F125.
Questions & Wonder: Science in Fiction
Friday, February 9, 2024
9:00 am to 10:15 am
Scientific discoveries shape us and scientists themselves are driven and curious. Yet for all that dramatic potential, it can be hard to find fiction that incorporates science. Science is also not neutral, nor benevolent: it can be used for harm. These panelists take readers into the study of botany, nuclear research, anthropology, and more, exploring wonder, breakthroughs, prejudices, and ethical dilemmas. Writers and program directors share experiences and advice for writing science-informed fiction.
Participants
TaraShea Nesbit is the author of two novels: The Wives of Los Alamos, about the making of the atomic bomb from the scientists' wives' perspective, and Beheld, about the arrival of the Mayflower from an indentured servant's and governor's wife's perspectives. She is an associate professor at Miami.
Kristen Millares Young is a prize-winning journalist, essayist, and author of the novel Subduction (Red Hen Press). Named a Paris Review staff pick, Subduction won Nautilus and IPPY awards. The editor of Seismic, a Washington State Book Award finalist, Kristen reviews books for the Washington Post.
Elisabeth Eaves is the author of the The Outlier, a novel of psychological suspense with a neuroscientist in the main role. She also wrote the memoirs Wanderlust: A Love Affair With Five Continents and Bare: The Naked Truth About Stripping, and she was an editor at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Natalie Green is the director of programs at the National Book Foundation. Before joining the National Book Foundation, Natalie was the manager of Los Angeles programs at PEN America. She holds a BA in English and creative writing from UCLA.
Shena McAuliffe
