Enjoy the World Fantasy Convention and find Ellen on the following panels:

Friday, October 23, 2026

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
The Mermaids Are Singing: Music and Composition in Fantasy Literature
Room 201

Music can charm, warn, terrify, or comfort, depending on how it’s used in the plot. A simple piano tune can call up eldritch horrors; a brass band can delight a dragon; your mermaid might be an opera star! What musical motif enhances your story? Featuring: Gregory Norman Bossert, Curtis Chen, Ellen Kushner, Elise Stephens, Cliff Winnig, and moderator Emily Jiang.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
“Crochet hooks at dawn!” Fighting a Realistic Sword Fight in Your Fiction
Room 204

Among all the characters Robert E. Howard created, Agnes the Sword Woman is one of the most overlooked. Join authors Steven Boyett, Robin Hobb, Ellen Kushner, and Madeleine Robins, who have all written weapon-wielding female or nonbinary characters, as they discuss turning the sword and sorcery tropes on its head.