The science fiction genre has undergone significant changes and evolution over time.

The genre has traditionally reflected societal issues like capitalism, communism, and racism, as well as threats including nuclear power and ecological crises.

The genre has seen a surge in diversity and representation from women and authors of color in recent years.

The internet has enabled women and queer writers to develop their skills, significantly increasing their presence in science fiction.

Chinese science fiction has gained international recognition, led by authors like Liu Cixin and Wang Jinkang.

The genre now explores modern themes like transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and environmental crises.

Diverse voices have enriched the science fiction genre, offering new insights and ideas.

Incorporating diverse geographical and linguistic perspectives is crucial for a science fiction book club.

The club can explore science fiction to identify problematic tools and highlight ideas that can inform political theory.

Science fiction can reflect and comment on societal flaws by embracing diversity and inclusive storytelling.

The future of speculative fiction will be increasingly interdisciplinary, incorporating diverse perspectives to explore the human condition.

Fiction can be a tool for social change, providing hope and insight into reality's problems.

The science fiction genre has become more inclusive, with marginalized authors like women and people of color making an impact through publications like Solarpunk Magazine.

Solarpunk depicts cooperative and sustainable communities, dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy.

The development of science fiction in Africa has been marked by milestones exploring African identity, colonialism, and postcolonialism.

African science fiction trends include using digital technology for literary production, with events like the Lomé International Book Fair supporting local writers.

African writers like Alexander Nderitu have turned to self-publishing to control their work.

African science fiction explores local issues, including human rights in east Africa, as in Chemutai Glasheen's work.

African authors, like Nozuko Siyotula, are using science fiction to reclaim their power and push for nuance.

The global science fiction community can better support African authors through initiatives like Netflix and UNESCO's "African Folktales, Reimagined" competition.

The competition promotes original African stories, supporting young filmmakers with $25,000 and a $75,000 production grant for six winners.

The science fiction genre has evolved over time, influenced by diverse perspectives from non-Western and marginalized communities.

A science fiction book club can include works from non-Western authors and marginalized communities for more realistic representation.

Diversity of perspectives is essential in science fiction, which can be analyzed through postcolonial and feminist studies.

The publishing industry, traditionally dominated by Western authors, is seeing a growing presence of women and people of color making an impact.

Less than 2 percent of children's books feature Indigenous characters, but initiatives like HarperCollins' Heartdrum imprint aim to increase representation.

The presence of Asian American women in science fiction is growing, with venues like Yu and Me Books centering their experiences and voices.

Chinese women are thriving in science fiction and can be supported through book clubs.

Female science fiction writers address women's issues, with four anthologies of Chinese fantasy novels by women published.

Book clubs can promote diversity and inclusion across all age groups, with local bookstores often providing a meeting space.

Book clubs promote diversity by reading books from Black and marginalized authors.

The StoryGraph tracks diverse reading, and Black authors write various genres like sci-fi and fantasy.

Book clubs can promote diversity by highlighting marginalized authors and diversifying children's books to reflect various racial backgrounds and cultures.

Book clubs can amplify marginalized voices and foster cultural understanding by reading diverse books.

Diverse perspectives are necessary for creating a hopeful vision of humanity's future.

The Speculative Fiction Project aims to represent diverse authors, including international ones, in future funded projects.

Book clubs can be radical, promote diverse discussions, and vary in composition and environment.

University book clubs can have clear learning goals and be department-organized.

Book clubs can discuss marginalized authors like Manuel Muñoz, whose work is also discussed by George Saunders.

Substack "Story Club" promotes diverse authors and marginalized voices through book reviews.

Asian American women's stories are underrepresented in publishing, and book clubs can support authors like Amitava Kumar and Manuel Muñoz.

The internet helps non-male science fiction writers publish, attracting a diverse audience.

Science fiction books explore human themes like death and immortality.

The genre has evolved into a universal mode of entertainment with an increasingly interdisciplinary future.

Book clubs can use science fiction to discuss topics like climate change and unconditional love.

Speculative fiction can be a tool for social change and hope, offering a unique lens to understand reality and problems.

Diverse authors, including women like Mary Shelley, are crucial to representing humanity in science fiction.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores themes of gender, creation, and mind-matter dualism, making it a great book club discussion prompt.

A diverse science fiction book club should include works from various geographical and linguistic fields.

Consider multiple perspectives when selecting books to ensure a wide range of viewpoints.

Analyzing diverse stories can contribute to a diverse book club.

Selecting books on real-world issues can facilitate thought-provoking discussions.

Literary prizes can help identify high-quality and relevant books.

A book club's selection should consider members' diverse preferences and interests.

Book selection should include works from different time periods.

Diverse perspectives can enrich the discussion.

Diversity in author background and writing experience is essential for a book club.

Scientific research-based books offer unique perspectives.

Including international authors and students brings fresh and diverse perspectives.

A schedule can help facilitate productive book club discussions.

Online book clubs and audiobooks can be convenient options for remote members.

Discussion questions guide the conversation and exploration of the book's themes.

Inclusive discussions can be facilitated by using thought-provoking themes and considering the semantics of works.

Host readings and panel discussions to facilitate diverse and interdisciplinary discussions.

Viewing fiction as a lens to understand reality can deepen book club members' understanding of the genre.

Utopian books can inspire hope and social change.

Speculative fiction can be a tool for social change and selecting diverse authors can enrich a book club.

The science fiction genre has evolved significantly over time.

Female science fiction writers often focus on women's issues, contributing to the genre's diversity.

The internet has helped women and queer writers overcome barriers in science fiction, increasing diversity in the genre.

The genre has become more inclusive, with diverse casts and major franchises now featuring better racial diversity.

To address potential challenges in a science fiction book club, create a safe environment by teaching conversation skills and recognizing emotions.

The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership trains students to facilitate discussions on contentious issues, applicable to settings like book clubs.

Men should approach women's literature with curiosity, not disdain, to foster a respectful discussion environment in book clubs.

The Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project uses science fiction as a tool for social change, representing diverse perspectives and rooted in scientific research.

Virtual book clubs offer a low-cost marketing platform for discussion and community building, accessible to a wide online audience.

Companies can launch book clubs to attract customers, promote business, and build trust.

The science fiction genre has become more diverse and inclusive, with book clubs promoting respectful discussions and addressing challenges like differing opinions and representation.

The science fiction genre has undergone significant changes and evolution over time.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The genre has traditionally reflected societal issues like capitalism, communism, and racism, as well as threats including nuclear power and ecological crises.

What concepts does Ishiguro's literary science fiction novel bring up?

The genre has seen a surge in diversity and representation from women and authors of color in recent years.

Title:

Content: Embracing Diversity: Indian American Children's Literature Booming in the US

Rajani LaRocca, an Indian American author of children's books, has been awarded the John Newbery Honor Medal.
Sreya Sarkar
The Indian American
Published:

This year, Rajani LaRocca, an Indian American author of children's books, has been awarded the John Newbery Honor Medal for Children's Literature for her book, "Red, White, and Whole."

It's no ordinary feat as the award presented by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, is the oldest children's book award in the world.

This brings to the fore that books about India and by Indian authors are gradually making an entrance into the mainstream.

Children's Literature in the US is Increasingly Seeing Diverse Voices

Madeline Tyner, the librarian at Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discussed over a phone call why the most recent data they collected shows an increase in diversity in children’s literature.

“Every year the number of books by and about people of colour are increasing, but in the last two years with the pandemic slowing down people’s lives and clearing more time for them to reflect and the reboot of social movements like Black Lives Matter following the George Floyd incident, there seems to be a genuine interest in diverse voices."
Madeline Tyner, Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison

She believes nonprofits like We Need Diverse Books also played an important role in changing the perception of American people towards diversity.

She said, “Their 2016 online hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign not only made schools and libraries more aware of the need and demand for more diverse representation when it comes to children's books but also pushed the publishing industry in the US towards a major transition.”

The numbers show a sharp leap in the publication of children's books featuring Indian culture and written by Indian American authors.

In 2008, based on CCBC data, out of 3,000 books, 98 featured Asian stories of which only two books were published with Indian American protagonists written by Indian American authors. Since then the way CCBC collects data has undergone a change. In 2021, out of 3,356 children's books, 351 featured Asian subjects. Of these, the number of books on Indian subjects is right at the top (67). As of creators, in 2021, 73 books had an Indian author or illustrator.

Increase in Representation of Indian Americans

Tyner said, "Compared to other Asian countries and ethnicities, books about India and Indian people are well represented now."

For their best-of-the-year list, Tyner stated that they included several books about Indian American characters including LaRocca’s Red, White, and Whole. "It is a middle-grade historical novel-in-verse about an Indian American girl whose mother is diagnosed with leukaemia."

“We chose some other books, too, like American Betiya by Anuradha A Rajurkar, What Am I? by Divya Srinivasan and Supriya Kelkar’s That Thing About Bollywood. What we appreciate about them is that the characters are full, complex human beings who sometimes embrace and sometimes struggle with balancing the many facets of their identities."

'Promoting Diversity in Children's Books Fosters Empathy': Rajani LaRocca

Rajani LaRocca sounded excited about the recent award. When asked why she chose to write for children, she said, “I believe that promoting diversity in children’s literature fosters empathy in them, which is very valuable for the world. Growing up in Kentucky, I didn’t see my experiences or even someone like me in any book. When I revisited writing much later, in my forties, I wanted to bring the specifics of my experience as an immigrant.”

LaRocca attributed the increase in the demand for diverse representation to the launch of imprints by mainstream publishers looking to raise the profile of diverse voices in children’s literature like HarperCollins’ Quill Tree Books or Penguin Random House’s Kokila, as well as to independent publishers championing diverse voices like Lee and Low Books.

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Capturing the Indian American Immigrant Experience & Going Beyond Tokenism

She also pointed out the initiative of We Need Diverse Books in mentoring and providing scholarships to people of colour and getting diverse books to schools.

She said that several Indian authors and illustrators are collaborating and coalescing around children’s literature in America now, like Supriya Kelkar, Nidhi Channani, and Sandhya Prabhat. “They are doing good work and supporting each other as a tight community.”

Both Tyner and LaRocca acknowledge that the publishing industry moves rather slowly and it will still take time for books on diversity to become mainstream properly but they are hopeful for the future.

What is most interesting though is the growth of complexities in the material being published by Indian American authors. Tyner said, "The details of their culture and identity are naturally woven into their lives and the narrative. They feel like real people; not like tokens or stereotypes." There is an added focus on authentic characters and experiences.

LaRocca mentioned the uniqueness of being Indian American and an immigrant. “There is something about being an immigrant that brings a bitter-sweet feeling of being caught between two different worlds.” Her prize-winning book, Red White, and Whole bears a complex texture involving heritage, fitting-in, science, poetry, Hindu mythology, and 80s pop music.

As we celebrate her book winning an esteemed award and steep in the fuzzy feeling of what that means for the Indian American community that has embraced her writing generously, LaRocca has a special message for the grown-ups in the Indian American community.

She wants them to keep pushing for the need to encourage diversity in children’s literature but also reminds them about understanding the need to write all kinds of stories, not just those focusing on the Indian American identity because that is what will make their work more mainstream and universal.

(The author is a public policy professional based in Arlington, Massachusetts.)

Published: undefined

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What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

The internet has enabled women and queer writers to develop their skills, significantly increasing their presence in science fiction.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction: Chinese Female Writers | Culture | DW | 21.10.2023
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Cultural warp and weft
Science fiction: the rise of Chinese women writers
While the space for feminist expression in China has shrunk further over the past decade, there ’ s good news from this week ’ s World Science Fiction Conference in Chengdu: Chinese female writers are thriving in the science fiction world, making them one of the most striking trends in the genre.
The rise of Chinese female writers in science fiction has become one of the most striking trends in the genre, according to participants at this week's World Science Fiction Conference in Chengdu.
The World Science Fiction Conference, the world ’ s oldest and most influential science fiction event, was held in China for the first time this year and attracted a large number of local fans, both male and female.
China remains a relatively socially conservative country, and under President Xi Jinping, the space for feminist expression has narrowed further over the past decade.
But author and editor Regina Kanyu Wang, who was nominated for two prestigious Hugo Awards at the World Science Fiction Conference this year, said the number of women writers in science fiction has soared in recent years.
She said more and more women are now realizing that "it's not just nerdy, nerdy science-fiction novels like Liu Cixin [author of the three-body series] that can be published, or can be considered science fiction." Liu Cixin is great, and we all like him.
But there's a lot more to it than Liu Cixin's style. "
The good news, says Wang, is that once women start to become writers, they don ’ t feel they ’ re being treated unequally.
The market and readers need a new perspective, she said.
The 81st World Science Fiction Conference will be held in Chengdu from October 18 to 22.
"Now, many Chinese female science fiction writers focus on issues that women face that men may not feel," Zhou Danxue, a literary scholar at XJCC Liverpool University, told AFP. "These writers can reflect unique female experiences in their own way."
Wang said that in the past two years, four anthologies of Chinese fantasy novels written only by female or non-binary authors have been published, which is a major breakthrough.
There wasn ’ t even an all-female science fiction writer ’ s portfolio before that.
Before the 1990s, there were very few female science fiction writers.
An article in the collection "The Way Spring Comes", which Wang Kanyu participated in compiling, pointed out that the Internet is a training base for women and queer talents.
Author Ni Xueting explained that the widespread use of the Internet “not only brought a new sense of community to people, but also … removed many barriers to writing based on industry and social stereotypes, especially for non-male writers. ”
Chen Qiufan, one of China ’ s leading science fiction writers, told AFP that the genre had traditionally not received special attention and was seen as “written and read by boys. ”
He said there was now a "wider and more diverse audience", estimating that his readers were split equally between men and women.
Chinese women writers begin to make their mark in science fiction
Monet, a 21-year-old woman who visited the science fiction convention on Friday, said she sometimes felt isolated among her own fan base.
“It ’ s hard to share my interests with people who don ’ t understand me.
They ask, "Why does a girl like science fiction?"
She is optimistic about these changes in attitude, pointing out that there are a lot of interested primary and secondary school students at the conference site.
“I think interest in Chinese science fiction has to be nurtured from an early age, ” she says.“ We didn ’ t have that opportunity when we were young … I really envy them, to be honest. ”
(AFP)
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What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Chinese science fiction has gained international recognition, led by authors like Liu Cixin and Wang Jinkang.

Title:

Content: Interview with Wang Jinkang, 2024 Hugo Finalist

INTRODUCTION: Eight Light Minutes(8LM) Culture of Chengdu has given permission for File 770 to reprint the series of interviews with Chinese science fiction writers which they have been running this week on Facebook. The first one is a question and answer session with Wang Jinkang, whose novella Seeds of Mercury is a 2024 Hugo Award finalist.

SUPPORTING CHINESE WRITERS SERIES (1): 2024 HUGO AWARD NOMINATION INTERVIEW WITH WANG JINKANG

Translated by Joseph Brant.

Wang Jinkang(王晋康) was born in Nanyang, Henan Province in 1948. He is a senior engineer, and a member of the Chinese Writer’s Association (CWA), The China Popular Science Writing Association (CPSWA), The Committee of Scientific Literature and Art, and the Henan Writers’ Association. Since the publication of his first story, The Return of Adam, in 1993, he has published over 90 short works, and 20 full novels, including Cross, We Together, Escape from The Mother Universe, Parents of Heaven and Earth, and Cosmic Crystal Eggs, totaling over six million words. He has won China’s Galaxy Award 16 times, as well as The Chinese Science Fiction Nebula’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is considered one of Chinese science fiction’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, and his emblematic work Seeds of Mercury was shortlisted for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

Hello Mr. Wang! Before we start, I would like to congratulate you on Seeds of Mercury’s shortlisting for 2024’s “Best Novella” Hugo Award. This is news that has excited countless Chinese science fiction fans. Ever since the publication of Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, readers have commented that your contributions have particularly appealed to them and would like to know more about your life and work. Hopefully, this long-awaited interview will provide some of the insights the sci-fi community has longed for.

Q1Mr. Wang, despite having produced many great works, this is the first time you’ve been shortlisted for the Hugo. How did you feel when you learned that you’d been shortlisted?

Wang Jinkang: Of course I was elated. Although I’ve won many awards in China, in fact the most Galaxy Awards in history, this is the first time I’ve been shortlisted for a Hugo. It felt like 31 years ago, when I first saw The Return of Adam in print, and when I won my First Galaxy Award. I think every author experiences these moments of excitement. It’s excellent that Chinese science fiction has reached a certain level, after years of growth, it’s now more and more visible internationally, which is fantastic. Of course, what we value even more, is these works transcending their era, and surviving the tides of time to reach future generations.

Religion and Science are enemies who love each other.

Q2Mr. Wang, as one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of Chinese science fiction, you’re already very well known in China, with a creative career spanning over thirty years, with works such as Leopard Man, Ant Life and Survival Experiment and so on. This shortlisted work is such a quintessential piece. However, this interview is not just intended for the Chinese sci-fi fans, but for readers around the world, who may not be familiar with Seeds of Mercury. Could I ask you to introduce it for the benefit of the overseas sci-fi fans?

Wang Jinkang: Seeds of Mercury is a two-threaded story. The first one follows a female scientist named Shawu, who discovers a new formula for life, and creates a fluid metal nano life form. When she dies, she entrusts that formula to Chen Yizhe, a businessman with a pure heart, along with the message “real life cannot be bred in pens. In the Solar System, there happens to be a suitable place for it to breed freely – Mercury”. Chen Yizhe accepts this monumental legacy enthusiastically, using his personal wealth to maintain the laboratory. In order take the next step, of “seeding Mercury”, he must turn to the society around him. Mr Hong, a multi-billionaire with a disagreeable personality but a benevolent soul, decides to liquidate his empire to facilitate the spaceship’s construction. Furthermore, Hong makes another astonishing decision: to relocate to Mercury, have his body frozen in the millennia-old ice caves of the planet’s north pole, to be awakened every 10 million years, to assist the evolution of these micro-lifeforms. In just 15 years, Chen Yizhe sends Hong to Mercury to seed the nano-life into the liquid metal lakes of Mercury, after which Hong settles down in its polar caves. Meanwhile, Hong’s lawyer, and soulmate named Yin, bids her painful farewells from the distant Earth.

The second storyline is set 100 million years later, when the Suola race have evolved on Mercury, their metal bodies adapted to the hundred-degree temperatures of the planet. They are sustained by light (drawing energy directly by photosynthesis). With no sense of hearing, they rely on the flashing of light through two orifices in their abdomen to communicate in binary. The entire Suola race are devout followers of Shawu, venerate the Star Father, the great god Shawu and her earthly incarnation. They have been initiated in science, and after studying their Holy Book, scientist Tu Lala discovers that much scientific knowledge has been disguised and hidden within. From this he deduces that life on Mercury originates from The Blue Planet. He implores the high priest to send an expedition to search for the Holy Site in the depths of the ice, with the excuse of reviving the incarnation of Shawu, as the Book prophesied. The high priest consents, sending a chaplain to supervise the mission. Tu Lala actually locates the Holy Site, and discovers the incarnation of Shawu (Mr Hong), frozen in the ice, along the sacred rites of “how to revive the incarnation of Shawu”.

However, unexpected occurrences, mainly due to the ignorance and blind devotion of the believers, result in Tulala’s unfortunate violent death (as metallic organisms, the Suola can easily resurrect after a sudden death, but those who do are considered an untouchable caste). In order to protect Mr Hong’s body, Tu lala risks the humiliation, but tragically, his student Qi Qiaqia denounces him, exposing his untouchable status, and inciting the crowd to him, During which time, Mr Hong’s body is destroyed in the scorching sunlight. To avoid blame, Qi Qiaqia suddenly declares that the incarnation of Shawu was a false god, which is why the Father Star could destroy it. This narrative is accepted by the devotees, who hail him as their new high priest. In the thousands of years that follow, Suola society descends into darkness, religious cruelly suppressing science, but from among the population comes a new “Sect of Repentance”, apparently founded by an untouchable. Silently they preserve everything related to science, awaiting the next rebirth of Shawu in future millennia.

Q3Seeds of Mercury was first published in 2002, and its appeal still endures, even after all this time. What inspired you to write this story?

Wang Jinkang: The initial inspiration probably came from a sad epiphany I had as a teenager. The human body is too fragile. Our proteins start to coagulate above 80°C, our brain suffers irreversible damage if we don’t breathe for five minutes, our body can’t withstand radiation, and we can die from disease, hunger, dehydration, drowning and freezing… It’s admirable that such a fragile life form has been propagated on for billions of years, but it also makes me apprehensive that humanity would not survive a disaster. Human civilisation is a great achievement, which is why we are proud of it; but it also makes me anxious, worrying that humanity may not survive the next cataclysm. I couldn’t help but imagine, what if a creator, or god of evolution, created a metallic life, invulnerable to fire and flood? Many years later, I combined these youthful imaginings with my subsequent concept of “Templates for Life” and turned it into this novella.

Q4Seeds of Mercury is a piece about the sublime act of Creation, and a reflection on the transitory nature of life. Did you write it with the intention of exploring the contradiction between Science and Religion? Or did that grow naturally out of the creative process? Also, do the sentient beings you write about reflect your own views and positions?

Wang Jinkang: I didn’t intend to construct that dichotomy between Science and Religion, but it’s exactly what happened on Earth, so when I created a history for Mercury’s civilisation, those episodes just appeared naturally. Religion and Science are enemies who love each other. European Papacy cruelly persecuted Galileo, Bruno, and other ‘heretics’, and strictly forbade the theory of evolution, but medieval Europe became the birthplace of modern science. When we look back at the history of Civilisation over millennia, you can’t help but sigh that history is full of paradoxes, and that The Creator is always full of mischief, making fun of the theories of Cause and Effect. As to whether this new life carries some of my own views or positions? Of course. Tu Lala is the heir to the human spirit, with his scientific rationality, adventurous spirit, sense of responsibility, fortitude, and self-sacrifice. In the story, when Tu Lala meets the holy body of Shawu Incarnate, and he figures out that the great god was a scientist. Thus, demonstrating that the intellectual spirits of all scientists are inter-relatable, even if they are alien. That is what I believe in my heart.

Today’s AI isn’t quite up to the standard of “Return of Adam”

Q5Mr. Wang, the world has moved on 22 years since the first publication of Seeds of Mercury. What changes do you think have occurred in science fiction writing in the present day, compared to the early years both in terms of the environment, and the core themes?

Wang Jinkang: These 22 years have brought great changes, and it could be said that civilisation has reached a critical point, that we’re on the cusp of drastic changes. However, for the science fiction writer, who is used to seeing the world from a god-like point of view (through the eyes of science) we think in millennia, so 22 years is too short a period to affect the themes of my work. For example, my debut story Return of Adam showed a society where AI had overcome natural humanity, though it had taken on a parasitic approach, augmenting the processing power (IQ) of the human mind to far outstrip the basic brain, and in fact, became the core of human consciousness. The rapid development of AI today, especially the LLM systems, is amazing, even frightening, but in general, today’s AI isn’t quite up to the standards of Return of Adam. Still, I’m saddened that some things I wrote about, which I assumed would be far in the future have come to pass in my lifetime. For example, in 1997, when many Chinese people asserted that AI could never triumph in the field of Weiqi (Go), I was convinced it eventually would, and wrote a scene of an ‘AI beating a human chess master’ in one of my stories, before it actually happened. I just never expected to see it in my lifetime.

Q6Before Liu Cixin appeared, you “held up half the sky” in Chinese Sci-fi. When you first appeared in China’s science fiction circles, you were relatively older, and more experienced. Do you think that maturity allowed your work to appear more rounded?

Wang Jinkang: My life and experiences have been quite unique. I’ve lived through a very special time in China’s history, worked as a rusticated youth, a miner and model maker. I went to university at 30, became a mechanical engineer, wrote literary novels, and only broke into the science fiction world by chance at 45, publishing my first sci-fi story. If anything, my near-fanatical reading of literature at university paved the way for my future writing. At that time, the reforms were already happening in China, and it was opening up to the world. A huge amount of foreign literature was pouring into the country, dazzling readers like me. There may be another special factor, which is, because I was studying engineering, I was standing atop this wall of science and watching this river of literature racing by, I had a sense of detachment. Add to that I only started writing SF decades after experiencing the rise, fall and distilling of the wave of literature. I suppose that’s why my writing style has a poised, bleak, and sombre character.

Q7What sort of stories do you think are expected from the current literary ecosystem? Which sci-fi genres do you expect to take off in the future?

Wang Jinkang: I have always felt that science fiction is unlike any other form of literature. The richness of mainstream literature does not necessarily coincide with the strength of a country. As the aphorisms go, “classics are born from chaos”, and “poets are fortunate when the country is not”. However, the success of science fiction is reliant on enough readers and authors being educated to a certain threshold, and so depends on the country’s economic, scientific, and technological development, which can be proven by the movement of science fiction’s centre from Britain and France to the United States over the last century. Over the past 40 years, China’s overall economic development has been good, and as one of the oldest sci-fi writers in the country, I’ve experienced this first-hand. I feel that as China continues to modernise and converge with the rest of the world, the creative environment of Chinese sci-fi will continue to improve. As for which themes, I feel will start to emerge? It’s expected that artificial intelligence and space themes, with more emphasis on exploring the human condition, are going to be the stories of importance, but other themes will also develop immensely.

Science fiction writers are used to seeing the world from a god-like viewpoint.

Q8 Mr. Wang, science fiction has taken root in China now for around a century, and you have played a pivotal role in the history of science fiction in the country. Irrespective of whether or not you win this Hugo Award, you have influenced a generation of sci-fi fans and creators. How do you view your own Creative Achievements?

Wang Jinkang: I’m flattered, but I only really played a leading and inductive role in the early stages of the so-called “New Generation” of Chinese sci-fi back in the 1990s. I’m content with the two aspects of my writing career, firstly, in forming the genre of Philosophical Science Fiction, which is based on the latest technological advances, and digs deep into the influence it has on alienation, civilisation, and so forth, to discover this genre’s philosophical uniqueness. This genre did not originate in my work, foreign writers including Mr. Arthur C. Clarke have long created excellent works of philosophical sci-fi, but these elements in my work are more concentrated. Furthermore, with regards science fiction as “the most cosmopolitan form of literature”, I consider my work, whilst still cosmopolitan, to be imbued heavily with Chinese styles and themes, which adds a certain flavour to the genre.

Q9Do you feel that science fiction writing is shifting from short-form to long form, and what difficulties do you feel are associated with that?

Wang Jinkang: In my experience there are three main issues faced when moving into the long-form. Firstly, there must be enough knowledge, from the accumulation of experience and information. Secondly, there must be a more mature view of Nature and human society, in their entirety. These are not necessarily the dominant trait of the novel but will play important roles in the story’s development. Thirdly, the ability to comprehend the entirety of the larger story. This ability to grasp the complete story is equally important to mainstream literary writers, but in science fiction, concepts always play a driving role in the whole work and should be logically consistent in themselves.

Q10In your eyes, what is the role of Morality and Ethics in Science Fiction?

Wang Jinkang: Science fiction authors often look at the world from a godlike point of view, and in the eyes of a creator, survival comes first, and morality and ethics are just auxiliary codes established by humans once they reached a certain level of civilisation. They are also conducive to the overall survival of the human race. As Humanity develops, and “co-operation” becomes more central to society, the role of morality and ethics becomes more and more important, but they certainly won’t stay the same, and the rules will certainly have additions and deletions. For example, once technology becomes suitably advance, the ethics of “strict prohibition regarding editing the genes of a human being” are very likely to change.

Q11Throughout your career, which of your stories are you most satisfied with?

Wang Jinkang: Of my short and medium length works, I like Seeds of Mercury’, Bee Keepers and The Song of Life, and of my longer works, I’m most satisfied with Ant’s Life and the Alive Trilogy (Escape From The Mother Universe, Parents of Heaven And Earth, and Cosmic Crystal Eggs).

Thank you, reader, for giving meaning to my life.

Q12Mr. Wang, some sci-fi fans have pointed out you are ‘the oldest non-American writer shortlisted for the Hugo Award’, which is an impressive feat. What are your hopes for the Hugo Awards?

Wang Jinkang: There’s a bit of a special circumstance here, where a story I wrote 22 years ago, was only translated into English last year, and shortlisted according to the translation’s publication date, even though, I’m very happy to hold this “World Record”. I hope it will go further than just being a finalist, but even if it doesn’t, I still consider it a great honour to be shortlisted.

Q13What would you like to say to the readers regarding the inclusion of Seeds of Mercury in the Hugo Awards shortlist, which was voted for by individual sci-fi fans one after another?

Wang Jinkang: I’ve always had a reverence for my readers. The two most common inscriptions I write to fans at signings are “The reader is the god of authors”, and “Thank you reader, for giving meaning to my life”. Out of the millions of publications each year, in a sea of stories, to have any number of people read your work, enjoy it, and keep it in their memory after that relentless tide of time, is a rare blessing. One might even call it a great gift from the readers to the author.

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Growing global interest in Chinese sci-fi: reports

(Xinhua) 10:03, April 30, 2024

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese science fiction, led by titles of Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin, has seen growing global interest and media exposure in recent years, according to two newly released reports.

The global search trend and media reports about Chinese sci-fi works had been on a steady rise between 2018 and 2023, according to a report on the overseas footprint of Chinese sci-fi.

The report, compiled by the China Science Fiction Research Center and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, was released at the eighth China Science Fiction Convention, which concluded on Monday.

"The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin has led Chinese sci-fi novels in terms of overseas influence, while films adapted from Liu's "The Wandering Earth" are the top influencer in the movie category, the report said.

"Big IPs (like Liu's works) can become a trailblazer. They have piqued interest in Chinese sci-fi and prompted the translation of other Chinese works into various languages," said Ji Shaoting, a member of the science fiction committee of the China Writers Association.

She noted that a similar trend has emerged in Japan, with numerous Chinese science fiction titles being published in Japanese, fueled by the immense popularity of "The Three Body Problem."

Another report on the global impact of "The Three Body Problem" intellectual properties indicates that elements drawn from Chinese history and culture are particularly embraced by international fans of Chinese science fiction, surpassing other aspects such as human emotions and advanced technology.

Nearly 80 percent of overseas interviewees have expressed a wish to understand China after watching the Chinese TV adaptation of "The Three Body Problem," according to the report jointly released by China Science Fiction Research Center and Tencent Horizon.

"Many sinologists I met in Europe are excited about 'The Three Body Problem.' They told me that the work has sparked an enthusiasm for studying the Chinese language," said Wu Yan, a renowned researcher on Chinese sci-fi.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)

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8 Excellent Genre-Bending Sci-Fi Tales To Take You to the Next Frontier

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Lyndsie Manusos

Senior Contributor

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in web production and content management. When she’s not nesting among her books and rough drafts, she’s chasing the baby while the dog watches in confused amusement. She lives with her family in a suburb of Indianapolis.

Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald, published by Grove Atlantic

The must-read queer sci-fi thriller of the summer! In a world just one perilous step from our own, an unlikely pair sets out on the most dangerous and otherwordly mission of their lives. When a diner suddenly appears in a remote field, Adam and Rao are confronted with the most devastating weapon they have ever seen: Prophet. No one knows who created it, or why, but this spooky substance is bringing happy memories to life, then stifling people with their own joy. Despite their troubled past, the two are drawn closer than ever to defend what they hold most dear.

As I said in my 2022 science fiction subgenre primer, the genre of science fiction is expanding. Like our universe, it is expanding quickly, redefined with every story, be it short or long-form. And beneath the large umbrella of science fiction, subgenres are added and redefined. All in all, there are endless ways to tell a science fiction story (don’t let any old guard tell you different).

And then — subgenres aside — there is genre-bending science fiction. There is science fiction that centers horror and science fiction that is fabulist and weird. There’s science fantasy, as well as science fiction romance. There’s science fiction that is nearly unclassifiable, a mixture of so many things, or even all the things. I’ve mentioned in my Book Riot oeuvre that genre-bending of any shape or size is my kind of work. When writers are bold and brave in their genre weaving, that’s when the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. That’s when I rub my hands together and think, “oh, this is going to be good.”

Genre-bending science fiction doesn’t have to be confined to the novel form, either. Short fiction science fiction is in a golden age right now. Check out the latest finalists and winners for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards, and I promise you will find mindblowing, genre-bending, exceptional work.

Below I will showcase eight tremendous genre-bending science fiction tales, ranging from short stories to novels, and everything in between. I believe I’ve mentioned at least one in a previous post from last year, but you’ll notice the genre coverage is different. Ergo, these stories are genre-bending.

In any case, I hope you’ll enjoy these stories as much as I do.

Genre-Bending Science Fiction: Novels & Novellas

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Fatima had a past before she became known as Sankofa. Before those around her called her the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. With a mere glance, an entire town could fall. But before that, the world was different.

So much of what Okorafor writes is genre-bending science fiction (the Binti trilogy!). This novella begins in an almost fantasy-horror like fashion: Sankofa walking, leaving fear and horror in her wake. But as the story unfolds, it becomes this all-encompassing tale of African futurism, how the world shapes us, and then how we might reshape the world.

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

One of the things I love about including this book is seeing this title on Goodreads and reading all the genres it’s described as. Hint: it’s like all the genres. Fantasy, science fiction, time travel, magic, dragons, robots, portals, you name it, Hexwood probably has it. And clearly, none of this should surprise you coming from the legendary Diana Wynne Jones.

The tale follows Ann Stavely as she watches people disappear through the farm’s gate. She meets a sorcerer, and time begins to move differently in the woods nearby. Little does she know that far beyond Earth, Controller Borasus receives word that an ancient machine has been awakened.

I mean, clearly, genre-bending at its finest.

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo

I love how Victor Manibo is always able to craft the perfect mystery within his brilliant science fiction worlds. Manibo is a master at showing Earth just around corner, especially if we keep on our current trajectory. Picture a world of hyper-capitalism, a luxury liner — Space Habitat Altaire —and a ruthless world of amassing “points” in order for the chance to start a new life on Mars.

Now, add a decadent mystery of whodunit with a sprinkle of who’s willing to do anything to get what they want: Ava wants to find out who murdered her brother; Laz wants to win Ava’s heart; Sloane wants to collect secrets as his family’s wealth declines; Henry will do whatever it takes to get to Mars.

And all this is set during a class reunion on a luxury space liner, with twists and turns you won’t see coming. Get your science fiction Knives Out fix with this one.

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

I still think about this book. I still think about Borne and that giant bear, Mord. This book is solidly science fiction, but it’s also just fucking weird. That’s honestly the best way to describe it, too, which is why I love it so much. It’s post-apocalyptic, and it manages to be both epic and extremely intimate.

Rachel is trying to survive in a world that wants to kill her at every turn. Then she finds Borne, an amorphous creature, in the fur of a Godzilla-sized bear named Mord. Rachel cannot bring herself, nor allow her lover Wick, to destroy Borne. Borne reminds her of better times and better places, and an attachment grows between them. This book is personal as well as out of this world. It’s weird fiction at its finest. It’s science fiction at its most profound.

Genre-Bending Science Fiction: Short Form

This list includes short fiction, though that ranges in word count. Below you’ll find tales that are short stories or novelettes.

Foxfire, Foxfire” by Yoon Ha Lee from Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Let me begin by saying that the publication of this story is in a highly respected (and one of my personal favorites) genre magazine called Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Its mission: to publish the very best in “literary adventure fantasy.” And yet, this story also has beautifully crafted science fiction elements.

This novelette follows Baekdo, a magical, shapeshifting fox who is able to speak to gods. Baekdo is set on becoming human, which requires him to kill — and devour the liver of — 100 humans. Baekdo has no qualms about coming to his 100th kill, but things don’t go as planned. Baekdo’s 100th victim is the pilot of a Cataphract, a giant battle mech. Baekdo swears on the tiger-sages that he will keep his oath with the pilot, Jong, and finish her mission. It’s an intimate, magical tale while also being epic in scope. Truly, a genre-bending masterpiece.

The Gondoliers” by Karen Russell from Orange World and Other Stories

Karen Russell is a masterful genre-bending writer. I fell in love with Russell’s work over ten years ago, with her first collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Like Kelly Link, Russell was vital in redefining, for me at least, what fiction, especially literary fiction, can do. “The Gondoliers” is a wonderful example of this.

It follows Janelle Picarro, a.k.a Blister, in a post-apocalyptic world where parts of Florida have fully submerged underwater and is now called New Florida. Blister is a gondolier, ferrying people across the waters. Blister and her sisters use echolocation to communicate and steer. There is a little bit of everything in this story, and you won’t be the same when you reach the end.

Memories of Memories Lost” by Mahmud El Sayed from khōréō

khōréō is one of my favorite speculative fiction magazines. “In Memories of Memories Lost,” El Sayed crafts a devastatingly personal short story of memory, loss, and sacrifice.

After aliens take over Earth, humans must pay a “memory tax” to their cosmic invaders. The story follows Ahmed, who chooses, for his tax, to give a large family memory in the form of a heirloom. In doing so, he can assure the comfort of his father, who suffers from dementia. It’s a story of complex relationships and love. It’s a story that begs hard questions of ourselves, our souls, and our loved ones: What if we could give traumatic memories away? Would we regret the loss?

The Dizzy Room” by Kristina Ten from Nightmare Magazine

Look, I know I’ve mentioned this story before, and it’s because the story is that good. Published in the renowned horror magazine Nightmare, this story is about a video game, but it’s also a horror story about memory and language. There are images and a multitude of sensory details that will haunt me forever.

This is science fiction horror at its best, with a mounting dread that will have you tempted to lean back while also leaning forward, closer to the page, admittedly desperate to hear the sounds of the game itself beckoning you. I am not at all surprised that this story is a finalist for the 2023 Shirley Jackson Awards.

Find Genre-Bending Stories Everywhere

Every genre has trailblazers, writers who take a genre and build upon it, question and criticize it, and remold it into something new. These are the writers I seek out again and again to dissect and study these genres, rediscovering them and also falling in love with them all over again. They are out there now, and their stories are waiting.

If you’re interested in more genre-bending work, check out these other Book Riot gems:

Incorporating diverse geographical and linguistic perspectives is crucial for a science fiction book club.

The club can explore science fiction to identify problematic tools and highlight ideas that can inform political theory.

Science fiction can reflect and comment on societal flaws by embracing diversity and inclusive storytelling.

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Content: 'Snowpiercer' star Daveed Diggs says it's 'frustrating' when sci-fi stories lack diversity: 'That implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color'

  • "Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi stories lack diversity.
  • Diggs said that it implies "you can't imagine a future with people of color."
  • Diggs added that "Snowpiercer" tries to make the future reflect what the world looks like now.

"Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi movies and TV shows lack diversity.

Diggs, best known for his role in the original Broadway cast for the "Hamilton" musical, stars in the dystopian thriller about the last of human civilization living on a fast-moving train after Earth becomes a frozen wasteland. One of the aspects that make the series stand out is the fact that the characters are racially and geographically diverse.

Diggs, who plays the lead character Layton, told Insider that he hoped more sci-fi movies and TV shows embrace diversity in regards to their cast.

"The frustrating thing when our science fiction lacks diversity is that that implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color and that's super frustrating no matter who it is who's writing the show," Diggs said. "Because that also implies that you don't see them in your present or see us in your present."

He continued: "One of the things I do like about this show is that we try to make the world of the future also reflect our contemporary world."

In 2014, a study by book publisher Lee & Low Books found that in the top 100 domestic grossing films in the sci-fi and fantasy genre, only 8 had a person of color as their lead character. In six of those eight movies, the protagonist was Will Smith.

In recent years, major sci-fi franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and the CW's Arrowverse, have started to include better racial diversity, as well as diversity in other areas.

Diggs also told Insider that the series reflects the contemporary world with its underlying themes for season three.

"Season three asked us to look at the inherent flaws in a bunch of political systems," Diggs explained. "We live in a world in which, in the last few years, we've been witnessed to a fair amount of authoritarian regimes popping up in places that we thought were solidly committed to democracy and that happens on 'Snowpiercer.'"

He added: "The big political question this year is how useful is a broken democracy and what are you willing to do to fix it? And what does it mean to fix it?"

The third season of "Snowpiercer airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

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The future of speculative fiction will be increasingly interdisciplinary, incorporating diverse perspectives to explore the human condition.

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Content: Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project considers next steps for the genre

The project brings together authors and Dartmouth professors to collaborate on new speculative fiction work rooted in scientific research on campus.

by Sophie Chadha | 53 minutes ago

From April 13 to 16, speculative fiction authors from around the country came to Hanover to participate in the Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project, a series of events which included interdisciplinary activities between visiting authors and Dartmouth faculty, as well as readings and panel discussions open to the public. The project aimed to foster collaboration between authors and Dartmouth faculty – with a focus on designing stories rooted in scientific research – and addressed the present and future of the speculative fiction genre.

The project was co-organized by engineering professor Solomon Diamond, English professor Rebecca Clark, the Design Initiative at Dartmouth program manager Paula Olson, Hugo award-winning speculative fiction editor Liz Gorinsky and author and former visiting film and media studies professor Sharang Biswas Th’13.

According to Hugo and Nebula awards finalist Nibedita Sen, speculative fiction is a general term that provokes valuable questions.

“The term ‘speculative fiction’ … works as an umbrella term: It is fiction which imagines things that do not currently exist, things that may come into being through science or through magic,” Sen said. “It could be advancement, or it could be, ‘What if we went backwards? What if we stepped to the side?’ It could be a different dimension, a different timestream.”

In a Q&A panel on April 15, some authors touched on the exchange of knowledge that occurs between scientific researchers and speculative fiction writers. Author K.M. Szpara said he believes the future of speculative fiction will become increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative.

Nebula award-winning author Sam J. Miller  said we should reframe one stereotype about fiction — that it is dismissive of reality’s problems — and instead view its creation of a world without societal problems as proof of the possibility that our society could exist without them.

“It is as simple as, ‘ … And then the housing crisis is over … And then all the people standing in the way of progress are gone.’” Miller said.

Calvin George ’24, who attended the Q&A, said he was intrigued by Miller’s concept of speculative fiction as a tool for social change.

“It was really interesting to hear from these authors [about] how imagining worlds where a huge problem like climate change is gone can actually help us solve those problems by giving us a sense of hope that they are not absolute or inevitable,” George said.

Sen said she views fiction as an important lens through which we can better understand the reality of our problems.

“A lot of people view escapism as a form of writing that is less than, but I don't believe in that. Like Tolkien said: Is it not a prisoner's duty to try to escape? Fiction is the spoonful of sugar that helps the truth go down,” Sen said.

Sen said this belief manifested in her own writing following the results of the 2016 presidential election, when she pivoted into the realm of horror as a form of catharsis.

“[In 2016,] people like me were being viewed as monsters, so I decided, ‘Well, I will show you what a monster really is,’” Sen said.

Looking to the future of speculative fiction, teacher, linguist and author Rob Cameron points to the genre’s growth over the past few decades from a niche, isolated faction of enthusiasts to a universal mode of entertainment.

“With the popularization of science fiction through film, especially Marvel, ‘geek culture’ has become much more expansive — you do not have to be a geek to enjoy it,” Cameron said. “At the same time, authors’ expectations of their readers have changed with these new mediums: Are people really going to sit down and read this book? This kind of thinking sparks novel ideas like ‘choose your own adventure’ narratives, comic books, video games and more.”

According to Biswas, the Speculative Fiction Project came to life when pitched the idea of centering speculative fiction around scholarship at Dartmouth to Diamond. When selecting the authors for the panel, Biswas shared that the organizers primarily aimed to represent diversity in both background and writing experience.

“If you’re claiming to do a project that looks at the future of humanity, you need to represent diverse perspectives,” he said.

Biswas added that if the project were to happen again, he hopes it can bring together an even more diverse group of people with more funding.

“In the future, with better channels of funding, we hope to have more geographic diversity and be able to bring in international authors,” Biswas said.

The Speculative Fiction Project will continue as authors workshop their stories with their research partners. These works of fiction will be presented at a Dartmouth symposium in June and will subsequently be synthesized into an anthology in Lightspeed Magazine next year.

According to Clark, students will be invited to submit their own stories and up to four of them will be chosen and featured in the professional collection.

Fiction can be a tool for social change, providing hope and insight into reality's problems.

The science fiction genre has become more inclusive, with marginalized authors like women and people of color making an impact through publications like Solarpunk Magazine.

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Literary Spotlight: Solarpunk Magazine

Optimistic speculative fiction – plus poetry and nonfiction – is welcomed with open arms at this bimonthly magazine.

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The word “solarpunk” refers to a genre of speculative fiction informed by equity, community, optimism, and – frequently – the natural world; think Frank Herbert’s Dune and Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Solarpunk Magazine is a bimonthly publication featuring idealistic short stories, poetry, nonfiction, and art. As editors write on the magazine’s website, “the time has never been more urgent for an explosion of utopian stories to light a path forward out of the darkness into which humanity has dug itself.”

This is a magazine about hope, informed by its subtitle: “Demand utopia.” Here, you’ll find stories about blimps powered by chlorophyllectrics (“Tillandsia” by Josie Kallo, Issue #2) and harmonious settlements rich with plant life (“The Last of the Mbahuku Tribe” by Oyedotun Damilola, Issue #1). You’ll also find nonfiction pieces, including “Utopianism: An Interview with Kim Stanley Robinson.”

Justine Norton-Kertson is co-editor-in-chief, along with Brianna Castagnozzi. Norton-Kertson enjoys poetry that captures the aesthetic of solarpunk in a lyrical way and explores themes “like radical hope and harmony between technology and nature.” They prefer fiction populated by characters compelling enough to fall in love with. “A solarpunk aesthetic is important too, but that’s the packaging for the juice, which is the characters and thematic threads,” Norton-Kertson explains.

Tone, editorial content

Editors at Solarpunk look for pieces that depict cooperative, sustainable communities and futuristic technologies that work in conjunction with nature. They’re passionate about work that dismantles the cultures of white supremacy and patriarchy and depicts a more balanced sharing of wealth.

The July 2022 issue is a celebration of speculative fiction written and edited by BIPOC creators. The issue includes Jeremy Nelson’s “Sweet Water from Salt,” a story that Castagnozzi says captured readers’ imaginations. “The main character is fleeing corporate seizure and a wicked thunderstorm on his late parents’ boat, all while attempting to preserve its precious cargo: bees and beehives,” she explains. “[The plot] joins heritage, inheritance, rebellion, and entomology in one fantastic survivalist story.”

Norton-Kertson points to Brazilian author Renan Bernardo’s story “Look to the Sky, My Love” (Issue #1) as the type of piece the editors like to publish. In one scene, the protagonist waits in line with another character at a party. Bernardo writes:

While we waited in line, Alana told me how thirty percent of all party-generated energy in Quadrilha da Perpétua came from the feet stomping on the ground, all the frisking and rhythm translated into energy and dignity for all the surrounding communities. And she told me how it could reach seventy percent if the party itself was able to trim its energy expenditure, and how so many possibilities could come from that.

“The story does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of hope and optimism, particularly with its theme of the power of celebration, that are the hallmarks of solarpunk,” Norton-Kertson explains. “As well, it illustrates the futuristic, art nouveau, clean energy aesthetic of the solarpunk genre.”

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Contributors

Past contributors include poets Gabriela Avelino, Vanessa Jae, and Marisca Pichette; fiction authors include Otancia Noel, Sarena Ulibarri, and Endria Isa Richardson.

Elizabeth Sutterlin has published in the magazine – a nonfiction piece titled “Solarpunk and She-Ra: How Netflix’s She-Ra Reboot Invites us to Imagine a High-Tech, Just, and Sustainable Future” (Issue #3). Nina Munteanu’s “Why Eco-Fiction Will Change the World – from CliFi to Solarpunk” appears in Issue #1, as does Lindsay Jane’s “Helping Your Garden Transition with Climate Change.”

Castagnozzi is eager to publish T.R. Siebert’s poem “Choice” in the November 2022 issue, devoted to lunarpunk (think solarpunk but more spiritual and introspective). In it, the poet describes a decision faced by the narrator. “They may join their sisters in a beautifully monstrous transformation and live powerfully in the ocean, or they may continue to live as a human,” Castagnozzi explains. “The imagery of the starlit seas fits well with our visions of lunarpunk, as does the narrator’s sense of agency.”

Norton-Kertson notes that Solarpunk looks forward to publishing the magazine’s first solarpunk story for middle-grade readers, written by J. Dianne Dotson, in 2023. “It’s a really sweet story that leans on into the lunarpunk aesthetic and takes place in a utopian world,” they say.

Advice for potential contributors

Check Solarpunk’s website for upcoming themes; Issue #5 (deadline Sept. 13) focuses on solarpunk labor, while Issue #6 (deadline Nov. 8) focuses on lunarpunk. The magazine hosts a monthly microfiction contest with a monetary prize for the best story of 250 words or fewer, adhering to that month’s theme. (Check the website regularly for an updated list of contest themes.)

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Editors would love to see more creative nonfiction submissions related to solarpunk themes and the fight against fossil fuels. They’re not interested in academic pieces full of jargon or political rants. “For fiction and poetry,” Castagnozzi says, “emphasize joyful, hopeful, or otherwise positive endings.”

They’re committed to publishing pieces by marginalized writers; they encourage potential contributors to identify themselves in a cover letter as BIPOC, LGBTQIA, neurodivergent, or disabled, for example. “We love to amplify voices from marginalized communities that are most impacted by climate change and other global problems,” Norton-Kertson writes on the magazine’s website. “In fact, it’s one of the key characteristics of solarpunk.”

Solarpunk Magazine at a glance

“An online publication imagining a better world through optimistic speculative literature.”

Reading periods: See website for reading periods and themes.

Length: Prose up to 7,500 words; poems up to five pages.

Genres: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry.

Submission format: Through Moksha.

Payment: Yes.

Contact: Co-editors Justine Norton-Kertson and Brianna Castagnozzi at [email protected],
solarpunkmagazine.com

Melissa Hart is the author, most recently, of the novel Daisy Woodworm Changes the World. melissahart.com

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What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Solarpunk depicts cooperative and sustainable communities, dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy.

The development of science fiction in Africa has been marked by milestones exploring African identity, colonialism, and postcolonialism.

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Content: International
International news.
African works in the UK, such as "colonial history novels"
(Ming Pao News) Some scholars and cultural commentators in Hong Kong have pointed out that Guna is a popular writer in the Chinese literary world. Among them, Yang Caijie, assistant professor of Chinese at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, said in an interview with this newspaper yesterday that when referring to British immigrant writers, he always talks about the "three great heroes of English literary immigrants" - Japanese Kazuo Shikuro, and V. Naipaul, Indian. He is also known as Salman Rushdie, but Gunner is "nowhere on the list".
Hong Kong cultural critic Cheng Cheng-heng also said that the Chinese literary community has not conducted in-depth research on Gunner ’ s works and has not learned much about him.
"The Three Heroes of Literary Immigrants"
Yang Caijie said that Gunner was not listed as one of the three great immigrants, but it is not excluded that he became famous later. She said that Abdulrazak Gurnah moved to Britain at a time when conservatism and racial discrimination were rife, and that his African identity had an important influence on his writing style, and his works explored African identity.
She pointed out that in addition to depicting the disaster caused by colonialism in Africa, Gunner ’ s work also addresses the problems of Africa itself, which is like “a historical novel about African colonization from an African perspective. ”
According to Hong Kong cultural critic Cheng Cheng-heng, Gunner is so unpopular in the Chinese literary world that his works are not translated into Chinese.
He said that the literary community's understanding of Gunner is mainly due to his work Paradise, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and his research on the post-colonial literature of the British Indian-born author Salman Rushdie.
The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded since 1901, and the “geographical factor ” has attracted attention in recent years. Cheng said that it has long been estimated that it is time to award the prize to black African writers, because the 1991 and 2003 literary winners, although from South Africa, are white, and the last time a black African won the prize was in 1986.
He believes that after Gulner has won this literary award, it is estimated that in the future, other black writers who are more well-known than Gulner may not be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Murakami Haruki "Run" for 16 years
On the other hand, Haruki Murakami, a well-known Japanese writer who has been predicted to win the Nobel Prize in Literature since 2006 (now 72 years old), is still unable to hold back the crown this year, and has been "running" for 16 years, many Murakami fans are disappointed and regret.
Ming Pao reporters
Related words: Abdulrazak Gurnah, British immigration writer
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African science fiction trends include using digital technology for literary production, with events like the Lomé International Book Fair supporting local writers.

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Content: Home » Togolese literature: Steve Bodjona reveals the beauty and essence of the African pen ~ Gilles LAWSON

Togolese literature: Steve Bodjona reveals the beauty and essence of the African pen ~ Gilles LAWSON

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Shad bodjona, Togolese writer and renowned diplomat, gives us his thoughts on Togolese literature, the impact of digital technology on literary creation and the limits he encountered in the writing of his works. An inspiring exchange with a passionate and committed author, who invites us to discover the riches of his country’s literature.

Interview by Gilles LAWSON

Can you give us your opinion on the place of Togolese literature in the African literary landscape?

Steve Bodjona : Togo has its full place in the African literary landscape. It is also one of the countries that have given our continent writers whose pen has always been appreciated both on the national territory, in Africa and around the world. From David Ananou from 1955, Yves Emmanuel Dogbe via Théo Annanissoh, Kangni Alem, Sami Tchak, Edem Awumey, Kossi Efoui to name only these writers and without forgetting the writers of the current generation, Togo continues to write beautiful stories in the pages of African literature.

How do you see the impact of digital technology on Togolese and African literary creation in general?

Steve Bodjona : Digital is an asset for Togolese literary production. It contributes to its popularization and allows book actors to transcend national borders. However, it should be noted that despite the opportunities it offers, digital technology is still under-exploited in Togo. The actors do not yet draw from this innovative tool all the potential it abounds.

As a writer, have you been confronted with limits or constraints in the writing of your works? If so, can you tell us about it?

Steve Bodjona : Constraints exist. Any activity necessarily imposes a certain number of requirements which must be complied with if indeed one wants to produce good results. Writing requires us to read a lot, to inform a lot, to travel a lot to get in touch with the realities that form the basis of the story that we want to offer our readers because a book, whether it is a fiction or not, must remain faithful to the reality of the society from which one draws inspiration.

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How do you see the role of literary clubs in promoting reading and writing in Togo?

Steve Bodjona : By their nature, literary clubs are intended to take an interest in books, to promote them, to popularize their content. The members of a literary club have no other objective than books and reading. From this, it goes without saying that literary clubs contribute to supporting the development of books and reading in Togo by allowing individuals to take an interest in literature and discuss books. By joining a book club, members are more likely to devote time to reading on a regular basis. Through their regular activities, these clubs also offer opportunities for the community in which they are created to come into contact with everything related to books. Although their primary vocation is not writing, a certain passion generally develops in these clubs among certain members who can thus sharpen their pens thanks to the often organized training workshop sessions, take advice from authors who are regularly invited to meet them for debates around their works, etc.

What do you think is the impact of an event like the Lomé International Book Fair (FI2L) or the International Festival of Letters and Arts (Festilarts) on Togolese writers and artists?

Steve Bodjona : The two events you mention are showcases of the Togolese literary scene. As such, they offer, like any event of its day, whether it is Togo or other countries, enormous opportunities for the actors concerned. Beyond the possibility offered to the latter to make known their works, the FI2L and the Festilarts are great crossroads of meeting and networking between Togolese actors on the one hand and on the other hand, between Togolese and foreign actors.

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Do you think the use of artificial intelligence could be beneficial for literary creation in Africa?

Steve Bodjona : I think many are skeptical and one wonders if it will not have a negative impact on the creation of works of the mind. It all depends on how you use it.

Tell us about the book sale organized by the Le Littéraire club, of which you are the president, and the club in general

Steve Bodjona : The sale is an initiative that aligns with the objectives of the Club. These objectives can be summed up in the motto ” the daily book “. The Leitmotif of The Literary Club is therefore to ensure that books, reading, are the things best shared in the Togolese universe, particularly in schools and universities. To do this, the Club offers each year, on the eve of Christmas, on the eve of Easter and during the summer holidays, special sessions of the sale to allow Togolese to obtain books at ridiculous prices.

How do you see the future of Togolese and African literature in a world in constant technological evolution and where new media are gaining more and more momentum?

Steve Bodjona : The future will be buoyant provided that the actors concerned are not only wait-and-see observers but on the contrary, men and women who take an active part in the march towards a world where everything digital seems more and more impose on everyone.

Your advice to aspiring writers?

Steve Bodjona : Like any business, writing imposes a certain number of attitudes on us, the most important of which are: regular reading – because you have to read a lot to obtain the key that opens the doors to the world of writers -, audacity and above all patience.

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African writers like Alexander Nderitu have turned to self-publishing to control their work.

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Content: Kenyan Man Alexander Nderitu Smashes Publishing Record

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A Kenyan Author Alexander Nderitu published ten new books in 2023. This is a milestone for Africa where publishing is still in its infancy, accounting for less than 3% per cent of global book production.

According to the British Council’s ‘Sub-Saharan Africa Literature and Publishing Sector Report’ (2023), ‘In Sub-Saharan Africa, many writers are resorting to self-publishing not always due to the limited trade publishing opportunities, but as a means of having total control of their works, including the look, content and promotion.’

Mr. Nderitu, who published Africa’s first purely digital novel in 2001, authored his 2023 decology without any assistance from researchers, co-writers, or Artificial Intelligence writing software. The titles spanned stage plays, poetry collections, and non-fiction works.

In order of production, the books are: Yuppies!; What’s Wrong With This Picture?; The Stacy Walker Interview; Hannah And The Angel: Volume 1 – Angels ‘R’ Us; King Bure Is Dead!; A Body Made For Sin; Where The Kremlin Live; Kenyan Theatre: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly; This Time With Feeling: Essays on Theatre; and Hannah And The Angel Vol.2: Comedy Roast.

All the titles are available worldwide, in print and digital formats, at Amazon and Nuria bookstore.

Also in 2023, Nderitu contributed a short story titled ‘Her Name Will Be Peace’ to the forthcoming Mukana Press Anthology titled, ‘Our Sister Who Art in America’.

Also in 2023, Nderitu co-won the Nigerian-based SEVHAGE-Agema Founders’ Prize for African Criticism for an essay titled ‘The Cartography of Human Behaviour’, which explores the potential of vernacular theatre in East Africa.

In addition, he contributed a short story to the forthcoming 2023 Mukana Press Anthology which will be published under the title, ‘Our Sister Who Art in America’.

Alexander Nderitu is a poet, novelist, playwright, and critic. Some of his work has been translated into Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Kiswahili, French, Swedish, Dholuo, Gikũyũ, and Czech.  In 2017, Business Daily newspaper named him one of Kenya’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 Men’.

For more information:

Alex Njuki

Websoft Interactive

Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 764192563

E-mail: admin@alexandernderitu.com

www.AlexanderNderitu.com

Kenyan Man Alexander Nderitu Smashes Publishing Record

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African science fiction explores local issues, including human rights in east Africa, as in Chemutai Glasheen's work.

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Content: Book Club: I Am The Mau and Other Stories by WA author, Chemutai Glasheen

Gemma NisbetThe West Australian

Fiction has a “unique ability to evoke empathy and connect us as humans by immersing us in diverse experiences”, says WA author Chemutai Glasheen.

It was this potential for stories to transport readers “to distant worlds, allowing us to briefly inhabit the lives of those unlike ourselves” that motivated the Kenyan-born, Perth-based writer, teacher and academic to write her recently released first book, I Am the Mau & Other Stories, which explores issues of human rights through a collection of 11 short stories set in east Africa.

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African authors, like Nozuko Siyotula, are using science fiction to reclaim their power and push for nuance.

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Women's Month guest column: Nozuko Siyotula | Turning women issues into human issues

First-time novelist Nozuko Siyotula talks about what being a woman in SA means

21 August 2022 - 00:00 By Nozuko Siyotula

In honour of Women's Month, we asked women writers to respond to the following questions:

What does it mean to be a woman in contemporary SA?

Which book(s) by a South African woman made the single biggest contribution(s) to your literary work?

Margaret Atwood wrote: “A word after a word after a word is power.” How do you reclaim your power as women writers in SA?

Here, Nozuko Siyotula, author of Christopher, shares her answers.

South Africans are naturally dynamic and full of vitality. It’s what I enjoy most about this country. We struggle with challenges of living here or having our families live here. We love and loathe the sociopolitical climate but we are perennially hopeful. To get to define your femininity against this backdrop is exciting.

I think “woman issues” are slowly moving towards being integrated to being societal issues, which I think gives everyone a chance to have a stake in participating in how we show up as human beings for each other; and because of our history we, as South Africans, own the ubuntu/humanness rhetoric and I don’t want that to disappear from public discussions.

I want it to reform with the times and I want it to be the vehicle that drives appreciation for how every woman chooses to express their preferred sexuality. I’m deliberate in my writing about pushing for nuance to fill the gaps that might keep us apart as people, as citizens and as women in SA.

Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog and Bessie Head’s Maru greatly influenced my work.

Southern Africa for close to a century played a vital part in the global economy with the gold rush, migrant labour, the advent of apartheid and the vast expansion of the missionary mandate in rural SA and our border countries. These books capture an element of those times and give the reader a picture of prejudice in motion but also how visionaries straddled challenging moments in history, in real time, to produce the world we live in now. Southern Africa is a particular part of the continent because of its diversity that was the indirect result of being entangled in global economic and political affairs, having millions of people of all races, nationalities and ethnicities moving about, sharing culture, music, dance and language.

Most times, the focus is on the latter part of the century, like in Krog’s work. But there is so much about this part of the continent that took place simultaneously, almost in the shadows of the “big history” that books like Maru explore that details the pervasiveness of prejudice inside all people and its insidious marriage with tradition and culture, but also how that doesn’t have to lend itself to calamity.

The writer’s job is to engineer hope or to provide a script for what an opening to it might look like. It is to examine society and to write the exam on its behalf and both these books did that successfully.

I reclaim my power by throwing the anchor forward in my writing, so to speak, because I know that every writer who has affected me profoundly always left me more hopeful because they proved beyond reasonable doubt that all creations, from people to books, by virtue of the mystery of their inception, are significant.

August 9 continues to be a significant day for the spirit of the brave women of SA who walked far in 1956 but continue further still in the modern era.

The Sunday Times celebrates writers continuing that spirit in their art.

Christopher is published by Jacana Media. Click here to buy a copy.

The global science fiction community can better support African authors through initiatives like Netflix and UNESCO's "African Folktales, Reimagined" competition.

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African Folktales, Reimagined: How the Netflix and UNESCO Competition will Promote Original African Stories

The ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’ competition with submissions deadline this November aims to showcase Africa’s arts and culture while supporting the development of young African filmmakers. Netflix Director of Content for Africa, Ben Amadasun, spoke about the partnership with UNESCO to support the next generation of African filmmakers to tell original African stories. Submissions are currently open on www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco.

Netflix has been a huge investor in the African film industry. What are winners of the “African Folktales, Reimagined” expected to receive? Will their films be funded for production?
Netflix continues to support the African film industry and this competition further tells our commitment. Each of the six winners will receive $25,000 plus a production grant of $75,000 to develop, shoot, and post-produce their films which will be administered by a nominated local production agency. Within each film’s budget, the team will ensure that filmmakers and everyone involved in the production is paid. The six winners will have their short films (12-20 minutes long) launched on the Netflix service in 2022, as an anthology of “African Folktales, Reimagined.”

According to requirements, talents must be from sub-Saharan Africa. Is Netflix and UNESCO looking for filmmakers from specific countries?
Netflix and UNESCO share a mutual commitment and belief in the importance of promoting diverse local stories and bringing them to the world. The competition is open to emerging filmmakers from the Sub-Saharan Africa region. We would like this group of talents to be truly inclusive, no matter what the language, race/ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation may be. For interested filmmakers who are not from the origins of sub-Saharan Africa, you just need to be based in any of the countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region to be eligible. To be more inclusive, we accept proposals in English, French, or Portuguese.

Netflix has championed the production of African films and series across different genres since it arrived on the continent. What inspired this partnership with UNESCO, and why the focus on folklore?
Netflix and UNESCO understand that many emerging filmmakers in Africa may struggle to access resources that could enable them fully to unveil their talents and advance their creative journey in film. This competition is a step towards reducing the gap between talent and funding, by providing a platform for storytellers to showcase their content to a global audience through Netflix. In summary, we want young filmmakers looking to tell African stories, fulfill their dreams.

The competition focuses on the theme, “African Folktales”. How does this theme impact Netflix and Africa, and what kind of ideas are you looking for?
An African folktale is a timeless story circulated verbally among Africans and handed down from one generation to the next. Folktales have always been an important way of passing on culture and heritage to future generations. This competition aims to harness this important tradition while leveraging new platforms for content distribution, such as Netflix.

The competition aims to promote original African stories, and African folktales are tales of African legends which have only been passed down by word of mouth. This is an open call for emerging filmmakers from across Sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom are in parts of the continent that are often overlooked. We value the wide diversity of African cultures and want to promote them globally. We encourage any emerging filmmaker from Sub-Saharan Africa with a story to tell to go for it! So, if the brief (“African Folktales, Reimagined”) strikes a chord with you, this competition is for you.

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There must be hundreds of applications. How will proposals and winners be shortlisted or selected?
The finalists will be selected by an independent panel of judges under the guidance of Netflix and UNESCO. Submissions will be reviewed by a designated local agency according to criteria established by Netflix and UNESCO. Selection will be done by an evaluation committee comprising industry experts from across Sub-Saharan Africa. The 20 shortlisted finalists will be invited to pitch their concept to a judging panel, under the guidance of Netflix and UNESCO. Finally, the panel will choose six winners to develop their short films.

Africa has a blossoming creative industry. What level of experience are you looking for and how will proposals and winners be shortlisted or selected?
For this competition, the emerging filmmakers must be within 2 – 5 years of demonstrable professional experience in the audio-visual industry and have developed and produced 1 to 2 theatrical feature films, television fiction, documentaries, and/or 2-3 short films and/or commercials. This competition aims to unearth new talent, so we hope to be surprised by the talent we haven’t heard of yet.

What other information do applicants need to know about the competition and how can they apply?
We would like to inform talents that the application has a maximum of 500 words for them to tell us the synopsis of their short film idea in the creative statement. There is also a need to include proof of experience from previous work (excluding shows that were produced, financed, distributed, or initiated by a major film studio or television network or have been distributed by a major studio or TV network). We advise all interested participants to visit the official website for more information www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco.

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The competition promotes original African stories, supporting young filmmakers with $25,000 and a $75,000 production grant for six winners.

The science fiction genre has evolved over time, influenced by diverse perspectives from non-Western and marginalized communities.

A science fiction book club can include works from non-Western authors and marginalized communities for more realistic representation.

Diversity of perspectives is essential in science fiction, which can be analyzed through postcolonial and feminist studies.

The publishing industry, traditionally dominated by Western authors, is seeing a growing presence of women and people of color making an impact.

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Content: Soft watercolor smudges of vibrant red, turquoise, and yellow sprawl across the first pages of the children’s book Jingle Dancer, by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Head in hand, Smith’s young protagonist, Jenna, imagines her grandmother donning Native American regalia as she dances a traditional jingle dance: “Tink, tink, tink, tink, sang cone-shaped jingles sewn to Grandma Wolfe’s dress.”

Inside the wisps of Jenna’s daydream, Grandma Wolfe stands tall in a red dress sewn with neat rows of silver metal cones, which hit one another to create a tinkling, rainlike sound. She’s also wearing a contestant number strung along the bottom of her gown; she’s about to participate in the women’s jingle dance, a powwow event in which dancers compete for prize money. Smith and illustrators Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu further capture aspects of Native life, as with Jenna’s plate of honey-soaked fry bread at the kitchen table. As the story unfolds, Jenna sets out to make her own jingle dress with the help of her aunts and cousins, borrowing their dresses’ “jingles” to attach to her own and dance in their place. With the distinct combined sound of her loved ones, Jenna finds her voice and joins her community’s dancers for the first time.

Jenna, like Smith herself, is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. From her home in Austin, Smith has written and published eight contemporary Native American and Indigenous stories for children. But Smith isn’t just using her own voice: she’s also the curator of Heartdrum, a HarperCollins Publishers imprint that features Native authors and their works centered around Indigenous characters for young audiences.

According to statistics from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, less than 2 percent of children’s books are about Indigenous characters. In Smith’s experience, that representation gap continued into author spaces: at writing workshops, she was often the only Native woman in the group. Then Smith and Ellen Oh, CEO of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), began to discuss the logistics of creating an Indigenous imprint (a subbrand housed within a publishing company) to fill the void in children’s publishing. “It sounded like the kind of job for someone who was very famous and very fancy, and I don’t think of myself as either,” Smith recalls. After getting the green light at HarperCollins, Heartdrum launched in 2021 with the mission of empowering Indigenous authors and young readers through Native-led books. Since its debut, Heartdrum has more than doubled its initial publishing goal of four books a year as the imprint has steadily grown in readership. As it continues to grow in titles and attract new authors, it’s also attracting attention. Heartdrum published Byron Graves’ Rez Ball, which won the 2024 American Library Association’s William C. Morris Award for teen books by first-time authors.

“It’s important for our kids to see themselves as heroes of their own life stories,” Smith says. “It’s important for other folks to recognize that . . . it’s a level of understanding that’s deeper than facts, or a kind of checklist. It doesn’t just say ‘Oh, [Indigenous people] are still here.’ ”

Heartdrum, named after the pounding drum sounds at powwows and the thrumming heartfelt connection between intertribal Native communities, currently features a range of stories that showcase both urban and reservation life. With Dawn Quigley’s spunky and opinionated Jo Jo Makoons, in the series of the same name, and family-oriented picture books like Kim Rogers’ Just Like Grandma, Heartdrum’s books boast both the silly and the sentimental stories of characters and families from, for example, the Ojibwe and Wichita tribes. “We decided to lean into fiction that was really centered on individual kids, that other kids can get to know and become friends with and care about on the page,” Smith says. “We wanted to give them three-dimensional people that they could fall in love with, both Native and non-Native kids.”

As part of their core values, Heartdrum and WNDB believe children’s books are a key aspect of the conversation about representation and visibility for Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers. Caroline Richmond acts as executive director at WNDB and oversees many of its programming initiatives, including the Native Fund, which provides mentorship and financial resources to authors and book donations to Native communities. Richmond, who is Chinese American, says she didn’t see herself reflected in literature until her freshman year of high school, when a teacher assigned The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. She doesn’t want today’s young readers to have to wait so long. “Kids’ books turn children into lifelong readers,” Richmond says. “We lose a lot of kids, or we never get them on board in the first place, because they’re never able to connect with stories; they’re not able to see themselves in them.”

One of the connecting pieces between Heartdrum and WNDB’s efforts are the independent booksellers that get these books on shelves. Smith credits shops such as Austin’s BookPeople for supporting diverse authors who are getting their footing in publishing, as well as for bringing in readers. Meghan Goel, BookPeople’s children’s book buyer and programmer, stocks works from Heartdrum and appreciates the imprint’s perspective on kid lit. “Kids are figuring out this world just like the rest of us,” Goel says. “The more entry points we can give them into what that means and the different people in [the world] and the different points of view in it, that’s a really good thing.”

Smith says she sees herself in her books, especially when she thinks about her relationship with her grandpa, who died around the time she was born. She got to know him through the eyes of her family and felt all the emotions his loved ones held after his death. “[Hearing about him] cemented in my mind how powerful story is, because I have a relationship with my grandfather that feels as though he’s always been there,” Smith said. “There’s a certain magic in that, but it’s also how people make sense of themselves and each other. That’s something through books that I want to give to kids . . . love can be transferred to a lot of kids through story.”

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Less than 2 percent of children's books feature Indigenous characters, but initiatives like HarperCollins' Heartdrum imprint aim to increase representation.

The presence of Asian American women in science fiction is growing, with venues like Yu and Me Books centering their experiences and voices.

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Content: Community reading series centers the experiences of Asian American women

In an evening filled with prose and literary imagination, a monthly community reading series in New York City's Chinatown became an outlet for Asian women writers to share their voices.

"Asian female writers have beautiful, complex stories that are so multifaceted, so many layers to it that aren't — before this time — frequently shown within the publishing industry," Lucy Yu told CBS News. "So, having a space in which we are saying: pause, listen to us, this is what we're trying to say, this is what we're trying to share, is something that's truly important."

Yu is the owner of Yu and Me Books, the first Asian American woman-owned bookstore in New York City. She hosted the reading series in collaboration with The Cosmos, a community organization co-founded by Cassandra Lam and Karen Mok in 2018 that creates content and events centering the experiences of Asian women.

"Storytelling for our community is a way to understand our experience as Asian Americans," Mok said, adding, "A lot of us come from families where identity was not a part of the dinner table conversation. We didn't necessarily study Asian American studies in college. … And I think in our community, I've just seen so many people think that their story is insignificant because it hasn't been shown on the public sphere."

With the reading series and her work as an organizer, Mok said she hopes to reach everyone with a message: "Your story matters."

Before opening her store, Yu noticed a dearth in shops showcasing the diverse range of immigrants' stories.

"Once I did research, I realized there was no lack of work out there. It's just a lack of what's being pushed forward," Yu said.

Amid rising hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, both Mok and Yu have stepped up to care for their communities. The Cosmos created virtual "Collective Rest" healing spaces for Asian women, while Yu combined forces with organizations like Soar Over Hate to hand out pepper spray and personal safety alarms.

"I think that was something just for other people to see more than 1,000 AAPI women and femmes line up for that, how important it was and how unsafe we are feeling," Yu said, reflecting on the event that drew lines around the block. But she also saw her role as "offering love and joy" through the stories that are encased inside book covers.

"I think a lot of people come in, especially in the last couple of weeks. They're like, 'Do you have something mindless, funny, but also, like, has representation?' And I'm like, 'Yeah!'" Yu said, adding, "I want to see joy, too, and that's a way of healing. And so I think in any aspect of feeling seen, of feeling, like, just a little less alone — there's a lot of avenues to kind of approach that."

As both Yu and The Cosmos build their respective communities, their missions also align.

"One is creating a space in which we feel protected, feel love and feel safe; and another is, like, okay, we have all this energy and all this anger. How do we channel that to actually cause change in the policies and cause change to make us feel safer?" Yu said.

For Mok, the work of space-building for her organization is an "active practice" that doesn't ask people to "perform in a certain way."

"The deliberate act of saying here is a space that's actually for your storytelling, small groups, has been an amazing way to get people to just say something about themselves in a public sphere," Mok said. "And that's my goal for, like, every event is that each person says something, because once they hear the power of their own voice, they're able to actually see themselves as agents of creating that space as well."

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Chinese women are thriving in science fiction and can be supported through book clubs.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Female science fiction writers address women's issues, with four anthologies of Chinese fantasy novels by women published.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Book clubs can promote diversity and inclusion across all age groups, with local bookstores often providing a meeting space.

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Content: A 'microshop' for Black books opens in a downtown Lansing smoothie spot

Krystal Nurse
Lansing State Journal
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Nyshell Lawrence read her first book by a Black author in the second grade: "Roots" by Alex Haley.

"Something about it intrigued me and I wanted to take it home," she said. "I know in second grade I could not understand all the complex things that happened in the story, but just the idea that I had this huge book written about Black people was major for me."

But as she grew up, she struggled to find books about Black culture that didn't focus on pain, slavery or other trauma, she said.

On a 2017 date to a bookstore with her husband, the couple left empty-handed, unable to find books that contained the natural inclusion of Black people. She said the selection of books by Black women was particularly dismal.

"We spent the rest of the evening talking about how we could create something that would be for Black women that would celebrate us," Lawrence said. "That's where the idea and the concept of Socialight Society came from and came about."

And so Lawrence started gathering friends and peers for a bookclub. She curated the reading list herself — all books by Black women — which the group met online to discuss.

As her club grew over the summer, Lawrence started buying through Bookshop.org, an online retailer that supports independent booksellers. She sold books at pop-up shops at Afterglow Market, Social Sloth Café and at the Lansing Mall.

Now, she's opening a space inside Soul Nutrition, a smoothie and tea shop at 222 S. Washington Square in downtown Lansing.

She'll host an RSVP-only grand opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 13, then open full-time 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

Lawrence curates the books she sells from her personal collections and makes recommendations to book club members.

"Socialight Society is really big on making sure that women — specifically Black women — feel seen and feel celebrated," Lawrence said.

More:Look inside Middle Village, new pop-up market in downtown Lansing

Lawrence's shop isn't the only store-within-a-store, or "microshop," new to downtown Lansing. Just down the street is A Novel Concept, another shop for new and gently used books in Middle Village Micro Market, a pop-up by the nonprofit Downtown Lansing Inc.

The two micoshops are a "testament to the environment" of the downtown neighborhood, said DLI Executive Director Cathleen Edgerly. The store-within-a-store concept allows retail-focused entrepreneurs to build a customer base while managing low overhead costs.

"People have been asking for a downtown bookstore, and as downtown continues to evolve, this is meeting those needs," she said. "It’s giving them an entertainment and literary outlet."

Kim Milton-Mackey runs Dreams and Visions Manifested, a nonprofit sponsor of Socialight Society. She helped Lawrence book space at both Afterglow Market and Soul Nutrition this year, and is working to raise $10,000 for a brick-and-mortar store. Lawrence is also collaborating with Lost Girl Vision and UR Blends Tea for the shop.

"We've done a lot of work in regards to those of African American descent who don't have the reflection in their stories and in schools," she said. "If you had to get a book, then you probably have to go on Amazon or elsewhere. To have a space in the community where you can read and share about books with others is empowering."

Milton-Mackey also said the shop fills the need for additional library-like spaces downtown. She recalled her own library visits at a young age — getting excited after reading a title — and hopes Lawrence's bookstore gives that experience to young people today.

To that end, Socialight Society intentionally targets all age groups. Lawrence stocks titles ranging from children's books to young adult novels and classics. The books rotate based the season and current events.

"Sometimes there just may not be knowledge that these (titles) exist," she said. "Perhaps we don't know that there's a Black author that wrote about this certain topic. This space makes that visible for everyone."

Edgerly said Lawrence's plan to stock books by locals gives those writers a place to be recognized in their community, especially in the state capital, where workers often flood downtown for lunch.

"This is now a meeting space where individuals can have some commonality and a place where it's not tension or anger," Milton-Mackey said. "It's a space where people can go into that reflects them."

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at (517) 267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

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Book clubs promote diversity by reading books from Black and marginalized authors.

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My Goal Is To Read 100 Books This Year, So Here Are 15 Books By Black Authors That Are On My TBR

"It's pitched as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, which you wouldn't expect to hear in the same sentence."

This year, my New Year's resolution is to read 100 books. I'm tracking my reading through The StoryGraph, which was founded by software engineer Nadia Odunayo as an alternative to Goodreads.

I think it's important to be intentional about reading diversely. Plus, if you aren't reading diversely, then you're honestly missing out on so many amazing books!

Here are 15 books by Black authors I'm super excited to read this year:

Some of these books are new or upcoming releases, but others are backlist books that are new to me!

Also, a note: My taste leans toward sci-fi, fantasy, and thrillers with a little bit of romance, but if that's not your jam, you can share your recs for other books by Black authors you love in the comments!

1. Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson

What it's about: Following a breakup, Olivia heads to the Farmland Music and Arts Festival to get her mind off things. There, she meets Toni, who's at the festival to follow in her late musician father's footsteps in hopes of finding what her next steps should be. Soon, they realize just how much they need both music and each other.

Why I'm excited to read it: Leah's debut novel, You Should See Me in a Crown, was one of my top reads of 2020. I pre-ordered this book a while ago, but lost it while moving, and recently found it, so it's now sitting on the very top of my TBR.

Get your copy here!

2. Whiteout: A Novel by Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas, Nicola Yoon, and Dhonielle Clayton

What it's about: When a blizzard brings Atlanta to a standstill, a dozen teenagers team up to help their friend make a major apology right before Christmas.

Why I'm excited to read it: It's basically a collection of interwoven short stories, so you get to explore so many different perspectives of the same event. This team of authors previously released Blackout, which I really enjoyed. Every holiday season, I like to read as many Christmassy books as I can, so I'm looking forward to reading this one in December!

Get your copy here!

3. With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo

What it's about: After moving from Nigeria to the US following the death of her father, Enore Adesuwa uses teen movies as a guide to getting through American high school. One of her most important rules is fading into the background, but she has a gift — a beautiful singing voice, which deserves to be heard.

Why I'm excited to read it: I really enjoyed this author's adult romance novel Where We End & Begin, so I'm thrilled that she's making her YA debut!

Get your copy here! It's coming out June 18, 2024.

4. How to Die Famous by Benjamin Dean

What it's about: When Abel Miller is cast in a reboot of Sunset High, no one else on set knows that he's there to investigate the mysterious death of his brother Adam, who was a production assistant the last time someone attempted to make the show.

Why I'm excited to read it: Last year, I could barely put down the author's previous novel, The King Is Dead. I've read a lot of YA thrillers, and, just like his other book, his new release has such a genuinely unique premise.

Get your copy here! It's coming out in the US July 9, 2024.

5. Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

What it's about: Malik has a lot of questions about his past, and it seems like Caiman University, a secret magical HBCU, just might have the answers. Alongside his reconnected first love, Alexis, he discovers a truth that's bigger — and darker — than he expected.

Why I'm excited to read it: This story offers a fresh take on familiar YA fantasy tropes, like a secret magical school and a long-lost grandmother. Also, I personally prefer contemporary fantasy to high fantasy.

Get your copy here! It's coming out May 7, 2024.

6. So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

What it's about: Five years after saving her island, the Langley Empire, Faron Vincent must attend an international peace summit. After her big sister Elara and an enemy dragon unexpectedly make a bond the gods say can only be broken by killing her, Faron desperately seeks an alternative way to save her sister.

Why I'm excited to read it: I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but this one is so beautiful! I also love that, while a lot of YA high fantasy books center around a romantic relationship, this one is about sisters.

Get your copy here!

7. The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

What it's about: Venus Stoneheart risks prison or death to brew love potions to support her family in a country that draws harsh lines between humans and witches. After her mother is killed, the Grand Witcher offers Venus a shot at revenge, but it'll come at a cost — she'll have to help poison and enslave prominent politicians.

Why I'm excited to read it: A gorgeous cover, an intriguing magic system, and fierce political intrigue — what more could a reader ask for?

Get your copy here! It's coming out March 5, 2024.

8. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

What it's about: Soon after Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo are announced as Niveus Private Academy's newest senior prefects, an anonymous bully called "Aces" begins spilling their secrets via text messages, putting their promising futures as risk. So, they have to stop Aces before the game turns deadly.

Why I'm excited to read it: It's pitched as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, which you wouldn't expect to hear in the same sentence.

Get your copy here!

9. Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

What it's about: Centuries after the extraterrestrial Oankali rescued the human race from the fallout of a nuclear war, Lilith lyapo awakens from the deep sleep that the aliens put everyone in to protect them. Now that they've healed the earth, they want her to lead the humans back.

Why I'm excited to read it: In college, I read and really enjoyed Kindred, which involves time travel. It was equally thought-provoking and exciting. So, when I was looking up sci-fi books, trying to find my next read, I was excited to discover that she'd written something that sounds like an episode of Doctor Who.

Get your copy here!

10. Believe by Leigh-Anne Pinnock

What it's about: In this memoir, Little Mix member Leigh-Anne shares what it was like growing up in a mixed-race family, winning The X Factor, and being part of a massively successful girl group.

Why I'm excited to read it: I love Little Mix, and it's high time Leigh-Anne got her flowers. As a Black performer, her experience in the entertainment industry has been different than her white peers', and she's faced unique — and sometimes highly publicized — challenges. I really admire her and can't wait to learn more about her journey!

Get your copy here!

11. Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

What it's about: In this novelization of Ncuti Gatwa's inaugural episode as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who, the Doctor teams up with Ruby Sunday, when her infant foster sister is abducted by goblins. Together, they board the Goblin Ship to save the baby before she's eaten alive.

Why I'm excited to read it: This TikTok that the author made about getting to write Ncuti's first DW novel put this book on my radar. As someone who's read so many Doctor Who books that I'm starting to run out of new titles, I was very happy to see this one!

Get your copy here!

12. The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

What it's about: In the year 6066, Asha Akindele is just one of many indentured laborers working to pay off humanity's debt to a new galaxy, but at night, she secretly studies aeronautics manuals. However, when her path crosses with Obi Amadi, a time traveller, they awaken an ancient prophecy and must embark on a journey through the stars.

Why I'm excited to read it: I first found this author through the aforementioned TikTok about her Doctor Who book, but after reading the description of her debut novel, I knew I had to read it, too. I haven't read a space opera before, so I'm excited to dive in.

Get your copy here!

13. All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson

What it's about: In a series of personal essays, journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson shares their experiences of growing up as a queer Black kid in Virginia and New Jersey.

Why I'm excited to read it: This year, I want to branch out and read more non-fiction and memoirs (and not just celebrity memoirs), and I've heard so many good things about this one!

Get your copy here!

14. Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

What it's about: Two centuries after the original Cinderella met her prince at the ball, every teen girl in the kingdom must find their match at the Annual Ball. If no man chooses her to be his wife, then she'll never be heard from again. However, Sophia is in love with her childhood best friend Erin, so at her ball, she runs away. Hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum, she meets the only surviving member of the princess's family line, Constance. As a team, they resolve to bring an end to the king's reign.

Why I'm excited to read it: I've heard a lot of good things about this book, I really love retellings that put a dark twist on familiar fairytales.

Get your copy here!

15. And finally, Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling by Elise Bryant

What it's about: Shy Delilah and nerdy Reggie meet in a chance encounter on New Year's...and on Valentine's Day...and yet again on St. Patrick's Day. Holiday after holiday, their paths converge, and they soon begin developing feelings for each other. What they don't realize, however, is that neither of them is being totally honest about who they really are.

Why I'm excited to read it: I've really been in my rom-com era lately, and this author's debut, Happily Ever Afters, is one of my favorite YA rom-coms, so I'm sure this book is just as wonderful.

Get your copy here!

What are your favorite books by Black authors? Tell me in the comments so I can add them to my TBR!

Black History Month is here! Join us from Feb. 1 to Feb. 29 (or all-year round) and support our content celebrating the culture.

The StoryGraph tracks diverse reading, and Black authors write various genres like sci-fi and fantasy.

Book clubs can promote diversity by highlighting marginalized authors and diversifying children's books to reflect various racial backgrounds and cultures.

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10 Picture Books You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of by Creators of Color

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Prepare yourself for an unapologetically diverse book list! All the books on this list are written by authors of color, many are illustrated by artists of color, and most feature characters of color. #sorrynotsorry

In all seriousness, creators of color need and deserve our support. The publishing industry is challenging to break into, and that difficulty is compounded for authors and illustrators with marginalized identities. Furthermore, authors of color are often paid less than their white counterparts.

Children’s books are among the most important genres in need of diversification. Children from diverse racial backgrounds need to see themselves reflected in books. Conversely, children from dominant cultures need to see others represented in various and multifaceted ways. Unfortunately, books about and especially written by people of color still do not reflect our population.

I am proud to write for an organization that is intentional about highlighting marginalized writers. All people deserve to tell their own stories and have those stories heard. For too long, the powerful have shaped the narratives about marginalized populations. I’m hopeful that our efforts at Book Riot are helping to right that wrong.

A surprising, but super cool, side effect of writing for Book Riot is that people share books with me all the time. Often, I receive under-the-radar gems that I would never have found on my own. Thus, I figured readers might appreciate the opportunity to check out some of these lesser known titles.

10 Picture Books You (Probably) Missed

Christopher Changes His Name by Itah Sadu and Roy Condy

While most of the books on this list are relatively new, I decided to start with this hidden gem. I discovered this book when I was planning a teaching unit about names and I’ve loved it ever since. Throughout this humorous tale, young Christopher keeps changing his name after being inspired by historical and cultural icons. Ultimately, he realizes how special he is, just as he is.

Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth and Jessica Blank

With a name like Mikkaka, I empathize with characters like Anjali. While Christopher changes his name because it’s too common, Anjali has the opposite problem. When she gets a new bike, she can’t find her name among the novelty license plates. Additionally, kids begin to make fun of her name. Ultimately, however, Anjali learns to appreciate her name and celebrate her culture.

Phenomenal AOC by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Loris Lora

This picture book biography is a beautifully illustrated account of congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s journey to politics. It chronicles AOC’s rise from a child in the Bronx to becoming the youngest congress member in United States’ history. Rich with references to her Puerto Rican heritage, this book is an inspirational look at the life of a truly phenomenal woman.

Three Bunny Sisters by Raveena, Diya, and Amisha Duggal

Three human sisters under the age of 13 wrote this cute story to inspire others. With an impressive resumé of charity work, the Duggal sisters are all about giving back. Thus, the bunnies in their book learn how to help other bunnies in need.

One Hundred Percent Me by Renee Macalino Rutledge and Anita Prades

What are you? Where are you from? Most children of immigrants hear questions like this daily. The multiracial main character in this picture book definitely does. However, rather than letting other people define her, she proclaims that she is 100% herself.

Wutaryoo by Nilah Magruder

Similarly, the creature at the center of this picture book is one-of-a-kind. There are no other animals like her. She searches the world for answers, finding adventure along the way.

The Kite of Dreams by Pilar López Ávila, Paula Merlán, and Concha Pasamar

Children across the world play with kites. In this story, we see children from various countries playing and dreaming. The kites carry their dreams high into the sky. This book offers a glimpse into many different cultures. If you enjoy this one, you may also like López Ávila’s With a Butterfly’s Wings.

Super Satya Saves the Day by Raakhee Mirchandani and Tim Palin

When Satya wears the cape her super mama made for her, she feels unstoppable. However, when she has to face a day without her super apparel, she is worried it won’t go well. This is an adorable story about facing your fears and being your true self.

The Color of Your Skin by Desirée Acevedo and Silvia Álvarez

When Vega’s classmate asks to borrow her “skin-colored” colored pencil, Vega wonders whose skin he means. She thinks of all the people she knows and the range of colors that match them. This is a very cute exploration of racism in everyday language and it’s handle beautifully and in an age-appropriate way.

I Am Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges and Nikkolas Smith

For decades, we’ve been telling and retelling the story of Ruby Bridges. As a civil rights icon, young Ruby was the first Black child to attend her local all-white elementary school. Now, Ruby Bridges tells that story in her own words, through the eyes of her 6-year-old self. This is undoubtedly a must-read.

Zigglebee by Lana Bailey

Okay, so this one is a bonus and an exception. It’s not a picture book yet. The young author, Lana Bailey, composed five stories within the book’s pages, leaving space for readers to illustrate. Lana’s twin sister, Laila, has Jacobsen syndrome and is nonverbal. However, Lana learned that Laila enjoyed interacting with her through art and storytelling. Her book invites readers to connect and create, using our imaginations.

Book clubs can amplify marginalized voices and foster cultural understanding by reading diverse books.

Diverse perspectives are necessary for creating a hopeful vision of humanity's future.

The Speculative Fiction Project aims to represent diverse authors, including international ones, in future funded projects.

Book clubs can be radical, promote diverse discussions, and vary in composition and environment.

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Content: Writers' Column
(Huang Nien-hsin)
century
(Huang Nien-hsin)
Book Club can be very simple, a book, a few people sit around, a cup of tea or a cup of wine, talk for hours or even all night.
But because of the composition of books, people, and the environment, reading can be radical and dangerous, can also be middle-class conservative, can be masculine, can be feminine and gentle.
There is no shortage of various book clubs in the university, some people advocate, there are departments organized, some graduate students will have very clear learning goals, some training books will have very elite requirements, and some, the meaning is still to be developed.
The "Chung Chi Language Reading Club" organized by the University College was launched last week, and it should be the last of its kind across the academic generations.
Previous / Next News

University book clubs can have clear learning goals and be department-organized.

Title:

Content: Writers' Column
(Huang Nien-hsin)
century
(Huang Nien-hsin)
Book Club can be very simple, a book, a few people sit around, a cup of tea or a cup of wine, talk for hours or even all night.
But because of the composition of books, people, and the environment, reading can be radical and dangerous, can also be middle-class conservative, can be masculine, can be feminine and gentle.
There is no shortage of various book clubs in the university, some people advocate, there are departments organized, some graduate students will have very clear learning goals, some training books will have very elite requirements, and some, the meaning is still to be developed.
The "Chung Chi Language Reading Club" organized by the University College was launched last week, and it should be the last of its kind across the academic generations.
Previous / Next News

Book clubs can discuss marginalized authors like Manuel Muñoz, whose work is also discussed by George Saunders.

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Content: paper trail

George Saunders to discuss Manuel Muñoz in his "Story Club"

This week, on his Substack “Story Club,” George Saunders will be leading a discussion of Manuel Muñoz’s “Anyone Can Do It,” which appears in his story collection The Consequences, out from Graywolf Press this week. In addition to Saunders’s discussion, Muñoz will drop in to answer some reader questions.

Sadie Stein has been hired as the preview editor at the New York Times Book Review. A longtime contributor, Stein has also worked at Jezebel and the Paris Review. According to the paper’s announcement of Stein’s new position: “Preview editors must read hundreds of unreleased books each year to recommend which ones to review (or not), and they must engage in the special kind of matchmaking that distinguishes the Book Review: finding the perfect person to write about each book—all of that before editing the reviews themselves. It’s a job that requires an outsize enthusiasm for books, deep knowledge across genres and an encyclopedic knowledge of authors, academics and other writers.”

On ebay, you can purchase a handwritten letter and a sketch from author Amitava Kumar (A Time Outside of This Time). All proceeds will be donated to the Friends of the Ashland Library

Bookforum contributor Max Read has started a Substack titled “Read Max,” which is “a newsletter about internet culture, terrible memes, emergent patterns, megaplatform grotesquerie, crypto conspiracies, deep forum lore, fringe politics, science fiction, and other artifacts of the weird new future.”

At Public Books, Howard Rambsy II and Kenton Rambsy assess data regarding the New York Times’s coverage of Black authors.

Substack "Story Club" promotes diverse authors and marginalized voices through book reviews.

Title:

Content: paper trail

George Saunders to discuss Manuel Muñoz in his "Story Club"

This week, on his Substack “Story Club,” George Saunders will be leading a discussion of Manuel Muñoz’s “Anyone Can Do It,” which appears in his story collection The Consequences, out from Graywolf Press this week. In addition to Saunders’s discussion, Muñoz will drop in to answer some reader questions.

Sadie Stein has been hired as the preview editor at the New York Times Book Review. A longtime contributor, Stein has also worked at Jezebel and the Paris Review. According to the paper’s announcement of Stein’s new position: “Preview editors must read hundreds of unreleased books each year to recommend which ones to review (or not), and they must engage in the special kind of matchmaking that distinguishes the Book Review: finding the perfect person to write about each book—all of that before editing the reviews themselves. It’s a job that requires an outsize enthusiasm for books, deep knowledge across genres and an encyclopedic knowledge of authors, academics and other writers.”

On ebay, you can purchase a handwritten letter and a sketch from author Amitava Kumar (A Time Outside of This Time). All proceeds will be donated to the Friends of the Ashland Library

Bookforum contributor Max Read has started a Substack titled “Read Max,” which is “a newsletter about internet culture, terrible memes, emergent patterns, megaplatform grotesquerie, crypto conspiracies, deep forum lore, fringe politics, science fiction, and other artifacts of the weird new future.”

At Public Books, Howard Rambsy II and Kenton Rambsy assess data regarding the New York Times’s coverage of Black authors.

Asian American women's stories are underrepresented in publishing, and book clubs can support authors like Amitava Kumar and Manuel Muñoz.

The internet helps non-male science fiction writers publish, attracting a diverse audience.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Science fiction books explore human themes like death and immortality.

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"日本語版「フィーカス」について" (in Japanese).
To build a man who will always love me, from Frankenstein to Science Lovers.
2022 / 1 / 22 10: 34 (Updated on 1 / 22 11: 20)
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British author Janet Winterson pays homage to science fiction classic Frankenstein 200 years ago with Science Lovers. (Courtesy of New Classic Culture)
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British author Jeanette Winterson pays tribute to the science fiction classic "Frankenstein" 200 years ago with "Science Lovers".
The new classic culture invites two domestic science fiction writers Gao Yifeng (author of "2069") and Lin Xinhui (author of "Flawed Man") to talk, and the Central News Agency is authorized to publish the wonderful content of the talk, and share with you the common desire behind the strange man and his lover.
Gao Yifeng:
The year before last, I opened a science fiction reading and commentary course at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Literature at Beijing Arts University. The first book was “Frankenstein ” in 1818.
Before I was ready to read Science Lovers, all I had in mind was Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein, and the discussions I had with my fellow students at the Institute at that time.
As far as I ’ m concerned, Science Lovers started with the name.
When you look at the cover, you can see that the kiss in the middle is changed from the ken in the middle of Frankenstein to the kiss, and FranKISSstein becomes the new novel name.
Janet Winterson, a modern, powerful female thinker, uses this kiss to deconstruct Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein 200 years ago.
Frankenstein is not the name of the monster, but the name of the scientist who invented the weirdo.
The first time I read this novel, I found it very challenging - if you haven't read Frankenstein, you may not know why the author wrote an 1816 story first, and then through the story of Mary, to create a near-future science fiction story.
In this near-future story, frame another story where Mary Shelley meets her own character.
It has 3 very deep levels, which started with Frankenstein.
Because The Frankenstein of 1818 is the way to write a “framing novel ” — it uses a story with a narrator in it, and then tells you that the narrator has the next story.
In "Frankenstein" there is a nautical adventurer, in the snow and ice to see the scientist chasing the weirdo, rescued him, and began to tell the whole story.
"Science Lovers" has been paying tribute to Mary Shelley from the frame structure!
Science fiction writer Gao Yifeng said that "Science Lovers" changed the ken in Frankenstein to kiss, and used the kiss to deconstruct "Frankenstein" 200 years ago. (New Classic Culture provided)
The 19th century is a very patriarchal era, Mary this important writer experienced a complicated and hard life, eloped with Shelley, miscarried several times, but she and Shelley two people have always loved, very close to the theme of this: to build a person who loves me.
Why do we want to create a strange person out? It is actually as a human lust.
Why create a weirdo ’ s lover after creating a weirdo? It ’ s because the weirdo has an selfish desire.
The author is debating this.
As a woman, Janet Winterson pays homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as she contemplates the Old Testament descending from the Bible.
What was Adam ’ s function in the Garden of Eden in Genesis?
The first work of “he ” is to name creatures and even take out a rib to create women. Why do men create women?
The whole novel starts with the name, and she ’ s making fun of it all — I think it ’ s a very beautiful gesture.
There are many naming attempts in the novel: First, the scientist / creator Victor Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein) becomes Victor Stein (Victor Stein), and he and a transgender man named Ry Shelley (Ry Shelley) have developed a love that seems desegregated.
The author also uses a lot of naming skills for many people around him, such as Ron Lord (Ron Lord) is the reverse of the name Lord Byron.
Lord is the Lord of the Christian faith. This self-proclaimed character of the same name is the maker of sex robots in the near-future world.
This new creator, Longen, has created a female sex robot that can meet men - it is really possible to build a person who only loves me? Such a modern, sci-fi scientific lover, in the novel the author pushed farther - Longen Lord even thought: Is there a way for me to build sex robots for priests and priests?
This can also solve the problem of pedophilia in all priests.
In "Mythical Tales", Prometheus molded the clay man in the form of a god, and Athena injected the soul (wisdom) into man.
The male Creator created the human form, but the female God gave it to the inside.
This is in contrast to the “story of faith, ” in which Jehovah created Adam, who, as the Creator, split up another man, Eve.
This is the story of an "artificial man" and a "human being".
There are subtle differences and reflections between the two.
This process of creation has become something that the author has to resist and confront as a female thinker.
So when I read it, there will always be a strange, as a heterosexual, male perspective, the back will suddenly cool, not sure if she is accusing me?
Lin Xinhui:
I found that creating science fiction and gender attention, the two things seem inseparable.
When I started writing science fiction, I wrote a short story, "Hotel California," which, as everyone knows, refers to the Eagles' classic song.
I appropriated the lyrics to create, in the story reverse write "Eve was born from a rib of Adam" myth: the heroine in the novel is unknown, do not know whether she is human or biotic, she uses the length of the ribs to measure the human male protagonist, the male protagonist is instead deconstructed as a component of the rib.
The woman turned and used the rib to disassemble the man around her.
This is what I wanted to do when I first wrote science fiction.
Intentionally or not, I felt from the beginning that science fiction should be gender, it must be related to gender, why do I have this inexplicable intuition?
Many science fiction works, both ancient and modern, put women in non-human roles.
For example, Rachel in "Blade Runner" is a biotic, and the operating system for falling in love with the human male protagonist in "Cloud Lover" is also set to be female.
The robot, Sophia, who is considered a citizen in the real world, is also a girl.
Non-human beings are always assigned a female position, and in these stories, the protagonists are always men, and they are all humans.
Why isn ’ t there a sci-fi story to break this structure? Sci-fi is preset to be a male story from the start?
But in retrospect, today ’ s Science Lovers pays homage to Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein, which is considered the first science fiction novel ever written by a woman.
Echoing the deconstruction that Teacher Yifeng just talked about, the role of transgender doctor Rui brought out a lot of gender thinking, and a lot of female thinking is concentrated in the story line of Mary Shelley's history in 1816, the women's movement has just begun to flourish, not to mention Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the first wave of feminism advocates.
Is “knowledge ” male or female?
There is a dialogue that women seem to bring disaster to the world, which Byron said: women are red face evil water.
If Pandora hadn ’ t opened that box, many of our things would have been less painful.
And Mary Shelley replied to him that if we didn ’ t hurt, it wouldn ’ t be human, because machines don ’ t hurt.
She said, “Does knowledge cause pain? ”
Or is the knowledge that women bring to make us human?
In this near-future storyline, Janet Winterson uses the role of Rui to bring out a problem of mind-matter dualism that we are still debating.
Our understanding of transgender may be that his body and his soul want to reach another state of harmony, not that he was not reconciled, but that he wanted to change.
For example, she was originally a biological woman and wanted to become a so-called "complete male".
The transgender doctor in the book, he did not become a so-called complete boy, his upper half is male, the lower half is female, but he likes the state: a soul lives in two bodies, he is both male and female, and then he is very comfortable in this state.
(New Classical Culture Provided)
Rui ’ s relationship with Vito thus has an undefinable ambiguity, which challenges the state of men and women in the era of 1816.
The love story of Ray and Victor is difficult to define as gay or heterosexual, which can be said to be a state of desegregation.
And the state of sexualization also echoes the world that Vito wants to create — the human consciousness is uploaded to the cloud, without the bondage of the body.
Without the body, there is no label: there is no label for skin color, and there is no label for gender.
In fact, Victor also wants to create a new human, just as Frankenstein in Frankenstein wants to create a creature.
There is a scene in the novel that is super scary: Ray opens the door and sees a lot of hands crawling around on the ground, which is very creepy.
This section reflects that Victor wants to create a new human body, and this human body can have its own will and drive itself? This part corresponds to "Frankenstein", whether the creature can drive its own will and body.
"Creation" is "life", and the back of "life" is actually talking about "death".
You want to bring the dead body back to life, you want to use technology to create eternal life, you want to upload consciousness to the brain, anyway, as long as you are conscious, you will live forever.
Vito said that at this stage, we are very comfortable with all kinds of life technology, such as when we are only pregnant, the mother's body will be subjected to various invasive tests: to see if your fetal position is correct, the sex of the fetus, whether it is so-called "normal health", and to preserve embryos, frozen eggs and other technologies... And...
In contrast, we have been vocal about technology ’ s desire to end death, perpetuate death, or immortality as a major moral issue.
Why are we optimistic about "life" and so afraid of "death"? Don't want to talk about it, don't want to imagine technology intervening in its world.
Gao Yifeng:
In the novel, page 174, a very simple sentence is mentioned: "So, Vidor, non-living forms of life, because their forms are purer, closer to the essence of love than we are?"
The story of the transgender doctor Rui, his body is neither a man nor a woman, such a body is more aware of love?
Absolutely fully tested Janet, with a classical, Gothic romance, to talk about the love story of Mary and Shelley. Mary's love is completely gender-neutral, she really loves Shelley the poet.
She loved that no matter how many children she had and how many times she lost, even if I was crazy, even if I did not know whether I could still have the next life in the future, whether the function of a woman given to me by the Bible or mythology could be achieved, I was willing to love you.
In "Science Lovers", Janet constantly probed this point through many characters, constantly asking: Is it possible in the world to create a person who loves me that way through a way like "Frankenstein"?
Want to create a person like this, even if it is not a living body, even if it does not have any gender to test, even if it is a kind of sex robot we can not predict, can it really have love?
Claire is a very old-fashioned sex robot.
Does such love exist?
At the heart of the book is its subtitle: a love story.
Beyond the gender we have to face, or the various discussions of organic and inorganic life, Janet Winterson is asking the same question she wanted to ask two hundred years ago under such complicated and highly literary writing.
I love Frankenstein so much that when someone challenges me, I think, "Okay, I see what you can write."
"Science Lovers" actually carried "Frankenstein".
Not only did he write about the monsters created by Frankenstein, but he also wrote about the love of Mary Shelley.
I think this is a great place.
Lin Xinhui:
When it comes to “love ”, I think a lot of discussion is about what“ reality ” is.
We all know that love is between two people, and the most basic consensus is "what is the reality we all recognize."
When both parties have a common understanding of "where the reality is going", there is the beginning of the "relationship".
Science fiction writer Lin Xinhui (middle) says that every chapter of Science Lovers begins with "What is reality?" (courtesy of New Classic Culture)
Every chapter of Science Lovers begins with “what is reality ” — reality is soluble in water, reality is the present, reality cannot withstand excessive human beings.
These inquiries about reality, on the one hand, are similar in the form of the novel and the "trans" of the transgender, which constantly appears in different chapters, a bit like the role of the past and the soul, or the reunion of the afterlife, or the feeling of the same soul into different bodies.
On the other hand, it is rooted in its sub-label: the love story.
But in the end, Rui and Victor are not together in Science Lovers.
Why can't they be together? Because their perception of "reality" is different - Rui's perception is "reality is the body", our love is based on the body; but Victor told him that sex does not have to be achieved by the body, he said that the perception of receptors in the brain everywhere, even a "brain in a vat" (brain in a vat), can still have sexual love. Feeling.
Even Victor would say that reality is an emergent: it is because your brain thinks that it exists, and there is no direct causal relationship between this reality and your nervous system (such as what structure creates what reality).
So that reality cannot be proved as a reality.
This inference, even Vito said, has entered a state of Buddhism.
All in all, Vito and Ri think differently about reality, so although they love each other very much, they can ’ t be together in the end.
This also leaves a lot of suspense, because we don ’ t know what happened to Vito.
There are no quotation marks in this book – many foreign readers are scolding it.
But the fact that there are no quotes is still functional in the end, because it will make the reader uncertain whether the person who is speaking now is Mary Shelley or Ray? The last person they call together is Victor or Frankenstein? Because Mary Shelley and Frankenstein later meet in a fictional way.
Rui calls his beloved Vito until the end, but we no longer know if he is alive or dead.
In a way, the old Vito is still alive, and the Vito at this point in time seems to be missing.
Their last common call was, “Vidor, is that you? ” and it ended.
This is the end of a beautiful love story. (Editors: Huang Shufang, Wang Jingyi) 1110122
(New Classical Culture Provided)
Title: Science Lovers: A Story of Love
Author: Janet Winterson
Translated by: Chen Jialin
Publisher: New Classical Culture
Publication Date: 2021 / 12 / 01
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What concepts does Ishiguro's literary science fiction novel bring up?

What did Frank Herbert's "Dune" manage to achieve?

The genre has evolved into a universal mode of entertainment with an increasingly interdisciplinary future.

Book clubs can use science fiction to discuss topics like climate change and unconditional love.

Title:

Content: Lists

The 20 Best Book Club Books For 2021

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Whether you’re back meeting in person or still catching up with your book club on Zoom, book clubs haven’t slowed down in 2021. I myself have joined a few new ones in the past year. There’s something so satisfying about connecting with other people about books. Whether you loved the book or hated the book, after you read a book, it’s nice to get to talk about it.

2021 has been a good year for book clubs, which means 2021 has been a good year for book club books. So much of the world seems out of our control, and it’s been comforting to escape into a good book and connect with friends about it. If your book club is looking for new books from this year to read and discuss, there are so many great options from this year.

This list includes 20 books that are perfect for book club discussions. They’re compelling and fun to read, so you won’t have any problem getting through them before your next club meeting. These books also packed with plenty of topics worth talking about, whether it’s the wild plot twists, the heart-warming relationships, or the thought-provoking themes the story brings up. The books on this list span several genres, so your club will have something fun to read no matter what genre they prefer. And because 2021 has been such a stressful year, a lot of books on this list are uplifting, feel-good novels that promise an escape from whatever’s troubling you in the real world.

So grab your book friends and get ready to read!

The Best Book Club Books 2021

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

Looking for a good mystery/thriller for your book club that examines American suburbia? Give Sarah Langan’s Good Neighbors a try. Maple Street in suburban Long Island seems like the perfect place to raise a family. Then the Wilde family moves into the neighborhood. The father Arlo is a washed up rockstar, the mother Gertie dresses provocatively, and their kids are rough around the edges too. Not the type of the family the people of Maple Street are used to welcoming into their community. Unsurprisingly, the Wildes quickly become outcasts, and when the most popular family in the neighborhood throw accusations against the Wildes, tensions mount to shockingly high levels.

What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster

What’s Mine and Yours is a historical literary fiction novel that’s sure to bring up a lot of interesting discussions at your next book club meeting. When a county in North Carolina moves to integrate its high schools, the community is outraged. Then two high school students — Gee and Noelle — join a school play meant to bridge the divide between the students at the school. Gee and Noelle both find themselves right in the middle of the integration debate in ways that will affect their lives and their families for the next 20 years.

The Atmospherians by Alex McElroy

The Atmospherians is a dark, satirical literary novel that examines contemporary influencer culture and gender roles. Sasha Marcus’s social media career tanks after an unfortunate run-in with a media troll. Now there are men’s rights activists protesting outside of her house, and she feels like she’s hit rock bottom. That’s when she and her best friend Dyson hatch up a plan: The Atmosphere. The Atmosphere is a rehabilitation community for men who have lost everything: their family, their jobs, their self-respect. Seems like a great idea, right? What could possibly go wrong?

The Upstairs House by Julia Fine

The Upstairs House is perfect for your book club if you love discussing books that leave you all asking yourselves “What the heck did we just read?” This book is a strange, eery literary novel with touches of surrealism and horror. It’s the story of Megan, a woman who is raising her newborn baby alone while her husband travels for work. She’s exhausted, drained, and fairly certain the ghost of Margaret Wise Brown and her lover Michael Strange are living upstairs. Will these ghosts help her care for her baby and pull her life together? Or will they do the opposite and tear her life apart?

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Of Women and Salt is a sweeping debut literary novel about family legacies and difficult choices mothers sometimes have to make to do what they think is best for their children. Jeanette is living in Miami and battling addiction. She’s the daughter of a Cuban immigrant and she’s determined to learn more about her family’s past. And so she travels to Cuba to see her grandmother in the hopes of learning more about her family. But her trip threatens to reveal secrets that could change everything.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where Are You is the latest novel from New York Times best-selling author Sally Rooney, and it’s been getting a lot of well-deserved buzz. This is the story of Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon, four friends whose lives are complicatedly intertwined. Follow their stories as they fall in love with each other, desire each other, get together, break up, fall back into one another, and more. If you love beautifully rendered characters who are complex and maybe not entirely likable, then Sally Rooney’s books (especially her latest) will really work for you.

Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce

Wild Women and the Blues is a beautifully written and well-researched historical fiction novel set in Jazz-age Chicago. Dreamland Café is a ritzy club where Honoree Dalcour dances every night, looking to find a path to a better life for herself. But how much is she willing to risk to get ahead? Ninety years later, in 2015, film student Sawyer Hayes seeks out a 110-year-old Honoree. He’s looking for the missing pieces to his research about legendary filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, but the information Sawyer gets from Honoree is completely surprising.

All’s Well by Mona Awad

After the wild ride that was Bunny, author Mona Awad’s novel All’s Well was highly anticipated, and readers knew they would be in for surprises. Awad’s latest novel does not disappoint. Miranda Fitch is a college theater director whose life is falling apart. Her acting career was ruined after a terrible accident. Her marriage has fallen apart. All Miranda wants now is to direct All’s Well That Ends Well, but her students don’t respect her, and they refuse to do the play. Then Miranda meets three strangers, and suddenly her luck changes.

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

If your book club is looking for an uplifting, feel-good book club book to get you through 2021, Happily Ever Afters is it. This young adult novel follows 16-year-old Tessa Johnson. She’s never seen herself reflected in the romance novels she’s read, and so she began to write her own. Now, she’s landed herself in a prestigious creative writing program. She’s so excited to finally share her stories with the world, but when she sits down to write, she finds she has some major writer’s block. Maybe a little real-life inspiration is all she needs to spark her creativity.

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

Helen Oyeyemi’s novels are always a little bit magical and strange, which should give your book club plenty to talk about. Otto and Xavier Shin are in love, and they’ve been gifted a trip on a sleeper train to celebrate their new commitment to one another. And so they embark on an adventure together, accompanied by their pet mongoose. But Otto and Xavier soon realize this is no ordinary train. Everything aboard seems especially catered to their needs and tastes. And where are all the other passengers?

The Tiger Mom’s Tale by Lyn Liao Butler

With The Tiger Mom’s Tale, you get emotional story of complicated family relationships that’s also ultimately uplifting. When American Lexa Thomas inherits the wealth of her Taiwanese family, she travels to Taiwan to confront the family in which she’s always felt like an outsider, and to face the truths that she tried to leave behind. Lexa’s trip to Taiwan leads her to explore her connections to her family and the realities of who she truly is. This heartwarming story should give book clubs plenty of material to discuss, laugh about, and cry about.

The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam

For your 2021 book club, what novel could be more appropriate than a novel about startup tech companies? The Startup Wife is the story of Asha and Cyrus, two newlyweds who together start a tech incubator called Utopia. Their social media platform soon becomes wildly popular, replacing religious rituals for many of its users. Now Cyrus is being treated like a messiah, and Asha’s unsure their relationship can survive.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The Other Black Girl has been a really popular book club pick for 2021, and when you read it, you’ll see why. This novel is impossible to put down, but it also examines complicated issues of racism and microaggressions in the workplace. Editorial assistant Nella Rogers is the only Black employee at Wagner Books, and she’s sick of it. So when Hazel starts working for the publishing company, at first Nella is certain she’s found a new ally. The reality, however, is much more complicated.

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

Another topic that’s impossible to ignore in 2021: climate change. Charlotte McConaghy’s Once There Were Wolves is a meditation on climate change while also being an engaging story, which makes it perfect for timely discussions an enjoyable reading (so perfect for your book club). Inti Flynn is leading a team of biologists in the Scottish Highlands. Their mission is to reintroduce 14 grey wolves into the environment. Just as the wolves begin to thrive, a farmer is found dead, and everyone blames the wolves. Inti refuses to believe her wolves are capable of such a thing. But if they didn’t do it, who did?

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land is another novel that’s been getting a lot of buzz this year. Readers couldn’t wait to see what Anthony Doerr was going to do after his beloved novel All The Light We Cannot See. So if your book club likes to stay up on all the buzziest books of the year, you need to pick up this one. This novel is a mixture of historical fiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and follows five characters’ stories in different places in the world in in different periods of time, from Constantinople in the 15th century to outer space decades into the future.

Fault Lines by Emily Itami

Fault Lines is a love story set in Japan that’s compared to the works of Sally Rooney (who is also on this list!) and Helen Fielding. Mizuki is a Japanese housewife who seemingly has the perfect life, and yet she can’t help but wonder how her life could have been different — and perhaps more exciting — if she’d made different choices. Then she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. And through her time spent with him, she rediscovers her passion for life. The more time she spends with Kiyoshi, the more she falls for him and the person she is when she’s with him. But this can’t go on forever. Ultimately she must choose the comfortable life with the family she loves, the romance and electricity of something new.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun is author Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. The story is told from the eyes of Klara, and artificial friend who learns about the world from watching people from her store window. Then one day someone finally comes to take Klara home and make her part of the family. But Klara is warned to not trust the promises of humans. Ishiguro’s literary sci-fi novel brings up environmental issues, concepts of religion, questions about what it means to be human, and much more. Perfect for a book club discussion.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Torrey Peters’s Detransition Baby is one of the most talked about books of 2021, which means it’s perfect for your book club. This novel follows the story of three women — transgender and cisgender — whose lives come together in unexpected ways when they attempt to raise a child together. Detransition, Baby explores gender identity, motherhood, relationships, and more through thoughtfully rendered characters who feel incredibly real.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Are you looking for a fun, lighthearted sapphic romance with a huge dose of time travel? After hearing that sentence, are you realizing this this the storyline you didn’t know you needed? August is a cynical twentysomething New Yorker who doesn’t believe in love. Then she sees Jane on the train. Jane is gorgeous, charming, mysterious, and she looks like she came from the 1970s with her leather jacket and punk rock style. Then August finds out that Jane is actually from the 1970s, displaced in time, and her subway romance becomes a whole lot more complicated. This is a warmhearted and unique romance story that your book club will love talking about.

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

Gold Diggers is a coming-of-age story with a big pinch of magical realism, humor, and heart. Neil Narayan is a second generation Indian American teenager growing up during the Bush era in the Atlanta suburbs. Neil’s parents want him to be successful, but all he really wants is Anita Dayal, the girl of his dreams who lives across the cul-de-sac. Then Neil discovers Anita is brewing a magical potion out of stolen gold that harnesses the ambition of the person who owned the gold. And Neil’s life is changed forever.

If you’re looking for more guidance for getting your book club going, we’ve got some suggestions for you! Have the books you want to read but don’t have club to read them with just yet? Here’s your guide to starting your own book club. Also! Here are some ideas for book club discussion questions to get the conversation going. And if you’d rather just keep things online for now, here are some of the best online book clubs you can join right now. Happy reading, and happy chatting it up with your book club friends!

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What concepts does Ishiguro's literary science fiction novel bring up?

What concepts does Ishiguro's literary science fiction novel bring up?

Speculative fiction can be a tool for social change and hope, offering a unique lens to understand reality and problems.

Diverse authors, including women like Mary Shelley, are crucial to representing humanity in science fiction.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction Conference Concludes at Jeddah Book Fair with "Anime" and "One Thousand and One Nights"
Specialists, writers and experts discussed the most important issues during 8 sessions and workshops
Part of the sessions of the Science Fiction Conference in Jeddah
The Commission for Literature, Publishing and Translation concluded yesterday the Science Fiction Conference, which is being held for the first time in the Kingdom, coinciding with the Jeddah Book Fair, held in (Super Dome).
Through eight sessions and a workshop, specialists, writers and experts discussed a number of issues related to science fiction, fantasy and anime, in addition to global trends in the manufacture of science fiction and sound fiction books, books and novels in film and television, and a number of related topics and themes.
In the first session of the second day of the conference, entitled "Pioneers of science fiction, fantasy and anime", the participants discussed the challenges of women in writing about science fiction and the worlds of fantasy and anime, reviewing some of the difficulties they faced during writing in this art, and how they overcome them to reach what they are today. The last three.
During the second session, which was entitled "Global Trends in the Science Fiction and Audio Fiction Industry", it discussed the most important challenges facing the audiobook market, as well as ways to turn science fiction fiction into attractive audiobooks, a statistical review on the rise in the Arab world towards audio books, the presence of 8,000 Arabic audiobooks available through audio content applications, pointing to the growth of audiobooks and listeners following the Coronavirus epidemic to 400%. I have the podcast; the number of listeners in 2015, 200 million listeners; while this number increased in 2022 to reach one billion listeners of various podcast materials.
On their most prominent experiences in this field, a number of Saudi writers and authors, who enriched the content of science fiction with a number of novels that appeared on the shelves of libraries and publishing houses, talked about a number of issues and topics related to science fiction and fantasy, and explained the difference between science fiction and fantasy and the change of concepts and culture of the new generation, which has become more comprehensive.
In the fourth session, entitled "One Thousand and One Nights: The Fantasies of the Old World", intellectuals agreed on the validity and merit of keeping the novel (One Thousand and One Nights) under consideration, as it has a progressive vision of history for each creator, and that it suffers from an old and new crisis "old as texts that carry in the eyes of some, and a new crisis after being honored externally", and referring to its pivotal role in music, Video and many literary and cultural fields.
The fifth session is entitled "Books in Film and Television".
Licensing, Copyright and Production ", which deals with intellectual rights that take place between the author and the production company and are subject to contracts agreed by the parties and are not subject to certain terms.
Noting that the literary agent represents the lawyer for the author or writer of the novel, and that the Arab world is very late in appointing a literary agent; but it began to spread in the present time, and facilitate the writer to devote himself to writing without thinking about the stages of publication and others.
In a session entitled (Beyond the series "Stranger Things"), she stressed that the confident director faces all obstacles and challenges, and that imagination helps to get out of the traditional roles, but it needs a lot of training, especially in scenes of fighting, and sometimes taking risks if there is no alternative.
The session reviewed the series (Altered Carbon) and the most prominent stations and scenes that the work went through to turn it on TV, in a session entitled "Soul, Body and Memory in Science Fiction", and talk about the construction of plot, scenes and sites, fantasy works that are seen from different perspectives and locations and different images on paper, and the difference in reality in changing some events and characters, and talk about innovation in technology and moving between bodies in a quarter. A century, and the emphasis on creative things in the content until it becomes a film, and the importance of the creative crew of directors, designers and artistic vision, to put the content better; where things start small and then grow to come out to the viewer with a beautiful fantasy plot.
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What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores themes of gender, creation, and mind-matter dualism, making it a great book club discussion prompt.

What is considered the first true science fiction novel of the modern era, which foreshadowed genetic tinkering?

A diverse science fiction book club should include works from various geographical and linguistic fields.

Consider multiple perspectives when selecting books to ensure a wide range of viewpoints.

Analyzing diverse stories can contribute to a diverse book club.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Selecting books on real-world issues can facilitate thought-provoking discussions.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Literary prizes can help identify high-quality and relevant books.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

A book club's selection should consider members' diverse preferences and interests.

Book selection should include works from different time periods.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Diverse perspectives can enrich the discussion.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Diversity in author background and writing experience is essential for a book club.

Scientific research-based books offer unique perspectives.

Including international authors and students brings fresh and diverse perspectives.

A schedule can help facilitate productive book club discussions.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Online book clubs and audiobooks can be convenient options for remote members.

Discussion questions guide the conversation and exploration of the book's themes.

Inclusive discussions can be facilitated by using thought-provoking themes and considering the semantics of works.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

See also  The number of dengue fever cases is on the rise

In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Host readings and panel discussions to facilitate diverse and interdisciplinary discussions.

Viewing fiction as a lens to understand reality can deepen book club members' understanding of the genre.

Utopian books can inspire hope and social change.

Speculative fiction can be a tool for social change and selecting diverse authors can enrich a book club.

The science fiction genre has evolved significantly over time.

Female science fiction writers often focus on women's issues, contributing to the genre's diversity.

The internet has helped women and queer writers overcome barriers in science fiction, increasing diversity in the genre.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

The genre has become more inclusive, with diverse casts and major franchises now featuring better racial diversity.

Title:

Content: 'Snowpiercer' star Daveed Diggs says it's 'frustrating' when sci-fi stories lack diversity: 'That implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color'

  • "Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi stories lack diversity.
  • Diggs said that it implies "you can't imagine a future with people of color."
  • Diggs added that "Snowpiercer" tries to make the future reflect what the world looks like now.

"Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi movies and TV shows lack diversity.

Diggs, best known for his role in the original Broadway cast for the "Hamilton" musical, stars in the dystopian thriller about the last of human civilization living on a fast-moving train after Earth becomes a frozen wasteland. One of the aspects that make the series stand out is the fact that the characters are racially and geographically diverse.

Diggs, who plays the lead character Layton, told Insider that he hoped more sci-fi movies and TV shows embrace diversity in regards to their cast.

"The frustrating thing when our science fiction lacks diversity is that that implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color and that's super frustrating no matter who it is who's writing the show," Diggs said. "Because that also implies that you don't see them in your present or see us in your present."

He continued: "One of the things I do like about this show is that we try to make the world of the future also reflect our contemporary world."

In 2014, a study by book publisher Lee & Low Books found that in the top 100 domestic grossing films in the sci-fi and fantasy genre, only 8 had a person of color as their lead character. In six of those eight movies, the protagonist was Will Smith.

In recent years, major sci-fi franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and the CW's Arrowverse, have started to include better racial diversity, as well as diversity in other areas.

Diggs also told Insider that the series reflects the contemporary world with its underlying themes for season three.

"Season three asked us to look at the inherent flaws in a bunch of political systems," Diggs explained. "We live in a world in which, in the last few years, we've been witnessed to a fair amount of authoritarian regimes popping up in places that we thought were solidly committed to democracy and that happens on 'Snowpiercer.'"

He added: "The big political question this year is how useful is a broken democracy and what are you willing to do to fix it? And what does it mean to fix it?"

The third season of "Snowpiercer airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

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To address potential challenges in a science fiction book club, create a safe environment by teaching conversation skills and recognizing emotions.

Title:

Content: Skip to content

The Harvard Gazette

Learning how to talk about divisive issues

The story behind Amartya Sen’s memoir

World

Learning how to talk about divisive issues

Safra Center organization teaches ways to facilitate fraught conversations

Amado Candelario is a former debater who doesn’t shy away from conflict. But after seeing polarization in American politics increase, especially on social media, he looked for a different approach for talking with people who held different views on divisive issues such as immigration, gun control, and free speech.

The sophomore found that space in the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP) program at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. The yearlong fellowship teaches undergraduates at Harvard and four other colleges and universities across the country how to facilitate conversations on contentious issues and build connections across political divisions. The organization will host Civil Disagreement: Public Safety & Policing in America, a virtual panel discussion with speakers from a range of perspectives on the issue, on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“I am very passionate about social issues and a left-leaning perspective on topics, and I wanted to see the insight that other people could provide” from different political ideologies and backgrounds, said Candelario, a joint concentrator in computer science and government from Chicago. “There’s a time for debating and a time for having a conversation, and I’m trying to learn skills in order to have healthy dialogue with people who think differently from me.”

Candelario is one of eight Harvard students who participated in this year’s cohort, along with eight students from each partner school — Stanford; California State University at Bakersfield; Santa Fe, a community college in Gainesville, Florida; and St. Philips, a historically Black college in San Antonio, Texas.

A key objective of the program is to teach students the skills to to manage a charged discussion with openness and confidence, said Jacob Fay, ICDP co-creator and a postdoctoral fellow at the Safra Center.

“We are a program that doesn’t seek out to win arguments, but tries to help people see each other in greater degrees of complexity,” said Fay. “We show the students the power of asking questions rather than responding with declarations and statements, and it’s such a powerful move to switch their orientation away from persuading someone about an idea to just trying to understand it.”

Each week, the full group from Harvard and its partner schools meet online for a short lecture, small group facilitation sessions led by students, or some combination of the two. Some students who completed the program last year, called senior fellows, are on hand to observe and offer real-time feedback on the students’ work. Topics included the state of American democracy, gun rights, and the extent of free-speech rights.

At a recent meeting on the theme of education, Candelario and Victoria Wilson ’25 led a small group discussion about how questions of identity should be taught in elementary schools. Other breakout sessions focused on mental health needs in schools and banning books in school libraries.

The two used a facilitation tool called Courageous Conversation Compass as a framework. The method helps students recognize the emotional, moral, relational, and intellectual elements of what they or others say or do. The group shared personal recollections of learning about race and gender in schools and discussed possible changes to school curricula based on those experiences.

Wilson said tools like the Compass were helpful when it came time to discuss thorny societal issues. She also recalled another exercise where students did short presentations about themselves to the group about their values and background. She included a Greek flag to represent her family’s heritage and a cross to represent her Christian faith.

“There are students here from public schools and private schools, veterans, married people, and 18-year-olds like me, so there’s a variety of opinion. It could be really contentious, but we are all here for the same reason,” said Wilson, who is from Scarsdale, New York. “I know we can’t always mirror these conversations in society, but I’m learning how to keep the flow of a conversation going and make it productive.”

“Disagreement should not and is not going to be polite all the time, especially when you’re talking about something that directly implicates important pieces of who you are,” said Fay. “What we talk about is learning to facilitate and encourage disagreement within the bounds of a set of norms and agreements. That means it will be somewhat more expansive than people expect.”

Narges Obaid, a junior at Cal State, Bakersfield, studying political science and psychology, looked forward to using her new skills in academic and personal settings.

“Those facilitation skills can be used in formal settings but also in family settings, where you can make sure that people hear each other out,” said Obaid. “I’ve really gained the courage to just be out there and be comfortable” speaking to others about controversial topics.

Santa Fe’s Prince Ulame Erase saw a connection between his experience in ICDP and his future plans to work in communications.

“Now, if I’m thinking about public speaking, I should be able to see things from a very diverse point of view, not just looking at it from my point of view alone,” said Erase, who studies organizational management and started a campus Justice Club in 2019. “I think it’s also very rewarding for an audience because you can show them that you understand where they’re coming from.”

Candelario noted that the ICDP training was helping him navigate political differences in a more personal way.

“For me, when having a conversation with an individual it’s much easier to accept differing perspectives,” added Candelario. “Meeting people from so many different schools has cemented that in the way that I go about operating with people, knowing that compassion and kindness are necessary. You have to keep having conversations if you want to see change actualized.”

The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership trains students to facilitate discussions on contentious issues, applicable to settings like book clubs.

Men should approach women's literature with curiosity, not disdain, to foster a respectful discussion environment in book clubs.

Title:

Content: Culture

The man who listened to women

We returned to Madrid from the Cuéntalo Literary Festival, in Logroño, with a smile on because in the talk we had been ingenious and we had been rewarded with applause, good wine and a meal at the level of Logroño, which it already is. Luis Landero was driving and our GPS responded to the name of Mercedes, a young lady who was as kind as she was twisted, because at the first change she diverted us from the route and we were lost on inhospitable roads of a quite empty Spain, it was so empty that It is possible to think that there was not a single day in the past when it was full. It was an hour that we walked lost in the roads of yesteryear, with an open horizon painted in watercolor, like John Ford’s. This Mercedes, a robot with bad faith, wanted to make us the protagonists of one of those dystopian arguments that abound so much on Netflix. Machado’s verse went to my head, “I’m going dreaming roads.” And yes, he was dreaming paths, he dreamed of another possible life: that of having had Landero as a professor of literature at the School of Dramatic Art. That would mean that now she would be comical, younger, and that she would return home after a theatrical gig.

We talked about everything. There are things that will stay forever in that bubble on wheels and others that can be counted. We chatted, for example, about book clubs, those vigorous encounters that have become learning cells. What it feels like, when you are invited to one of them, is that you enter a private and select club where, before your presence, an unusual approach to literature has been celebrated. They are usually made up of women: they buy the books, they do it to get together, they comment on them. Every now and then one or two men join what Casado would call a coven, but it is rare. Women read everything, they are not guided by the sex of the writer; men have a reluctance, I don’t know if unconscious, to indulge in arguments that they consider feminine, they distrust. That is why the controversy about this Carmen Mola, a pseudonym that hid three men, seemed tricky to me, because in reality the grace of her novels consists in pretending that arguments as bloody can come from a female mind as from that of a male. Achieving equality through gore is undoubtedly a limited advance.

This very week I was reading about a book, Wonderworks , by the neurologist Agnus Fletcher, who has analyzed how 25 arguments from the literature of all times, from Homer to Elena Ferrante, affect our way of thinking, not only through the pure identification with characters who resemble us but by generating empathy with those who are strangers to us. The changes that occur in our brain when subjected to artistic experience had been studied in music and painting. It is the turn of literature. Accepting that fiction makes our neural connections more flexible, how can we not think that men and women would become closer, in this moment of conflictive relationships, if they trusted the literature written by a woman? If in addition to that, they shared their opinion with other people, if they realized that it is a good way of relating and self-knowledge, perhaps they would overcome that rigidity. Martin Scorsese said that he never had intimate conversations with his father, but that through the arguments of the films of which both were devotees they managed to say many things that shame prevented them from sharing.

When you write In an article of political opinion men go to the networks, excited by a good hook, giving their opinion with passion and sometimes sitting in the chair, as if they were moving through a planet where they know its orography and in which you are a foreigner. When the matter is cultural, alas, many of them vanish and women come in in a rush to take note of new readings, to add others, literary fiction, series, cinema. Notice, there is no resentment in what I say, on the contrary, I wonder why this inertia does not change, why this eighteenth-century disdain for women and their novels resists. We may need more Landeros in the classrooms, men who approach women without reluctance and with curiosity. When women identify such a specimen, a man open to listening to us, it is logical that we venerate him.

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The Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project uses science fiction as a tool for social change, representing diverse perspectives and rooted in scientific research.

Virtual book clubs offer a low-cost marketing platform for discussion and community building, accessible to a wide online audience.

Title:

Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
One of them is coffee shops.
Why are so many brands creating virtual book clubs?
The idea of   the emergence of virtual book clubs has spread a lot recently, through the space of social networking, since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with strict adherence to the rules of social divergence at the time, so many began to launch these clubs in schools, libraries or even among friends only.
A book club for a coffee brand.
Interestingly, even companies that are not necessarily by nature have nothing to do with the publishing industry or books, have also started their own virtual book clubs, such as a famous brand specializing in the sale of coffee, launched their own book club last January, with the publication of reviews of human development books, such as the book Atomic Habits by James Clare as the first, and interact with this virtual club. comment after each session.
“I learned through research that our community loves reading, and I was working at a bookstore, so it helped me create a book club, ” said Britney Haddad, director at the company,“ We ’ re more than just a producer, we encourage people to rethink their habits. Our book club has already done what we want. ”
A women ’ s clothing brand also went on to create a book club, republishing a collection of articles and tips from No Filter: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful, a collection of essays by model Polina Borizkova, and the audience can conduct most of the sessions online making it easier for them.
To be sure, these book-oriented brands are raising some questions: What ’ s the profit from this?
Many female entrepreneurs, although not celebrities, have launched book club apps, their own, and there have become companies specializing in the creation of book clubs for these companies, and launched major brands such as TikTok, from which the BookTok platform originated, its book club in 2021, also began Apple, which does not focus heavily on books, to create Strombo's Lit, and so did not miss the network "Netflix" as well. The opportunity with the launch of its own Netflix Book Club, a specialized book club focused on books that will be converted into a TV series or film on the broadcast platform, in which members participate in discussions about characters, plots, events and differences between the literary version and the screen version.
Star and celebrity book clubs usually revolve around one person and depend on the popularity of celebrities, readers flock to them because they trust the taste of celebrities in books or because they are lovers of these celebrities, the brand is expressing itself, and usually has sophisticated marketing initiatives such as an application or a weekly podcast or media interviews, and may also have promotional posters for book covers, such as those of the star and actress Oscar winner Spoon, and the famous publicist Oprah Winfrey, but the success of the book will largely depend on the size of the celebrities.
What is the purpose of Virtual Book Clubs?
But for its part, brand book clubs focus on companies and their customers, the goal is to attract more customers to the brand, promote the business itself, etc. If a book club for a particular cafe is created, and there is a literary story in it, lovers and readers of literary fiction will be interested in reviewing the products of this cafe, turning them into potential customers.
It ’ s a low-cost effort to build trust among customers compared to running big-budget marketing campaigns, and because of these brand book clubs, many will stimulate customers ’ passion for reading and certainly energize the struggling industry.

Companies can launch book clubs to attract customers, promote business, and build trust.

The science fiction genre has become more diverse and inclusive, with book clubs promoting respectful discussions and addressing challenges like differing opinions and representation.