King Con returns in virtual format for 2021

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL), along with Minotaur Games and Gift and Kingston Nexus are excited to announce the return of King Con in a virtual format for 2021.

King Con 2021, Kingston’s preeminent festival of sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, cosplay, and other pop culture fandoms, is happening June 24 to 27. KFPL invites everyone to join them online for entertaining speakers, interesting workshops, and activities for all ages.

“This year’s online King Con offers something for everyone,” said Graeme Langdon, Teen and New Adult Library at KFPL, noting King Con’s offerings are not just for children, teens, new adults and adults, but also include multigenerational programs.

The festival launch event is an evening conversation about Indigenous futurisms with best-selling author of Moon of the Crusted Snow, Waubgeshig Rice, and comics artist/author of Dakwäkãda Warriors, Cole Pauls. The King Con launch event takes place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jun. 24, 2021.

Throughout King Con, attendees can choose from a full calendar of events, including:

• Queer Witches and Magical Enbies: Local YA fantasy author and academic, Adan Jerreat-Poole, will join Queen’s Department of Film and Media’s Tamara de Szegheo Lang for a conversation about the witch’s role as a queer, feminist, and activist icon. This is a teaser for August’s “Witch Institute”, an international online symposium focused on contemporary imaginings of the witch in popular and visual culture.

• Live from the United Kingdom, British anime expert and author Helen McCarthy will talk about her career and the history of cosplay in Japan.

• Local YA author Emily Brewes with a reading and discussion around The Doomsday Book of Fairy Tales.

• Workshops in character creation, face painting, and making cardboard masks.

• A special superhero edition of KFPL’s regular Family Storytime for children.

• Damned, Cursed Children creator, Howard Wong, will talk about what’s involved in creating, pitching, and publishing comics.

• Stephanie Cooke, Megan Huang, and Meaghan Carter will talk about their experiences as women working full time in the comics industry.

Details on each Zoom event can be found through the links above, including suitable age groups. A full listing of King Con events is available online at this link. KFPL looks forward to this exciting and eventful virtual convention!

For more information, visit www.kfpl.ca or call your local branch.