Fiction can change the world: five books that made a difference: Activist Jack Monroe recently used Terry Pratchett’s “boots theory” to explain the vicious circle for people on low incomes only being able to afford clothing that constantly wears out. Monroe has now used the Vimes index (named after a Pratchett character) of inflation to …
Explaining the 2021 Nobel prizes: how touch works, a better way to make medicine and the fiction of Abdulrazak Gurnah – podcast: Our sense of touch is actually lots of different senses rolled into one. Yevhen Prozhyrko/Shutterstock Six prize announcements later, 12 men and one woman from 11 countries are now settling down to their …
How science fiction can inspire humanity’s response to the climate crisis – podcast: This episode of The Conversation’s In Depth Out Loud podcast explores how science fiction’s hopes and fears can inspire humanity’s response to the climate crisis. You can read the text version of this in-depth article here. The audio version is read by …
Nobel winner Abdulrazak Gurnah’s fiction traces small lives with wit and tenderness: Abdulrazak Gurnah captivatingly draws readers into the experiences and vivid lifeworlds of his characters Getty Images For those of us who have read and reread, taught, and written about the fiction of Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Nobel Prize in Literature committee has confirmed what …
Foundation: an introduction to five major themes in the work of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov: Based on the award-winning novels by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, the new Apple TV series Foundation follows a band of exiles on a mission to rebuild civilisation after the fall of a galactic empire. Asimov, for the uninitiated, …
Why we still need the Women’s Prize for Fiction: What makes a winning book? Women's Prize for Fiction Every year since 1996, one of the most heralded of awards for women writing in English is announced annually. The prize formerly known as the Orange Prize, the Orange Broadband Prize, and Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, …
Militaries plunder science fiction for technology ideas, but turn a blind eye to the genre’s social commentary: Pavel Chagochkin/Shutterstock Military planning is a complicated endeavour, calling upon experts in logistics and infrastructure to predict resource availability and technological advancements. Long-range military planning, deciding what to invest in now to prepare armed forces for the world …
New Kiswahili science fiction award charts a path for African languages: Getty Images The 6th edition of The Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is back. Founded in 2014, the prize recognises writing in African languages and encourages translation from, between and into African languages. Kiswahili …
American climate fiction is fuelling outdated ideas about modern migration: Wild fires on the US's West Coast displaced many from their homes, making them climate change migrants. Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock Typically set in the future, climate fiction (or “cli-fi”) showcases the disastrous consequences of climate change and anticipates the dramatic transformations to come. Among the various …
South Africa in the news: The IDF’s ‘Operation Guardian of the Walls.’ Fact vs. fiction: From the blog of Tuvia Book at The Times of Israel …: “South Africa” – BingNews Turkey consul-general hosts Eid al-Fitr celebration: Turkish consul-general, Sinan Ye?ilda? hosted an exclusive Eid celebration at his private residence in Constantia, in an effort …
John Le Carré: authentic spy fiction that wrote the wrongs of post-war British intelligence: Britain’s top spy, MI6 chief Richard Moore, has paid tribute to John le Carré, tweeting that the novelist had “left his mark on #MI6 through his evocative and brilliant novels”. Moore’s tweet, which conveyed the condolences of “all at the #RiverHouse” …
African science fiction: rereading the classic Nigerian novel The Palm-wine Drinkard: Shutterstock In 1952 The Palm-wine Drinkard became the first West African novel written in English to be published internationally. That it was written by Amos Tutuola, an unknown Nigerian clerk who took to writing to alleviate boredom, meant the book caused a stir. To …
Sorting out fact from fiction when it comes to the safety of Ghana’s media practitioners: The state can do better to protect Ghanaian journalists Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock The ability of the media to function effectively is inseparable from democracy. And that functioning depends on cooperation from different entities in society. So a clampdown on media practitioners …
South Africa in the news: “Zuma: Reality is a fiction of his imagination”- BizNews: BizNews.com is one of South Africa’s leading business news websites. Founded by internet publishing pioneer and broadcaster Alec Hogg, specializes in providing news and expert opinion on money and …: “South Africa” – BingNews Founder Institute has opened applications for its …
African crime and detective fiction reshapes the genre: Alexis Huguet/AFP/Getty Images Crime and detective fiction continues to top bestseller lists across the world, spawning TV series and films. In the hands of African writers, though, the genre offers a particularly textured world view. That Ever-blurry Line Between Us and the Criminals: Re-Visioning Justice in African …
Visions of the future: five dark warnings from the world of classic science fiction: Blade Runner 2049: dystopian vision, now even more terrifying. Warner Bros Science fiction is brimming with visions of the future and the many wondrous things the human race can achieve. But it is full of warnings too – and we should …
Views from outsiders: cooking, culture and European crime fiction – a Culture interest event taking place on 2019-07-09 18:30:00 in Australia In some crime fiction, the setting and the cultural details are as least as important as the crime itself. Join Chris Browne, an avid fan and collector of this genre of popular crime fiction, …
How science fiction and fantasy can help us make sense of the world: Costumes from the dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale. Jim Lo Scalzo The world’s a mess. How do thoughtful people make sense of it all? In this series we’ve asked a number of our authors to suggest a book, philosopher, work of art …