A event held at Bookhaus on Monday 14th April. The event starts at 18:00.
A Working Utopia?
We will never agree what utopia looks like; a utopia for some is a dystopia for others.
Should we simply forget our attempts to define what utopia looks like? Should we, instead, agree on how we organise ourselves and make our decisions; our continuous process of becoming?
With the rise of the tech oligarchs and their algorithms dividing us, how do we resist? Their rapid development of technology is unlikely to slow down, but can we use it for our communal benefit?
Join us as we welcome author Stephen Oram, in conversation with Tim Kindberg, to discuss the thinking that inspired his new novel – We Are Not Anonymous. Presented by bookhaus.
In a near-future England, fractured into three nations and ravaged by climate floods, Naomi, a fiercely determined activist, and Beth, her courageous partner, fight for a better world. Their love deepens as they take on Kai, the ruthless leader of the tech-elite Narcissists, whose experiments on children and government-controlling technology threaten to reshape humanity itself.
As part of the activist group Resist and Regain, Beth and Naomi battle to subvert Kai’s ambitions and create a more equal and transparent world. But as the stakes rise, Beth must face a harrowing choice: should she try to dismantle Kai’s regime at the cost of her family’s safety—and their future?
"Stephen Oram combines gripping storytelling with scientific literacy and original SF. Instead of rearranging tropes he comes up with new ideas." Geoff Ryman, multi-award-winning author of HIM.
Bio
STEPHEN ORAM writes social science fiction set in the near-future, exploring the intersection of messy humans and imperfect technology. Previously, he has two published novels, three collections of sci-fi shorts and is published in many anthologies, including the award-winning Best of British Science Fiction 2022 (Newcon Press). He also works with scientists and technologists to explore possible outcomes of their research with the public through short stories and has co-edited four anthologies along these lines. Previously, he was the head of policy for post-16 skills strategic development and innovation at the Department for Education. Stephen is based in the heart of central London and, alongside his experience of living inside and outside of the establishment, he attributes much of the urban grittiness and the optimism about humanity in his writing to the noise, the bustle, and the diverse community of where he lives.
Tim Kindberg (champignon.net) is a Bristol-based writer and researcher, and a creator of digital technologies to support sustainable choices and new and inclusive forms of creativity (matter2media.com). His future-set novel Vampires of Avonmouth explores the intersections between software, the supernatural and consciousness through the struggles of a detective plagued by an inner demon. He is writing a hopeful but realistic novel set in a future Bristol against a backdrop of adaptation to climate change. He is a Personal to the Planetary Community Fellow, Brigstow & Cabot Institutes, and an Honorary Fellow, Bristol Digital Futures Institute.
Praise for Stephen Oram
“With Bradbury’s clear-sightedness and Pangborn’s wit, he pulls ways to live out from under modernity’s ‘cacophony of crap’.” Simon Ings, Arts Editor, New Scientist.
“Should set the rest of us thinking about science and its possible repercussions.” Chris Nuttall, The Financial Times
“Combines the sharp edginess of a JG Ballard with the vaulting inventiveness of a modernist Ovid.” Paul Simon, The Morning Star
“This is science fiction doing its day job, and doing it well.” Ken MacLeod, author of Intrusion
"A soothsayer for this century’s relationship with technology,” Linux User & Developer
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
We will never agree what utopia looks like; a utopia for some is a dystopia for others.
Should we simply forget our attempts to define what utopia looks like? Should we, instead, agree on how we organise ourselves and make our decisions; our continuous process of becoming?
With the rise of the tech oligarchs and their algorithms dividing us, how do we resist? Their rapid development of technology is unlikely to slow down, but can we use it for our communal benefit?
Join us as we welcome author Stephen Oram, in conversation with Tim Kindberg, to discuss the thinking that inspired his new novel – We Are Not Anonymous. Presented by bookhaus.
In a near-future England, fractured into three nations and ravaged by climate floods, Naomi, a fiercely determined activist, and Beth, her courageous partner, fight for a better world. Their love deepens as they take on Kai, the ruthless leader of the tech-elite Narcissists, whose experiments on children and government-controlling technology threaten to reshape humanity itself.
As part of the activist group Resist and Regain, Beth and Naomi battle to subvert Kai’s ambitions and create a more equal and transparent world. But as the stakes rise, Beth must face a harrowing choice: should she try to dismantle Kai’s regime at the cost of her family’s safety—and their future?
"Stephen Oram combines gripping storytelling with scientific literacy and original SF. Instead of rearranging tropes he comes up with new ideas." Geoff Ryman, multi-award-winning author of HIM.
Bio
STEPHEN ORAM writes social science fiction set in the near-future, exploring the intersection of messy humans and imperfect technology. Previously, he has two published novels, three collections of sci-fi shorts and is published in many anthologies, including the award-winning Best of British Science Fiction 2022 (Newcon Press). He also works with scientists and technologists to explore possible outcomes of their research with the public through short stories and has co-edited four anthologies along these lines. Previously, he was the head of policy for post-16 skills strategic development and innovation at the Department for Education. Stephen is based in the heart of central London and, alongside his experience of living inside and outside of the establishment, he attributes much of the urban grittiness and the optimism about humanity in his writing to the noise, the bustle, and the diverse community of where he lives.
Tim Kindberg (champignon.net) is a Bristol-based writer and researcher, and a creator of digital technologies to support sustainable choices and new and inclusive forms of creativity (matter2media.com). His future-set novel Vampires of Avonmouth explores the intersections between software, the supernatural and consciousness through the struggles of a detective plagued by an inner demon. He is writing a hopeful but realistic novel set in a future Bristol against a backdrop of adaptation to climate change. He is a Personal to the Planetary Community Fellow, Brigstow & Cabot Institutes, and an Honorary Fellow, Bristol Digital Futures Institute.
Praise for Stephen Oram
“With Bradbury’s clear-sightedness and Pangborn’s wit, he pulls ways to live out from under modernity’s ‘cacophony of crap’.” Simon Ings, Arts Editor, New Scientist.
“Should set the rest of us thinking about science and its possible repercussions.” Chris Nuttall, The Financial Times
“Combines the sharp edginess of a JG Ballard with the vaulting inventiveness of a modernist Ovid.” Paul Simon, The Morning Star
“This is science fiction doing its day job, and doing it well.” Ken MacLeod, author of Intrusion
"A soothsayer for this century’s relationship with technology,” Linux User & Developer
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
Tickets for similar Bristol events.
