(Radio Iowa) – An accomplished science fiction novelist is one of the featured guests at this weekend’s DemiCon, the 37th Annual Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Gaming Convention in Des Moines. In addition to being a celebrated author, Mur Lafferty hosts a podcast called “I Should Be Writing,” so she’ll spend part of her time in Iowa trying to prop up wanna-be-published writers.
“There’s nothing I like more than encouraging new authors,” Lafferty says. “I realized early on that we get in our own way more than any other thing in the world that stops us from writing, so I try to silence the voices in people’s head, or at least have them say, ‘Don’t listen to that voice,’ because we all have it.” In addition to a slew of original novels set in space, and others that are considered urban fantasy-adventure, Lafferty wrote the official book that accompanied “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” based on the 2018 film.
She calls it “one of the biggest thrills of my nerdy life.” These conventions are known for the elaborate costumes many attendees wear, and Lafferty says she’s looking forward to being one of the judges for what’s known as the Masquerade. “It’s unbelievable what some of these people do with cosplay,” Lafferty says. “Either it’ll be period wear, or it’ll be uniforms from your favorite TV show, or sometimes people dress up like characters in books, which is really exciting. I have no skill in that, so I will have lots of fun watching other people do it.”
Lafferty’s latest series of books is called “The Midsolar Murders,” which feature murder mysteries aboard a sentient space station. She fears the growing popularity of artificial intelligence is a serious threat not only to the Earth’s environment and the livelihoods of many creative industries, but Lafferty says A-I is also bad for our brains. “It delivers incorrect information a lot of the time. It cites things that may not exist, and it’s actively making us dumber,” Lafferty says, “because if you get the answer handed to you and you don’t actually go through the cognitive work of finding out information, your brain’s just like, ‘Cool, I’m going to check out.'”
The convention will feature showcases for authors, a vendor area, and a host of workshops. There’s also an art show, a writing contest, plus, plenty of gaming, and Lafferty says she’s on board. One of her books was set in the gaming world of Minecraft. “I do a little bit of D&D right now,” she says. “I play board games very frequently with my friends. I play Baldur’s Gate. I have played Starfield, but I haven’t gotten too deeply into it. Last night, I was playing Goblin Sushi, so yeah, I’ll play almost any game out there.”
This weekend’s convention is being organized by the non-profit Des Moines Science Fiction & Fantasy Society. It runs Friday through Sunday at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Des Moines.
