Date:
2/23/2006
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
PORTALES—The 30th Annual Williamson Lectureship will be held Thursday, March 2, on the Portales campus of Eastern New Mexico University. This annual lectureship honors distinguished Emeritus Professor of English Dr. Jack Williamson, 97, science fiction author and scholar.
The luncheon, which will cost $8, will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the Campus Union Ballroom. The evening presentation at 7 p.m. in Buchanan Hall of the Music Building is free. To make luncheon reservations, call 505.562.2315.
A campus tradition since 1977, the Williamson Lectureship annually invites well-known authors to visit campus and discuss the interactions of science and the humanities. This year's theme is "Ecological Apocalypse" with guest speaker Kim Stanley Robinson.
As an author, Robinson has been writing since 1975, but may be best known for his Mars trilogy, beginning with Nebula-winner Red Mars (published in 1992). The triology's second and third novels, Green Mars (1993) and Blue Mars (1995), both captured Hugo awards. A native of southern California, Robinson is also well-known for his "Orange County Trilogy" comprised of The Wild Shore (1984), The Gold Coast (1988) and Pacific Edge (1990, Campbell Memorial Award winner).
Robinson's concern with environmental issues informs all his work, from his anthology Future Primitive (1994), dealing with many ecological issues, to his latest work, Fifty Degrees Below (2005), a sequel to Forty Signs of Rain (2005).
His alternative history, The Years of Rice and Salt (2002), brilliantly imagines a world where the Bubonic plague wipes out the population of Europe, leaving the East to become the dominant force in the world.
As an author, Robinson has been writing since 1975, but may be best known for his Mars trilogy, beginning with Nebula-winner Red Mars (published in 1992). The triology's second and third novels, Green Mars (1993) and Blue Mars (1995), both captured Hugo awards. A native of southern California, Robinson is also well-known for his "Orange County Trilogy" comprised of The Wild Shore (1984), The Gold Coast (1988) and Pacific Edge (1990, Campbell Memorial Award winner).
Robinson's concern with environmental issues informs all his work, from his anthology Future Primitive (1994), dealing with many ecological issues, to his latest work, Fifty Degrees Below (2005), a sequel to Forty Signs of Rain (2005). His alternative history, The Years of Rice and Salt (2002), brilliantly imagines a world where the Bubonic plague wipes out the population of Europe, leaving the East to become the dominant force in the world.
According to Dr. Patrice Caldwell, executive director of Planning and Analysis at ENMU, The Williamson Lectureship will have some other special guests as well. "All of the guests have been to Portales before, but will be coming just to see Dr. Williamson," Dr. Caldwell said. She added that some will be included on the evening panel.
The special guests include:
Connie Willis (well-known author who serves as M.C. for the events)
Frederik Pohl (well known SF writer, editor, anthologist; friend of Jack Williamson for over 60 years)
Fred Saberhagen (well-known author)
Melinda Snodgrass (screenwriter and author)
Walter Jon Williams (SF author)
Charles N. Brown, editor, LOCUS Magazine
Scott Edelman, editor, SCI-FI
For more information, call 505.562.2315, or e-mail Patrice.Caldwell@enmu.edu.