Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction Workshop with Sora Edwards-Thro

2 day workshop:
Sat., August 26 – Sun., August 27, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Learn the special craft and genre concerns of science fiction/speculative fiction and the direction(s) the field is headed in this two-day workshop with Sora Edwards-Thro. A special emphasis is on the Caribbean, but the workshop is open to ALL writers, and accessible to French-Creole speakers. This workshop will focus on the poetics of the unreal, the conventions and tropes of the Black Fantastic, the Grotesque, the Afro-Surreal, the Gothic, the speculative, so-called “Third World,” indigenous writing, and science fiction as responsive narratives against colonization and imperialism. We’ll both read examples of literature, and create new writing in the tradition of notable science fiction/speculative fiction writers such as Octavia Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor, and Gary Victor.

In addition to writing and reading exercises, we will address questions such as: How have the continual debates over the boundaries of genre—and/or their irrelevance—affected the ways sci-fi/speculative writers work?  How can writing address the questions of race and gender, class and power, personal responsibility and justice that are fundamental to our society by presenting parallel worlds and heightened realities that satisfy the audience’s thirst for great stories?

About the instructor: Sora Edwards-Thro is interested in how art can help build communities, reflect on our pasts and presents, and propose alternative futures. They divide their time between Haiti, where they work with schools to use tech for literacy and creativity, and Virginia, where they are studying linguistics and education at William & Mary. They have authored six novels and three zines; they are proudest of Half-Being, a collection of poems about mystical creatures intermixed with personal memoir prose.

This event is FREE and open to the public.

For more information, contact M.J. Fievre, Program Coordinator, at lominybooks@gmail.com.

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ReadCaribbean is a series of readings, discussions, writing workshops and more highlighting the vibrant and diverse literary culture of the Caribbean. It is a Miami Book Fair program created with the support of the Green Family Foundation.