From Sindbad to Sci-Fi: Re-imagining Arab Science Fiction 

We are pleased to announce a stellar line-up of speakers for the Sci-Fi salon at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre on 2nd October 2013:

CHAIR

Quentin Cooper is one of the most familiar and popular voices of science in the UK, writing and presenting many hundreds of programmes including for over a decade fronting Britain’s most listened to science show, the live weekly ‘Material World’ on BBC Radio 4. He’s also both the regular host and Masterclass tutor for the UK and International finals of FameLab, “the world’s leading science communication competition” according to BBC World Service. Quentin also writes a regular column for BBC Worldwide linking science and fiction, and has presented, produced and been a regular contributor to countless other science, technology, arts and entertainment programmes across numerous radio and television channels.

Twitter: @MaterialWorld

SPEAKERS

Samira Ahmed is a journalist, broadcaster and visiting professor of journalism at KingstonUniversity with a special interest in science fiction, Westerns and comics. She presents Sunday Morning Live and Newswatch on BBC1, Night Waves on Radio 3, Something Understood on Radio 4 and makes documentaries for Radio 4, including I Dressed Ziggy Stardust and Archive on 4: Riding Into Town about Westerns. She writes a column for The Big Issue and contributes to newspapers including The Guardian. She won a Stonewall Broadcast of the year award for her report on “corrective” rape in South Africa while a reporter and presenter at Channel 4 News. Samira began her career as a BBC News trainee and has worked as a reporter on Newsnight, the Today programme, as the BBC’s Los Angeles Correspondent and news anchor for Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin. www.samiraahmed.co.uk

Twitter: @SamiraAhmedUK

Ziauddin Sardar, writer, broadcaster and cultural critic, is Professor of Law and Society at Middlesex University. Former editor of Futures, the monthly journal of policy, planning and futures studies, he has written extensively on science fiction. His books include Rescuing All Our Futures (1999), Aliens R Us: The Other in Science Fiction Cinema (2002), and more recently, Future: All That Matters (2013). Professor Sardar is a former columnist for the New Statesman. He is currently Chair of the Muslim Institute where he co-edits the quarterly journal Critical Muslim. www.ziauddinsardar.com

Twitter: @MuslimInst

Amal El-Mohtar is an Arab-Canadian author, poet and fiction writer. She is the Nebula-nominated author of The Honey Month, a collection of spontaneous short stories and poems written to the taste of twenty-eight different kinds of honey. She is a two-time winner of the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem, and edits Goblin Fruit, an online quarterly dedicated to fantastical poetry. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in multiple venues online and in print, including Strange Horizons, Stone Telling, MythicDelirium,Glitter & Mayhem (Apex Books), Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution (Tachyon), The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (Harper Voyager), and The Year’s Best Science Fiction andFantasy 2011 (Prime Books). Her work was published in the Apex Magazine’s special issue on Muslims and Arabs in Science Fiction. She currently lives in Glasgow.

Twitter: @tithenai

Khyle Alexander Raja is a British Artist and creative producer with Soul City Arts. Since childhood, his drawings of new civilizations, planets and entire universes have been inspired by science fiction works including Dune and War of the Worlds. More than thirty of his drawings were featured in his landmark ‘Soul in the Machine’ exhibition at Rick Mix which prior to that were displayed at Birmingham’s Hubb Gallery. His vivid landscapes are influenced by his professional background in architecture and life-long fascination with science fiction. Khyle uses these two worlds to explore avenues of spirituality in his work; each piece is an exploration of the relationship between The Creator, Humanity and the Universe. Khyle is currently working on a graphic science fiction novel based upon the concepts of the collection.  www.khylearaja.com

Twitter: @Khyle_A_R

In parnership with the Science Museum’s Dana Centre and Nour Festival of Arts.