I’m excited to join this year’s virtual Readercon! On Saturday, August 14, 11am-noon EST, I’ll be moderating the panel “Reading Fantasy Through a Motif Lens Index,” which includes speakers Katherine Crighton, Jeffrey Ford, Karen Heuler, and L. Penelope.
Folklorists use motif indexes to catalog and analyze folk tales from around the world. The existence of TV Tropes suggests the need for new motif indexes that fit new forms of literature, but we can also apply folklore motif indexes to 21st-century fantastical fiction. Which motifs have had staying power for hundreds of years, and what other expected or unexpected patterns do we find? What does treating fiction as folklore bring to the reading experience?
Register here for the weekend event. Recordings will remain available for members for six months following the convention.