Masterclass: Speculative Fiction

From reinventing the past to imagining the future, speculative fiction presents remarkable scope for exploration and interrogation of issues as vast as the social contract to race relations, climate change and more. Learn how to craft characters, research realms, get your work out there and approach publishers in a day of curated discussion and workshops.

Presented in partnership with Pantera Press

10am Keynote: Compass Point

A mud map for starting out in speculative fiction, covering top tips for honing your writing techniques and navigating publication. Gain insight and advice from best-selling speculative fiction writer C.S. Pacat, author of the Captive Prince trilogy and Fence comic book series.

10.30am Writing the Anthropocene

The future is indelibly marked by the looming presence of global warming, which in turn shapes the narratives we craft. A discussion about the art, craft, science, peaks and pitfalls of writing about the end of the world as we know it. With Maddee Clark , Briohny Doyle and Stephanie Lai

11.30am Sovereign Speculative Futures

Can we rewrite the past by imagining a different future? Hannah Donnelly and Ellen van Neerven discuss the potential speculative fiction has to craft new narratives, unearth alternative histories and speak to the present.

1.15pm Beyond Human

Cyborgs, AI and fembots are common features of speculative fiction narratives that can shed light on the human condition. However, our world still influences the construction of these imagined characters. How can you craft believable characters that are beyond human? With Brianna Bullen, Else Fitzgerald, Georgia Kartas and Tegan Webb

2.15pm Workshop: World Building

Learn how to construct a believable world and characters with this workshop covering research techniques, common tropes and conventions of speculative fiction and genre-specific approaches to world-building.

With Jane Rawson

2.15pm Industry Insider: Pantera Press

So you’ve got a completed manuscript, what next? How do you approach a publisher? What’s the best way to a structure a pitch? Hear from Pantera Press Submissions Editor James Read, and ask him all your burning questions about the pathway to publication.

Note: The Workshop and Industry Insider sessions will run concurrently. Participants will be able to choose which session to attend on the day.