Imagine this. 66 days from now, probably early in the morning, I’ll be excitedly doing my hair and makeup in front of a hotel mirror. Maybe slipping into a casual cosplay, bopping around to some catchy music to pump myself up. My things will be spread out across the bed: my laptop, pens, at least one notebook, some backup concealer for the long day ahead, my schedule, possibly a snack, Sarah J Maas’ new book if I haven’t yet devoured it, and my badge for GeekGirlCon 2018.
The staff is busy putting the finishing touches on the convention. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing this year’s amazing lineup of panels, events, and giving you sneak previews of what you can expect to see at #GGC18. And while we’re making sure everything is prepped and primed, are you ready?
You still have time to book your hotel at Hotel Max for an amazing rate of $169, valid Thursday through Sunday night. You can either book your room online, or call them directly at 866-986-8087—just make sure to reference GeekGirlCon 2018!
Hotel Max is at the heart of downtown Seattle, just a few blocks away from the WSCC. Walking distance from great food and shops, there’s plenty to do and see before and after the convention. If you need a little downtime between panels, or want to take a few moments to look over your buys from the Exhibitor Hall, you can kick back and relax in one of their cozy rooms. GeekGirlCon is all the better when you’re well rested, and ready for a day of fun and fandom!
We’ll see you October 27 and 28 for GeekGirlCon 2018!
A couple weeks back, I had the opportunity to go to Bungie’s Gender Diversity in Games Mixer at the studio.
Mixers can be rough. Anyone that frequents them can vouch for that. Especially if you go alone, like I did, they force you out of your comfort zone and can be fairly nerve wracking regardless of what stage you’re at professionally. But this group was a little different—the atmosphere was welcoming, and it felt like a group of friends gathering to chat. The gaming industry is pretty tight as is, but the circle of women is even smaller.
It wasn’t difficult to start conversations, and perhaps that was because we gathered together as we face similar challenges every day, but more importantly, we gathered to bond over our love of games. We talked about what we did, who we worked for, and those of us who didn’t work for Bungie oogled a little at the memorabilia that lined the walls.
The Fashion Show was one of my favorite events of GeekGirlCon ’17, and we’re excited to be bringing it back for ’18!
GeekGirlCon is a celebration of diversity, and the Fashion Show is no different. We are looking for a diverse group of models to walk the runway sporting the wears of our highlighted designers. This year’s Fashion Show will be held on the evening of October 27, and models will even receive a complementary pass to the convention on Saturday!
There are a couple requirements to becoming a model this year:
Children cannot apply to be a model.
Models must be available before the scheduled start time to prep for the Fashion Show.
Models will need to provide some measurements as a part of their application so that the designers can select models according to the stock they have available.
Applications close July 30 at 9PM PST, so apply online today!
Trigger warning for content discussing rape and sexual assault, murder, violence, male violence against women, and guns. Movie spoilers included.
Revenge movies. They can go one of two ways — brilliant or bomb. The 2017 French film Revenge is a revenge thriller following a young woman who is raped and unceremoniously pushed off a cliff, left for dead in the dry desert heat.
Or so we think. Give the girl a gun and let her work the rest out.
The formula for a revenge movie is simple but it straddles an interesting line. In this case, you may ask yourself if it’s right or wrong to feel satisfied when she eventually turns the tables on the guys. After all, does violence not beget violence? But this is a must-see as far as the revenge formula goes, because it does something quite different at a critical time in our political and cultural conversation.
The leading female character, Jen, is an American socialite who is secretly dating French millionaire, Richard. They fly off to his secluded desert villa to share a weekend before his hunting trip with his friends, Dimitri and Stan. The boys arrive early though, to Richard’s distaste, but they all drink and dance the night away.
As we move into the summer months, we get that much closer to GeekGirlCon ‘18. Our staff is busy organizing and planning a stellar weekend that we’ll get to share with you October 27 and 28—and there’s still time for you to help!
We are still accepting Agent applications for GeekGirlCon ‘18. Our Agents do a plethora of things at the convention, from tech and AV support to photography and ASL interpretation.
If you’re interested in working as an Agent over the weekend of the convention, there are a couple requirements that you have to meet:
You must be available to work for a minimum of two shifts that are 4-5 hours each between the two days of the convention.
You must be at least 16 years of age.
…and, of course, you must bring a ton of enthusiasm!
Without our team of Agents that volunteer their time to help us host the convention each fall, there wouldn’t be a GeekGirlCon. Our Agents keep GeekGirlCon a well-oiled machine, and we couldn’t do it without them. The deadline to submit your New Agent Application form is August 15 at 10 p.m. PST. We won’t review applications until the deadline has passed, but stay tuned and get ready for the convention this fall!
Prepare travelers, minstrels, and duelists alike, because this weekend is The Gauntlet! An annual day of games and giving, The Gauntlet is a tabletop games tournament hosted at Mox Boarding House. Sponsored by ENGAGE, all proceeds raised leading up to and during the event will be donated to this year’s selected charity. Industry professionals and players alike will be present. So stop by and connect with your community for a day of battle and fun as we support the participants and play some games!
This year’s tournament is being held in support of Wellspring Family Services, a local non-profit organization that has been serving low-income families and individuals for 120 years in the Seattle area. They work to support and build emotionally healthy, self-sufficient families and a nonviolent community in which they can thrive.
Even if you can’t make it to the event, there’s still a little time to participate by donating online. You can also stream the event live at twitch.tv/cardkingdom this upcoming Sunday.
Happy gaming!
What: The Gauntlet: Realms Where: Mox Boarding House (13310 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue 98005) When: Sunday, May 20th, 2018 from 11am to 6pm
The fourth member of our Voice of a Hero panel was one that I was particularly interested in listening to at GeekGirlCon ‘17. Kimberly Brooks, whose voiceover work you’ll hear just about everywhere, shared with us her years of experience working on everything from Rugrats, to Bioshock Infinite and Voltron. A fan of hers myself, I was ecstatic to cover her personal Q&A at the convention.
Art saves lives.
Kimberly was really shy growing up, and faced a pretty rough period during her childhood. It was her 5th grade teacher that really helped spark her creativity. She had a small puppet theater set up in her classroom, and Kimberly started voicing all of the puppets in her own little shows. After listening, her teacher invited Kimberly to audition for the children’s theater. They were putting on Alice in Wonderland.
She gave Kimberly the confidence to believe in herself, and like all creatives eventually do, that’s how she got the bug.
She did the children’s theater, and later moved on to a good high school in LA with a pretty stellar theater department. She was in Sweeney Todd, she played Mrs. Lovett. It was a great experience where she learned different aspects of production, like directing.
We’ve still got a little ways to go, but the GeekGirlCon staff can’t begin to tell you how excited we are for ‘18 convention. As of my posting this, we’ve got about 192 days until the con commences on the morning of October 27th. We’ve still got a some planning to do ourselves, but there are a few things you can do right now to prepare for a weekend of fun as we celebrate diversity in popular culture.
Pick Up Your Passes
Passes are currently available for purchase online and are still listed at early bird pricing. Make sure to grab yours now before they go up, because the sale will be ending on May 1 at 11:59 PST.
…and at that price, maybe you’ll grab a couple for your kids, your favorite in-law, or your sister. There’s something for your entire family at GeekGirlCon (and we mean that!)
Book Your Hotel
This year, we’re ecstatic to be reviving our partnership with Hotel Max in downtown Seattle the weekend of the convention! A few city blocks away from the Conference Center at the WSCC, Hotel Max is giving you a special GeekGirlCon room rate of $169 Thursday through Sunday evening.
Finish Your Programming Submission
Looking to do something a little more hands-on, or have a great idea for a panel at GeekGirlCon ’18? Never fear, there’s a little more time to submit your programming application! We’re still accepting applications for panels, panelists and moderators, performances, events, workshops, and tabletop hosts. But make sure to submit yours soon, because applications close on Monday, April 30 at 11:59 PST.
Apply To Become An Exhibitor
Interested in bringing your wares to GeekGirlCon? We’re also still accepting exhibitor applications until Monday, April 30 at 11:59 PST. Each year I spend an obscene amount of time perusing the tables of the exhibitor hall, enamored with everyone’s work—so whether you’re an independent artist or shop owner, the GeekGirlCon community thrives on creativity and this is the perfect way to express and share yours.
Stay tuned as we continue to sculpt your perfect convention, where every geek is free to participate in the conversation, share their passions, and express what makes them unique. GeekGirlCon ‘18 is all about being loud and being proud of who we are, and we’re thrilled to share that experience with you.
I should be fanning myself, really, as I recollect Fryda Wolff’s Q&A at GeekGirlCon ‘17. So buckle up guys, because I’m about to reiterate why her panel was one of my absolute favorites at the convention, and how Fryda easily became one of my top girl crushes of all time (nice and snug between Maggie Stiefvater and Danai Gurira).
GeekGirlCon was Fryda’s first ever convention as a voice actor, and we couldn’t have felt more honored or humble to have her with us. She was a force to be reckoned with, whose voice didn’t demand but immediately earned my absolute attention when I first heard her speak during the Voice of a Hero panel the day before. Her confidence was intoxicating, and made live-tweeting her panel almost impossible, as nearly everything she said was a quote that could be used to inspire the masses. She was truly amazing, and was eager to share her experience getting started in gaming and how that got her into voice acting.
Finding Her Footing
Fryda’s Q&A at GeekGirlCon 2017. Photo by Sayed Alamy.
While Fryda began her voiceover journey in 2013, that’s not where her career in gaming started.
She graduated high school a year early, in fact, the week she turned 17. She wanted to be a campaign manager back then, and didn’t have a clue how far from that she’d end up (although it did play a pretty big role in how she got there).
Even though Fryda ended up in the gaming industry, it wasn’t until high school when she got her first PC. She then dubbed herself a PC gamer, and got really into Blizzard (because I swear, all us cool kids started our Blizzard phase when we should have been studying). The interest sort of sparked from there, she really loved to game. “This is what happens when you don’t let your kids do things,” Fryda joked. Gaming wasn’t something she did a lot growing up, so the infatuation was serve. It was fun and exciting.
…and then it just happened.
Sony was hosting an event in Vegas, Fryda’s home town. The event was supposed to host about a thousand people, but unfortunately the venue could barely hold two hundred and fifty. She put that prior interest in campaign management to work and did something about it. She started organizing people, and eventually ushered those who couldn’t get in to all meet at a nearby GameWorks.
Long story short, someone from Sony hunted her down and nonchalantly asked “do you want a job?”
Since the convention ended last October, the GeekGirlCon staff have been busy planning. Planning what we want this year’s convention to be, what we want to be. Even though we’ve got quite some time until #GGC18 commences October 27th, we’re excited to start sharing everything that we’ve put together.
And the time is finally here. Passes for GeekGirlCon ‘18 are available right now.