New Zealand: so much more than what you’ve seen in movies! Meet a vibrant community of authors, fandom, literary awards, and conventions. Learn about key players, award-winning titles to add to your list, and triumphs and struggles of writing sci-fi & fantasy in the South Pacific. Hear how a homeland prone to natural disaster has influenced genre, how Maori folklore is represented, and dilemmas of writing true-to-life vs writing for international publishers while filmmakers can’t get enough of our landscapes.

Award-winning author Grace Bridges has been president of SpecFicNZ for 5 years and is the chair of GeyserCon 2019, NZ’s 40th National SF&F Convention. Her works include space opera, Irish cyberpunk, and the Earthcore urban fantasy series and editing collections such as Te Korero Ahi Ka: To Speak of the Home Fires Burning and other short-listed anthologies.