2024 Sturgeon Symposium
The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction is pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Sturgeon Symposium, to be held October 24-25, 2024. This year's symposium acknowledges our guest of honor, Samuel R. Delany, and his lasting impact on science fiction, speculative fiction, and literary criticism.
REGISTER HERE!Event Details
The symposium will take place over two days, featuring both virtual and in-person events to accommodate both international and local attendees. Samuel R. Delany has arranged to join us for both days' events. The following is the draft outline; more details will be available in the fall.
- Thursday: All-virtual panels
- Thursday evening:
"Samuel R. Delany and Theodore Sturgeon: Exclusion, Loneliness and Difference"
Noël Sturgeon's presentation of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction short story and a reading from this year's winner.
Reception
- Friday: In-person panels will be held throughout the day, including a panel in dialogue with Delany. Lunch included.
Call for Papers (expired)
We invite papers, panel proposals, and roundtable discussions that engage with Delany's work and influence. Topics may include but are not limited to:
Delany's impact on Afrofuturism and speculative fiction
The intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality in speculative fiction
Comparisons and dialogues between Delany’s and Sturgeon's works
The evolution of science fiction languages and the role of linguistics
Delany, form, and the influence of modernism
Urban space and future cities
Narratives of resistance
Fan-fictional imaginings of Delany’s worlds
Autobiographical elements in speculative storytelling
Pedagogical approaches to teaching Delany's works
Creative submissions that draw inspiration from Delany's oeuvre are also warmly encouraged, including speculative narrative, poetry, and visual art.
Guidelines for Proposals
- Abstracts for individual papers should be no more than 250 words.
- Panel proposals should list all speakers, affiliations, presentation titles, and email addresses, and include short abstracts for each presentation.
- Roundtable proposals should list speakers, affiliations, and email addresses and include an abstract of up to 500 words on the topic to be discussed.
- Proposals should make clear whether they are for virtual or in-person presentation.
- Deadline for submissions: May 31
- Notification: late June