A Space Of Waste?
A panel discussion about whether science fiction authors are wasting their time writing about interplanetary travel, space colonisation and the spread of mankind across the universe given everything science has taught us about the realities, possibilities and costs of doing so.
Should science fiction be more concerned with what's happening right here and now on Earth such climate change, global pandemics and population growth or is space-based science fiction always going to be relevant just because people love good stories.
Chaired by Arthur C Clarke Literature Award Administrator Tom Hunter, the panel consists of:
Jaine Fenn
Jaine, who studied Linguistics and Astronomy at university, grew up in a house with no books, relying on a mix of imagination and tv for her fix of strange stories, rejecting girls' comics in favour of Dr Who novels, and refusing to go to Brownies because it clashed with Star Trek.
Aged 9 finding 'A Wizard of Earthsea' introduced her to the world of fantastical literature. Aged 11, realising she wasn't going to be a ballerina, Jaine decided to be a writer of unlikely stories instead. She has had 2 novels and a number of short stories published.
Philip Palmer
Philip Palmer's sees himself as a glamorous hyphenate, writer-writer-toolazytogetaproperjob-writer.
His life can be measured out in scripts and novels, and unproduced masterpieces including a Welsh film noir, a stylised London thriller, a shoal of produced original radio plays, a small cluster of TV dramas and other bits of work which involve working as a script doctor, script editor, or a development person which he does professionally for money.
He also teaches screenwriting, on the grounds that those who can't bear to be sat in front of a typewriter all day every day, teach.
His debut novel, Debatable Space was published by Orbit in January 2008 and his latest sci-fi masterwork, Red Claw was launched on 1st October 2009, also published by Orbit.
Paul McAuley
Paul McAuley has worked as a research biologist in various universities, including Oxford and UCLA, and for six years was a lecturer in botany at St Andrews University.
He is now a full time writer, and lives in North London. His latest novel, Gardens of the Sun, was published by Gollancz in October 2009.
http://unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com/
Paul Graham Raven
Paul is a dishevelled British library assistant by day, employed by the Royal Naval Museum. By night - after an abject lack of success at wearing tights and fighting crime - he has turned to various writing jobs.
He is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of science fiction webzine Futurismic which, in addition to an original near-future science fiction story every month, publishes non-fiction essays and blogs on science fiction topics.
He was Reviews Editor of Interzone, the UK's longest-running original science fiction magazine and also Webgeek for PS Publishing, an award-winning, UK-based, independent publisher of science fiction and fantasy.