Here’s one not to miss. The great PM Press is teaming up with City Lights Books in San Francisco to host an all-star, two-day, virtual symposium on radical traditions in science fiction.
The events, on Feb. 26 and 27, bring together an extraordinary lineup of authors — legends of the field, literary stars and young talents alike — including Michael Moorcock, Samuel R. Delany, Marge Piercy, Meg Ellison, Annalee Newitz, Jonathan Lethem, Nick Mamatas, Karen Joy Fowler, Cory Doctorow, and more.
It’s all centered around “Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985,” a spectacularly good new anthology of critical essays recently published by PM Press, and edited by Andrew Nette and Iain McIntyre.
As a visual-culture survey alone, the book is a splendidly great collection, gorgeously presented and packed with those amazing pop-art paperback book covers of science-fiction’s New Wave and early cyberpunk eras.
The schedule of happenings is equally inspiring, and draws from the anthology’s numerous essays and comments on the groundbreaking works of the era, such as what activists can learn from science fiction, the impacts of the Vietnam War and queer culture on the genre, the nature of dystopias in science fiction, and reflections on the works of legendary authors Octavia Butler and James Tiptree Jr. (aka Alice Sheldon).
The event is free, and virtual. Here in sunny California, it amounts to a damn good reason to stay indoors next weekend.
The event starts at 11 a.m. Pacific time, both days. For more details:
February 26: Dangerous Visions and New Worlds (Day One)
February 27: Dangerous Visions and New Worlds (Day Two)
