Tag: Brian Attebery

After Fantastika

In recent months, the New Normal has grown from pandemic lockdown catchphrase to a DysUtopian* ideal, embodying restless anxiety and quiet reflection, the ideals of international cooperation and the nadir of nationalistic isolation, and both a future of terrifying uncertainty and an opportunity for change, as we try to conceive of life alongside this disease.

Many times in recent months, as I’ve exchanged cards and small gifts with struggling friends, or cleared my cupboards for charity donations, I’ve been put in mind of Professor Brian Attebery‘s 2019 lecture at University of Glasgow on the future of YA and Adult Utopian fiction, part of a series sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust. Leading off from the works of Ursula K. Le Guin, Professor Attebery spoke of how the most convincing utopias in fiction may not be the ones at the level of full societal change, but those at smaller scales – even those found embodied in the brief moments of kindness shared between two individuals.

So, this strikes me as an opportune moment to draw your attention to my review of Becky Chambers’ Record Of A Spaceborn Few (Hodder & Stoughton, 2018) in the latest issue of Fantastika journal, After Fantastika.

Tags After Fantastika, Becky Chambers, Brian Attebery, Dystopia, Fantastika, Hodder & Stoughton, Idaho State University, Professor Attebery, Professor Brian Attebery, Record Of A Spaceborn Few, Sinjin Li, The Creative Martyrs, The New Normal, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ursula Le Guin, Utopia

Academic Academic Events Conventions CYMERA Festival Events Workshop worldcon

UPDATED CYMERA, GIFCon, Symposium on Fantasy and the Fantastic, TFCAA

Post author By Ruth
Post date 02/05/2019
No Comments on *UPDATED* CYMERA, GIFCon, Symposium on Fantasy and the Fantastic, TFCAA

With Eastercon over, and term nearly done, you’d be forgiven for thinking I’d be taking a break from now until Dublin Worldcon this August. On the contrary: with CYMERA Festival, GIFCon 2019 and more on the way, it’s shaping up to be a busy summer. Whether you’re into fiction, fantastic academia, or fandom, here’s where you can find me over May and June – and where you can hear me before all that.

Tags Brian Attebery, Catherine Fisher, CYMERA, CYMERA Festival, Discovering New Worlds Through Writing, Dublin Worldcon, Gifcon, gifcon 2019, glasgow international fantasy conversations, Mapping the Mythosphere, Mel Gibson, Oliver Langmead, Symposium on Fantasy and the Fantastic, Terri Windling, Worldcon

Academic

Fantastika Review and GIFCon Keynotes

Post author By Ruth
Post date 22/01/2019
No Comments on Fantastika Review and GIFCon Keynotes

I’m back, somewhat windburnt from the Island Dynamics: Darkness conference in Svalbard, as those on my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will have seen in many, many photos over the last few days. So here are a couple of quick academic updates:

Just before I left, Fantastika published Volume 3, Issue 1 of their journal, which includes my first ever conference report from 2018’s GIFCon event. I’m very grateful to Head Editor Chuckie Palmer-Patel for giving me this opportunity to contribute, and to Francis Gene-Rowe for his steady editorial hand. I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish Dr Palmer-Patel all the best with her upcoming maternity leave.

This issue also features fantastic contributions from my fellow GIFCon committee members Marita Arvaniti and Katarina O’Dette – and you can download it for free! Find it online at https://fantastikajournal.com/publications/.

Additionally, here’s some very exciting news from GIFCon:

Brian Attebery, Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the University of Glasgow, and GIFCon 2019 keynote speaker.

GIFCon has now announced three keynote speakers: world-leading Fantasy scholar Prof. Brian Attebery, who is the author of Strategies of Fantasy, Stories About Stories, and originator of the ‘Fuzzy Set’ theory of genre; celebrated graphic novel theorist Dr. Mel Gibson, known for her work with diversity representation in comics; and multi-award-winning, bestselling YA author and poet Catherine Fisher. As you may have gathered, this will be a wonderful opportunity for Fantasy scholars outside the US to hear one of genre’s most influential academics, as well as some fascinating insights from Dr Gibson and Catherine Fisher. As it happens, the call for papers on ‘Mapping the Mythosphere’ has also been extended to 28th January, so you still have time to get your abstracts in if you’d like the chance to appear alongside them.

GIFCon 2019 takes place over 23rd – 24th May. For more details of this year’s event, and how to submit your abstract to GIFCon, see www.gifcon.org.

Tags Brian Attebery, Catherine Fisher, Chuckie Palmer-Patel, Fantastika, Francis Gene-Rowe, Gifcon, gifcon 2018, gifcon 2019, Island Dynamics, Katarina O'Dette, Mapping the Mythosphere, Marita Arvaniti, Mel Gibson, University of Glasgow