The Unspoken Rules of Impossible Places
How do we create art for the unusual? Writers and artists often talk about building worlds, but rarely about the small, personal rules that make those worlds feel real and alive once they’re built. On this panel we’ll share the quiet “grammar” we’ve given our impossible places: why a forest might remember every visitor, why a clock only runs backward on certain days, or how one red thread can hold an entire unraveling city together. It’s not about grand architecture—it’s the intimate, everyday housekeeping that turns wonder into something believable. Or suspendedly disbelievable, perhaps.
Excavating the Strange
Where do you get YOUR weird ideas? Join us for a relaxed, no-frills conversation about where the strangest parts of our work really come from. We’ll talk about the difficult side of creation: the half-forgotten dream that won’t go away, the random phrase overheard on a train, the childhood object or place that kept resurfacing until it turned into a story, painting, or handmade piece. Everyone has their own process; some are weirder than others. Bring your own odd spark if you want—we’ll listen.
Stories That Refuse to End Neatly
Why do some endings feel truer when they don’t fully close? In fantasy, horror, and other fantastical work, there’s often pressure to tie everything up neatly—but the stories that stay with us longest frequently leave a few threads loose. On this panel we’ll share examples of endings we’ve written (or are still wrestling with) where we chose resonance over resolution, and discuss why that open-ended feeling can sometimes carry more truth and power than a perfect, latched-shut conclusion.
The Weight of Wonder
How do we balance the light and the shadow in our work? Wonder isn’t always bright and airy—it can be heavy, shadowed, even painful. We chase the breathtaking moments, but we also carry the unease, melancholy, or quiet dread that comes with the gothic, pagan, steampunk, or horror spaces we explore. This panel is about finding that balance: how to hold both illumination and discomfort, when the weight becomes too much, and when that same weight turns into the source of the deepest magic.
Circles of Misfit Tellers
What happens when we tell our stories in a circle instead of on a stage? Forget the podium—this panel is just chairs pulled close, no hierarchy, only the shared act of speaking what’s usually kept private. Bring a short passage, a haunting question, a dream image that won’t explain itself, or just come to listen. We’ll share without rush, respond without judgment, and add our own threads as they come. By the end, strangers often feel less like strangers. It’s conversation, not presentation.
Alchemy for the Ordinary Hours
How do we keep creating when the carnival lights go out? Most of the real work happens in ordinary rooms on ordinary days, far from festival energy. This panel is about the small, stubborn habits that keep the spark alive: rituals to summon ideas from silence, ways to protect time for the strange amid everyday demands, and the quiet tricks that help when the tents are packed away. For those who make part or all of their living from books, art, or unusual handmade things, we’ll also share what keeps the flame going between gatherings.
Leave a Reply