Scavenging the Future, this weekend!

I'll be up in Seattle, sitting on a panel with James Karr, a professor from Washington State University this Saturday, May 21, talking about the near future, what it holds, and the roles of science and fiction in trying to influence that future. I've been reading Dr. Karr's publications and I'm really looking forward to our discussion. This is the 'big picture' of writing for me, and why Science Fiction is really my genre of choice. Of all the types of fiction out there, I see Science Fiction as having the most potential power because it allows us to step out of a 'right now' that is so familiar as to be invisible and to look at that 'today' reality and the direction in which we're headed with clear eyes.

Not that there isn't a ton of space opera out there, and entertaining battles with aliens that have no connection to any reality whatsoever...the genre is full of that sort of fun fiction and alas, gets tarred with that 'space opera' brush, partly in thanks to Hollywood's interpretation of Science Fiction. But there are some real and often troubling looks at just who we are and where we are going in Science Fiction, and that is what makes the genre so compelling for me. We don't really need a crystal ball in order to see the future. We simply need to look.

Take a look at the program if you're local and might want to attend. http://www.hugohouse.org/programs/scavenging.html

If you do attend, come by and say hello!