I didn’t go back to the UK for years due to COVID, and then in the past year I’ve been there so often I may as well be a visiting dignitary (we all have dreams!). This July I was invited for a reading and Q&A at Brighton’s Ledward Centre, hosted by the wonderful Eric Page. The questions were some of the best I’ve had so far (I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me about architecture in Proud Pink Sky, I spent so much time on it!) while the audience was lovely and supportive.
But that’s not all! I was delighted to find that fellow Amble Press author Orlando Ortega-Medina had travelled from London for the event! I was very pleased to meet Orlando and his partner, especially as I’ve just finished his wonderful new book The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants. It was an honour to meet in person.
Ambitopia Article in Vector!
I’m absolutely delighted to announce that my article ‘Ambitopia: Futures Beyond the Binary’ has been published in Vector, the British Science Fiction Association’s long-running journal! There’s been a very positive response so far, and the concept of ambitopia seems to be sparking people’s imaginations.
"Ambitopias form a careful balancing act, forming a cohesive and believable society that cannot be categorised as either good or bad, yet one which is still dramatically speculative.
In short, an ambitopia presents a world both distinctly better and worse than our own."
You can read the article for yourself at this link here.
Review in Strange Horizons!
Finally we have some great news: Proud Pink Sky was reviewed by the renowned science fiction magazine, Strange Horizons! I’ve written reviews for SH for several years now, so was thrilled that fellow reviewer Catherine Baker took on the novel, going into incredible depth.
“Every move in Barrett’s social and political worldbuilding is engineered to draw pointed illustrations of homonormativity, complicity with state power, and the roots of these flaws in internalised homophobia.”
That’s it for now! Don’t forget that all true fans will immediately order 10,000 copies of my novel, and individually mail them to the offices of right-wing newspapers. How else will I see your devotion?
Until next time!
– Redfern