UPCOMING EVENTS
Why We Write: On Resistance and Connection
- Date: December 15th, 2022
- Location: Café Mercanti,6128 Monkland, Montréal
Please join us for a lively, intimate discussion on the burning reasons we write. The evening will include refreshments, a Q&A, and short readings.
PAST EVENTS
2022:
Salon du livre de Montréal
- Date : le 23 – 27 novembre 2022
- Lieu : Palais du congrès, Montréal
Jeudi 24 novembre
15h à 16h30 séance de dédicaces
Samedi 26 novembre
11h45 à 12h45 Table ronde sur les récits utopiques, optimistes, hopepunk, etc.
13h à 14h30 séance de dédicaces
Dimanche 27 novembre
11h30 à 13h séance de dédicaces
15h à 16h30 séance de dédicaces
Causerie 
Hopepunk Q&A de l’autre monde – ImaginAtlas
- Date : le 22 octobre 2022
- Lieu : Librairie Saga Bookstore, 5574, Chemin Upper Lachine, Montréal
Les Utopiales, Festival internationale de science-fiction
- Date : le 29 octobre – 1 novembre 2022
- Lieu : Cité des Congrès de Nantes, Nantes, France
le dimanche 30 octobre à 16h00 – (Cité des Congrès – Salle 2001)
“Vade retro”
Les droits sociaux qui semblent acquis pour toujours sont de fait fragiles et dépendent entièrement des mouvements qui agitent les sociétés. L’avortement, ce droit reproductif fondamental, recule devant les assauts intégristes dans toutes les démocraties occidentales, entre manque de moyens et restrictions des applications légales. Du mariage pour tous à l’IVG, comment conserver le progrès ?
Avec : Marie Bardiaux-Vaïente, Morgan of Glencoe, Stéphanie Nicot, Su J. Sokol Modération : Ugo Bellagamba
le lundi 31 octobre à 13h00 (Cité des Congrès – Scène Shayol)
“La ligne bleue des Vosges”
Dans la Saga Vorkosigan de Lois McMaster Bujold, les seigneurs locaux se trouvent confrontés à une loi qui permet à leurs paysans de quitter leur comté si le seigneur se montre trop dur et exigeant. La libre circulation des personnes devient ainsi un levier de régulation sociale et de démocratie. Tandis qu’Offred retrouve sa dignité d’être humain en se réfugiant au Canada dans La Servante Écarlate de Margaret Atwood. Fuir, franchir les frontières et obtenir la liberté, un thème de science-fiction ?
Avec : P. Djèlí Clark, Xavier Dollo, Claire Duvivier, Su J. Sokol Modération : Stéphanie Nicot
le mardi 1 novembre à 16h45 (Cité des Congrès – Salle Tschaï)
“Passé les bornes, y’a plus de limites”
Depuis Antigone, la jeunesse se lève pour renouveler les révoltes d’hier au grand dam ou incompréhension de ses aînés. C’est ainsi que la génération Larzac contemple celle de la Zad et de la permaculture avec un brin de stupéfaction. La science-fiction, porteuse de révolutions, nous rappelle que les bornes sont faites pour être franchies et que l’on a raison de se révolter…
Avec : Morgane Caussarieu, Elly Bangs, Su J. Sokol
Can-Con 2022
- Date: October 14 – 16, 2017
- Location: Sheraton Hotel, 150 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Saturday, October 15th at 1pm:
“Imagining A Better Craft Workshop”
Panelists: Ashley Deng (moderator), Amal El-Mohtar, James K. Moran, Su J. Sokol
Craft discussions are much maligned, given their tendencies toward prescriptive advice, but workshops rely on them for mutual constructive criticism. With Milford being the industry standard, many marginalized points of view are overlooked or dismissed as a consequence. How can we imagine a better workshop? How can we make sure that all voices are heard and considered? When writing rules are flexible and varied, what exactly do we mean by “craft”? A discussion about less prescriptive workshop methods and writing advice.
Saturday, October 15th at 2:30 pm
BOOK SIGNINGS
Sunday, October 16th at 2:30 pm at 11:30 am
“Homemade is Fine: The Use and Making of Niche Genre Terms”
Sweetweird, hopepunk, lunarpunk, dark academia — what’s with all these new genre terms that keep cropping up? Clearly, there seems to be a need within SFF spaces to make, find, and use niche terms to describe our work. Why do we gravitate towards such labels, and what is gained in the making and usage of them? How niche is too niche?
Violet Hour
- Date: October 5, 2022, 18h – 19h30
- Location: Place du Village, a new space located in the green area across the street from Cabaret Mado (Ste. Catherine Street East, corner of Wolfe)
Cet événement sera bilingue, avec des lectures en anglais et en français. Join us for an evening of readings by LGBTQ writers, including Gabriel Cholette, Virginie Savard, Su J. Sokol and Neil Smith. The event is hosted by Christopher DiRaddo.
Chicon 8: 80th World Science Fiction Convention
- Date: September 1, 2022 through September 5, 2022
- Location: Hyatt Regency Chicago
Thursday, September 1st, at 4:00 pm
“Systems of Governance in SFF”
Panelists: Annalee Newitz, Olav Rokne (moderator), Ruthanna Emrys, Su J Sokol, W A Thomasson
For a genre that is supposed to imagine alternatives and look to the future, science fiction seems to spend a lot of time dealing with empires, kings, and other regressive forms of government. Let’s talk about how humans organize societies, how technological advances can change the way we govern ourselves, and about authors such as Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Ada Palmer, and Ursula K. Le Guin who have explored different ways that people can work together to share decision-making power within a society.
Friday, September 2nd, at 11:30 am
AUTOGRAPHING
Saturday, September 3rd, at 2:30 pm
“Hopepunk: 5 Years In”
Panelists: David M Perry (moderator), Ruthanna Emrys, Su J Sokol, Terry Franklin
Rowland’s influential concept of “hopepunk” was posted in 2017, sparking many fruitful discussions and debates. Our panelists will look at the state of term today—offering and revising definitions, opining on whether it’s a movement, sub-genre, or what—and digging into the commonalities and popularity of works like Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer series or Katherine Addison’s Goblin Emperor.
Saturday, September 3rd, at 7:00 pm
“Translation is Creative Writing”
Panelists: Andy Dudak,Jean Bürlesk (moderator), Su J Sokol, Sue Burke, Yasser Bahjatt
The job of a translator is not merely to pick the matching words in the second language. Done well, translation conveys the tone and flavor of the original text. A character with an ascerbic wit in Chinese should be just as funny in English, for example. Lyrical descriptions of landscapes should be equally poetic. What makes a translation work, and who does it well?
Sunday, September 4th, at 10:00 am
“Hugboxing vs. Scab-picking: Two Different Tactics for Engaging with Oppression in Queer SFF”
Panelists: Foz Meadows, Phoenix Alexander, Sim Kern (moderator), Su J Sokol
Elizabeth Sandifer, in her piece “Four Tiny Essays on SF&F”, identified two competing tendencies in queer fiction: art which imagines our liberation from oppression, which is in tension with art as a tool for engaging with oppression. Which artists are engaging with these approaches, and where on the spectrum do they sit?
Monday, September 4th, at 10:00 am
“What Does Justice Look Like”
Panelists: Christine Amsden (moderator), Jean Bürlesk, Matt Mitrovich, Su J Sokol
Humans have long sought justice, even when we disagree about the shape of it. What would justice look like in a working society? How would a just society function? Thinking about a world where justice is the prevailing societal construction, what would day-to-day life be like? A SFF worldbuilding question as well as a philosophical one, our panelists will try and imagine a world where we have solved the problem of justice.
Monday, September 4th, at 1:00 pm
“Warnings/Trigger/Content: Guidelines, Not Censorship”
Panelists: Dominic Loise L., J. Stanton, Mary G. Thompson (moderator), Su J Sokol
Given recent controversies over content, and the labeling of content with either trigger warnings or content warnings, there has been confusion across the industry from readers all the way up through the food chain of authors, reviewers, and publishers. What are the best practices for such warnings? Is there a point at which the warnings themselves become problematic? Are these warnings here to stay, or is this another fad that isn’t worth investing in? Panelists discuss the subject from health, artistic, and business perspectives.
Lancement de/Launch of Les lignes invisibles
- Date: le jeudi 18 août / Thursday August 18th, 17h – 18h30
- Lieu/location: Parc Girouard / NDG Park
The launch of Les lignes invisibles is part of the programming of la semaine des arts de NDG Arts Week. Please join us for readings, a question Q&A session, and refreshments. Il y aura également une séance de dédicace pour le livre — you can also obtain an autographed copy of the book.
Le salon du livre anarchiste /Anarchist Book Fair Montréal
- Date: August 6th and August 7th, 10h to 17h
Pride Week Tabling event: Violet Hour at Community Day
Date: August 5, 2022, 14h – 17h - Lieu/Location : Village gai, rue St. Catherine entre Beaudry et la Visitation
Scintillation
Date: Friday, May 10th to Sunday, May 12th
Location: Holiday Inn in Chinatown 999 Rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal
Panel on Marge Piercy and Reading from work-in-progress
Cabaret littéraire de l’autre monde – ImaginAtlas
Six artistes LGBTQ+ vont livrer sur scène de courts textes de science-fiction, de fantasy et de réalisme magique qui mettent en lumière des enjeux et des personnages queers. Quoi de plus naturel que de marier la diversité sexuelle et de genres à des littératures réputées pour leur ouverture ? Non seulement les personnes queers ont l’habitude de redéfinir le monde au quotidien, mais elles ont aussi la capacité de faire vibrer le public avec leurs voix singulières.
Participants : Jeanne A. Debats, Chris Bergeron, Peter Dubé, Su J. Sokol, Ayavi Lake, Neil Smith
Animateur : Samuel Larochelle
- Date: le 7 mai, 2022 at 18h30
- Lieu: Grand Bibliothèque (Auditorium)
Springboards: Connecting teachers with local writers, poets and storytellers
- Date: April 1, 2022 at 10:10am
- Location: online event
- Using Zee to Explore Empathy, Difference, and Finding Your Own Path in Life
Salon du livre d’Edmundston
- Date: du 31 mars au 3 avril, 2022
- Ateliers scolaires, vendredi 1 avril, Polyvalente Thomas-Albert
- Table ronde: “La représentation de l’identité dans la littérature” (Mo Bolduc, Mélanie Leblanc, Félix Perkins, Su J. Sokol)
- samedi 13 h NB (12 h QC), scène principale
- Séances de signature
Radio Noon Quebec with Shawn Apel
- Date: January 28th, 2022 at 12 noon
- Location: You can tune in here.
Reading and discussion with other local authors.
The Ephemera Reading Series
- Date: January 19th, 2021 at 7pm
- Location: Online Event
2021:
DisCon IIl World Science Fiction Convention
- Date: December 15th – 19th, 2021
- Location: Washington, DC at the Omni Shoreham Hotel
- The Work of Malka Older, Thu 7:00 pm, Blue Room
- Lost (or Gained) in Translation, Friday, 1 pm, Older Room
- Real Estate in Space, Saturday 11:30 am, Calvert Room
- Reading and Autograph opportunity
Salon du livre de Montréal
- Date : 25 au 28 novembre 2021
- Lieu : Palais du congrès, Montréal
- Activité : Séances de dédicaces
- jeudi le 25 novembre, 11h kiosque 1313 (Bouton d’or Acadie)
- samedi le 25 novembre, 16h, kiosque 1304 (Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Quebec -AELAQ)
- dimanche le 28 novembre, 14h, kiosque 1313 (Bouton d’or Acadie)
The 2021 QWF Awards Gala
- Date: November 24th, 2021 at 7pm
- Location: Cabaret Lion d’Or, 1676 Rue Ontario E, Montréal QC H2L 1S7, Canada
Salon du livre de Montréal dans NDG: Les vois actuellles de l’imaginaire/
Current Voices in Speculative Fiction
- Date: November 13th, 2021 at 5pm/17h
- Location: Centre Communautaire Saint-Raymond5600, Chemin Upper-Lachine
Avec/with
Frankfort Book Fair/Frankfurter Buchmess
- Dates: October 19th – 23rd 2021
La Semaine des arts NDG + Librarie Saga Books Presents:
Authors of NDG
- Date: August 12th, 2021 at 5pm/17h
- Location: Parc Georges-Saint-Pierre
When Words Collide Science Fiction Festival
- Date: August 13th to 15th 2021
- Location: Online Event
- Programming: PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TIMES ARE LISTED IN MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME.(For instance, it will be two hours later if you are in the Eastern Standard Time zone.)
Friday, August 13th, 2pm
Cross Genre Writing
Su J. Sokol, Lee Gowan, Ira Nayman, Allan Weiss, Caro Soles
What happens if your book falls within multiple genres? Authors are pushing boundaries and challenging labels. What are the advantages? What are the drawbacks? Join us as our panel discusses this highly relevant topic.
Saturday, August 14th, 12pm
Writing Well: Diversity and Sensitivity
Bobbi Lee Lintner, Lisa Collins, V. S. Holmes, Su J. Sokol
Proactively looking at writing diversity well in your works. Discussion on how to be mindfully inclusive while navigating the “forced diversity” narrative, how to avoid writing stereotypes offensive to minorities, and best practices on choosing sensitivity consultants/editors/readers.
Saturday, August 14th, 3pm
Let the Characters Tell the Story
Claire McCague, Krista Wallace, Merilyn Ruth Liddell, Su J. Sokol
It is not unusual to hear authors claim their characters took over the writing. But it can be hard to understand how this is possible. Authors discuss instances of how this has happened to them, and why this is a good thing.
Saturday Night Rapid Readings (3 Hours)
TBA (host)
Drop in for short teaser readings of published works by a dozen authors. Schedule TBA.
Congrès Boréal 2021
- Date: le 1 mai, 2021
- Heure: 15h30 – 16h30
- Location: Evénement en ligne
- Pour assister à l’activité : https://www.facebook.com/events/499194827748942/
Table ronde – Penser l’Après : du sombre au lumineux
Avec Geneviève Blouin, J.D. Kurtness, Su Sokol et Élisabeth Vonarburg
Animation : Anaïs Paquin
Comment envisage-t-on l’Après en science-fiction, cette période qui suit la Fin du monde… ou la fin d’un monde? Quatre écrivaines parlent de ces futurs, proches ou lointains, qu’elles ont créés : dystopiques, utopiques, postapocalytiques, hopepunk, solarpunk. Quelles sont les grandes préoccupations qui traversent nos imaginaires collectifs contemporains et comment les intègrent-elles à leurs univers? Qu’arrive-t-il aux villes, aux écosystèmes dans leurs fictions? Comment écrire une ambiance sombre ou, au contraire, plus lumineuse pour ces mondes de l’Après? Doit-on se restreindre à ces deux pôles ou peut-on en explorer les différentes nuances?
Salon du livre de l’outaouais 2021
- Date: 25 – 28 février 2021
- Location: Evénement en ligne
Zee entend ce que vous pensez, et ressent ce que vous ressentez. À travers vos regards, Zee se voit reflétée, et cette vision la transforme. Tantôt, Zee est la fille précoce de ses quatre adultes. Tantôt, Zee est un ado voyou de Brooklyn, New York. Mais qui est-iel vraiment?
Zee can hear what you’re thinking and feel what you’re feeling. She sees herself through your eyes and what she sees changes who she is. Sometimes Zee is the precocious daughter of her four grown-ups. Other times, she’s a rough boy from Brooklyn, New York, playing basketball and getting into trouble. Zee just wants to fit in, but will losing sight of who she is put Zee in even greater danger?
2020:
AELAQ’S Read Québec Holiday Book Fest
Renaissance Author Q&A
- Date: Sunday, November 29, 2020 at 14h (2pm)
- Location: Online Event
LAUNCH OF ZEE
LANCEMENT DE LA VERSION FRANÇAISE:
avec Xavier Gould
Date: le 3 décembre 2020 à 19h
LAUNCH OF THE ENGLISH VERSION
DATE: December 6, 2020 at 7pm
*Special pre-launch activity TBA!!!*
RenV Fall Con
- Date: October 24th to 25th 2020
- Location: Zoom and Discord Event
- Programming:
Sunday October 25 2020
10 AM – 11 AM : I know that place!
This panel discusses the challenge of using real places in fiction. How do you avoid problems? How to futurize a location? What are common pitfalls in using real locations?
Jack Briglio, Stephen B. Pearl, Angela Misri (m), Éric Desmarais, Su J. Sokol, Luke R. J. Maynard
11:30 AM – 12 30 PM Family of choice.
How have chosen family narratives evolved over the past few years? What remains to be done in terms of representation, and what has been done well (or less well)? Why are chosen family narratives still relevant and important?
Su J Sokol, Angela Misri (m), Avi Silver, Nathan Caro Fréchette, Jamieson Wolf
1 PM – 2 PM : Polyamorous narratives
Romantic configurations are evolving, and polyamory is becoming more commonplace and open. How to narratives of family and romance adapt to this? What are good representations, and what are the harmful tropes associated with depictions of polyamory?
Luke R. J. Maynard, Elizabeth Hirst, Su J. Sokol, Nathan Caro Fréchette (m), Avi Silver
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM : What is the Artist’s Role in the Revolution?
This panel discusses the intersection between speculative fiction and social change. What makes speculative fiction such a good vehicle for talking about current world struggles?
Su J. Sokol (m), Luke R. J. Maynard, Jack Briglio, Dominic Bercier
4 PM – 5 PM: Writing gender: a cistemic problem
What should be the role of spec fiction in addressing gender stereotypes, rigid gender roles, binary presumptions, etc? How can we write characters who are realistic and interesting as concerns gender? What books or stories have done this well?
S. M. Carrière, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Su J. Sokol, Avi Silver, Talia C. Johnson (m)
Argo Reading Series
- Date: Thursday, November 5th, at 7pm
- Location: Argo Bookshop,1915 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal
The Lawn Chair Soirée
Su J Sokol
Carolyne Van Der Meer
- Date: Thursday, September 17th at 7pm
- Contact Jan for Zoom coordinates: lawnchairsoiree@gmail.com
CBC Radio Interview: Daybreak Montreal
- Date: Tuesday, August 26th at 7:40 am
- Topic: What do Science Fiction Writers Think of the Pandemic (with Jo Walton and Su J. Sokol)
Reading: Book Warehouse, Main Street (CANCELLED)
- Date: Thursday, July 14th, 2020 at 19h (7pm)
- Location: Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver
Renaissance Virtual Conference
-
- Date: June 5th to 7th 2020
- Location: Zoom and Discord Event
- Programming:
- Sunday, June 7th at 10h30: Panel: Literary and Genre Fiction: Can’t We All Just Get Along
- Sunday, June 7th at 11h30: Sense and Sensitivity: Our panelists discuss why own-voice beta readers and editors are so important. Cait Gordon, Su J Sokol, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Talia C. Johnson
- Sunday, June 7th at 12h30:Panel: Going Deep with Characterization, EC Ambrose, Sue Taylor-Davidson, Su J Sokol, Benoit Chartier, Kate Heartfield, Melissa Yuan-Innes
Reading: Molasses Books (CANCELLED)
Please join us at Molasses Books in Brooklyn, New York as Sharon Lax, Shira Nayman, and Su J. Sokol read from their latest works! Refreshments will be available.
- Date: Saturday, May 23rd, at 8pm
- Location: Molasses Books, 770 Hart Street, Brooklyn
Argo Reading Series (CANCELLED)
- Date: Thursday, May 7th, at 7pm
- Location: Argo Bookshop,1915 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal
Congrès Boréal (CANCELLED)
Table ronde: Les quatre cavaliers d’apocalypse
-
- Date: samedi le 2 mai, 13h30 à 14h15
- Lieu: Coeur de science, UQAM, 175 avenue du Président Kennedy, Montréal
March in the Beauty: An Evening or Prose, Poetry, and Music
Please join Sharon Lax, B.A. Markus, Deanna Radford, Sivan Slapak, Cora Siré, and Su J. Sokol as they share beauty and struggle in words and music.
Special guest musicians TBA
- Date: Monday, March 9th, doors open at 20h30
- Location: Café Renaissance, 5175A avenue du Parc, Montréal
Bookclubbing Run J Run
- Date: Thursday, January 30th at 19h (7pm)
- Location: Argo Bookshop, 1915 rue Ste-Catherine, Montréal
Science Fiction Workshop: Creating and Writing Alternative Worlds
This workshop is for anyone who’s interested in writing science fiction or adding wonder to the stories they’re already writing.
Schedule (4 sessions)
- Thursday, January 9, 7:00-9:30pm
- Thursday, January 16, 7:00-9:30pm
- Thursday, February 6, 7:00-9:30pm
- Thursday, February 13, 7:00-9:30pm
Week by Week Breakdown
Session One: Introduction to science fiction and its sub-genres (e.g. cyberpunk, space opera, utopia/dystopia, first-contact stories, hopepunk, post-apocalyptic tales, slipstream.) Examples of such works will be identified and discussed. Participants will have the opportunity to identify a type of science fiction story that interests them and explore a subject for a story of their own.
Session Two: Study and practice different aspects of the craft including character development and voice, realistic and effective dialogue, world-building without info-dumping, story arc, and SF themes and tropes. We will also discuss point-of-view, tense, and tone.
Two-week break during which participants work on a piece of short science fiction.
Session Three: Give and receive feedback on your own original short works of science fiction.
Session Four: Workshop the remaining short science fiction stories. Participants will be given individualized feedback and suggestions for moving forward to perfect and publish their work.
About the Instructor
Su J. Sokol is a writer of speculative and interstitial fiction. She is the author of two novels, Cycling to Asylum, which was long-listed for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic and optioned for a film, and Run J Run, published in 2019 by Renaissance Press. A YA speculative fiction novel, Zee, is to be published in French by Bouton d’or Acadie. Her short fiction has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies such as The Future Fire; Spark: A Creative Anthology; Glittership: An LGBTQ Science Fiction and Fantasy Podcast; and After the Orange: Ruin and Recovery. Su is a member of the Québec Writers’ Federation and SFCanada—Canada’s National Association of Science Fiction Professionals. She also curates and participates in readings and literary events in Canada and abroad.
Nuit de la lecture: Reading at Saga Bookstore’s Opening Celebration
- Date: Saturday, January 19th at 17h
- Location: 5835, rue Sherbrooke, Montréal H4A 1X4
Link to Facebook event page
2019:
Toronto Book Launch
- Date: Saturday, November 30, 2019, time TBA
- Location: Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church Street, Toronto
The Violet Hour: Montréal’s Queer Reading Series
An evening of short readings and performances by LGBTQ writers. Featuring Trebor Healey, Felice Picano, Su J Sokol, David Tacium, among others, Hosted by Christopher DiRaddo: Link to Facebook Event Page
- Date: Wednesday, October 23rd 19h – 20h30
- Location: The Stock Bar, 1171 rue Ste. Catherine Est, Montréal
Scintillation Science Fiction Convention
- Date: October 11th to 13th
- Location: The Holiday Inn in Chinatown,999, rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal
- Programming:
- Saturday, October 12th at 10h00: Rosemary Kirsten and Su Sokol in conversation
- Saturday, October 12th at 20h15: Reading from Five Points on an Invisible Line: a work in progress
Can*Con Science Fiction Convention
- Date: October 18th to 20th
- Location: The Sheraton Hotel, 150 Albert Street, Ottawa
- Programming:
- Saturday, October 19th at 15h00, Salon E: Back to the Future is a Bunch of Bull — Geoff Hart, Kate Heartfield, Kim- Mei Kirtland, Kelly Robson, and Su J. Sokol (moderator)
- Sunday, October 20th at 10h00, Salon D: The Stories You Love — Now With Diversity! — Millie Ho, Kari Maaren, Rati Mehrotra, Su J. Sokol, ‘Nathan Burgoine (moderator)
- Sunday, October 20th at 16h00:Reading, Salon B: Works in Progress —Joe Mahoney, Su J. Sokol, Gregory A. Wilson
Lectures Logos Readings
- Date: Monday, October 7th
- Location: 2741, Notre-dame-ouest, Montréal
Ottawa Book Launch
- Date: Saturday, October 5th at 4pm (16h)
- Location: Three Brewers — 240 Sparks, Ottawa
Word on the Street Book Festival
Book Signing for Run J Run!
- Date: Sunday, September 22nd at 10am
- Location: Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Booth 241
The Words and Music Show
- Date: Sunday, September 22nd — Doors open at 8pm/20h
- Location: Casa del popolo, 4873 St. Laurent
Reading at Argo Bookstore
- Date: Thursday, September 6, 2019, 7pm to 9pm
- Location: Argo Bookshop, 1915 rue Ste-Catherine, Montréal
The World Science Fiction Convention: Dublin
- Date: Thursday, August 15th through Monday, August 19th
- Location: the Convention Centre and the Point Square, Dublin, Ireland
- Programming:
Done to death: the art of killing characters
16 Aug 2019, Friday 12:00 – 12:50, Liffey Hall-2 (CCD)
Sometimes death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a character. When does killing off a character serve the story, and when does it undermine the narrative? Let’s move away from stories where marginalised characters must die to drive the protagonist’s emotional journey. The panel will consider the many ways in which character death can be used, as well as alternatives to well-worn tropes.
Daryl Gregory (moderator), Aimee Ogden, Su J. Sokol, Veronica Roth, Patrick Rothfuss
Dystopian SF: how utopias go wrong
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 14:00 – 14:50, Wicklow Hall 2B (CCD)In SF there is no such thing as a utopia. Or, at least, anything that seems on the surface to be a utopia usually isn’t for everyone. The panel will discuss the concept of utopias and whether there can be one that isn’t ultimately harmful for some aspect of society, giving examples from a range of SF sources. How can the ideals of a perfect world be twisted into something dark and dystopian?
Su J. Sokol (moderator), Charnock, Charlie Jane Anders, Tom Toner, K.M. Szpara
Musical influences: emotions, health, and memory
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 11:00 – 11:50, Wicklow Room-4 (CCD)
Music has a powerful effect on our emotions – and creators of film, games, and television take full advantage of this route to our subconscious. How do creators set the mood, does our own cultural baggage help or hinder this process, and in a medical setting can music be used to alter our moods and strengthen memories?
Jennifer Mace (moderator), Joao Goncalves, Su J. Sokol, Dr Mary Crowell, Gabrielle de Cuir
ChiSeries Toronto Reading
- Date: Wednesday, July 17th at 8pm
- Location: Round Venue, 152A Augusta Avenue, 2nd floor, Toronto
Visual Arts Centre Readings
School of Art / McClure Gallery Readings
- Date: June 18, 2019 at 7:30 pm
- Location: 350 avenue Victoria , Westmount, Québec
Launch of RUN J RUN
Please join me for the launch of my second novel, Run J Run. The Brooklyn launch will be held at Ginger’s Bar, an icon of my old neighbourhood. The Montréal launch will be at the also iconic Cheval Blanc on rue Ontario. There will be a reading as well as a Q&A. Snacks will be provided and drinks can be purchased at the bar.
MONTRÈAL
- DATE: June 11, 2019 at 7pm
- LOCATION: Vegan Rapide – Le Misanthrope, 1385 rue Ontario E., Montréal, QC
NEW YORK
- DATE: May 12, 2019 at 2:30pm
- LOCATION: Ginger’s Bar, 363 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin
- DATE: April 8, 2019, 7:00pm/19h
- LOCATION: Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest, H-110
Quebec premiere followed by discussion with Jo Walton, Su Sokol, and Helen Chau Bradley, moderated by James Goddard.
Co-sponsored by the Fine Arts Student Alliance. Co-presented with Horizons imaginaires. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Childcare available upon request.
Combat des livres/NDG Reads
- DATE: February 22, 2019
- LOCATION: Centre Culturel Notre-Dame-des-Grace, 6400 Monkland Avenue, Montréal (Benny Library)
The NDG Community Council is excited to be hosting our second annual Combat des 
Livres NDG Reads!
Join us on February 22nd to witness a literary battle as some of NDG’s finest defend some of Montreal’s best literature until one book is crowned the must read Montreal novel.
The theme for this year is “Turf Wars.” Celebrating the quirks and subtle differences that can be found as you travel from one neighbourhood to the next, which one of these literary gems provides the best representation of Montreal?
The Montreal masterpieces that will be defended are:
• Cycling to Asylum by Su J. Sokol
• Born Into It: A Fan’s Life by Jay Baruchel
• Rue by Melissa Bull
• Sun of a Distant Land by David Bouchet
Speculative Fiction Readings
- DATE: January 10th, 2019
- LOCATION: Argo Books
Please join us for an evening of readings of speculative fiction – science fiction, fantasy, and more – by local Montreal authors:
JO WALTON, SU J. SOKOL, and A. E. PREVOST
2018:
Argo Bookshop Reading
- DATE: Thursday, November 8th, at 7:00pm
- LOCATION: 1915, rue Saint-Catherine O., Montréal
Can-Con 2018
- DATE: October 12th-14th
- LOCATION: Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, ON
Truth or Fiction: Blurring the Line Between Memoir and Novel – Nathan Frechette, Talia Johnson, Su J. Sokol, Ursula Pflug (m)
Borderlands: Migration in Fiction – Gillian Clinton, Su J. Sokol, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Derek Newman-Stille (m)
Book-Clubbing Foreign Works of SF – Jonathan Crowe, Costi Gurgu, Su J. Sokol (m)
Special Guest at Parliament Library, Toronto
- DATE: Tuesday, July 31st, at 6:30pm
- LOCATION: Toronto Public Library, 269 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, ON
- DESCRIPTION
Join us for a night to remember with literary readings by our special guests, Su Sokol & Ursula Pflug, as well as readings by a variety of talented writers.
Towards a Liberated (Un)imaginable
DATE: Thursday, June 21st, at 7:30pm- LOCATION: Left Bank Books, 92 Pike, Seattle, Washington
- DESCRIPTION
Join visiting Montreal-based author Su J. Sokol (author of Cycling to Asylum) and local writer Magpie Leibøwitz as they read from their respective works and engage in a facilitated discussion of the relationship between speculative writing and activism.
Speculative Fiction, Resistance, and Social Change
- DATE: Thursday, May 24th, at 7pm
- LOCATION: QPIRG Concordia, 1500 de Maisonneuve West, suite 204
- DESCRIPTION:
Speculative fiction has a long history of creating stories that challenge our assumptions about what is possible. Some say that this makes it a natural tool for aiding social justice movements. Others would argue that speculative fiction, like other literary genres, merely springs from and reinforces current social mores and ways of thinking.
This panel will bring together writers of speculative fiction to discuss and debate such issues as the role of dystopian and utopian fiction as social commentary, whether science fiction’s technophilia reinforces capitalist and imperialist thinking, and to what extent is speculative fiction inclusive of works by women, racialized people, and the lgbtqia+ community.
PANELISTS:
H. Nigel Thomas (moderator) is the author of ten books: four novels: Spirits in the Dark (shortlisted for the QSPELL Hugh MacLennan Fiction Award), Behind the Face of Winter, Return to Arcadia, and No Safeguards ( finalist for the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction in 2015); three collections of short stories: How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow, Lives: Whole and Otherwise, and When the Bottom Falls Out and Other Stories; a collection of poems, Moving Through Darkness; and two works of non-fiction: From Folklore to Fiction: A Study of Folk Heroes and Rituals in the Black American Novel and Why We Write: Conversations with African Canadian Poets and Novelists. He is a former Montreal high-school teacher and retired professor of United States literature at Université Laval. He is the founder and English-language coordinator of Lectures Logos Readings.
Claudie Arsenault: Squids, bread, and hot air balloon have little in common… except how much nerdy squeeing they can draw out of Claudie. Excitable and passionate, Claudie writes quirky science-fiction and fantasy that lets the best tropes shine through, haters be damned, and her love for sprawling casts invariably turns her novels into multi-storylined wonders. As an aromantic and asexual writer, she gives full breadth to stories that centre platonic relationships. Her latest novel, Baker Thief, features a bigender aromantic baker and explores romantic narrative arcs applied to aromantic characters. Claudie is also well-known for her database of aro and ace characters. Claudie is also a founding member of The Kraken Collective, a group of indie writers who love queer SFF, and she is devoted to its promotion. Find more on her website!
Paige Cooper’s stories have appeared in The Fiddlehead, West Branch, Michigan Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast Online, Canadian Notes & Queries, The New Quarterly, and have been anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories and Best Canadian Stories. She’s a fiction editor at Cosmonauts Avenue and her first book, Zolitude, came out this year with Biblioasis.
Su J. Sokol is a social rights activist and a writer of speculative, liminal, and interstitial fiction. A former legal services lawyer from New York City, she now makes Montréal her home. Cycling to Asylum, Su’s debut novel, was long-listed for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Her short fiction has appeared or is upcoming in The Future Fire, Spark: A Creative Anthology, the TFF 10th Anniversary Anthology, Glittership: an LGBTQ Science Fiction and Fantasy Podcast, the Glittership: Year One anthology, and After the Orange by B-Cubed Press. Her new novel, Run J Run, is scheduled to come out in 2019 with Renaissance Press.
CHILDCARE:
If you require childcare, please contact the organizers at info@kersplebedeb.com 48 hours before the event.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
QPIRG Concordia is a wheelchair accessible and scent-free space see http://www.qpirgconcordia.org/accessibility/ for further details
This event is being organized with the support of QPIRG McGill
Blue Metropolis/Metropolis Bleu
- Date: Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 4:00 pm
- Location: Hôtel 10, Salle Jardin
- Description: I will be moderating The Children of Mary Shelley, a panel discussion with Amal El-Mohtar, David Demchuck, and Melissa Yuan-Innes.
Since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein 200 years ago, speculative fiction has evolved, becoming an eclectic category of literature whose works are increasingly cited for the highest literary awards. How does this evolution relate to trends in literature, and what are the challenges for the future?
Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy Association
- Date: March 10, 2018 at 1:00 pm
- Location: Hotel Espresso, 1005 rue Guy — St-François room
- Description: Guest of Honour along with Jo Walton for discussion on Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Lapalabrava Readings
- Date: February 7, 2018 at 7:00 pm
- Location: 5035 St-Denis (corner of St-Joseph)
- Description: Série de lectures de poésie en espagnol, français et anglais
Visual Arts Centre
School of Art / McClure Gallery Readings
- Date: January 23, 2018 at 7:30 pm
- Location: 350 avenue Victoria , Westmount, Québec
2017:
Can-Con 2017
- Date: October 13 – 15, 2017
- Location: Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario
Reading at Argo Bookshop
- Date: Thursday, October 5, 2017, 7 pm
- Location: 1915, rue Ste-Catherine St O., Montréal
LOGOS Readings/Lecture LOGOS
- Date: Monday, September 11, 2017, 7pm – 9pm (19h – 21h)
- Location: 2741 Notre-Dame West, Montréal
WORLDCON: The 75th World Science Fiction Convention
- Date: August 9 – 13, 2017
- Location: Messukeskus Expo and Convention Centre, Helsinki, Finland
Panelist: Can Writers of Science Fiction Predict the Future?
Friday 12:00 – 13:00
Su J. Sokol, Kathleen Ann Goonan (M), Ian Watson, Bao Shu
Signing: Su J. Sokol
Friday 15:00 – 16:00, Signing area
Moderator: Beta Reading and Beta Readers
Saturday 12:00 – 13:00
Charlie Stross, Katherine Jay, Su J. Sokol (M), Keren Landsman
Moderator: Non-binary Genders in Post-human and Non-human Bodies
Saturday 16:00 – 17:00,
Su J. Sokol (M), Charlie Jane Anders, Emma Humphries, Helen Barford, JY Yang
Moderator: Robot Morality
Sunday 13:00 – 14:00, 205
Tara Oakes, Lilian Edwards, Tony Ballantyne, Su J. Sokol (M)
Salon du livres Anarchiste de Montréal/Montréal Anarchist Book Fair
- Date: May 27 – 28, 2917, 10am to 5pm (10h – 17h)
- Location: It takes place in two buildings across from each other in Parc Vinet:
- Centre d’éducation populaire de la Petite-Bourgogne et de St-Henri (CEDA), 2515 rue Delisle, Montréal
- Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier (CCGV), 2450 rue Workman, Montréal
A short walk from Lionel-Groulx metro.
Come visit me at my table!
The Naughty Bits Book Club
- Date: Friday, April 28, 2017 10:00 PM
- Location: Hotel 10, 10 rue Sherbrooke W, Montreal, QC, Salle Godin
- Host: Blue Met/Metropolis Bleu Literary Festival
- Entry fee: $10
An event that recreates that early, furtive feeling of first reading something illicit. When you were too young to have actually done anything, but were VERY INTERESTED in certain passages of certain books. Readers will read hilarious and titillating sexcerpts from famous literary works. With: ❤ Ann-Marie MacDonald ❤ George Elliott Clarke ❤❤ Harry Giles ❤ Monique Polak ❤ Su J. Sokol
Montreal: Once and Future City of Refuge
- Date: Thursday, April 27, 2017 3:30 PM
- Location: Hotel 10, 10 rue Sherbrooke W, Montreal, QC, Salle Jardin
- Host: Blue Met/Metropolis Bleu Literary Festival
- Entry fee: $10
Writers from the world over—including the U.S—have found sanctuary in Montreal, and their fiction reflects this. Writers Ehab Lotayef (Crossing Gibraltar, To Love a Palestinian Woman), Cora Siré (Behold Things Beautiful, The Other Oscar), Su Sokol (Cycling to Asylum) and Caroline Vu (Palawan Story, That Summer in Provincetown) discuss the image of Montreal in literature as a city of refuge: past, present and future. Moderated by Jaggi Singh.
Diminishing Shadows
- Date: Thursday, March 30, 2017, Door open at 8 PM
- Location: Casa del popolo, 4873 boulevard St Laurent, Montreal
- Host: The Mile End Poets’ Festival
- Entry fee: $7/PWYC
Our opening event of Mile End Poets’ Festival 2017. We are delighted to present ‘Diminishing Shadows’, hosted by Su Sokol & Blossom Thom.
Just as winter brings long shadows, politicians who promote an us-against-them perspective also cast shadows. As their rhetoric builds, so does our resistance. Thoughts of spring, of light, of renewal, begin to fill our spirits. Please join us for an evening of words and music to welcome a new season of diminishing shadows.
With performances from B.A Markus, Deanna Radford, Jason ‘Blackbird’ Selman, Sandra Sjollema, Su Sokol, Blossom Thom and Kay Thellot.
Reading Between the Wines with Su J. Sokol
- Date: Thursday, March 16, 2017, at 7:30 PM
- Location: Jewish Public Library, 5151 ch. de la Côte Ste-Catherine, Montréal
- Host: The Jewish Public Library
- Entry fee: $15 general admission
In the wake of recent political and electoral events in the U.S., Su J. Sokol’s near future novel about a family fleeing their home in Brooklyn to seek asylum in Canada has been labelled prophetic by some. Please join Sivan Slapak as she asks Su such questions as how she first came up with this idea, what a utopian Montréal of the future looks like, why she chose the bicycle as her characters’ escape vehicle, and what the story has to say about love, activism, friendship, and loyalty.
Yellow Door Readings
- Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2017, at 19:00
- Location: The Yellow Door at 3625 Rue Aylmer, Montréal
- Host: Ilona Martonfi
- Entry fee: $15 general admission
An Evening of Poetry & Prose & Music co-hosted by Ilona Martonfi and Mike Di Sclafani with readings by Barry Webster, Carolyne Van Der Meer, Jeffrey Mackie, Su J. Sokol, Ilona Martonfi, Ehab Lotayef, Liana Cusmano, Mike Di Sclafani, and music by John Kerkhoven.
2016:
Imagining a Path to a More Just Future
- Date: Tuesday, November 22, 2016, 7:30 PM
- Location: Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 30 W North Ave, Baltimore
- Host: Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse
- Entry fee: none
Please join us for an evening of readings and discussion with Jason Harris and Su Sokol on the power of speculative fiction to aid social justice movements in imagining, organizing and building a better world. Jason Harris, a 2015 Kimbilio Fiction fellow, is the editor of REDLINES: Baltimore 2028, as well as the author of the soon-to-be-released novel Fly Girl. Su J. Sokol, a former housing attorney from Brooklyn, is a social rights advocate and activist living in Montréal. Her debut novel, Cycling to Asylum, was nominated for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic.
CAN-CON 2016
- Dates: September 9th – 11th
- Location: Novotel, 33 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ontario
- Host: The Society for Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature
- Registration fees: see website
CAN•CON, or more completely CAN•CON: The Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature, is a periodic science fiction and fantasy convention in Ottawa put on by The Society for Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature.
Friday, September 9, 7:00 pm: Ursula K. Le Guin: Contributions and Legacy – Caroline Frechette, Su Sokol, Cathy Hird, Chris Kelworth, Alison Sinclair
Saturday, September 10, 16:00: Want to Dominate the World, but Don’t Have a Writers’ Group? Maaja Wentz, Mike Rimar, James K. Moran, Su Sokol, Ryan McFadden (m)
Saturday, September 10, 18:00: Readings: Cycling to Asylum by Su Sokol, Thanatos by Karen Dales, RecipeArium by Costi Gurgu
Sunday, September 11, at 11:00am: Book-Clubbing Foreign Work of SF Translated into English – Peter Halasz, Jonathan Crowe, Su Sokol, Anatoly Belilovski, Costi Gurgu (m)
NDG ARTS WEEK: BELLES LETTRES I, II, and III
- Dates: August 23rd at 18:45, August 25th at 18:45, and August 28th at 17:00
- Location: Café Shäika, 5526 rue Sherbrooke O., Montréal
- Host: La Semaines des arts NDG Arts Week
- Entry fee: free
Belles Lettres I, Tuesday, August 23rd: Enjoy an evening of prose and poetry with award-winning authors Ian McGillis, Melissa Bull, Pascale Rafie, Larissa Andrusyshyn, Ariela Freedman, and Monique Polak, who will give readings and sign copies of their books. Curated and hosted by Su Sokol.
Belles Lettres II, Tuesday, August 23rd: Enjoy an evening of prose and poetry with award-winning authors Louise Auger, Cora Siré, Dima Karout, Anita Rau Badami, Sivan Slapak, Su J. Sokol, and Martin Michaud. Curated and hosted by Su Sokol.
Belles Lettres III, Tuesday, August 23rd: Enjoy an evening of prose and poetry with award-winning authors Blossom Thom, Joel Yanofsky, Caroline Vu, Derek Webster, Neil Smith, and Jo Walton who will give readings and sign copies of their books. Curated and hosted by Su Sokol.
READING AT PERFECT BOOKS IN OTTAWA
- Date: Sunday, May 29, 2016, 14:30
- Location: Perfect Books, 258 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario
- Host: Perfect Books
- Entry fee: none
Images from Previous Readings and Events:
Montréal:
New York:
Toronto:
Baltimore:
Ottawa:
Bristol, U.K.:
Paris, France:
Helsinki, Finland:
Su J. Sokol 