Help Vida attend the 77th WorldCon in Dublin!

All I feel are immense gratitude and an overwhelming relief. The amount of people who have shown me support and believe in me makes me wanna cry.

Whenever I go abroad to gatherings of writers, I'm conscious of the responsibility I inevitably carry. Being a Filipina writer out in the world is not an easy task. It unavoidably comes with a taste of racism and sexism and people who just plain look down their noses at what you're trying to do. People who don't know or care that we can't have a diversified world speculative fiction scene if we don't do something about things like barrier to entry, especially for people from developing nations. These are daunting, at times frightening things, but they pale in comparison to the task of representing my dear, frustrating, amazing, inspiring country. But I will admit, it is easier to do and bear all this when there's a financial safety net.

You have no idea how light I feel, not having to worry about this money anymore. It frees me up to focus on reviewing for my panels and planning for the trip in general, as close as it is.

Thank you so much. 💜

$100 to go! I'm really overwhelmed 💜

And since my schedule has been finalized, I can now announce the panels I'm speaking at for WorldCon :D If you're gonna be there, come sit in!

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Writing from non-western cultures

Format: Panel

15 Aug 2019, Thursday 11:00 - 11:50, Wicklow Hall-1 (CCD)

The number of non-western novels and stories in SFF has increased over the last 20 years, as has visibility of existing fiction. Our panel looks at some of these novels, discussing favourites and sharing recommendations. We’ll take a look at how the novels are written, as well as the differences in story patterns, characters, and narrative styles. Let’s celebrate these novels and look at ways to further expand the publishing of non-western cultures within SFF literature.

Tasha Suri, Peter Adrian Behravesh (PodCastle), Rafeeat Aliyu, Vida Cruz, Yasser Bahjatt (Yatakhayaloon Co. Ltd.) (M)

The Magic of Beauty

Format: Panel

16 Aug 2019, Friday 19:00 - 19:50, Liffey Hall-2 (CCD)

In what sense has beauty been treated as a special gift that only some possess? How has it functioned as a narrative device that gives its holders an exclusive form of power, especially in reference to the place of girls and women in patriarchal societies? How do social constructions of beauty differ cross-culturally and historically? For whom is beauty limiting? For whom is it empowering?

Kate Elliott (M), Jeannette Ng, R.F. Kuang (HarperCollins), Vida Cruz, Navah Wolfe (Saga Press)

Mythological science fiction

Format: Panel

17 Aug 2019, Saturday 14:30 - 15:20, Alhambra (Point Square Dublin)

Science fiction has been described as modern mythology, but it also has a long history of taking themes and tropes from existing mythological traditions and reworking them. The panel will discuss science fictional stories whose structure or themes echo those of existing mythological tales from around the world.

Deirdre M Murphy (M), Dr Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame (U.S.A.) in England), Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Vida Cruz

Breaking the Glass Slipper podcast - Live Recording

Format: Podcast

19 Aug 2019, Monday 11:00 - 11:50, Wicklow Hall 2B (CCD)

Since 2016, the ‘Breaking the Glass Slipper’ podcast has championed female voices in speculative fiction. Now into our third season and with a British Fantasy Award nomination under our belt, we’re excited to host a live recording at Dublin 2019. Our subject is inspired by the Emerald Isle itself: the place of islands and island mythology in the human imagination.

Megan Leigh (Breaking the Glass Slipper), Vida Cruz, Miss Lucy Hounsom (M), Jo Walton, Alexandra Rowland

So I just found out that I cannot withdraw donations given by means other than PayPal for 50 days. Unfortunately, that means that around $400 will be inaccessible to me until after WorldCon. Therefore, I'm raising the goal amount to $1,600. I do hope you'll bear with me on this and I'm deeply grateful for all the help I've received thus far.

FUNDED IN 8 HOURS! You are all truly amazing, whether you donated or just shared the campaign. I'm absolutely floored by the generosity I've been shown; and thanks to you, I can breathe a little easier in the days leading up to this trip!

As an aside, this overwhelming generosity helped to bolster me, as I encountered some insensitive comments regarding this campaign, most especially "do what everyone else who doesn't have enough money to go to cons: sell your ticket and stay at home." It was pretty disheartening, particularly as I come from a country where minimum wage is less than 200 euros. So, as a good friend put it, all of you are helping diversify the SFF community, in this case by helping lower the barriers to convention attendance of someone not from the white west. On a lighter note, even if I'd been so inclined to do as that person said, I couldn't sell a con ticket that was already gifted to me via Con or Bust 😜 I guess it's a sign that I've arrived as a writer 😂

Also, good things come in threes! Earlier today, I was invited to guest on a live recording session of a podcast during WorldCon (but I won't say which one yet while the schedule isn't out) and I just got hired as a senior book editor for a local publisher! I won't be coming in until after WorldCon, though 😁

So what's next? Well, some people have expressed to me that they'd like to donate but haven't yet had the time to, so I'm leaving this fundraiser up for now. While I wait, I'll be furiously cobbling together the trip itinerary and reviewing for my panels–I've got three panels and as welk as the live podcast recording guesting! Wish me luck :)