Imagined Worlds: Using Sci-Fi and Fantasy To Tell Our Stories

Science fiction and fantasy is a genre that is known to test the limits of our imaginations. But how can it be employed to tell our stories that could authentically reflect our experiences, identities, and relationships? Join us on this panel with authors Alice Chao, Ann Sei Lin, and Dr Danbee "Tauntaun" Kim as they chat with London Science Fiction Research Community co-director Dr Yen Ooi.

Alice Chao is a Taiwanese Canadian fantasy writer resident in the UK who enjoys exploring the intersections of identity and belonging in her writing. A recovering lawyer and xiaolongbao enthusiast, Alice now lives in London with her family. Her debut Shanghai Immortal was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller, and its sequel, Paris Celestial will be out in July 2025. Find her online at aychao.com.

Ann Sei Lin is a writer and librarian with a love for all things fantasy. Though London is now her home, she spent several years living and working in Chiba, Japan. When not writing, she is often studying, gaming, or trying to make that origami rabbit for the one hundredth time. https://annseilin.co.uk/

Dr. Danbee “Tauntaun” Kim (they/them) is a Korean-American neuroscientist, educator, and performance artist. They love thinking about brains, movement, decolonisation, indigenisation, and storytelling. Nurturing vibrant ecosystems and exploring new ways to learn are core activities. They use live drawing and music, theatre games, robotics, and graphic novels to teach neuroscience to curious humans of all ages. Tauntaun earned their B.Sc. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT and spent a decade acting, directing, writing and more for the MIT Musical Theater Guild. Their Ph.D. in Neuroscience developed a framework for bringing neuroscience research out of the lab and into daily life, aka “field neuroscience”. In collaboration with 17 artists from around the world, Dr. Taun translated their doctoral thesis into a YA sci-fi graphic novel called The First VIRS. Learn more at http://www.danbeekim.org/.

Dr Yen Ooi is a Hugo Awards finalist writer-researcher whose works explore East and Southeast Asian culture, identity and values. Her projects aim to cultivate cultural engagement in our modern, technology-driven lives. Yen is narrative director and writer on Road to Guangdong, a narrative-style driving game. She is author of Rén: The Ancient Chinese Art of Finding Peace and Fulfilment (non-fiction), Sun: Queens of Earth (novel) and A Suspicious Collection of Short Stories and Poetry (collection). She is also co-editor of Ab Terra, Brain Mill Press's science fiction imprint. When she's not got her head in a book, she lectures, mentors and plays the viola. www.yenooi.com

This event is part of the Imagined Worlds series, a month-long celebration of fantasy and sci-fi exploring world-building and utopian and dystopian futures.

N.B. This event will be presented in English and in British Sign Language, with an in-person BSL interpreter at Deptford Lounge.

It will also be available as a YouTube livestream if you are unable to attend in person.

Host or Publisher Lewisham Library & Information Service