Nottingham Contemporary

A panel discussion focusing on the role of science fiction in thinking about what is ‘other’ to mainstream culture. Speakers include writers Nina Allan, Dave Hutchinson and Professor Farah Mendlesohn.

Ray Bradbury once defined science fiction as “any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again.” Organised in collaboration with The University of Nottingham’s Popular Culture Lecture Series and launching its second series of lectures, this panel discussion focuses on the role and function of science fiction, and more generally popular culture, in our contemporary society.

Speakers include: Nina Allan, author of numerous prize-winning short stories, novellas and whose first novel The Race was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2014; Dave Hutchinson, journalist and author of multiple short story collections and novels, whose latest novel Europe in Autumn was shortlisted for the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award; Professor Farah Mendlesohn, winner of the British Science Fiction Award for her work A Short History of Fantasy in 2009 and of the Hugo Award in 2012 for her critical collection The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature.

For some more background to the event, speaker Nina Allen has written a blog post about her award-winning collection of short stories ‘The Silver Wind’.

In collaboration with The University of Nottingham's Popular Culture Lecture Series.