It&rsquo\;s often said that the only goal of speculative fi ction is to entertain&mdash\;but is that true? What do the tropes\, imager y\, and narrative quirks of science fiction\, fantasy\, horror\, and their attendant subgenres have to offer that can help us illuminate the human c ondition?
\nIn this workshop\, led by award-winning science fiction author and educator\, Alex Jennings\, we will look at narrative tactics\, devices\, and techniques on display in passages by writers such as Ursula K. LeGuin\, Terry Bisson\, and P. Dieli Clark. We will then use what we di scover to hone our vision and ideas for development of our own work throug h guided writing exercises.
\nBy the end of this session\, writers w ill have a better understanding of speculative fiction and some of its sub genres\, including foundational works\, new writing from guided exercises\ , and an understanding of the state of the field and how the submission pr ocess works.
\nThis workshop is appropriate for writers of all level s.
\nAlex Jennings is a writer/editor/teacher/poet living in Baton Rouge. He was born in Wiesbaden (Germany) and raised in Gaborone (Bo tswana)\, Tunis (Tunisia)\, Paramaribo (Surinam) and the United States. He constantly devours pop culture and spends too much time on Bluesky.
\nHe is the Program Director of DreamFoundry&rsquo\;s Con or Bust and pen s a regular speculative poetry review column in The Magazine of Fantasy &a mp\; Science Fiction called &ldquo\;Chapter and Verse.&rdquo\; In 2022\, h e was the inaugural recipient of the Imagination Unbound Fellowship at Und er the Volcano\, a guided writing retreat held annually in Tepoztlan\, Mex ico.
\nHis writing has appeared in Fantastic Stories of the Imaginat ion\, Electric Velocipede\, Uncanny Magazine\, Fantasy Magazine\, New Suns \, and Current Affairs\, among other venues. His debut novel\, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is available wherever books are sold. You can find him goofing around on Instagram: @magicknegro\, Twitter: @magicknegro\, and Bl uesky: @magicknegro
\nHe is also an instructor of fiction and popula r fiction at The University of Southern Maine&rsquo\;s Stonecoast MFA prog ram.
\nSupport him on Patreon!
\nPhoto by Nkechi Chibueze.
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