Angela YT Chan 
For Imaginarium: A Debut Festival Celebrating ESEA Speculative Fiction and Authors, I spoke about power, politics and SF alongside my co-panellists Dr. Danbee Kim (neuroscientist and author of The First VIRS), Neon Yang (biologist, journalist, and author of The Tensorate series), and P.H. Low (poet and author of These Deathless Shores).
“Imaginarium will feature some of the most diverse and exciting British and international East and Southeast Asian authors in speculative fiction, in a day of discussions and panels. Join us in exploring the ESEA aesthetic, the trajectory of speculative futures, or how ghosts, mythical beings and the Asian gothic have their roles in decolonising narrative. This unique event debut will also feature an industry panel on the role of ESEA writers in publishing and trends within speculative fiction, and a fireside chat with Lian Connect and event partner, the British Fantasy Society, on how Imaginarium celebrates the ESEA Heritage month.
As part of our collaboration, the British Fantasy Society is offering a discounted digital membership to all attendees of this event. A full year of membership will cost you only £10. Just add it to the cart at checkout. If you want to know more about membership of the BFS, you can find it here.- What do you think the speculative future looks like, both in fiction/media, and in real life?
- Where would an ESEA-driven future lead us? A big area of discussion here could be climate fiction (leading to hope punk and solar punk, if any of us are interested to veer things that way)
- What kind of work do we have to do to build this future?Panel 3 (3:30pm–4:30pm) The Trajectory of Speculative Futures Speculative fiction is rife with predictions for the future, whether fantastical, technological, or in ways we cannot begin to imagine. Creators in this realm are seers, prophets and futurists, well-equipped with the ability to consider infinite possibilities. Where would an ESEA-driven future lead us?
The panellists are Angela YT Chan (artist, independent researcher), Dr. Danbee Kim (neuroscientist and author of The First VIRS), Neon Yang (biologist, journalist, and author of The Tensorate series), and P.H. Low (poet and author of These Deathless Shores) to explore the element of the Imaginarium.”
Find out more at the British Fantasy Society here
Image: Sinjin Li