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New Suns

A Feminist Literary Festival

graphic-designed image of three blue gold and black concentric circels

The feminist literary festival returns to explore the legacy of science-fiction author Octavia Butler and her prophetic Earthseed series. With online panel discussions, workshops and a film screening.

The third edition of New Suns takes place online and draws inspiration from themes in Octavia Butler’s writing, in particular the Earthseed series. Often hailed as prophetic – and increasingly prescient over the last five years – imagining 2020s America ravaged by ecological disaster, violent and racist disorder, and led by a disruptive president – with our heroine looking to the stars for rebirth. Together we’ll examine the inevitability of change, adaptive and resilient communities, and humanity’s relationship to the stars.

We invite you to join us online over the weekend for a film screening, panel discussions and workshops featuring acclaimed writers, artists, and thinkers. Plus, sign up to receive a special merchandise pack containing a New Suns anthology of writing.
 

Available within the UK only.

 

Captioning will be provided for all events.

Artwork credit: Cecilia Serafini

How to watch

If you have a ticket, you'll be able to log in and access all the content here

Arrive a few minutes early to make sure everything is working. You can get help in our live chat if you need it.

If you don’t have a password you need to create one using this reset password link.

Be sure to use the same email address that you used to purchase your ticket.

Weekend programme

Fri 5 Mar  

From 12noon – film is available to watch on demand all weekend.

Watch: Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival
2016 Fabrizio Terranova, 90 min 
Available to watch on demand all weekend.

Feminist thinker, writer and historian of science Donna Haraway shares her life, influences and ideas in this documentary film by director Fabrizio Terranova. Haraway is best known for her work on gender, cyborgs, unconventional partnerships and post-colonialism – including the ground-breaking ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century’ (1985).

Keynote talk: The Parables of Octavia Butler 
adrienne maree brown in conversation with Ama Josephine Budge

7pm – 8:15pm
Writers and activists adrienne maree brown and Ama Josephine Budge in conversation, exploring the work of Octavia Butler. The power and inevitability of change is central to Butler’s visionary stories, as well as the reimaginations of social relations across race, gender and class – how can we collectively seed, cultivate and create the worlds we want, and build habitable futures?

Sat 6 Mar
                    
Workshop: What-if? 
A Speculative Science Fiction Writing Workshop with Season Butler 

11am – 1pm
Writer, performance artist and teacher Season Butler leads a workshop on fantastical, futuristic writing: how to conjure voice, subjectivity, and compelling, engaging prose. There will be breakout sessions to practice exercises within the workshop and writers at all levels are welcome. Only available with the New Suns plus ticket.

Panel talk: Among the Stars
A poetry live reading with Precious Okoyomon, Dorothea Lasky and Izabella Scott + discussion with The White Review

5pm – 6pm
For millennia we have stargazed for inspiration and knowledge via astrology, astronomy and space exploration. With poetry readings and conversation, Dorothea Lasky, Precious Okoyomon and Izabella Scott explore the relationship between stars and the soil: how can what lies beyond our world help us here on earth?Unfortunately, Precious Okoyomon was not able to make the Among the Stars panel talk on Saturday evening. Live poetry readings were performed by Dorothea Lasky, followed by a discussion with Izabella Scott.

Sun 7 Mar

Workshop: Journaling / Diary writing with the London Review of Books 
12pm – 1:15pm

Led by Alice Spawls, co-editor of the LRB, this workshop explores journaling as a foundation for creative writing. Focusing on skills for independent editing, playing with time and structuring prose, the workshop will draw from a combination of Octavia Butler’s writings and diary pieces from the LRB. 

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Bookers can continue to watch all content back until Tuesday 9 March 11.59pm.        
 

Ticket options

Excludes access to the Science Fiction workshop with Season Butler.
(£15)
 

Ticket booking closes at 12noon Sunday 7 March. After this point if you have a ticket you will be able to watch everything up until 11.59pm on Tuesday 9 March. If you don’t have a ticket, unfortunately you won’t be able to watch.

You can only buy one online ticket. If you wish to buy a ticket for someone who will be watching in a different household please contact our Box Office team at [email protected]

 

New Suns merchandise

New Suns + Anthology + Bonus Workshop Ticket Option

For £25 you’ll get access to all the online sessions and content plus a package sent to your door featuring: an exclusive anthology, New Suns art bookmark and postcard, and a packet of seeds.
 

Looking for a new book?

different book covers on a purple background

A New Suns reading list

Explore the New Suns reading list in partnership with bookshop.org. Read more from this year’s contributors and support independent book shops at the same time