Tag Archives: symposium

Mike Flynn (1947-2023), SF Writer and Past Symposium Keynote Speaker, Has Passed

Mike Flynn giving his keynote at the 4th annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium.

I learned from Emily Hockaday today that Mike Flynn, the renowned science fiction writer and keynote speaker for the Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium, has passed away. We were honored to have him join us and share his stories at that year’s symposium celebrating 90 years of Astounding/Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Locus Magazine has an obituary here, and his family’s announcement on Facebook is here.

Videos from the Sixth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on Access and SF

6th Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Poster

The Sixth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on the topic of Access and SF was held on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 as a Zoom Webinar. You can read the full program here.

Included below are videos of each session as well as links to expanded presentations .

Many thanks again to everyone who participated and contributed to this year’s event!

Opening

Jason W. Ellis
Justin Vazquez-Poritz

Paper Session 1: Access to International SF

Jill Belli – Moderator
Emrah Atasoy – “Access to SF in Turkey and Turkish SF Abroad”
Shanky Chandra – “Chinese Science Fiction: A Literary Genre, A Tool of Teaching Science or A Secret Weapon of China’s Soft Power?”
Gillian Polack – “The Problem of Susan Australia, or, The Tyranny of Distance” | Watch Expanded Presentation

Paper Session 2: Access to Science/Fiction/World

A. Lavelle Porter – Moderator
Chris Leslie – “Reevaluating the Inclusiveness of the Interstellar Republic of Letters”
Katherine Buse and Anastasia Klimchynskaya – “Science Fiction and Citizen Science”
Aaron Zwintscher – “Star Wars Biomes: Simulacra, Nature, and Passivity in No Dialogue Nature Shows”


Discussion Panel: “Accessing the Feminist Science Fiction Archive, Or, Young Women Read Old Feminist SF”

Lisa Yaszek – Moderator
Panelists:
Josie Benner
Olivia Kiklica
Jessica Taetle
Edeliz Zuleta

Paper Session 3: Access, Inclusion, and Representation in SF

Joy Sanchez-Taylor – Moderator
Leigh Gold – “Confronting Language in the Science Fiction Text: Language, Access, and Trauma in Octavia Butler and Ursula K Le Guin”
Katherine Pradt – “Shipping Supergirl: Discovering and Defending Lesbian Identity Through a DC Fandom”
Sean Scanlan – “Cool Access and Access to Cool: Gibson’s Gun Moll, Dorotea Benedetti”
Ida Yoshinaga – “Corporate Employment Practices Towards Greater Diversity of Story Development for SFF Screen Stories”

Paper Session 4: Access, Accessibility, Bodies, and Minds in SF

Lucas Kwong – Moderator
Jacob Adler – “‘Everything Herein is Fantastic’: Accessibility and Inclusivity in Dungeons & Dragons”
Ryan Collis – “Autistic Speculative Imaginings: Accessing and Creating Minor Literatures”
Annette Koh – “Urban Planning for Cyborg Cities: Thinking about disabilities and mobilities in sci-fi as an urban planner”

Analog Writers Panel and the Analog Emerging Black Voices Award

Emily Hockaday – Moderator
Panelists
Alec Nevala-Lee
Marie Vibbert
Chelsea Obodoechina
Trevor Quachri and Emily Hockaday – Award Presentation

Keynote: “Writing Ourselves In: Teaching Writing and Science Fiction with Wikipedia”

Ximena Gallardo C. and Ann Matsuuchi
Wanett Clyde – Introduction and Moderator

Leading up to this special keynote event, everyone is invited to join the Opening Access to SF: City Tech Science Fiction Edit-a-thon 2021 Dec. 6-Dec. 10.

Ximena and Ann’s book chapter, “My Books Will Be Read By Millions of People!”: The LaGuardia Community College Octavia E. Butler Wikipedia Project,” that appears in Approaches to Teaching the Works of Octavia Butler, edited by Tarshia Stanley (Modern Language Association, 2019), has been made accessible via the CUNY institutional repository, Academic Works: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/lg_pubs/141/. This book was awarded Idaho State University’s 2021 Teaching Literature Award.

Call for Papers: The Sixth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on Access and SF

UPDATE: Thank you for the interest and proposals received so far for the upcoming 6th Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on Access and SF! We want to extend the deadline until Friday, October 29 to give folks an extended window to submit a proposal, especially considering the personal and professional challenges we all continue to face during the on-going pandemic. Details on submitting a proposal are included below in the original CFP. This year’s program will be announced shortly after the new deadline. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jason Ellis (jellis@citytech.cuny.edu) on behalf of the organizing committee.

Call for Papers:

Access and Science Fiction: The Sixth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Date and Time:

Thursday, December 9, 2021, 9:00AM-5:00PM EST

Location:

Online, Sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

Organizers:

Jill Belli, Wanett Clyde, Jason W. Ellis, Lucas Kwong, and A. Lavelle Porter

One of the pressing issues that came up during last year’s symposium on Race and Science Fiction (SF) concerned access to the genre in terms of opportunities to create, enjoy, celebrate, identify with, and connect with others. Access, of course, is a shared concern of many historically marginalized and oppressed groups, including women, the disabled, LGBTQ+ persons, and the working class. While it’s obvious that issues of access were an important concern before the pandemic, problems with access were amplified and intensified in startling ways, including: bookstore and library closings expanded and created new book deserts; lockdowns closed off easy access for social interaction, community participation, and mentorship; and reduced access to computers, Internet access, and quiet spaces derailed education and business opportunities for many.

These issues with access before and during the pandemic extend to SF. William Gibson’s aphorism, “The future has arrived–it’s just not evenly distributed yet,” offers a conceptual lens for this. While Gibson’s use of the term “future” equates to the technoscientific, we can substitute SF as representing many imagined futures, and those futures represented by SF are not yet evenly distributed in terms of access to the genre for creators, readers, fans, and critics. Lack of access isn’t only a problem for those who might find enjoyment, meaning, and community through SF in the present; it’s also a potentially long term problem that might affect the types of stories that are produced, what characters get created, and who gets to make them. These different aspects of access and SF were of importance when we met last year, but they are even more so now for all affected SF creators, fans, and scholars concerned about what the shape of things to come will be for access and SF.

The Sixth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium aims to explore the broad theme of “Access and SF” as a way to understand the relationship between access and SF, identify what’s at stake and for whom, foster alliances between those fighting for access, and discuss how improving access for some improves access for all.

Also, Analog Science Fiction and Fact will announce the winner of their inaugural Analog Award for Emerging Black Voices at this year’s symposium (https://www.analogsf.com/about-analog/analog-emerging-black-voices-award/).

We invite proposals for 10-20 minute scholarly paper presentations or 40-60 minute panel discussions related to the topic of Access and SF. Please send a 250-word abstract with title, brief 100-150-word professional bio, and contact information to Jason Ellis (jellis@citytech.cuny.edu) by Friday, October 29, 2021 October 15, 2021. Topics with a connection to Access and SF might include but certainly are not limited to:

  • Access to Science Fiction for an Audience (reading text, watching films, playing video games, listening to music, etc.)
  • Access to Science Fiction as a Fan (fandom, community, blogging, vlogging, cons, online, etc.)
  • Access to Science Fiction as a Creator (writing, directing, developing, composing, etc.)
  • Access to Science Fiction as a Scholar (special collections, research, teaching with distance learning)
  • Access to Science Fiction where Roles Collide (navigating access through different relationships to the genre)
  • Barriers to Access of Science Fiction for an Audience (knowledge, technology, sources, mentors, etc.)
  • Barriers to Access to Science Fiction as a Creator (biases, racism, sexism, traditional gatekeepers, etc.)
  • Accessibility, Disability, and Science Fiction (direct access, indirect access, etc.)
  • Technologies of Access and Accessibility that Relate to SF (applied to creation, consumption, community, criticism, etc.)
  • Access, Openness, and SF (Digital Humanities, Wikipedia, open source and free software, Fair Use and Copyright, open pedagogy, etc.)
  • Affinity Politics and Intersectionality Between and Among Groups Working Toward Improved Access to SF

Like last year’s symposium (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEFb3DcsZdnyQCpNM4jY4uX_wlmO1sTt), the on-going pandemic necessitates holding this year’s event online, too. Therefore, there are no geographical limitations for participants, but the time for the event’s program will follow Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5:00)

This event is free and open to the public as space permits: an RSVP will be included with the program when announced on the Science Fiction at City Tech website (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/). Free registration will be required for participation.

The event is sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

The Annual City Tech Symposium on Science Fiction is held in celebration of the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, an archival holding of over 600-linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and scholarship. It is in the Archives and Special Collections of the Ursula C. Schwerin Library (Library Building, L543C, New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201). More information about the collection and how to access it is available here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/librarycollection/.

Call for Papers for The Fifth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on Race and Science Fiction

Race and Science Fiction: The Fifth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Date and Time: November 19, 2020, 9:00AM-5:00PM

Location: Online, Sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

Organizers: Wanett Clyde, Jason W. Ellis, and A. Lavelle Porter

 

“People who say change is impossible are usually pretty happy with things just as they are.” –N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became

Science Fiction, on a fundamental level, is always about the here-and-now in which it is produced, because it is from that point the author extrapolates an imagined future or alternate reality. The long and hard fight for civil rights and the latest unfolding of that struggle in the Black Lives Matter movement and its alliances calls on us to recognize the powerful possibilities within Science Fiction to imagine change, especially those promoting social justice and equality by writers of color and Afrofuturists, as well as reckon with the field’s patterns of racism, resistance to inclusion, and lack of representation.

The Fifth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium aims to explore the possibilities for change through the myriad connections between Race and Science Fiction with scholarly presentations, readings by authors, and engaging discussion. It is our goal to foster conversations that question, critique, or discuss SF as it relates to Race.

We invite proposals for 10-20 minute scholarly paper presentations, panel discussions, or author readings related to the topic of race and Science Fiction. Please send a 250-word abstract with title, brief professional bio, and contact information to Jason Ellis (jellis@citytech.cuny.edu) by September 30, 2020. Topics with a connection to race and Science Fiction might include but are certainly not limited to:

  • Histories of race and Science Fiction.
  • Representation of race in Science Fiction.
  • Representation of writers of color in the Science Fiction field.
  • Inclusion or exclusion of readers and fans due to race.
  • Issues of identity, including race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, culture, etc.
  • Subgenres and movements, such as Afrofuturism, Black science fiction, Indigenous Futurism, and speculative fiction by writers of color.
  • Race, Science Fiction, and Music, such as Sun Ra, George Clinton, Janelle Monáe, and Outkast.
  • Race and Comic Books
  • Engagement with civil rights movements in Science Fiction explicitly or metaphorically.
  • Pedagogical approaches to teaching race and Science Fiction or teaching about race with Science Fiction.

Due to the uncertainty in the months ahead, the symposium will be held online using a combination of pre-recorded video lectures hosted on the web and real-time interactive discussion on the scheduled day of the symposium using widely available video conferencing software.

This event is free and open to the public as space permits: an RSVP will be included with the program when announced on the Science Fiction at City Tech website (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/). Free registration will be required for participation.

The event is sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

The Annual City Tech Symposium on Science Fiction is held in celebration of the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, an archival holding of over 600-linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and scholarship. It is in the Archives and Special Collections of the Ursula C. Schwerin Library (Library Building, L543C, New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201). More information about the collection and how to access it is available here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/librarycollection/.

Videos from the Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium, An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact

4th Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Photo by Yimei Han.

The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact” was held on December 12, 2019 at the New York City College of Technology in downtown Brooklyn, New York.

It was a great success! We had over 100 attendees comprised of scholars, writers, editors, fans, and City Tech students and faculty. The partnership between Analog Science Fiction and Fact and City Tech helped the event grow and reach new audiences, and the combination of scholarly presentations, an editors’ roundtable, and writers events–a writers’ roundtable and the keynote by SF writer Mike Flynn made the event speak in powerful and engaging ways to the many different attendees.

For folks who couldn’t make it to the symposium, we’re carrying on the conversation asynchronously online by making videos of each session and Q&A available on YouTube. Wherever you might talk about the symposium, please use these hashtags to help us engage and track the ongoing discussion: #CityTechSF and #AnalogSF90th.

If you’d like to watch the symposium videos in one go, you can find the complete playlist on YouTube here.

Or, you can watch the individual sessions embedded below:

Opening Remarks

Justin Vazquez-Poritz, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, New York City College of Technology

Jason W. Ellis, Assistant Professor of English, New York City College of Technology


Teaching with SF Collections

Moderator: Lucas Kwong

Jason W. Ellis, “Introduction to the City Tech Science Fiction Collection”

Zachary Lloyd, “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching with Science Fiction”


Editors Panel

Moderator:      Frank Wu

Panelists:

Stanley Schmidt

Trevor Quachri

Emily Hockaday


Marginalized Voices and Feminist Futures

Moderator:      Lisa Yaszek

Marleen Barr, “Rachel Rodman’s “The Evolutionary Alice” As Fractured Feminist Fantasy”

Adam McLain, “Visualizing Gendered Voice in Ninety Years of Astounding and Analog

Marie Vibbert, “Visible Women in Astounding and Analog


Writers Panel

Moderator:      Emily Hockaday

Panelists:

Phoebe Barton

Leah Cypess

Jay Werkheiser

Alison Wilgus

Frank Wu


Critical Issues in Analog SF

Moderator:      Lavelle A. Porter

Sharon Packer, “Simian Cinema, Darwinian Debates, and Early Analog SF Stories”

Stanley Schmidt, “Humor in Analog

Edward Wysocki, Jr., “Just the Facts: Articles in Campbell’s Astounding and Analog


Keynote Address by Mike Flynn

Introduction:   Trevor Quachri

 

Student Profile of Julie Bradford, Artist and Designer of the Third and Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Posters

Julie Bradford, a Graphic Design Intern in City Tech’s Faculty Commons, designed the posters for this year’s and last year’s Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium. Prof. Jason Ellis asked her the following questions about the process and tools that she uses to create her art, and he asked her about her relationship to Science Fiction in general.

(1) Julie, you designed the posters for the third and fourth City Tech Science Fiction Symposia. Considering the Frankenstein-themed poster for last year’s symposium, what inspired you to make the poster artwork for the third symposium? What was your design process like to create this poster recognizing the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel?

Third Annual Symposium Poster

The Third Annual City Tech Symposium on Science Fiction poster designed by Julie Bradford.

The main inspiration came from wanting to present a scene everyone familiar with Dr. Frankenstein’s monster know about: the moment he comes to life. I spent some time analyzing the good Doctor’s lab from the 1931 film and sketching up a few designs that would best convey the scene. I wanted to use as few colors as possible with a dark overtone to really set that feeling of terror.

(2) This year, you designed a very different kind of poster for the 4th Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium celebrating the 90th anniversary of Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. What inspired you to design this poster? What was your design process like on this poster? Did this poster encourage your development as an artist, and if so, how? What, if any, movies, video games, music, or stories provide you with ideas that you incorporated and transformed into this poster?

I had ZERO ideas even though I was excited to design another poster for an anniversary event! All I knew was wanting the poster to resemble an Analog cover. The concept ideas didn’t start to formulate until after I received all the Analog references from you. After reading a few of the provided works, mocking up a few designs and going back-and-forth with you, the final concept came through— which is what we see now! This poster was very different from what I made for last year’s symposium, and even my own current works. The concept pushed me to try new things, one of them was to tell a visual story in one go, no panels with dialogue to help.

Fourth City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Poster by Julie Bradford.

The Fourth City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Poster by Julie Bradford.

(3) More generally, what is your design workflow? From generating ideas to drafting to finalizing, how do you create your art and what tools do you use?

First is always the research, from any physical to digital items, movies, shows, written works, etc. What helps the most is talking the idea over with others, especially those who asked for the poster be made. I start off with analog tools: pencil and paper. Once the sketch is approved and solid, I move onto digital with my trusty iPad and the Procreate app. Once the illustration is complete, I import it over to Illustrator where the overall design has been laid out.

(4) Turning to thinking about your relationship to the tools that you use as an artist, do you think of yourself as a cyborg–a being whose existence is mediated by technology? How about being a cyborg in a larger sense thanks to modern digital technologies, such as smartphones, email, social media, streaming, etc.?

Funnily enough, I was thinking of this concept recently about how dependent I am on my digital tools, from my tablet to my desktop to even my video game consoles. There was once a time when I needed none of that but now I can’t imagine going a day without using them. I do not think of myself as a cyborg per se— at least not like Cyborg from DC comics. Perhaps more of a cyborg-lite?

(5) Finally, as a science fiction fan, what do you recommend folks check out? It can be anything SF-related: movies, video games, tv shows, literature, music, apps, etc.

BLACK MIRROR! And the original Twilight Zone. Classics are classics for a reason!


Julie Bradford is a BFA in Communication Design Management student at City Tech who has a strong background in illustration. When she is not distracted by cute and shiny things or busy drawing up comic adventures with her Pokemon Go buddies, she is focused on her schoolwork and catching up on her shows. While completing her BFA, she is working as a graphic design intern for City Tech’s Faculty Commons. See her in-progress work online here: https://www.instagram.com/_saltyjules/.

Program for The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium: An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact

If you’re planning to attend this year’s symposium–and we hope that you all are: students, faculty, scholars, and the public–please RSVP by filling out this very short form. This is helps us plan the best symposium possible for you!

Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Poster by Julie Bradford.

Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium Poster by Julie Bradford.

An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact

The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, 9:00AM-6:00PM

New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay St., A105, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Organized by Jason W. Ellis (City Tech) and Emily Hockaday (Analog Science Fiction and Fact)

Held in partnership with Analog Science Fiction and Fact and its publisher Penny Publications.

Hosted by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

Event hashtags: #CityTechSF and #AnalogSF90th

Analog Science Fiction and Fact began its storied history 90 years ago as one of the most important and influential SF magazines with the publication of its first issue under the title Astounding Stories of Super-Science. During that time, its fabled editors, award-winning writers, recognized artists, and invested readers played roles in the development of one of the longest running and renowned SF magazines, which in turn, influenced the field and adapted to change.

The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium celebrates “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.” Bringing together SF writers, scholars, and fans, the conversations today will reflect on the past, comment on the present, and contemplate the future of Analog SF. Linked to these discussions is the role of SF in a college of technology that recognizes the importance of the genre through its Science Fiction class and support for the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, an archival holding of over 600-linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and scholarship. Together, we will explore these connections.


Schedule

9:00am-9:20am

Breakfast and Opening Remarks

Justin Vazquez-Poritz, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, New York City College of Technology

Jason W. Ellis, Assistant Professor of English, New York City College of Technology


9:20am-10:00am

Teaching with SF Collections

Moderator: Lucas Kwong

Jason W. Ellis, “Introduction to the City Tech Science Fiction Collection”

Zachary Lloyd, “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching with Science Fiction”


10:00am-10:10am

Break


10:10am-11:00am

Editors Panel

Moderator:      Frank Wu

Panelists:         Stanley Schmidt

Trevor Quachri

Emily Hockaday


11:00am-11:10am

Break


11:10am-12:40pm

Marginalized Voices and Feminist Futures

Moderator:      Lisa Yaszek

Marleen Barr, “Rachel Rodman’s “The Evolutionary Alice” As Fractured Feminist Fantasy”

Adam McLain, “Visualizing Gendered Voice in Ninety Years of Astounding and Analog

Marie Vibbert, “Visible Women in Astounding and Analog


12:40pm-1:40pm

Lunch


1:40pm-3:10pm

Writers Panel

Moderator:      Emily Hockaday

Panelists:         Phoebe Barton

Leah Cypess

Jay Werkheiser

Alison Wilgus

Frank Wu


3:10pm-3:20pm

Break


3:20pm-4:50pm

Critical Issues in Analog SF

Moderator:      Lavelle A. Porter

Sharon Packer, “Simian Cinema, Darwinian Debates, and Early Analog SF Stories”

Stanley Schmidt, “Humor in Analog

Edward Wysocki, Jr., “Just the Facts: Articles in Campbell’s Astounding and Analog


4:50pm-5:00pm

Break


5:00pm-6:00pm

Keynote Address by Mike Flynn

Introduction:   Trevor Quachri


 

Symposium Participants

Symposium Participants

 

Marleen S. Barr is known for her pioneering work in feminist science fiction and teaches English at the City University of New York. She has won the Science Fiction Research Association Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction criticism. Barr is the author of Alien to Femininity: Speculative Fiction and Feminist Theory, Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond, Feminist Fabulation: Space/Postmodern Fiction, and Genre Fission: A New Discourse Practice for Cultural Studies. Barr has edited many anthologies and co-edited the science fiction issue of PMLA. She is the author of the novels Oy Pioneer! and Oy Feminist Planets: A Fake Memoir. Her latest publication is When Trump Changed, the first single authored short story collection about Trump.

 

Phoebe Barton is a queer trans science fiction writer. Her short fiction has appeared in venues such as Analog, On Spec, and anthologies from Bundoran Press and Alliteration Ink. She is currently writing the interactive fiction game The Tunnel Crew for Choice of Games.

She lives with a robot in the sky above Toronto and is represented by Kim-Mei Kirtland at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. She serves as an Associate Editor at Escape Pod, and she is a 2019 graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop.

 

Julie Bradford designed the third and fourth City Tech Science Fiction Symposium poster and program cover. She is a BFA in Communication Design Management student at City Tech who has a strong background in illustration. When she is not distracted by cute and shiny things or busy drawing up comic adventures with her Pokemon Go buddies, she is focused on her schoolwork and catching up on her shows. While completing her BFA, she is working as a graphic design intern for City Tech’s Faculty Commons. See her in-progress work online here: https://www.instagram.com/_saltyjules/.

 

Leah Cypess sold her first story while in high school, then gave in to her mother’s importuning to be practical and studied biology and law. However, she is now a full-time writer with numerous published short stories, including two published in Analog this year. She is also the author of four young adult fantasy novels, including Mistwood and Death Sworn. Leah grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and has since lived in Boston and in the D.C. area. You can find out more about her writing and her other interests at her website, www.leahcypess.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Jason W. Ellis is an Assistant Professor of English at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY. He holds a Ph.D. in English from Kent State University, M.A. in Science Fiction Studies from the University of Liverpool, and B.S. in Science, Technology, and Culture from Georgia Tech. Most recently, he talked with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson about the relationship between SF and society on StarTalk Radio.

 

Michael F. Flynn debuted in Analog with “Slan Libh” (11/84) and has contributed regularly ever since. His stories have been nominated for the Hugo Award seven times, most recently for “The Journeyman: In the Stone House” and won the Theodore Sturgeon Award for “House of Dreams.” He won the first Robert A. Heinlein medal for his body of work. His twelve novels include the four-volume FIRESTAR series and the four-volume SPIRAL ARM series as well as the Hugo-nominated Eifelheim and the critically-acclaimed The Wreck of “The River of Stars”. His third collection, Captive Dreams, includes three Analog stories and three new stories written for the collection. He is currently working on The Journeyman, a picaresque novel, and The Shipwrecks of Time, set in the alien world of 1965 Milwaukee.

 

Emily Hockaday is the managing editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. She coedited, with Jackie Sherbow, the horror anthology Terror at the Crossroads: Tales of Horror, Delusion, and the Unknown. She is author of five poetry chapbooks including Space on Earth, What We Love & Will Not Give Up, and the forthcoming Beach Vocabulary. Find out more about her at www.emilyhockaday.com or on twitter @E_Hockaday.

 

Lucas Kwong is an assistant professor of English at New York City College of Technology. His scholarship on fantastic fiction, religion, and colonialism has been published in Victorian Literature and Culture, Religion and Literature, and Journal of Narrative Theory.  He also serves as the assistant editor for New American Notes Online, an online interdisciplinary scholarly journal, and as editor for City Tech Writer, a journal of student writing. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife.

 

Zachary Lloyd has completed an MA in philosophy from The New School for Social Research and is currently a PhD student in comparative literature at CUNY Graduate Center. He is an adjunct instructor in the English department at Brooklyn College.

 

Adam McLain is a Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School. He studies the intersection of gender, sexuality, theology, and literature, with an emphasis on questions of identity and temporality. At Brigham Young University, his undergraduate, he served for three years as managing editor of the award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine, Leading Edge, and he has presented papers at Life, the University, and Everything; International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts; the International Congress on Medieval Studies; North American Science Fiction Association conference; the Society for Utopian Studies; and the Science Fiction Research Association conference.

 

Sharon Packer, M.D., is a Mount Sinai-affiliated psychiatrist who is in private practice in New York and is the author of many journal articles, books chapters, and several academic books, including Neuroscience in Science Fiction Film; Cinema’s Sinister Psychiatrists; Superheroes and Superegos: The Minds behind the Masks; Movies and the Modern Psyche; Dreams in Myth, Medicine and Movies. She edited Mental Illness in Popular Culture; Evil in American Popular Culture; and the forthcoming Welcome to Arkham Asylum.

 

Trevor Quachri, who took the reins of Analog Science Fiction and Fact as editor in 2012, started off as an editorial assistant in 1999 and worked his way up the ladder at Analog and Asimov’s Science Fiction, under Stanley Schmidt, Sheila Williams, and Gardner Dozois, respectively. On top of that, he’s also been a Broadway stagehand, collected data for museums, and executive produced a science fiction pilot for a basic cable channel. He lives in New Jersey with his fiancée, daughter, and way, way too many comic books.

 

Stanley Schmidt (PhD, Physics) was the editor of Analog for a long time (34 years!) and enjoys writing for it just as much now as he did before he became editor in 1978. His recent contributions include the serialized novel Night Ride and Sunrise (now available from FoxAcre Press), and stories, articles, and guest editorials of various shapes and sizes. A small selection of Dr. Schmidt’s many accolades and accomplishments include the Hugo Award for Best Editor: Short Form, the SFWA Solstice Award, and the Robert A. Heinlein Award given for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. When not reading Analog just for fun, Dr. Schmidt can be found hiking, traveling, and playing various sorts of music. Find more information about Stanley Schmidt on his website: https://sfwa.org/members/stanleyschmdit.

 

Justin Vazquez-Poritz is the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Physics at the New York City College of Technology.

 

Marie Vibbert has had six stories in Analog Science Fiction, as well as selling stories to other top markets such as Fantasy and Science Fiction and Lightspeed.  She is the lead programmer for digital libraries at Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western Reserve University.  Her monograph on the headdresses of the fifteenth century in northern Europe has been cited on Wikipedia.

 

Jay Werkheiser teaches chemistry and physics.  Pretty much all the time.  His stories are sneaky devices to allow him to talk about science in a (sort of) socially acceptable way.  Much to his surprise, the editors of Analog and various other magazines, e-zines, and anthologies have found a few of his stories worth publishing.  Many of those story ideas came from nerdy discussions with his daughter or his students.  He really should keep an updated blog and author page, but he mostly wastes his online time on Facebook, MeWe, or Twitter (@JayWerkheiser).

 

Alison Wilgus is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor and cartoonist who primarily works in comics, but her interest in short fiction lead her to attend both Clarion West and Launchpad, and her stories have appeared in venues such as Analog, Interzone, and Strange Horizons. In her spare time Alison and her co-host, Gina Gagliano, make “Graphic Novel TK,” a podcast about the nuts and bolts of graphic novel publishing. Alison’s latest work is Chronin, a duology of historical SF graphic novels, published by Tor books. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram as @aliwilgus.

 

Frank Wu is a transdimensional interspace being, living physically near Boston with his wife Brianna the Magnificent, but regularly projecting his mind across time and space to commune with dinosaurs, eurypterids, and numinous energy beings. Visualizations and written accounts of these journeys can be found in Analog, Amazing Stories, Realms of Fantasy, frankwu.com, and the radiation-hardened memory bunkers of planet Gorsplax.

 

Edward M. Wysocki, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (1978). He is now retired after more than 30 years with Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin. He is a Charter Member of The Heinlein Society and a member of the Science Fiction Research Association. He has published various short articles and notes in The Heinlein Journal and Science Fiction Studies; the book chapter, “The Creation of Heinlein’s ‘Solution Unsatisfactory’” In Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading and Teaching the Genre. Eds. Karen Hellekson et al. (2010); and three self-published books: The Great Heinlein Mystery: Science Fiction, Innovation and Naval Technology (2012), An ASTOUNDING War: Science Fiction and World War II (2015), and Out of This World Ideas: And the Inventions They Inspired (2018).

 

Lisa Yaszek is Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech, where she researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures. She is particularly interested in issues of gender, race, and science and technology in science fiction across media as well as the recovery of lost voices in science fiction history and the discovery of new voices from around the globe. Yaszek’s books include The Self-Wired: Technology and Subjectivity in Contemporary American Narrative (Routledge 2002/2014); Galactic Suburbia: Recovering Women’s Science Fiction (Ohio State, 2008); and Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction (Wesleyan 2016). Her ideas about science fiction as the premiere story form of modernity have been featured in The Washington Post, Food and Wine Magazine, and USA Today and on the AMC miniseries, James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction. A past president of the Science Fiction Research Association, Yaszek currently serves as an editor for the Library of America and as a juror for the John W. Campbell and Eugie Foster Science Fiction Awards.

Meeting at the Analog Science Fiction and Fact Offices to Discuss 4th Annual Symposium

Pictured L to R: Emily Hockaday, Jason Ellis, and Trevor Quachri.On October 8, 2019, Prof. Jason Ellis met with Analog Science Fiction and Fact editor Trevor Quachri (pictured right) and managing editor Emily Hockaday (pictured left) to discuss the program for the upcoming  Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium celebrating “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.” Analog Science Fiction and Fact partnered with Science Fiction at City Tech to coordinate on speakers and organize the programming. The tentative schedule and RSVP link for the symposium will be posted soon!

 

Call for Papers: An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact: The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact: The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Date and Time:            December 12, 2019, 9:00AM-6:00PM

Location:                     New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay St., A105, Brooklyn, NY

Almost 90 years ago, Analog Science Fiction and Fact began its storied history as one of the most important and influential SF magazines with the publication of its first issue under the title Astounding Stories of Super-Science. During that time, its fabled editors, award-winning writers, recognized artists, and invested readers played roles in the development of one of the longest running and renowned SF magazines, which in turn, influenced the field and adapted to change itself.

The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium will celebrate “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.” It will feature talks, readings, and discussion panels with Analog Science Fiction and Fact’s current and past editors and writers, and paper presentations and discussion panels about its extensive history, its relationship to the SF genre, its connection to fandom, and its role within the larger SF publishing industry.

We invite proposals for 15-20 minute paper presentations that explore or strongly relate to Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Please send a 250-word abstract with title, brief professional bio, and contact information to Jason Ellis (jellis@citytech.cuny.edu) by September 30, 2019. Topics with a connection to Analog Science Fiction and Fact might include but are certainly not limited to:

  • Histories of the magazine’s editors, writers, and relationship to other SF magazines.
  • Relationship of the magazine to the ongoing development of the SF genre.
  • Tropes, themes, and concepts in the magazine.
  • Issues of identity (culture, ethnicity, race, sex, and gender) in the magazine.
  • Writers of color in the magazine.
  • Women writers in the magazine.
  • Fandom and the magazine.
  • Visual studies of cover and interior artwork.
  • Hard SF and the magazine.
  • Interdisciplinary approaches to studying the magazine.
  • STEM and the Humanities bridged in the magazine.
  • Pedagogical approaches to teaching SF and/or STEM with the magazine.

This event is free and open to the public as space permits: an RSVP will be included with the program when announced on the Science Fiction at City Tech website (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/).

This symposium is held in partnership with Analog Science Fiction and Fact and its publisher Penny Publications. It is hosted by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

The Annual City Tech Symposium on Science Fiction is held in celebration of the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, an archival holding of over 600-linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and scholarship. It is in the Archives and Special Collections of the Ursula C. Schwerin Library (Library Building, L543C, New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201). More information about the collection and how to access it is available here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/librarycollection/.

Videos of Presentations and Discussions from the Third Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

Students at Third Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium.

The Third Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium was an amazing success! Here are videos from the symposium’s presentations and discussions from Nov. 27, 2018. Watch them all on YouTube via this playlist, or watch them as embedded videos below.


9:00am-9:20am
Continental Breakfast and Opening Remarks
Location: Academic Complex A105
Justin Vazquez-Poritz, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, New York City College of Technology
Jason W. Ellis, New York City College of Technology


9:20am-10:35am
Session 1: Affect and Experimentation
Location: Academic Complex A105
Moderator: Jason W. Ellis
Leigh Gold, “The Legacy of Frankenstein: Science, Mourning, and the Ethics of Experimentation”
Lucas Kwong, “The Island Of Dr. Moreau, Fantastic Ambivalence, and the Victorian “Science Of Religion”
Robert Lestón, “Between Intervals: A Soundscape for all Us Monsters”


10:45am-12:00am
Session 2: Identity and Genre
Location: Academic Complex A105
Moderator: Jill Belli
Anastasia Klimchynskaya, “Frankenstein, Or, the Modern Fantastic: Rationalizing Wonder and the Birth of Science Fiction”
Paul Levinson, “Golem, Frankenstein, and Westworld”
Joy Sanchez-Taylor, “Genetic Engineering and non-Western Modernity in Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl and Larissa Lai’s Salt Fish Girl”


1:15pm-2:30pm
Session 3: American Culture and Media
Location: Academic Complex A105
Moderator: A. Lavelle Porter
Aaron Barlow, “‘Fraunkensteen’: What’s No Longer Scary Becomes Funny or, How American Popular Culture Appropriates Art and Expands the Commons”
Marleen S. Barr, “Trumppunk Or Science Fiction Resists the Monster Inhabiting the White House”
Sharon Packer, “Jessica Jones (Superhero), Women & Alcohol Use Disorders”


2:40pm-3:40pm
Student Round Table: “Shaping the Future: A Student Roundtable on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower”
Location: Academic Complex A105
Moderator: A. Lavelle Porter
Panelists: Zawad Ahmed
Marvin Blain
Kartikye Ghai
Devinnesha Ryan


4:00pm-4:50pm
Frankenstein Panel: Mary Shelley’s Novel’s Influence on Scientists and Technologists
Location: Academic Complex A105
Moderator: Justin Vazquez-Poritz
Panelists:
Heidi Boisvert, Entertainment Technology Department
Robert MacDougall, Social Sciences Department
Ashwin Satyanarayana, Computer Systems Technology Department
Jeremy Seto, Biological Sciences Department


5:00pm-6:00pm
Closing and Tour of the City Tech Science Fiction Collection
Location: City Tech Library L543
Remarks by Jason W. Ellis