News

Australian Yaoi and Yuri Convention Room 801 On This Weekend

Room 801 is running it's inaugural event this weekend, Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of February at the Y Hotel HYDE Park. The event is strictly adults-only and the organisers are aiming to create a safe and inclusive space for yaoi and yuri fans. Room 801 has life-drawing, debates, workshops, live-readings, screenings, traders and even a swap-meet planned for the weekend.

Tickets can still be purchased online or at the door with pre-registration entering the attendees into a prize draw (Premium tickets appear to no-longer be available). The full schedule is now online and can be viewed here.

Details

• Where: Y Hotel HYDE Park (Level 4), 5-11 Wentworth Street, Sydney NSW 2000.
• When: Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd of Feburary 2014. Doors open at 9:00am and close at 4:00pm.
• Cost: From $30 for a one day to $55 for a weekend ticket.
• Website: www.room801.com.au

Schedule Highlights

• Saturday

• Making Video Games Without Your Head Exploding - Presented by GB at 10:15am in the Workshop.
• AarinFantasy and Artist Showcase - Presented by Aarin From 11:00am in the Main Theatre.
• The New Wave of BL Manga - Presented by Khursten Santos at 12:15pm in the Workshop.
• Legal Issues and Censorship - Presented by Dr Scott Beattie at 1:00pm in the Main Theatre.

• Sunday

• Fandom Lightning Talks - 9:15am in the Workshop.
• The Fragile Heart of Moé - Documentary screening at 12:00pm in the Main Theatre. (An external view of Comiket, partially funded by NHK and worth checking out -Ed)
• Gaming Cult Podcast Presents: Hatoful Boyfriend - Presented by the Gaming Cult Podcast at 12:15 in the Workshop.
• Space Tyrants and Pleasure Planets: What makes a gay game gay? - Presented by Luke Miller in the Main Theatre at 2:15pm.

Special Guests

Aarin

A renowned yaoi fan from Malaysia and the founder of popular forums AarinFantasy where fans can share and discuss Yaoi. Aarin will be announcing her plans for AarinFantasy and promoting the work of several international artists alongside work by Japanese company Otome's Way.

Dr Scott Beattie

Aiming to educate and equip creators with the knowledge of dangers to avoid and attitudes to confront, Dr Scott Beattie is definately qualified to handle this task. A media lawyer with background in censorship law and the author of Community, Space and Online Censorship: Regulating Pornotopia he has particular interest in exposing Australia's censorship laws for their hypocritical, repressive and moralistic nature. Scott will be presenting on the legal risks for Australians and offering legal advice to attendees over the weekend.

Level4Chaos

Australian fanfiction author, artist and cosplayer, Level4Chaos has apparently created an "obscene amount of yaoi fanfiction". Her cosplay is no slouch as she represented Australia in the 2010 World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan.

Luke Miller

An indie game developer hailing from Melbourne, Victoria who is responsible for the point-and-click adventure game "My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant" with artist Joe Phillips. Luke will be speaking about his approach and experiences creating a gay-themed game.

Jozef Szekeres

A talented artist, Jozef has a career spanning 24 years including working as an animator for Disney, comic artist for an Elfquest spinoff (Elfquest/Wavedancers), creator of the first Australian fashion doll, illustration work for several notable publications and co-creator of the 2000 Sydney Olympics mascots. Most recently Jozef has published his Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed through his comic book company Black Mermaid Productions.

Mary Borsellino

From Room801's website,

When Mary was 16, her anime-loving younger brother found her school diary with a picture of Shinji and Kaworu from Neon Genesis Evangelion embracing on the front. He declared in angered dismay that she “RUINS EVERYTHING”.
Now in her early thirties, Mary has come to see that her brother was right about that. She writes critically acclaimed young adult dark fantasy and erotica, and pop culture analysis.
Mary's writing work includes Ruby Coral Carnelian and The Wolf House.

If you would like further information on Room 801 please visit their website or read the press release.