What makes humans truly uniquee? It’s not opposable thumbs or the ability to make tools or self-awareness. What sets us apart is stories.
Or, more accurately, our ability to communicate, teach, and evolve via storytelling. Hank Green—brother of YA author John Green, one half of Vlogbrothers, cofounder of VidCon—decided that it’s about time we celebrated this treasured art, and he’s rounded up some amazing authors, storytellers, podcasters, and performers to help him do so. The resulting convention, NerdCon: Stories, will celebrate how we change storytelling, and how stories change us.
The first NerdCon: Stories will take place in Minneapolis, MN, on October 9th and 10th. (Interestingly, the same weekend as New York Comic-Con.) While the organizers are still finalizing their lineup, they’ve already signed on a really impressive bevy of guests including Lev Grossman, Mary Robinette Kowal, John Scalzi, Jacqueline Carey, Rainbow Rowell, Patrick Rothfuss, Holly Black, Welcome to Night Vale’s Joseph Fink and Dylan Marron, Matt de la Peña, M.T. Anderson, and many more. Check out the whole guest list here.
Since this is a first-time convention, the organizers have a “wishlist” of the kinds of panels and discussions they hope will happen at NerdCon: Stories. Thse include:
- converting scenes from popular novels into radio dramas
- keynote panels and talks interspersed with hip-hop performances
- a conversation about dealing with race in stories featuring a musician, a poet, a radio producer, and a fantasy author
- live tabletop games featuring authors and storytellers
However, they’re open to suggestions and invite potential congoers to email them with ideas. The con is expected to cap at 3,000 attendees, so grab your tickets before they sell out!
