Poets & Writers Theater

“The book is really about how these people, while they have superpowers on their own, don’t truly become powerful until they’re together as a group.” Bob Proehl talks about his dystopian science fiction novel, The Nobody People (Del Rey, 2019), which follows a group of outcasts with supernatural abilities who band together against violent mobs and a discriminatory government.

Actor and musician Daveed Diggs explains the historical premise of Rivers Solomon’s Afro-futurist science fiction novella, The Deep (Saga Press, 2019), which is inspired by the Hugo Award–winning song of the same name written by Diggs’s rap group Clipping.

“I’d like us not to be resigned but to be rebellious—I want to see science fiction step over the old walls and head right into the next wall and start to break it down too.” Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin is a crowdfunded documentary directed by Arwen Curry, who was able to collaborate with the late author before her death. The film features interviews with Le Guin, as well as authors including Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman, and Theodora Goss.

Ray Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451 (Ballantine Books, 1953), has been adapted into a feature film for HBO. Directed by Ramin Bahrani, the film stars Michael B. Jordan as Guy Montag and Michael Shannon as Captain Beatty.

Ernest Cline’s debut novel, Ready Player One (Crown, 2011), a dystopian science fiction adventure following a teenager’s quest for fortune through a virtual reality game, has been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Steven Spielberg with a screenplay by Cline and Zak Penn, the film stars Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Tye Sheridan.

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is a British anthology television series based on the science fiction author’s short stories. Each episode has a different director and cast of actors including Steve Buscemi, Vera Farmiga, Terrence Howard, Greg Kinnear, Janelle Monáe, and Anna Paquin.

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 science fiction fantasy novel about a thirteen-year-old girl who travels through space and time in search of her scientist father, has been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the film stars Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris Pine, Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Zack Galifianakis.

“Learn how to write jokes...” Gabe Hudson, author of the science fiction novel, Gork, the Teenage Dragon (Knopf, 2017), talks about the craft behind humorous writing, and having to adapt to a new environment during his MFA years at Brown University.

For your viewing pleasure we present this 1963 documentary Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer, produced and directed by Terry Sanders, in which the late science fiction author (who was forty-three when the film was made) shares his thoughts on writing and perseverance: "You've got to be inspired and mad and excited and love it more than anything else in the world!"