Tag: Aliette de Bodard

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Academic CYMERA Festival New Column Shoreline of Infinity

Newcastle Law School and Shoreline of Infinity

The Shoreline of Infinity Issue 29 logo. Text reads: "Shoreline of Infinity 29: Award-winning Science Fiction."

Just one more thing…

Shoreline of Infinity 29 is now up for pre-order, and features my latest column (deep breath), ‘Beyond UK Black History Month: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of the Fear of Being Awful’. This one tackles the somewhat taboo subject of why many white folks don’t explore the historical contributions of POC outside of the annual celebrations. I’m hoping this will encourage folks to dig into their motivations for doing the work and take a chance on themselves. And if you’re unsure of where to start your own journey, this column also includes some recommended reading.

Issue 29 also includes the first print publication of my GSFWC buddy E.M. Faulds‘ short story ‘A Flight Of Birds’, as well as work by Tim Major, Callum McSorley, Ida Keogh‘s stunning flash fiction piece ‘The Reminder’ and a new interview with Ken MacLeod about Beyond The Hallowed Sky, his latest novel.

Pre-order link: https://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/product/shoreline-of-infinity-29/

The cover of Shoreline of Infinity 29 - scene inside a spaceship cockpit. A zombie pilot called Newton cries in terror as his ship speeds through space.

You can hear some of these stories, along with a brilliant reading by Eris Young and more, as part of Event Horizon’s takeover at Cymera‘s recent mini-festival. Check out the video below:

In other news, last week I had the privilege of dropping in to Newcastle University Law School to talk to students exploring “Emerging Technologies: Emerging Relationships” – part of an independent research module on the future of the Law. Here, I spoke on ‘Science Fiction and the Law of Relationhips’ and how genre can help explore our developing society, highlighting the work of authors such as Aliette de Bodard, Helen Sedgwick and Becky Chambers.

A title slide. The background is black coffee in a mug. The text reads: "Science Fiction and the Law of Relationships, Ruth EJ Booth".

In return, I was delighted to hear the students working on projects exploring the Gender Recognition Act, Domestic Abuse, Social Media, Ghanaian legal approaches following R vs R (1991), and more. To see students even at an undergraduate level exploring the social responsiveness of the Law, especially with such timely topics, was particularly uplifting. I’ve attended courtrooms several times (either as court reporter or visitor) and sometimes come away rather disheartened – and so this research gives me hope for the future of the Law and courtroom decision making.

And that’s it! If I don’t post again before the holidays, here’s wishing you happiness and peace over the festive season, and all the hope and joy this new year deserves.

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Events Workshop

BSFA 2018 Awards and Edinburgh Science Festival Workshop

If you’re in the Edinburgh area, attending Eastercon: Ytterbium, or a member of the BSFA, I’ve got news for you:

First of all, I’m thrilled that my Noise and Sparks columns for Shoreline of Infinity have been shortlisted for the BSFA Awards 2018 in the Best Non-fiction category!

Joining me in this category are the Sleeps with Monsters (Tor.com) and Time Pieces (Interzone) columns by Liz Bourke and Nina Allan respectively, Adam Roberts’ latest book Publishing the Science Fiction Canon: The Case of Scientific Romance (Free online from Cambridge University Press until 22nd February), and Aliette de Bodard’s lauded article on the Intellectus Speculativus blog, ‘On motherhood and erasure: people-shaped holes, hollow characters and the illusion of impossible adventures’. The full shortlist really is incredibly strong this year, so if you’re looking for great short stories, novels, art or non-fiction that you may have missed last year, I really do recommend checking those out.

The results will be announced at the 2019 Eastercon, Ytterbium, which takes place at the Park Inn Heathrow, London, over 19th – 22nd April. For more details, including how to vote for BSFA and Eastercon members, head to https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-2018-awards-voting-form/.

Cover image by Joshua Smythe

And here’s news for Scottish pals: the Edinburgh Science Festival has just released details of this year’s programme – and I’m delighted that Oliver Langmead and I will be back with ‘Discover New Worlds Through Creative Writing’!

Last year’s attendees found our popular workshop “brilliantly creative… very comfortable and relaxed”, “thought-provoking” and “inspiring”, so do join us in exploring the galaxy and building new worlds from 2pm on Saturday 13th April at the Pleasance.

This event is ticketed, so make sure you register online now at https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/event-details/discover-new-worlds-through-creative-writing or click here for more ways to book.

For more details of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival programme, check out the full brochure at https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/.


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Awards Shoreline of Infinity

BSFA Best Non-Fiction Longlisting

My Noise and Sparks columns for Shoreline of Infinity have been longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association’s Best Non-Fiction Award – alongside works by Adam Roberts, Aliette de Bodard, Nina Allan, Rob Malan, Erin Horáková and more!

Other plaudits for Shoreline of Infinity include Siobhan McDonald in Best Artist and Aliette de Bodard for her short story, ‘A Slow Unfurling of Truth’ in Issue 11.

If you enjoyed my columns in 2018, and you’re a member of the BSFA, you can now vote for them at https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-stage-2/. Thank you!

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New Column Shoreline of Infinity

New Column in Shoreline of Infinity’s International Women’s Day issue

Shoreline of Infinity has put together a special International Women’s Day edition for Issue 11. Dedicated to Ursula K. Le Guin, this edition contains brilliant stories from the likes of Aliette de Bodard and Katy Lennon (you can hear her read this wonderful story here), non-fic from Jonatha Kottler and SJ MCGeachy, and much, much more! Click here for the full line-up.

Alongside these excellent stories, articles and poetry, you’ll find Beyond the Mountains, the latest installment of my Noise and Sparks column. Written shortly before the passing of Ursula K. Le Guin, this essay explores a quote from her 1986 Bryn Mawr College commencement address, in light of Wonder Woman and the portrayal of women in mainstream genre.

If you’d like to pick up a copy, head to www.shorelineofinfinity.com.

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Conventions Eastercon

Eastercon 2016: Mancunicon Schedule and the James White Award

Mancunicon

Going to Mancunicon (the 2016 BSFA Eastercon)? The full programme (and app) is now online – and it’s a cracker. With panels on SF Music, coping with Anxiety, Short Stories, Place and Identity — and my first ever moderating stint — it looks like I’ll be a busy bee this year.

In the meantime, I’ve been invited to judge this year’s James White Award, alongside Ian Sales and Neil Williamson. There really have been some imaginative entries amongst this year’s stories, so thank you to the entrants for making my first judging panel so much fun! The winner will be announced on Saturday 26th March during the BSFA Awards ceremony (also at Mancunicon), where I’ll be presenting the BSFA’s own Short Fiction Award. Hope to see you there!

So, if you don’t fancy barcon, here’s where I’ll be spending the weekend:

FRIDAY

14:30 – 15:30: Dealing with Anxiety in Fandom (Room 7)
Esther MacCallum-Stewart (M), Ruth EJ Booth, Meg Frank, Russell A Smith, Crystal Huff

Out of all my panels this weekend, this is the most important one to me. We’ll be talking about coping with Anxiety in relation to both going to cons and online interaction, but with the timing of the panel, expect that this will be focussed more on the former than the latter. Especially if Mancunicon is your first con, I’d encourage you to pop along if you can.

SATURDAY

A gentle day, but at the BSFA Awards (17:30, Deansgate 2&3) I’ll be presenting the Award for Best Short Fiction to either Aliette de Bodard, Paul Cornell, Jeff Noon, Nnedi Okorafor, or Gareth L Powell. Which is a marvellously surreal turn of events for my inner fan-girl.

SUNDAY – busy day!

13:00 – 14:00: Supporting the Short Stuff (Room 7)
Val Nolan (M), Ruth EJ Booth, Matthew Hughes, Juliet Kemp, JY Yang

This panel has sprung out of Neil Clarke’s recent comments in Clarkesworld on the future of Short Story outlets, sustainability, and what the future might look like for SF markets. Following his guest slot on the Coode Street Podcast just recently, I hope there’s going to be some good chat on this one.

20:30 – 21:30: Third Rock and Roll from the Sun (Room 7)
Michael Cobley (M), Gary Couzens, Ruth EJ Booth, Phil Nanson, Dave Tamlyn

SF music in all its forms. Join us for my forty minute lecture on the genius of Devin Townsend presents: Ziltoid the Omniscient. \m/

MONDAY

13:00 – 14:00: Place, Identity, Story (Room 6)
Ruth EJ Booth (M), Tiffani Angus, Ian McDonald, Taj Hayer, Russell A Smith

Guaranteed to be The Best Panel on Monday – not because I’m moderating it, but because we’re going to have Taj Hayer, whose latest play North Country is on Sunday evening (20:30 in Deansgate 2&3), Tiffani Angus (historical fantasist and academic, and an expert on the role of gardens in SFF), Urban fantasist Russell Smith, and Guest of Honour Ian McDonald. With a line-up like that, there’ll be plenty of proper chat, I’m hoping. So if you’re about, why not join us?