Literary Arts - Science Fiction

Perhaps no other genre inspires the kind of debate regarding its very existence the way science fiction does. When George Hay said, "Science fiction is what you find on the shelves in the library marked science fiction," he was expressing sheer frustration at the length and tenacity of the surrounding debate. Today, the genre has grown to include stories set in distant pasts, possible futures and far flung planets. A simple name change helps redefine the genre. When science fiction becomes speculative fiction, suddenly one can easily include many different stories that would not have made sense in a genre limited to devices such as little green men.

Alberta is remarkably important in the Canadian speculative fiction (SF) community. Not only is the premiere SF magazine published from Edmonton, but a major SF publisher is located here. Perhaps that can account for the numerous leading SF writers, such as Dave Duncan and Pauline Gedge, who live within Alberta's borders. Both have sold millions of novels around the world and been translated into dozens of languages.

Another such writer is Jane Dorsey, who leads a new wave of SF writers to the top of the charts. Not only a critically acclaimed writer, Dorsey is also intimately involved in the editing and publishing of other SF writing. Marie Jackober is an example of a writer who jumps genres at will, whether it be from SF to poetry or straight literary fiction. She is among many Albertan speculative fiction writers who also explore other genres.