When I do programming, I start by defining the populations that the convention is serving. Each population should have an advocate from within that community.
I try to make sure that each advocate occupies more than 1 seat AND It is desirable for each population to have more than 1 advocate. It's better if people occupy more than 1 because that intersections represents reality and offer a better cross-section of experiences.
For instance, at the Nebulas, the programming team has advocates for Disability, Hybrid author, Traditionally published, Game writer, Indie, Novelist, Short Story, Agent, Editor, Affiliate, Early career writer, Mid-career writer, Late career writer, LGBTQ, Aspiring member, & PoC
These advocates look at ALL of the programming, rather than consigning populations to individual tracks. I ask them to look for places that their groups are not being served or are under-represented.
We program by starting with some items that we are sure of, which are a mix of suggestions and things we generate. We offer those to nominees first and also ask them for topics that they want to talk about.
Then we staff moderators. If we don't have a strong and appropriate moderator, then we don't schedule the panel. Because of the advocate structure, we have a variety of voices as moderators.
We often ask the moderators for input on panelists who would be good fits..
We often ask the moderators for input on panelists who would be good fits..
At this point, we open it to the people who have expressed interest in being on programming.
What I've generally found is that the people who respond quickly are new to the field and eager. Sometimes no one on the committee knows them, but research solves that.
What I've generally found is that the people who respond quickly are new to the field and eager. Sometimes no one on the committee knows them, but research solves that.
We also, honestly, have a Red Flag and Caution field. Red flags will never get on programming. Caution means that we are very careful about the topics that person can go on because they've gone off the rails before, but with the right moderator have things to contribute.
The biggest point of this is, again, the advocates on my team look at the entire program and not just a corner of it. And the advocates come from *within* the populations that we are serving.
