Making It So: Finding faith and culture in a modern scientific world

Part of the Science: Fictions, Faiths and Futures conference Science: Fictions, Faiths And Futures Lecture Science fiction is an exploration of humanity as much as the cosmos, though until recently, faiths and cultures from the Global South have gone relatively uncultivated. Given this gap in precedents, and the consequent lack of knowledge, how do these writers use their heritage and varied belief systems to build credible stories? This plenary will examine how a selection of writers have researched, authored, developed their craft over several works and been critiqued before and after publication, in their quest to reimagine science fiction from a distinctly unique perspective. About the speaker Courttia Newland is the author of nine books including his debut, The Scholar, and Cosmogramma. His work has appeared in many anthologies and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Newland is the co-editor of the seminal IC3 The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain, spanning poetry to short fiction, memoir and essays. As a screenwriter, he has co-written for the BBC series Small Axe and The Woman in the Wall. He has a PhD in Creative Writing from Kingston University, and his latest novel, A River Called Time was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award Science Fiction Book of the Year in 2022. His most recent publication is The Art of Opposition: On Hope, Resilience and Creative Expression Beyond the Mainstream. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If you require more than 5 tickets, please contact the Events Team who will be happy to help. Please ensure you use the correct email address as this is where your ticket will be sent. If you do not provide the correct address, you will not receive the acknowledgement email or ticket.