2024 Sturgeon Symposium

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction has announced the third annual Sturgeon Symposium, to be held October 17-18, 2024 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence KS.

The Symposium is celebrating Samuel R. Delany, who “has redefined the boundaries of SFF as well as literary criticism through his explorations of language, society, sexuality, and narrative form. This year’s symposium acknowledges his lasting impact on science fiction, speculative fiction, and literary criticism.”

The Symposium will also feature Noël Sturgeon’s presentation of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction short story, and a reading from this year’s winner, along with panels and presentations. Delany has also accepted an invitation to attend, and they have released a call for papers:

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.

Please submit proposals through the online form on the SF Center website by May 31, 2024. Notifications will be sent out in late June.

For more details, see the SF Center site.