This reading brings together celebrated speculative fiction writers for a reading of their work, in advance of appearing on the 2026 AWP panel (in Baltimore), titled "Speculating the Machine: How Fiction Writers Are Rendering a New AI Reality," moderated / organized by Joy Baglio. All of the featured authors have thought and written deeply about AI and other future technologies, from depictions of algorithmic consciousness, robotic companions, AI-run cities, to paradoxical future scenarios of sentient, human-like AI. This “Pre-AWP Fiction Reading” asks each author to share a piece of writing that features a portrayal of AI, allowing more time for each author’s work before the AWP panel discussion. Whether or not you plan to be at the conference in Baltimore this coming March, we hope you join us on Zoom to listen to these prominent voices in speculative fiction
Featured Authors:
ALLEGRA HYDE is the author of two short story collections, The Last Catastrophe and Of This New World, as well as the novel Eleutheria, which was named a “Best Book of 2022” by The New Yorker and featured on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Hyde has received four Pushcart Prizes and an O. Henry Prize. Her fiction, nonfiction, and humor writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, American Short Fiction, BOMB, and many other venues, and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Travel Writing, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Hyde has received fellowships and grants from the MacDowell Artist Residency, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, The Elizabeth George Foundation, the Lucas Artist Residency Program, the Jentel Foundation, The Studios at Key West, VCCA, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing at Smith College. Visit her online at www.AllegraHyde.com.
SEQUOIA NAGAMATSU is the author of the national bestselling novel How High We Go in the Dark and the story collection Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone. His work has appeared in publications such as Conjunctions, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA, Tin House, Iowa Review, Lightspeed Magazine, among many others. He teaches creative writing at St. Olaf College and in the Rainier Writing Workshop Low-Residency MFA program. He is originally from O’ahu, Hawaiʻi and the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife, the writer Cole Nagamatsu, their cat Kalahira, their real dog Fenris, and a Sony Aibo robot dog named Calvino. He is at work on two other novels. Visit him online at www.SequoiaNagamatsu.com
ERIKA SWYLER is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed novels We Lived On the Horizon, Light From Other Stars and The Book of Speculation. Her writing has appeared in The Writer’s Chronicle, Literary Hub, VIDA, The New York Times, People, and elsewhere. She lives on Long Island, NY, with her husband and a mischievous house rabbit. Visit her online at www.ErikaSwyler.com.
JANE PEK was born and grew up in Singapore. She is the author of two novels, The Verifiers and The Rivals, both of which were named a Best Mystery of the Year by the Washington Post. Her short fiction has appeared twice in The Best American Short Stories. She lives in New York, where she works as a lawyer at a global investment company. She is into martial arts, reading coming-of-age novels, contemporary theater, and cycling around the city in search of superlative almond croissants. Visit her online at www.JanePek.com
JOY DEVA BAGLIO is the founder of Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop. Her short stories are widely published in journals such as One Story, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, The Iowa Review, American Short Fiction, and Tin House, among others. She’s received scholarships, fellowships, grants, and residencies from Yaddo, Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, The Kerouac Project, The Porches, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and Sewanee Writers Conference, among others. She will be moderating the 2026 AWP Panel Speculating the Machine, with the writers featured in this reading. Visit her online at www.JoyBaglio.com.