What's Coming

We'd like to congratulate Nancy Kress, who's been awarded the Nebula for her novella "Fountains of Age"!

Here's what we're planning to discuss in upcoming meetings:

• Gender, Power and Superpowers (June 3): How have superpowers changed with our society? Wonder Woman not only had to save the world, but make sure that her man got the credit for it. Things are completely different now, with Rogue and other strong female characters — or are they? In the Incredibles, why couldn't the Mom get the muscles and the Dad be super-accomodating? Is there a difference between superpowers and magic powers? Is Superman TOO super to be believed?
• Stay tuned -- in coming months we'll be discussing speculative art, science fiction / speculative fiction and drama, what it's like to write for big TV science fiction shows (like, oh, I don't know, ST:TNG), and graphical storytelling (anime, manga, and graphic novels). We're talking about what kinds of cutting edge technology will be most important in our new future. And our meetings are a great place to get the latest scuttlebutt on progress toward publication of our North Shore: 2034 speculative fiction anthology!

Here are a few things we've talked about recently:

• On May 6 we discussed the 2008 Nebula Awards and reviewed our own Straw Vote. And Alicia presented Nancy Kress with a small token of congratulation to enjoy while she looks at her newest Nebula.
• Humor in Speculative Fiction (April 1): R-SPEC members engaged in a round-table discussion of humor in speculative fiction: What works for them, what doesn't. We read from some pieces that really worked for us, and member Steve Carper shared a short satirical piece of his own (alas, available only in print).
• Energy in the (Post-Petroleum) Future (February 5): with sustainable energy expert and petroleum engineer Prof. Ben Ebenhack of the University of Rochester. The Jetsons didn't have to worry about how long oil will last, but we do. How long do we have before a big change is forced on us? What technologies are on the horizon that might take up the slack? How will it change the world? These are things we need to think about in our own future-building.
• SF Overseas (January 1): There is brilliant material from writers outside the U.S and it doesn't get enough attention here. Ruhan Zhao, Gabriel Prajitura and David Pascal will facilitate discussion on (respectively) how SF is perceived in China, Eastern/Central Europe (with a focus on Romania) and the Former Soviet Union. Nancy Kress (back from a large, large SF convention in China in August) will offer her perspectives. Usual place, usual time, don't worry, they have lots of coffee for those who've been too adventurous the previous night. Time permitting, we may touch on the Japanese scene.
• Fiction in Years Ahead — Beyond Print and Shows (December 4): Hyperlinked Fictional Universes, Virtual Online Communities, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, Podcasting. What is beyond those?
• October 2: A Small and Remarkable Life: Local author Nick DiChario discusses his John W. Campbell Award-nominated novel about a 19th centure alien orphan in a farming region of western NY.
• September 4: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy in a Land Where TV and Cinema Reign