Flame Con Anticipation

This coming weekend, August 16 and 17th will be Flame Con in midtown Manhattan! I like my conventions small and progressive, and Flame Con is therefore generally one of my favorites each year. Created by the organization Geeks OUT, Flame Con is a celebration of queer aspects of various fandoms including books, comics, tv, film, movies, gaming and cosplay.

With Flame Con 2025 right around the corner, I’m both thinking back fondly on the fun I had there last year, and looking forward to specific things that are on the schedule for this year.

From left to right, ND Stevenson, Molly Knox Ostertag and moderator Sara Munson delighting the audience and each other at Flame Con 2024

Last year, a major highlight for me was the panel “N.D. Stevenson and Molly Knox Ostertag in Conversation” moderated delightfully by Sara Munson. Before a fabulous session with the couple, Sara Munson asked the audience if anyone there liked Chappell Roan, and the raucus yeses kind of set the tone for the hour to come. Stevenson talked about how he got She-Ra and the Princesses of Power to be as successfully lesbian as it was, and Ostertag talked about her new graphic novel, The Deep Dark, among many other projects, and they each discussed their working styles.

I also really appreciated the panel “The Secret (and Queer) History of Libraries” with Glen J. Benedict and Emily Drabinski, which both discussed the history of LGBTQ+ professional organizations in US libraries as well as current censorship issues facing librarians today. This panel on progressive library history had a full and enthusiastic audience.

The book publisher Macmillan’s booth at Flame Con 2024

Of course I also always love walking around the exhibitors, appreciating institutions like the New York Civil Liberties Union and the New York Public Library’s presence as well as vendors like the creator-led Mr. T’s Corner and the book publisher Macmillan.

This year, I’m planning to go both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I’ll do my regular walk around the exhibitors and I hope to catch some of the scheduled events on monsters and fighting fascism.

On Sunday, I’m planning to bring my kid! One of my kid’s favorite authors, Dahlia Adler, will have a book signing in the afternoon, and since it will be Youth Day I am hoping there will be other fun stuff for a bookish eleven year-old to get into as well.

I feel a bit silly declaring these plans so publicly, since everything from thunderstorms and subway breakdowns to health issues and surprise family obligations can derail one’s best intentions, but I’ll definitely report back next week about how it all went.