If you love books and bookstores, you must absolutely meet Boskone 54’s Special Guest Maryelizabeth Yturralde. Coming to Boston from the sunny shores of San Diego, Maryelizabeth is returning to Boskone after more than a decade away. Let’s hope she brings some of that delicious California sunshine with her!

Bio: Maryelizabeth Yturralde last attended Boskone in 1984, and spent the next decade working in chain bookstores. Maryelizabeth co-founded independent genre bookstore Mysterious Galaxy in Southern California in 1993; she is a regular contributor to programming at literary conventions all over the country, including Comic-Con International San Diego and New York Comic Con; and she is a regular writer of non-fiction, including critical and biographical essays, and reviews for Mysterious Galaxy, as well as Publishers Weekly. She is passionate about connecting readers and stories.

Visit Maryelizabeth on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Maryelizabeth’s Schedule at Boskone:

Friday 3:00 PM (free to public)
The Origins and Impact of the Original Star Trek TV Series
Linda Addison, Melinda Snodgrass (M), Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Justine Graykin
Harbor III · 60 min · Panel
Fifty years after Kirk and Spock transported into our lives, the franchise is launching yet another TV series. What do we owe to Lucille Ball? And how have science fiction, the realm of entertainment, and our everyday world been influenced by the original Star Trek series?
50th Anniversary: Star Trek

Friday 5:00 PM (free to public)
The Year in Young Adult and Children’s Fiction
Maryelizabeth Yturralde (M), Christine Taylor-Butler, Emma Caywood, Juliana Spink Mills, Bruce Coville
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Last year was another great one for young adult and children’s fiction. While the explosion of new authors in these genres may be stabilizing, the number of well-written, top-shelf stories continues to soar! Join our panelists for a lively discussion about what you absolutely must read from 2016 — and what we’re looking forward to as 2017 continues.

Friday 8:00 PM & Reception
Opening Ceremony: Meet the Guests
Brandon Sanderson, Dave Seeley, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Lorraine Garland, Lojo Russo, Milton Davis, Ken MacLeod
Galleria – Stage · 120 min · Event
Welcome to Boskone, New England’s longest-running convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror! Whether you are attending for the first time or the fifty-fourth, we invite you to join us in the Galleria to meet this year’s guests and program participants while enjoying refreshments, stimulating conversation, and exceptional art that’s a feast for the eyes. Experience the music and the festivities as Boskone celebrates another year of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in Boston.

Saturday 11:00 AM
Special Guest Interview: Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Dana Cameron
Harbor II · 60 min · Interview
Boskone’s Special Guest, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, joins us from a Mysterious Galaxy far, far away. From running a bookstore to helping to plan programming for Comic-Con International, M’e (as her friends call her) has been a part of the various forms of fandom for … well, let’s just say for a significant amount of time. Join author Dana Cameron and M’e for a lively discussion between old friends.

Saturday 1:00 PM
Remembering Buffy the Vampire Slayer — 20 Years Later
Christopher Golden, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Dana Cameron, Erin Underwood (M), Deirdre Crimmins
Marina 2 · 60 min · Panel
“Becoming” Parts 1 and 2, “The Body,” “Once More With Feeling,” “Hush,” and “Graduation Day” are among the best-loved episodes of the series. Our panelists discuss the episodes they love the most, and why the show itself continues to be so memorable and rewatchable — 25 years after the movie, and 20 years after the TV show debuted.

Saturday 3:00 PM
100 Years of Shirley Jackson
Maryelizabeth Yturralde (M), John Langan, Jack M. Haringa, F. Brett Cox, Grady Hendrix
Marina 4 · 60 min · Panel
Happy birthday, Shirley! Born 100 years ago and dying aged only 48, the author of “The Lottery” and other modern Gothic tales remains one of the most important — and possibly most underrated — American authors of the last century. What writers have felt her unsettling influence? Why can she still send a chill down the spines of today’s readers? Let’s celebrate Shirley Jackson’s first century, and the lasting and dramatic effect her work has had on our fictions.

Sunday 10:00 AM
Kaffeeklatsch: Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Harbor I · 60 min · Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 12:00 NOON
Brick and Mortar: Bookstores Then, Now, and Tomorrow
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Robert Howard, Joe Siclari (M), Ian Randal Strock, Lauren Roy
Marina 4 · 60 min · Panel
Despite surges in online and ebook sales: at least for now, bookstores are here to stay. Our panelists share their favorite stories about the printed matter palaces they love, how to support them, and what continued life they’re finding in today’s publishing world. How can we make better use of our bookstores? What purpose do they serve for authors, publishers, and readers? If they ever disappear, whatever will we do?

Sunday 1:00 PM
Best Book EVER!
Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Walter Jon Williams (M), Emma Caywood, Richard R. Horton
Harbor II · 60 min · Panel
Some books are good. Some books are great. And some are the BEST BOOK EVER! Let’s dish over the works that stand out — that changed the way we think about reading — as well as those that fed our appetite for fine fiction and made us hungry for more. What does it take to top your list of all-time great reads?

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Want to attend Boskone? We’d love to see you there. All attendees need to purchase a Boskone 54 convention membership. Click here to buy yours today! 

Note: Boskone Programming starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and is open to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. A membership is required after 6:00 pm on Friday, February 17th and through the rest of the weekend.

Full Weekend Rates

• Adult Full Convention: $65
• College Student Full Convention: $40 (school ID required)
• K-6 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)
• 7-12 Full Convention: $25 (school ID may be required)

One Day Rates

• Friday One Day: $25
• Saturday One Day: $45
• Sunday One Day: $25