People of the (Futuristic) Book

People of the (Futuristic) Book

Date

Mar 04 2021
, 7PM- 8PM

Speakers: Steven H Silver, Valerie Estelle Frankel, and Michael A. Burstein

Recorded on March 4, 2021.

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Check out the suggested reading list from our speakers here.

What makes a science fiction story Jewish? Jewish writers have worked in the science fiction genre since the very beginning, thought you might not always know it from reading their work. But some stories are clearly Jewish, whether through tone and theme or explicitly based on Jewish ideas and culture. Join us for an exploration of Jewish sci-fi and fantasy – and a discussion of what makes them Jewish stories.

Cartoon style graphic of a rocketship blasting off in front of a grey moon. Two smaller, alien-looking ufo ships are also flying away. Text reads People of the (Futuristic) Book.

[closed captioning will be available during this live stream event]

About Our Speakers:

Steven H Silver is a seventeen-time Hugo Award nominee and was the publisher of the Hugo-nominated fanzine “Argentus,” as well as the editor and publisher of ISFiC Press for 8 years.  He has also edited books for DAW, NESFA Press, and ZNB Books.  He began publishing short fiction in 2008, his most recently published story is “The Prediscovered Country,” his most recent book is the anthology Alternate Peace.  His debut novel, After Hastings, was published in 2020. In 1995, he created the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. Steven has maintained a bibliography of Jewish science fiction since the early 1990s and wrote the entry on Jewish Science Fiction for the Encyclopedia of American Jewish History.

Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of over 80 books on pop culture, including Hunting for Meaning in The Mandalorian; Star Wars Meets the Eras of Feminism; and Superheroines and the Epic Journey. Her Chelm for the Holidays was a PJ Library 2019 book. She’s the editor of the New Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy series for Rowman & Littlefield and is eagerly seeking books and essays on the topic. Once a lecturer at San Jose State University, she now teaches at Mission College and San Jose City College and speaks often at conferences.

Michael A. Burstein, winner of the 1997 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, has earned ten Hugo nominations and four Nebula nominations for his short fiction, collected in I Remember the Future. Burstein lives with his wife Nomi and their twin daughters in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an elected Town Meeting Member and Library Trustee. When not writing, he edits K-12 Science curricula. He has two degrees in Physics and attended the Clarion Workshop

This live stream Zoom event is presented in relation to the special exhibit Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit, on view September 13, 2020 through April 11, 2021. 

5 replies on “People of the (Futuristic) Book”

I’m very interested in attending, but I have a schedule conflict. If I purchase a ticket, will a recording be made available afterwards?

Hi Colin – we will be posting a recording of the program, roughly a week after the program takes a place – you don’t need to register to access the recording. Thanks for reaching out!

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