is not enough to learn our lessons, we need live them. ]*

 

 

With only two days until Boskone, we know how to get you into the spirit! Check out our latest set of mini-interviews.

Sarah Beth Durst

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of eleven fantasy novels for adults, teens, and kids, including Drink Slay Love, the basis for the upcoming TV movie of the same name, airing on Lifetime in 2017. Her latest book for kids, The Girl Who Could Not Dream, came out in November 2015 from HMH/Clarion Books, and her latest book for adults, The Queen of Blood, came out in September 2016 from Harper Voyager. Sarah won the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for SFWA’s Andre Norton Award three times.

She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat. Find her online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I am working on an epic fantasy series called The Queens of Renthia, set in a world filled with bloodthirsty nature spirits. The first book, The Queen of the Blood, came out in September from Harper Voyager, and the second book, The Reluctant Queen, will be out in July. It’s been one of the best writing experiences I’ve ever had. Extremely immersive. Sitting down at my computer every day feels like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia (except instead of Narnia, it’s a world that wants to kill all humans).

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember (except for a brief time when I was five and wanted to be Wonder Woman), but I’d never actually met a writer or knew anyone who had. Writers were these mythical beings. Or dead. I wasn’t sure an ordinary person like me could become a writer. But then when I was ten years old, I read Alanna by Tamora Pierce, about a girl who becomes a knight in a land where only boys become knights. I remember closing that book and thinking, “If Alanna can become a knight, then I can become a writer.”

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

My all-time favorite fictional character is Silk from The Belgariad by David Eddings. I first read The Belgariad when I’d finished devouring all the books in the children’s section of the library, and my mom brought me upstairs and showed me the SF/Fantasy shelves. (I’m fairly certain this moment was accompanied by trumpets playing and a chorus singing.) These books were the first real epic fantasy series that I’d ever sunk into, and the thief Silk brought humor to the adventure. Since then, I’ve always loved a dose of humor with every tale.

Melinda M. Snodgrass

Melinda Snodgrass studied opera at the Conservatory of Vienna in Austria, graduated from U.N.M. with a degree in history, and went on to Law School. She practiced for three years, and discovered that while she loved the law she hated lawyers so she began writing science fiction novels. In 1988 she accepted a job on Star Trek: TNG, and began her Hollywood career where she has worked on staff on numerous shows — Reasonable Doubts, Profiler, and has written numerous television pilots and feature films. Presently she is the Executive Producer on the upcoming Wild Cards series for UPC. In the prose world she writes for the book series and co-edits Wild Cards with George R. R. Martin. She has finished the second book in her five book space opera series for Titan Books and is working on book 3. Book 1— The High Ground was published in July. The three books in the Edge series — The Edge of Reason, The Edge of Darkness and The Edge of Dawn are currently available from Tor Books. For fun she rides her dressage horses, plays video games and spends a lot of time in the gym. Find her online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Developing the Wild Cards books as a TV series. As one of the executive producers and writer for the show I get to think about everything from the opening credits, composers, actors for the various roles and how to bring this complex world to life.

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

Seeing East Coast friends, but also the great programming and the artist reception on Friday night.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Kip from Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit Will Travel because he never gives up, he never stops trying and caring. Whenever I’m sad I reread this book and decide I can keep going.

 

Vincent H. O’Neil

Vincent H. O’Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the Exile mystery series (Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, Exile Trust, and Contest of Wills) as well as the theater-themed murder mystery Death Troupe. He has also written two horror novels called Interlands and Denizens, featuring the historian Angela “Ree” Morse.

 

Under the name Henry V. O’Neil, he is currently writing the Sim War military science fiction novels with Harper Collins. The series currently consists of Glory Main, Orphan Brigade, Dire Steps, and CHOP Line. A native of Massachusetts, Vincent is a graduate of West Point and holds a master’s degree in international business from The Fletcher School. Find him online at his website and on Facebook.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I just finished writing the fifth and final book in my military science fiction Sim War series with HarperCollins, and I’m very pleased with how that story ended. The last book will come out in ebook at the end of February, so right now I’m working on a fantasy short story set in a world loosely based on Renaissance Italy. I’ve been reading a lot about the Borgias and the Sforzas, and was struck by the casual relationship many of them had with violence. In my fantasy short story, I’m exploring the different attitudes of the people who pay others to commit murder for them, and the people who perform those tasks for money. It’s quite a challenge, and something very new for me.

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

I graduated from West Point in the 80s, and one of the training experiences available to me was a course known as Ranger School. Ranger is one of the toughest programs the army has, and it goes for two months. You’re not allowed to sleep very much, you’re not fed very much, and you carry heavy rucksacks over challenging terrain while performing complex tasks. I did Ranger during the wintertime, which posed an added degree of difficulty in training locations in the mountains of north Georgia and the desert in Utah. That course was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, and I learned a lot about myself as I went through it. My military science fiction novel Glory Main draws from that experience, as it pits four marooned soldiers against the elements with no water, food, or weapons.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

The character of Felix in John Steakley’s military sci-fi novel Armor. Without giving too much away, I always loved Felix’s humanity. Convinced that he’s not up to the requirements of combat, Felix puts his faith in a part of his personality that he calls Engine. In battle, Engine takes over and does all the things Felix believes he’s too scared or too squeamish to do. It’s a marvelous response to stress, but as Felix’s service continues he begins to wonder if there might be a point where even Engine will break.

Given the variety of options available at Boskone, we wanted to share a few of the evening highlights to help you plan your nighttime entertainment.

FRIDAY, February 17th

On Friday at 8:00 pm, we invite you to join us for Boskone’s Opening Ceremony and meet this year’s guests in the Galleria. Immediately following the Opening Ceremony is the Boskone Reception and the kickoff for the Art Show, which brings together a spectacular array of art and artists.

Friday evening also includes our very special Featured Filkers Concert, an event in which pretty much anything can happen! …and probably will.

SATURDAY, February 18th

Saturday night includes our annual Boskone Book Party, which takes place in the Galleria and features a dozen authors and publishers. There will be books. There will be swag. There will even be come very cool posters for kids from Dreamworks such as the new Troll Hunters movie and the Voltron series on Netflix.

Immediately following the Book Party is a new event at Boskone (7:30 pm), The Memorial Toast, which gives us a special opportunity to come together as a community to remember our friends who have passed since last year. At 8:00 pm, you can join the Open Mic: Villains! or just sit back and enjoy poems, stories, and music about this year’s theme, which is villains.

Or, at 8:00 pm, you can come up to Harbor II&III and enjoy a short concert by our Featured Filkers followed by the Boskone Awards Ceremony in which we announce the winners of the short story contest, the Gaughan Award, and the Skylark Award. Then we have an extra special surprise in store for you. The Play’s the Thing! Join some of our funniest program participants for a special Shakespearean reading of a play that takes place in a galaxy that is far, far away!

Friday Schedule of Evening Events at Boskone

Friday 8:00 PM
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Erin Underwood (M), Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 15 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests.

Friday 8:15 PM
Boskone 54 Reception
Erin Underwood (M), Gay Ellen Dennett (M), Milton Davis, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Ken MacLeod, Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, David G. Grubbs (M)
Galleria – Art Show · 105 min · Event
Connoisseurs and philistines alike: welcome to the Boskone Art Show! Join us in the Galleria for an upscale social mixer. Meet our program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Friday 9:00 PM
Featured Filkers Concert: The Fabulous Lorraine & Lojo Russo
Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo
Marina 1 · 60 min · Event
The Fabulous Lorraine (aka Quiche Me Deadly) and Lojo Russo, longtime friends and coconspirators, have come to Boskone to entertain us with their fanciful and farcical music — which has yet to disappoint anyone, including themselves.

Saturday Schedule of Evening Events at Boskone

Saturday 6:30 PM
Boskone Book Party
Galleria – Stage · 60 min · Event
Join us for Boskone’s Book Party! See what’s just out from authors you love, and discover new favorites. The book party will include E. C. Ambrose ( Elaine Isaak ), Neil Clarke, LJ Cohen, Milton Davis, Grady Hendrix, Carlos Hernandez, Jeremy Flagg, Hillary Monahan, Cerece Rennie Murphy, Ian Randal Strock, Christine Taylor-Butler, and more!

Saturday 7:30 PM
Boskone Memorial Toast
David G. Grubbs
Galleria – Stage · 15 min · Event
Join Toastmaster David G. Grubbs in the Galleria, immediately following the Boskone Book Party, for the Boskone Memorial Toast at 7:30 pm sharp as we raise a glass in memory of Boskone’s and Boston fandom’s recently departed friends. The Boskone 54 Souvenir Book’s “In Memoriam” section includes a partial list. (Non-alcoholic drinks are available in the Con Suite and alcoholic drinks will be available at the cash bar in the Galleria.)

Saturday 8:00 PM
Open Mic: Villains!
Kenneth Schneyer (M), Linda Addison (M), C. S. E. Cooney, Kate Baker, Milton Davis, Ada Palmer, Vincent O’Neil, Don Pizarro, Tom Kidd, Julie C. Day, Emma Caywood
Galleria · 90 min · Event
Live from Boskone … enjoy the unsavory stylings of our program participants and audience members. They share their open mic skills in the second annual Boskone Open Mic, which this year features our favorite fictitious villains! Each person gives his/her best 5-minute villainous performance — story, poem, song, skit, interpretive dance, or whatever!

OPTIONAL: For extra-appalling appeal, feel free to come dressed as your favorite fictitious villain!

The Rules: Boskone members are invited to join our participants in the open mic by signing up for one of the six open slots at the door to the event, which opens for sign-ups at 7:30 p.m. Each performer is given a firm 5-minute time limit (max), including setup time. So a quick transition between acts is key.

Saturday 8:00 PM
Lojo & Lorraine: Making Music
Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland
Harbor II+III · 30 min · Event
Join Boskone’s Featured Filkers Lorraine Garland and Lojo Russo for a short concert that kicks off our Saturday night programming with a bang!

Saturday 8:30 PM
Boskone 54 Awards Ceremony
David G. Grubbs, Gay Ellen Dennett, Michael Sharrow, Jane Yolen, Bruce Coville, Greg Manchess
Harbor II+III · 20 min · Event
Saturday night’s theatrical extravaganza continues with the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) event in which we present our annual Skylark and Gaughan awards. The Skylark Award honors the work and personal qualities of an exceptional contributor to science fiction. The Gaughan Award is presented to a talented emerging artist. Tonight, we will also be announcing the winner of the annual NESFA Short Story Contest.

Saturday 9:00 PM
The Play’s The Thing!
Laurie Mann (M), Lojo Russo, Lorraine Garland, David G. Grubbs, Erin Underwood (M), Jane Yolen, Bruce Coville, David Anthony Durham, Darlene Marshall, John Chu, Kate Baker, Sage Durham
Harbor II+III · 90 min · Event
Boskone’s theatrical extravaganza features a live reading of an abridged adaptation of a faux-Shakespearean play that is based upon an Empire far, far away that has striketh back against an intrepid group of friends who are “forced” to confront the dark side. There will be capes and a lighted saber (or two) and shenanigans to entertain audiences of all ages!

~

And don’t forget to check the Pocket Program to see what other evening panels and discussions are happening. You can win chocolate, play games, talk about the Hugos, etc! Plus, be sure to check out the party board, which is located just outside of the Galleria at the bottom of the escalators. This is where you’ll also find the fan tables where you can learn about other conventions as well as other local groups!

Boskone is all about building community and making friends. We hope you enjoy your daytime fun as well as all of the activities that we have in store for the evening as well. We look forward to seeing you there!

While online registration is now closed, Boskone memberships are still available. If you still need to purchase your membership, it’s easy!  All you have to do is come to Boskone at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel and head up to Registration, which is located to the left of the hotel lobby at the top of the escalator.

Registration opens at 1:00 pm on Friday, February 17th. Don’t forget to bring a government-issued or school-issued photo-ID, such as a driver’s license, with you to pick up your badge. Everyone (attendees, staff, program participants, artists, hucksters) must pick up their badges and convention materials at Registration.

On-Site Registration Hours

• Friday:  1:00 pm – 8:30 pm
• Saturday:  9:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sunday:  9:00 am – 12:00 noon

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• Kids-in-Tow: See Below

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25

Memberships for Children

All children (ages 7–12) who use Dragonslair services must be convention members. However, children under 10 who stay with their parents at all times are considered “kids-in-tow,” and need not have memberships. (“Kids-in-tow” do not receive any convention materials.)

We are not able to offer babysitting through the convention.