Jared Shurin, award-winning anthologist and editor of The Big Book of Cyberpunk, is joined by two of the book’s contributing writers, Lauren Beukes and EJ Swift.

Cyberpunk fiction offers space for imaginative storytelling to discuss and even predict the future. Since the 1980s, the genre has posited questions and scenarios that examine virtual reality, cybernetics and AI, and their effect upon ordinary lives, communities and culture – realities we are now facing today.

Join us for a lively discussion about the role speculative fiction can play as we reimagine the world around us and how cyberpunk can help us shape the world of tomorrow.

Join Bee Rowlatt as she discusses her anticipated debut novel, One Woman Crime Wave. In this gripping event, Rowlatt introduces us to 15-year-old Ashleigh, the neighbourhood’s favourite babysitter, but Ashleigh has an appetite for secrets…

Drawing inspiration from JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls in this fast-paced, witty and scalpel-sharp debut, Rowlatt examines the limits of what money can buy and how easily the fragile web of middle-class privilege can be torn.

Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into this cleverly crafted narrative, which blends humour with poignant social commentary and entertains as much as it enlightens.

Join acclaimed novelist, poet and playwright, Inua Ellams, author of The Half-God of Rainfall and hit play, Barber Shop Chronicles, Ashley Thorpe, author of The Boy to Beat the Gods, and Chikodili Emelumadu, author of Dazzling, to celebrate the extraordinary tales of West African mythology.

You may be familiar with Greek mythology, but have you encountered the trickster Anansi, the spider, or the Orisha, the pantheon of Gods whose seeds are scattered across the African continent?

Whether you’re a curious bystander or an expert in African folklore, our panel will guide you through the mythological wonders of West Africa and the work inspired by them.