AnomalyCon: “The Future of Steampunk”
It’s almost time to go to AnomalyCon! I gave an all-day workshop two weekends ago, this weekend I’m giving 9 hours of workshops (filling in at the last minute for a speaker who became ill), and this time next weekend I’ll be in Denver. I don’t know how this spring got so filled with engagements, but the important thing is to remember to get the pages done, every day.
So the last panel I’m cogitating on is “The Future of Steampunk,” which is so much fun to contemplate that it will be hard to rope my thoughts into a cohesive track. Nobody has a crystal ball, but here’s what I’ll be excited to see as a reader as this literary airship floats through this year, into 2017, and beyond.
A diverse crew
Have you seen some of the stories coming out of India? And the costumers whose roots are in African traditions? And what about that hotbed of invention for oh, the last five thousand years or so, China and the Asian countries? I’m looking forward to seeing stories populated by nonwhite characters. There are certainly enough stories involving the British Empire and its technology. Including my own … though I’m working on expanding that! I’m looking forward to the richness of inventions and personalities that come out of cultures not the least like my own. To going on a voyage where the food, the dress, the technology, has roots in different ways of thinking and living. I’m looking forward to learning and appreciating and coming to love.
Sites to voyage to:
- Steampunk India (Suna Dasi)
- An Indian steampunk Pinterest page with yummy images
- Chronicles of Harriet
- The Sea is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia
- Jeannie Lin‘s Gunpowder Chronicles
Interesting side note:
I went to a high-school performance of Romeo and Juliet yesterday … steampunk style. Yes, it was the Bard in full steampunk costume, including corsets and mechanical arms … but it was more than that. It was Indian characters and costumes threaded into the Capulet side. It was a Bollywood dance number where Romeo first sets eyes on Juliet. Instead of the Prince of Verona dispensing justice, it was a Princess. An Indian princess, in full silk skirts, steampunk style—complete with an attitude about these brawling Capulets and Montagues in her town!
Bravo. I think I’ll head off to Amazon now, and see what else I can find!
