Jule Owen

author, illustrator, sci-fi, futurist

Call for Stories: Near-Future Fictions 2019

By


Virtual Futures’ Near-Future Fictions series returns in 2019 to continue its mission to reassert the significance of science fiction as a tool for criticising, interrogating, and navigating possible tomorrows.

Our aim is to promote stories that think critically about the sorts of technological developments that are just over horizon, and provide a unique perspective on contemporary concerns related to the perceived trajectory of scientific innovation.

Download the Call for Stories: https://vfutur.es/vffiction-callforstories

Submission Deadline: 02 December 2018

ANOTHER LOVING

Event Date: Tuesday 12 February 2019 RSVP: http://fb.com/events/2074361405947391/ Curators: Stephen Oram & Britta Schulte
Reproduction is the only constant in human history – from our beginnings as single cell organisms to the sexual practices we see today.
Many of our social behaviours have been built and altered by our attitudes towards reproduction and the methods of passing our genes on to the next generation. Technologies frequently manipulate this most basic of human instincts to produce new ways to sexually interact with one another.
We ask authors to consider how technological developments may influence the reproductive process, behaviour related to it, or the products of it. Authors may approach topics of courtship, contraceptives, conception, childbirth, or anything in between.

Reference Materials

AUTONOMOUS AGENTS

Event Date: Tuesday 12 March 2019 RSVP: http://fb.com/events/1149427488548242/ Curators: Stephen Oram & Vaughan Stanger
The consequences of automation are a key concern for a society that is exporting much of its decision making to algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence.
These decision-making entities operate on certain assumptions, biases and preconceptions about the world – many of which are inherited from those who programmed them. Despite this companies and institutions are introducing algorithmic thinking into the heart of their infrastructure at a rapid rate. They are allowing algorithmic cognition, whose processes of reasoning remain enigmatic, to manipulate and draw findings from the data it is fed.
From conflict to cosmetics, music to pharmaceuticals, construction to scientific research – and everything in between – we ask authors to intrigue us with stories that explore the potential implications of automating our lives. They may also consider who will be accountable for the results and how we should protect ourselves from accidental and deliberate use or abuse.

Reference Materials

BOUNDLESS BODIES

Event Date: Tuesday 9 April 2019 RSVP: https://fb.com/events/682455982111603/ Curators: Stephen Oram & Jule Owen
Bodies are often a product of the environment in which they are situated. Likewise, minds are partially shaped by both what they receive from the world around them, and the receptors that they use to process reality.
There is no guarantee that the Earth will be able to maintain its current ecosystems, or that the living beings of this world will remain on this planet. We are asking authors to consider how brains or bodies may adapt to different physical circumstances, and whether these changes will occur naturally or synthetically.
They may spin stories of manipulated creatures, novel forms of consciousness, distorted landscapes, or altered beings. They may also consider how lifestyles could be altered, minds may function, or bodies may be changed or even created.

Reference Materials

LASTING LABOURS

Event Date: Tuesday 14 May 2019 RSVP: http://fb.com/events/948697035336877/ Curators: Stephen Oram & Allen Ashley
Due to society’s advancement, changing economic systems, and shifts in what the population demands, the world of work will change seismically in the near future. Some jobs will become obsolete, others will change radically, and new roles will emerge. The changes, though, will not be limited to work alone. New industries may be born, new methods of exchange introduced, or entirely new economic systems developed.
Show us what goods we may be trading with, what currency we may be using, how industries may be created or altered, or what roles we may be employed in (if at all) by the time the future becomes the present. You may also wish to consider how, and in what, we will be educated and trained so as to succeed.

Reference Materials

Submission Instructions

Stories should be no longer than ten minutes reading time (around 1,000 words for stories). The author should be available to attend the event, preferably to read their work although alternative readers can be found.
Submissions should be emailed as attachments to: fiction@virtualfutures.co.uk
Please follow the guidelines:
    • Use the following email subject header template: Near-Futures Fiction, [Title of Work], [Name of Theme]
    • Include your name and title of your work in the document name using the following format: [Surname],[Firstname]_[TitleOfWork].doc (e.g. Doe,John_MyScienceFictionStory.doc)
    • Ensure attachments are editable file formats.
    • Please include a 50-word biography in the same document as the story.
  • Include any social media handles (Twitter etc.) and website if applicable.
Submissions for more than one theme are very welcome, but not multiple submissions for the same theme. Please send a separate email for each submission.
Successful authors will be notified in January 2019.

Submission Guidance

As additional guidance, those submitting stories should be aware of the following to ensure their submission stands the best chance of being accepted:
World Building – We are not searching for stories set on fanciful alien worlds or that feature technology so hypothetical it is almost unimaginable. Nor do we want post-apocalyptic landscapes, in which steam-punk bandits with laser guns are fighting mutated zombies. We are looking, instead, for stories of the near-future in which we can see our world, ourselves, and the potential implications or applications of technology currently being used, developed, or researched.
Avoid Cliché – Sci-fi is often the victim of the binary between utopia and dystopia – fiction in which all of our problems are fixed or created by a specific technology or technologies. In reality, our relationship with our technology never follows these simple categories – it is frequently a messier affair. Stories that seek to criticize, predict, or complicate realistically will be more successful than those intended to shock with apocalyptic visions or please with plastic paradises.
Inspiration – Each theme has been furnished with Virtual Futures content that is intended to provide inspiration and background information. Please be aware that it is not intended to provide a stringent direction for your story. Instead, these resources aim to provide you with both a brief introduction to some of the issues and areas, or debates your story may wish to tackle. There is no need to base, or even include this content in your stories – it is there as an aid, not an authority.

Press

Near-Future Fictions has been featured in Vector (from the British Science Fiction Association):

Video

Playlists of Near-Future Fictions stories can be found at: http://youtube.com/virtualfutures

Cities of the future

By

The buildings, towns, and cities we live in are slowly transforming as we use technology to make our lives more comfortable. Voice and AI controlled heating, lighting, white goods, entertainment, personal assistants are already taking over the home. Will climate change have an accelerating effect on this transition? In the future, technology might not just help us live more comfortable lives, but it might also protect us from extreme weather. If climate change means that living in the way we do now, under the sky, exposed to the elements, becomes precarious because of rising temperatures and the regularity of super storms, the wealthy might invest in ways to protect themselves.

Ideas and experiments to date, led by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the University of Arizona, explored the feasibility of humans living in outer space. The International Space Station is a closed, self-sufficient system for supporting human life. In Russia, a project run by the Institute of Biophysics created an underground closed ecosystem to support three humans. The Eden Project, an educational project and tourist attraction in Cornwall, UK, is a biodome, simulating different ecosystems. In Dubai, a project to build the ‘Mall of the World’ a city under glass to protect people from 45 degrees Celsius summer temperatures, was scaled back when the investment didn’t materialise.

Imagine, though, if climate change pushed temperatures in southern Asia, as some predict, above what is tolerable to humans by the end of this century? What if in the next century that happens in the Western world too?

Sceptics talk about the fabulous cost and impracticality of such domed cities at scale, but a combination of scientific advances, in particular, the creation of new materials, and dire necessity are likely to be the drivers to create artificial ecosystems to protect at least the wealthiest people within the next few hundred years.

Such cities could make use of bioengineering research being carried out today by organisations like NASA and will likely include closed system water recycling, atmosphere revitalisation advanced waste management, synthetic biology, and sustainable energy production.

Resources

Biosphere cities – domed cities – artificial ecosystems

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161019-the-amazing-cloud-cities-we-could-build-on-venus

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/16/how-build-city-in-space-nasa-elon-musk-spacex

https://www.rt.com/news/172340-dubai-climate-controlled-city/

http://whatson.ae/dubai/2016/01/dubais-mall-world-no-longer-going-globes-largest/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Project

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MELiSSA

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Life_support_pilot_plant_paves_the_way_to_Moon_and_beyond/

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/bioengineering-branch#.VDbIgL4eXww

Underground cities

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS-3

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910004532

Bioengineering

http://www.gracelinks.org/2380/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-water-resources

https://www.nasa.gov/content/water-recycling/

https://www.ebrc.org/what-is-synbio

The Kind QnA – Interview with Lauren St John for the book launch of The Kind

By

At my recent book launch, award-winning author, Lauren St John, interviewed me about my new book, The Kind.  Here’s the transcript of the interview.

A large part of The Kind is set 450 years in the future. How can you know what will happen then?

The more you understand things that are happening now the more you can make an educated guess, but in reality, there are too many random variables to make accurate predictions. All science fiction is really about the time the author is writing in. Think of Frankenstein, or Brave New World, War of the Worlds. But because it is difficult to imagine the future, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. In fact, humans are programmed to think about the future. It is how our brains work. Every time we plan a holiday, we are thinking into the future. Most animals can do it to some degree. It is an essential survival skill, being able to imagine dangers, risks so that we can avoid them or do something to prevent them happening. This is probably why we are predisposed to dystopia and catastrophe thinking. So the novel is partly me doing this – exploring my own anxieties about the future – but also my hopes and dreams too.

What is the world like in 450 years – in the novel?

My cities of the future – the ones that exist in 450 years – are covered over with roofs made of self-replicating, self-repairing material. The cities are really wonders of science – biospheres – powered by fusion energy, entirely enclosed, with water recovery systems. They have become a necessity because of climate change, but once you inside, you are in a wonderful place full of extraordinary buildings, many plants. It is very green. You don’t need a door key – your DNA is your passport everywhere. There is no money – there is a notional concept of Credits, but everyone is given some – you can’t be destitute (universal basic income). The problem is that not everyone can live in a city. Outside, people are living the best way they can in the ruins of former towns, at the mercy of the super storms and bad weather. And there have been many wars over resources and many of those involved biological warfare, so only a minority of people can have children. The populations of the cities are dwindling so they offer water and food to the towns in order to bolster their population. They buy their children. Isobel is thrown into this world. She has been the citizen of a city but she has been thrown out beyond the walls because of a crime she has committed.

 Is your new book a dystopia?

The bits that are not so optimistic are about climate change – although you might argue that is just realism. But there is a large dollop of utopia as well.

Which parts of utopian?

This novel sits in a broader universe/world that I created, where I imagine the very far future, 10,000 years from now. In my stories, the beings that have evolved from humans are no longer really human at all. They are data – replicable, backed up, resilient, immortal, able to create any body for themselves they would like. My idea of the very far future is highly utopian because these beings have overcome many of the physical and mental things that hold us back as a species. They are never sick, there is no war, they don’t die, they have no material needs and they are very playful. They exist only to learn. There is a character in the novel called Clay. It is a historian that has hopped back in time to record the lives of the significant characters from its own ancient past. The historical figure Clay is recording is Isobel Twelvetrees. One of the many twists is that Clay decides it doesn’t like the original story – and so it intervenes – it changes it. In the ‘real’ version of events, Isobel dies, but Clay saves her and uses her to change other parts of history it doesn’t like.

Where do you get your ideas?

I read a lot of popular science books, journals etc. and I’m addicted to the New Scientist. In science journals, there’s a constant stream of scientific wonders. There’s much in my stories that about that simple wonder and excitement. I remember seeing Michio Kaku’s TV series, Visions of the Future many years ago. I was fascinated by this show – I watched it again and again. He was explaining quantum entanglement and how a home replicator might work and now teleportation has been done with photons. I love to imagine futures where some of this stuff has happened when people are living with these technologies and taking them for granted like we use mobile phones.

The Kind: Stark Imagining of Britain Five Hundred Years from Now

By

London, England. November 19th, 2017.

Four hundred and fifty years from now, England will be unrecognisable to today’s inhabitants; a desert archipelago.  The green patchwork quilt of the south and the east, will either be under water or burnt to dust by heat caused by man-made climate change. Britain’s coastal and riverside cities will long have succumbed to flooding, their historic buildings lost. The coastline itself will have been re-drawn. There will be new islands, like those made from the former North York Moors. Climate change will have raised global average temperatures over 10°C. In the south, being outside, even in the shade, will cause potentially lethal levels of heat stress in humans.

Jule Owen’s new novel, The Kind vividly brings to life a possible future world. Jule says, ‘As scientists gather more evidence about climate change, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we are handing an impossible and terrifying legacy to the young and to unborn generations. We are living at a time of extraordinary technological advance and availability of knowledge, and yet we are marching forward with self-destructive intent, apparently unable to change our behaviour. I wrote this novel to try to imagine a version of that future world.’

Jule Owen was born in Merseyside and now lives in London. She had spent many years helping to make software and is fascinated by science, technology and the future.


It is 2472. The wealthy and privileged have retreated to high-tech walled cities. Those beyond the walls are known as the Non-Grata. They live a precarious, hand-to-mouth existence, surviving on the “charity” of the cities. In return, these non-people must pay a Quota, a tax paid in human life. Specifically, they give the rich something their money cannot buy: children.

Isobel Twelvetrees has been put outside the walls of her city and left to die in the lethal heat for a crime she cannot remember committing. She was saved by someone or something, but when she wakes, the only companion she has is a dog with odd coloured eyes. When she learns the terrible truth about the plight of the Non Grata, she turns into a new kind of warrior. As she crosses continents with the threadbare armies of the Non Grata, in a deadly race against time to destroy the Quota and right historic wrongs, she starts to uncover the truth about herself and what she left behind.

The Kind is published by Mean Time Books and will be available to buy from all major bookshops in early December 2017.

www.juleowen.com
info@juleowen.com
@juleowen

Virtual Futures Near-Future Fictions is open for submissions until 21 December 2017

By

I’m really pleased to be able to announce that there will be another series of near-future fictions for Virtual Futures and this time I’ll be co-curating with Stephen Oram. Other writers Stephen will be co-curating with are Allen Ashley, Britte Schulte and Vaughan Stanger.

It’s going to be good…

So, authors and poets, we need your best imaginings of the future of infection and infestation, of personhood, of war and of brains.

Successful stories and poems will form a series of live reading events in London between February and May 2018 with an opportunity to be included in an anthology of Virtual Futures Near-Future Fictions.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Virtual Futures events, take a look at some of the video footage here https://m.youtube.com/user/virtualfutures

We are open for submissions until 21 December 2017 on the following themes:

1. The (dis)ease of the i-Mortal: Born of earth or brought back from far away, biological or viral invasions or diseases can affect humans on any scale; from protecting or plaguing an individual to becoming an epidemic that affects us all. Take on a topic that Literature has meditated on from its inception; from Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year, to Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, to Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude, to Camus’s The Plague, to King’s The Stand.
Show us the good, the bad, but not the bland; we are relying on you to predict the future of infection and infestation in any of its various forms. What is the nature of the diseases, contagions or contaminations have in store?
Curated by Allen Ashley and Stephen Oram

2. E-Me’s: The digital world is a personality playground that offers us an unprecedented ability to curate and create a public persona — but what does this ability mean for the future of personhood?
As the digital world expands around us and the Internet of Things combines the physical and virtual do we have a moral obligation to represent ourselves with truth and integrity in the digital realm, or should we view it as an opportunity to explore new and radical ontologies?
Curated by Britte Schulte and Stephen Oram

3. Tomorrow’s Battles: War has, so far, been inevitable throughout human history – but what will the future of conflict or cooperation look like? Will the discoveries of the future lead us to a world without violent disagreement, or just result in us killing one another in more creative ways? Paint us your future of what kind of conflict – or lack of – will emerge from the caldron of tomorrow’s technologies: what utopia or dystopia will we be exposed to?
Curated by Jule Owen and Stephen Oram

4. Post-Brain: As technology gets smarter and smarter, the human brain is forced to reflect on itself in the mirror of the future and question what value it will have in a world in which wet tech, cerebral hacking and commodified consciousness could reign. A world not of enhancement or augmentation, but replacement. We implore you to enquire what the future of our most precious organ will be, while you still have one.
Curated by Vaughan Stanger and Stephen Oram

Submission guidelines:
Stories or poems should be no longer than ten minutes reading time (around 1,000 words for stories) and the author/poet should be available to attend the event, preferably to read their work although alternative readers can be found.
Submissions should be emailed as attachments to fiction@virtualfutures.co.uk with Near-Futures Fiction, the title of the work and the relevant theme in the subject line. Please include your name and title of your work in the document name.
Submissions for more than one theme are very welcome, but not multiple submissions for the same theme. Please attach a separate file for each submission.
The work can already be published, but the author must have permission for it to be used in the context of the Virtual Futures events and anthology.

The deadline for submissions is 21 December 2017 and successful authors and poets will be notified in January 2018.

error: Content is protected !!