Date:
2/26/2002
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
Reporter: Colleen Wright
PORTALES – The twenty-sixth annual Williamson Lectureship, hosted by the Jack Williamson Lectureship Committee, will be at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales on March 7.
There will be a luncheon at noon in the Campus Union Ballroom and a panel presentation by the authors at 7 p.m. in the Becky Sharp Auditorium of the College of Business. The luncheon is $7 per person and the evening presentation is free. Both are open to the public.
Science fiction author and Emeritus Professor of English Dr. Jack Williamson will be there to welcome the attendees and address this year's Lectureship theme, "Dragons, Dinosaurs, and Darwin." Guests George R. R. Martin and Michael Swanwick will speak at both the luncheon and evening panel, moderated by ENMU professor and fantasy author Dr. Christopher Stasheff.
The Williamson Lectureship has been an ENMU tradition since 1977. This year's topic explores mankind's fascination with fantastic themes of fantasy, the extrapolation of science of science fiction, and the puzzles of evolution.
The lectureship honors Dr. Williamson for a lifetime of achievement and for his recent novel, Terraforming the Earth, published in 2001. This novel uses a concept that was invented in 1942 by Williamson himself. Terraforming refers to the alternation of an inhospitable terrain to support human life.
Author Martin's award-winning series, A Song of Ice and Fire, will add a fourth volume, expected in fall of 2002. Martin has also authored numerous novels and short stories. He has worked as a story editor-producer for "Twilight Zone" and story producer for "Beauty and the Beast." An author and editor of the Wild Card shared universe series, Martin has received many international awards, including four Hugo Awards, named after famous science fiction editor and author Hugo Gernsback. Martin is a resident of Santa Fe, N.M.
Michael Swanwick has written over 40 short stories and six novels. His most recent anthology, Tales of Old Earth, has three stories that were nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award. One of them, "The Very Pulse of the Machine," was the winner of the award. Swanwick newest anthology, Bones of the Earth, was published this month.
Heading the evening panel is author and professor of communication, Christopher Stasheff. Stasheff has published many works of science fantasy, including the series The Warlock, Rogue Wizard, and A Wizard in Rhyme. He currently teaches audio and television production at ENMU. Books by all three authors, and Dr. Williamson, will be available for sale and signings at both events.
For more information, please contact Dr. Patrice Caldwell at (505) 562-2315 or patrice.caldwell@enmu.edu.