The State of SF and of Things to Come: Reading SF through the Clarke Award

Keynote speaker: Dr Andrew M. Butler, Chair of the Judges of the Arthur C. Clarke Award

Guests of Honour: Anne Charnock, E.J. Swift and Tade Thompson

The Arthur C. Clarke Award celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 2026. Since its first winner in 1987 (Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale), the Clarke Award has recorded the changing patterns in science fiction. Appearing at the height of cyberpunk, the Award has observed the rise of New Space Opera, steampunk, slipstream, the New Weird, the British Boom, cli-fi, world sf, and Indigenous sf. At the same time, the Award has seen the emergence of new presses and new publishing practices.

This online conference will not dwell on past winners and shortlists, but draw upon the history of the Award to critically reflect on the current state of sf and look towards future possible developments. In doing so, the content of individual papers may be underscored by the following broad question: What kind of science fiction and what kind of science fiction prize will the Clarke Award represent on a future shortlist?

The event is organised jointly by the Science Fiction Foundation, Current Research in Speculative Fiction (University of Liverpool), and the Serendip Foundation. All proceeds from the conference will be used to cover our expenses and provide extra funding for the Clarke Award and the Maureen K. Speller Travel Fund for independent scholars. 

Full programme to be announced soon. For any queries about the event, please email us via the Contact Event Organiser form below.