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confusion 2020
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Brandon O'Brien's ConFusion 2020 Schedule

A promotional image for Confusion 2020: art of a dragon and a human in a gliding suit flying over a forest, with the text "How To Train Your ConFusion, January 16-19 2020, Sheraton Novi"

Hey, all! Have I mentioned that I’m headed to ConFusion?

On January 16-19, I’ll be at the Sheraton Novi in Michigan for ConFusion 2020! I’m the Creative Guest of Hono(u)r, which is (waaaaaaaiiiit foooooor iiiiiiiit…) quite an hono(u)r, and lots of other astounding people will be there, too!

If you want to get an idea of some of the stuff I’ll be up to, here’s it:


Guest of Honor Dinner

16 January 2020, Thursday | 7pm | Room: St. Clair

Join our Guests of Honor for a Thursday night dinner. Anyone is welcome to join.

Seanan McGuire, Gwenda Bond, Kameron Hurley, Bogi Takács, Brandon O’Brien, Dr. Julie Lesnik


Opening Ceremonies

17 January 2020, Friday | 7pm | Room: Ballroom C&D

Welcome to How to Train Your ConFusion! Please join our Conchair, Lithie Dubois, and our Guests of Honor, Kameron Hurley, Julie Lesnik, Brandon O’Brien, and Bogi Takács, along with our Subterranean Press Special Guests, Seanan McGuire, and Gwenda Bond! Hear about all of the exciting stuff you can expect from them, from us, and this weekend.

Lithie Dubois (M), Seanan McGuire, Gwenda Bond, Kameron Hurley, Bogi Takács, Brandon O’Brien, Dr. Julie Lesnik


Guest of Honor Dessert Reception

17 January 2020, Friday | 8pm | Room: Mackinac

Come enjoy desserts and mingle with our Guests of Honor and Subterranean Press’s Special Guests!


Evolving Visions of Toxic Masculinity

18 January 2020, Saturday | 10am | Room: Isle Royale

Awareness is on the rise about how toxic social expectations placed on men and masculinity poison men, their relationships, and society at large. We now have the vocabulary to discuss the precise ways in which patriarchy hurts men, too, and how that hurt bleeds into the rest of the world. How has this growing awareness changed our speculative visions of masculinity, and how can speculative fiction help dismantle the cultural poison backing social ills from rape culture to mass shootings?

Jason Sanford (M), Marsalis, Jim C. Hines, Kameron Hurley, Brandon O’Brien


Emotional Non-Violence In Fiction

18 January 2020, Saturday | 11am | Room: Petoskey

A discussion on what it looks like and what it means to integrate themes of emotional non-violence in fiction – is emotionally non-violent fiction important? Going beyond higher level issues of emotional abuse to more subtle topics such as consent, misidentification, and personal questions.

E.D.E. Bell (M), Jason Sanford, R.B. Lemberg, Brandon O’Brien


Reading: Brandon O’Brien

18 January 2020, Saturday | 1pm | Room: Leelanaw

A Reading with Guest of Honor Brandon O’Brien (I’ll be reading from How To Unmake It In Anglia!)


Masculinity and Trauma Recovery in Genre Fiction

18 January 2020, Saturday | 2pm | Room: Isle Royale

Science Fiction and Fantasy are full of tough manly heroes (and anti-heroes) with trauma in their backgrounds, from murdered families to witnessed war crimes. More often than not, these traumatic backstories serve as a justification for sarcasm, alcohol, and violence. In a world where men are significantly less likely to get professional help to heal from their trauma, how can science fiction and fantasy help to create positive examples of heroes who face their demons constructively?

Brandon O’Brien (M), Adam R. Shannon, Dave Ring, John Wiswell, R.B. Lemberg


Speculative Social Media in Science Fiction

18 January 2020, Saturday | 5pm | Room: Charlevoix

Thinly-veiled or even overt references to popular real-world social platforms are common in modern media–including in speculative stories like superhero tv shows and movies. But speculative worldbuilding often calls for a re-imagining of how humans interact–would the social media of the United Federation of Planets really look like ours? Or would a peaceful interstellar society be more likely to arise in a world where Google Reader never died? How can writers incorporate new visions of social media that reflect their speculative worldbuilding?

Marissa Lingen (M), John Chu, Jennifer Mace, Annalee Flower Horne, Brandon O’Brien


Speculative Open Mic with Brandon O’Brien and Bogi Takács

18 January 2020, Saturday | 8pm | Room: Charlevoix

Join Guests of Honor Brandon O’Brien and Bogi Takács for a speculative poetry open mic. Bring work to read, or kick back and listen as ConFusion’s poets share their work.


Kaffeeklatsch with Brandon O’Brien

19 January 2020, Sunday | 11am | Room: Club Lounge

Join Creative Guest of Honor Brandon O’Brien for a small-scale conversation and Q&A over cups of coffee or tea. Limit 10 attendees, sign up in Ops.


A Look at the World of Speculative Poetry

19 January 2020, Sunday | 1pm | Room: Charlevoix

Our panel of poets and poetry enthusiasts talk about the current state of speculative poetry–how has it evolved over time, and where is it heading? Where is it situated within the wider world of contemporary poetry? Who are our favorite speculative poets and publishers of speculative poetry?

Nora E. Derrington (M), Stephanie Malia Morris, Bogi Takács, Brandon O’Brien


Closing Ceremonies

19 January 2020, Sunday | 3pm | Room: Ballroom C&D

Come say goodbye to our Guests of Honor and Subterranean Special Guests, and learn which 2021 Guests of Honor announcements we will be sharing with you!

Lithie Dubois (M), Seanan McGuire, Gwenda Bond, Kameron Hurley, Bogi Takács, Brandon O’Brien, Dr. Julie Lesnik


So that’s what I’ll be up to, not including other GoH duties, checking out other cool panels, and meeting all of you! Feel free to say hello if you’re going to be there!

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About me

Hello there! I’m Brandon O’Brien. I am a performance poet, science fiction writer and teaching artist living and working in Trinidad. This is my blog, where I share work, talk about my process, and generally geek out. Never miss out on new stuff.

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Recent Posts

The System We Could Have Been Driving: Rage vs. Revolution Redux

The System We Could Have Been Driving: Rage vs. Revolution Redux

Brandon O'Brien's ConFusion 2020 Schedule

Brandon O'Brien's ConFusion 2020 Schedule

November 30, 2019
Brandon O’Brien’s 2019 Awards Eligibility Post

Brandon O’Brien’s 2019 Awards Eligibility Post

November 18, 2019

Brandon O’Brien’s Worldcon 2019 Schedule

July 27, 2019

Big Hugo News!

April 3, 2019

Tag Cloud

Arisia assault Black Panther ConFusion 2020 COVID-19 fandom Hugo Awards intimate partner violence LGBTQ National Patriotism Month Performance Poetry revolution SFF Awards Season socialism Speculative Fiction Speculative Poetry The 2 Cents Movement Voltron: Legendary Defender

therisingtithes

Poet, writer, tabletop game designer, nerd. Trying to make something of himself. Preferably in pen.

therisingtithes
I did a panel at #PAXOnline2020 earlier this year I did a panel at #PAXOnline2020 earlier this year and it was really rad, so you know your resident pin-obsessed nerd had to get some swag. Including some new locking backs, and some dope pronoun hexes so I can try on ‘they’ more often in public!
Behold, my @fiyahlitmag #IgnyteAwards Finalist med Behold, my @fiyahlitmag #IgnyteAwards Finalist medallion has arrived! Still beyond blessed for all of it: for my poem simply being nominated, for FiyahCon—the very best con of this year—& for FIYAH in general, the best damn outlet in this whole damn genre. 🔥 🔥 🔥
Portrait of An Election Stain, 2020. Portrait of An Election Stain, 2020.
A book I cannot wait to eagerly consume. QUEEN OF A book I cannot wait to eagerly consume. QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED is finally in hand, and the sequel done preorder.
Guess what finally came in the mail! My copy of So Guess what finally came in the mail! My copy of Sovereigns of the Blue Rose! ‘Like Ice And Then Like Fire’ is a little ache of a story about how we mourn, and how we judge mourning. It’s surrounded by so many fabulous tales of the decades of the chosen sovereigns of the Kingdom of Aldis. The book looks amazing, inside and out.
Ordered a #Heckadeck to tinker with, but as soon a Ordered a #Heckadeck to tinker with, but as soon as I opened it, I was supernaturally compelled to #DestroyThisCard in particular. Don’t know what came over me.
One for each generation. ———— These @bozor One for each generation. ————
These @bozorobo pins are my absolute favourites. I just got the Kamen Rider Ichigo one on top, which completes the set. 
Kamen Rider, starting with Ichigo, seems to consistently argue that even when your power comes from a potentially dark place or has cruel origins, dedicating its use to destroying the forces of evil is what slowly turns that power into justice. Fascism denies you your own body? Reclaim it for the sole purpose of destroying fascism, and it becomes justice. Your space suit was made possible by revelations that led to the murder of your best friend’s father? Avenge him by thwarting evil’s plans while always smiling and sowing joy. Have you survived the trauma of unending hopelessness? Spare innocents that same pain by sharing hope wherever you go. Have you become a tyrant, forgetting to do good as power corrupts you? Then justice is the act of *literally* confronting yourself. Is time itself a record of the cruelties and selfishnesses of man? Then even break time against your heel.

I mean… it’s also not shy at all about how several antagonists are just mutant fascism, incapable of argument or compassion, only performing reason to keep their violence undetected, seeking power through force. Resistance, then, is in wielding the parts of you that are on the verge of collapse or corruption, and throwing them against the gears. Forge those dark portions in the fire of your own rage, tie them to your heel, and drop-kick all evil. 
I’m thinking about this as I work. What are the cruelties in my space that my body is unduly bonded to? And what parts of me do I wield in contrast to that cruelty? How do I transform myself, Darkness and all, into justice, resolve, compassion, and solidarity?

#kamenrider #enamelpins #resistance
#ConFusionSF was amazing. I got to give my mother #ConFusionSF was amazing. I got to give my mother the early birthday gift of her first trip to the States, her first live sight of snow, and her first con experience. I got to see snow for the first time, too, and even make a snowball (I’m good on that now, thanks). I got to link up with old friends, meet digital friends in person for the first time, and make brand new ones. I attended panels that actually made me think more deeply about what I make. I got to cohost a Speculative Open Mic, to talk about speculative verse, to ask deeper questions about how we write men with power or men with pain or both. @bogiperson even took us to this really neat black-owned bookstore in the area afterwards, and then @edebellauthor and Chris took my mother and I out for pizza after that! I adored the entire weekend. 
I’m particularly grateful that @miconfusionsf made me their Creative Guest of Honor this year. I tend to feel like I haven’t done enough, haven’t ‘made it’, but just knowing that I’m welcome in a fandom space seems to allay those fears. I’m grateful for those spaces. If ConFusion would have me back, I’d work my hardest to be there, any time.
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