A 501(c)(3) organization: It is the mission of Parsec “to promote awareness of the richness of speculative fiction as literature, art and music; further general education in the sciences and arts, support contributions–both scientific and artistic–to society and to espouse the enjoyment of speculative fiction as literature, art and music with others.”
A 501(c)(3) organization: It is the mission of Parsec “to promote awareness of the richness of speculative fiction as literature, art and music; further general education in the sciences and arts, support contributions–both scientific and artistic–to society and to espouse the enjoyment of speculative fiction as literature, art and music with others.”
James Wynn, an associate professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, believes it is important to consider space exploration and settlement from the perspective of colonialism. The potential for conflicts over land and resources between nations are parallel to those in past colonial moments. What does the future hold?
Dr. Wynn’s request: “Given that you are all avid sci-fi readers, I would really love to hear about your experiences with colonial themes in the stories you’ve read and the ways in which you think historical colonial ideas have recirculated or evolved in sci-fi literature.”
PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier SF/F/H Organization meets on Saturday, January 18th , 2025 via ZOOM (see registration link below) and IN PERSON at the Mt. Lebanon Library, 16 Castle Shannon Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15228 Meeting time: 1:00 – 3:30 pm. (room opens at 12:30 for social time)
In January, our guest is Maren Cooke of Pittsburgh’s Sustainability Salon. A planetary scientist by training, today she works in environmental education and activism around climate, air quality, plastics, food, labor, and justice.
Maren Cooke is a planetary scientist by training, but now works mainly on environmental education and activism around climate, air quality, plastics, food, labor, and justice.
She serves in leadership roles at the Group Against Smog & Pollution, 350 Pittsburgh, ReImagine Food Systems, Pittsburghers Against Single-Use Plastic, Pittsburgh Green New Deal, and the Climate Action Plan Justice Coalition, and works closely with many other local organizations and government officials; she co-founded Putting Down Roots, Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance, the Pittsburgh Labor Choir, a school garden at a local K-8, and a nature education program in Frick Park. https://marenslist.blogspot.com/
Maren volunteers as an Urban Ecosteward, a Tree Tender, a Master Gardener, a Master Composter, and a Master Naturalist. Maren often creates banners and signage for local movements, and organizes and hosts Sustainability Salons, a monthly environmental education forum now 13 years running.
This month our Confluence Topics meeting will be held at theMt.Lebanon Public Library (16 Castle Shannon Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15228) in Meeting Room A (lower level). The room opens at 12:30. The meeting starts at 1:00pm. A Zoom option will be available for those that cannot make it in-person
REFRESHMENTS will be served! We haven’t been able to have refreshments during a Parsec meeting for many years. The library allows food and beverages so we’re bringing some light sweet refreshments to share. Possibly even a Pittsburgh iconic burnt almond torte! Attendees are welcome to bring something to share. We will not be providing beverages. BYOBeverage of choice — just NO alcoholic beverages, please!
Joining us in person will be Confluence 2024 Guest of Honor, Richard Kadrey. Richard is a novelist, freelance writer, and photographer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At the March meeting, Parsec traditionally holds a brainstorming session for the Confluence Conference held July 26-28, 2024. We’ll be discussing various panel topics for consideration. Richard will introduce us to his works, career, and writing, and do a reading from one of his books, perhaps the Sandman Slim series or The Dead Take the A Train. He will also participate in our Confluence panel topics discussion.
Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime,” and is in development as a feature film.
“The Dead Take the A Train” is his latest release! Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.
Some of Kadrey’s other books include King Bullet, The Grand Dark, Butcher Bird, and The Dead Take the A Train (with Cassandra Khaw). He’s written for film and comics, including Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. Kadrey also makes music with his band, A Demon in Fun City.
On Sat, Nov 18, 2023, our guest speaker will be Elizabeth Eve King, aka E.E. King
Elizabeth King, is an award-winning painter, performer, writer, and naturalist. She’ll do anything that won’t pay the bills, especially if it involves animals. Ray Bradbury called Elizabeth’s stories, “marvelously inventive, wildly funny, and deeply thought-provoking.”
E.E. King has been published in over 100 magazines and anthologies, including Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Short Edition, and Flametree. Her novels include Dirk Quigby’s Guide to the Afterlife: All you need to know to choose the right heaven, and several story collections. Her short story The Lost Village appeared in DreamForge in 2023.
Her art has been collected internationally. Elizabeth has painted murals in California, Mexico, Spain, and Italy, and shown her paintings at the LA Contemporary Museum of Art. http://www.elizabetheveking.com/
During the November Parsec meeting, Elizabeth will be informing us about her activities planting coral and sharing a video or two with us. Along with her husband Kevan, she has visited Bonaire and volunteered with Reef Renewal Bonaire, cleaning and planting coral. A short video on YouTube introduces you to the work being done Reinvigorating Bonaire’s Coral Sanctuaries.
PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization meets on Saturday, Nov 18, 2023 via ZOOM and IN PERSON at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Squirrel Hill, Meeting Room B. Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm The meeting room and the ZOOM both open for chat at 12:30 pm.
Location: Dormont Park Large Pavilion. 1801 Dormont Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. The large pavilion is Wheelchair accessible and has plenty of room for social distancing! This is a potluck event.
Date: Saturday Aug 19, 2023 Location: Dormont Park large pavilion, 1801 Dormont Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15216.
Saturday, July 15th, 2023 via ZOOM and IN PERSON at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Squirrel Hill, Meeting Room B.
Please note time change due to room availability! In-person meeting at Squirrel Hill Library: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. ZOOM will open at 1:30 pm. Register for the Zoom meeting: https://bit.ly/Parsec-Meeting
This month we’re going to talk about the Confluence Conference, which takes place July 21, 22, and 23, 2023 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel.
Why is Confluence a great place to experience your first SciFi Con?
Location: Dormont Park Large Pavilion. 1801 Dormont Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. The large pavilion is Wheelchair accessible and has plenty of room for social distancing! This is a potluck event.
PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization meets on Saturday, March18th via ZOOM. (The Squirrel Hill Library will not be available to us in the First Quarter of 2023.) Program begins 1:00 pm.
This month we’ll discuss and exchange ideas for programming for the 2023 Confluence Conference. The Conference takes place July 21, 22, and 23.
We’ll discuss, among other things, panel topics for the conference. Things like:
• A.I. in Art and Writing, the Controversy of These Emerging Technologies.
• The Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox. If there are alien civilizations all around us, why are they invisible and silent?
• Speculative Fiction as a Literature of Hope or Despair? Should writers point out all the ways humanity is failing, or our opportunities to transcend?
These examples are just to generate ideas and discussion. We want to hear your ideas!
This year’s guest of honor is Ada Palmer. Ada’s Terra Ignota series (Tor Books) explores a future of borderless nations and globally commixing populations. The first volume Too Like the Lightning was a Best Novel Hugo finalist and won the Compton Crook Award. She composes close harmony folk music with mythological, science fiction and fantasy themes, and performs with the a cappella group Sassafrass.
Our featured music guest is Sassafrass. Sassafrass is a singing group performing original a cappella folk music, mostly with fantasy, mythology and science fiction themes.
Writing Workshops with Timons Esaias. Timons Esaias is a satirist, writer and poet living in Pittsburgh. His works, ranging from literary to genre, have been published in twenty-two languages. He taught writing in Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction graduate program for twenty years. Workshops open March 15th.
Featured Artist is Susan Dexter.
Featured Entertainers are The Confused Greenies.
Rhiannon’s Lark will lead the singing of “Three Days Away from the Ratrace” at the Opening Ceremonies.
Robert E. Harpold Flybys, Launch Windows, and Selfies with the Earth and Moon: The Artemis I Flight from the Perspective of a Member of the Trajectory-Design Team
In April our guest speaker will be Robert E. Harpold.
Robert E. Harpold is an engineer working for ERC, Inc., a subcontractor for NASA, designing trajectories for the Artemis missions.
Love is in the air so show your love for SF/F/H by bringing your original poem to the Feb Parsec meeting. Attendees are encouraged to bring short and effective pieces to read.
Bruce Boston will be our our guest! Bruce is an accomplished SF Poet and the author of sixty books and chapbooks, including the dystopian novel The Guardener’s Tale and the psychedelic coming-of-age novel Stained Glass Rain.
Bruce will read for us “Interstellar Tract,” and some other poems from his latest collection, Spacers Snarled in the Hair of Comets, which is entirely SF poetry.
His fiction and poetry have appeared in hundreds of publications, especially Asimov’s SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Analog, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, The Nebula Awards Showcase, and DreamForge Magazine. Boston has received the Bram Stoker Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Asimov’s Readers Award, the Gothic Readers Choice Award, and the Rhysling and Grand Master Awards of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.
Meeting Information:
Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023
Program begins: 1:00 pm (ET)
Register for Zoom: https://bit.ly/Parsec-Meeting The Squirrel Hill Library will not be available to us in the First Quarter of 2023.
Did you miss the January Parsec meeting?
You can now catch a recap of Crystal Crawford talking about her Kindle Vella experience on our YouTube channel!
This month we welcome Crystal Crawford, a homeschooling mom of four, part-time non-profit Director, a writing teacher and indie author. Her imagination is her happy place! Crystal writes fantasy and YA, with a smattering of other genres, and loves to create deep, enveloping story worlds.
Crystal has one published YA fantasy series, The Lex Chronicles (Legends of Arameth), and is now writing a new YA paranormal folklore-inspired fantasy series, The Leyward Stones, which is currently publishing in weekly episodes on Amazon’s Kindle Vella serial platform.
Crystal has published two stories with DreamForge Magazine, both “Our Kind” and “One Shot at Aeden” are both side stories set in the Leyward Stones world.
During our January meeting, Crystal will tell us about her experience publishing with Kindle Vella. Kindle Vella is a way to share serialized stories with readers over an extended period – one episode at a time. Readers can: Find and view a story’s detail page in the Kindle Vella store. Read the first few episodes of every story for free. Kindle Vella offers features like Faves and Thumbs Up to engage with stories.
Unfortunately The Squirrel Hill Library will not be available to us in the First Quarter of 2023. Programs in Jan, Feb and March will be held on Zoom only.
This year we will be returning to an in-person holiday party!
DATE: Saturday December 17th
TIME: 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location: 2966 Voelkel Ave, Pittsburgh (Dormont), PA 15216. Parsec Member Greg Armstrong’s home*.
This is a potluck event. It is suggested that everyone bring a dish to share: salad, side dish, dessert or snacks/chips & dip. Parsec will supply some beverages and paper products (plates, napkins, flatware). Masking is optional.
This event is FREE to attend and open to members and friends of Parsec and those wishing to learn more about Parsec.
During the party the 2023 Parsec meeting committee officers will be announced!
*If using public transit, take the trolley Red Line to Potomac Station. Take a 2 block walk down Potomac (away from Molly’s Pizza) and a left onto Voelkel. 2966 is at the far end on the right. If driving, Voelkel is a one-way street, starting at Hillsdale Ave and heading towards Potomac Ave. Greg’s home will be on the left side. Greg will probably have his 10′ dragon wearing a Santa hat in his front yard.
