UBC MACL Conference 2023
Date: Friday-Saturday, June 23-24, 2023
Time: 3-5 pm Friday (1-9 pm Friday, 8:30-6pm Saturday)
Location: UBC Vancouver, Henry Angus Building (Sauder)
Type: TED-style Conference Talks
Honoured to have had my proposal accepted for this exciting two-day conference put together by the University of British Columbia Master���s of Arts in Children���s Literature & iSchool programs.
(Re)Imagining Tomorrow: Agency and Possibility in Literature and Media for Children and Young Adults Graduate Student Conference in Children���s & Young Adult Literature, Media & Culture features creative presentations on Friday, June 23 and academic topics on Saturday, June 24, with two keynotes and over 40 stunningly diverse presenters from around the world.
I���ll be presenting ���After ���The End���: Building Brighter Futures in Apocalyptic, Dystopian & Speculative YA��� based on the Threads of Dreams series (specifically the final chapters of Burn the Skies) on Friday, June 23 during the 3-5 pm themed programming block ���The Good, The Bad, and The Imaginary: Utopias and Dystopias in Speculative Fiction.���
While most of the Threads of Dreams series leans into its gothic-dystopian and post-apocalyptic premise and conflict, the thing about starting off a book/series with a dystopian setting is that characters trying to ���save the world��� means they end up envisioning and building something better by the end, so you actually have to figure out some kind of utopian vision along the way. ^_^;
So there are a few points (Nine Peaks in Black the Tides, and to a greater extent, Regen City in Burn the Skies and part 3 of Spectres of the Old World) where community and city building attempt utopianism, and that���s what I���ll be briefly presenting from/on���apocalyptic, dystopian, and utopian futures in children���s & YA literature and how they illustrate better possibilities, expose and bring catharsis to current realities, and confront trauma.
I believe the conference is free to attend, so if delving deep into themes, theory, worldbuilding, etc. in children���s & teen lit sounds like your kind of good time, check out the full schedule here!
