Science Fiction in San Francisco (A Perfect Fit), or SF in SF, is a monthly series of science fiction readings and films hosted by Terry Bisson (author of the truly wonderful Talking Man and Bears Discover Fire). I don’t know how long the series has been running (several years at least), but I went last Saturday to hear Karen Joy Fowler, whose work I cannot recommend highly enough, and a writer new to me, Claude Lalumiere, whose performance was thoroughly enjoyable.
Readings are free, and proceeds from the bar go to The Variety Children’s Hospital. So far SF in SF has raised around $25,000 toward this end.
The venue is a screening room at The Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, and it is one of the nicer places I’ve been to hear a reading, with banked theater-style seating, sound-dampening curtains, overhead spot lighting, a congenial host, snacks & booze in the lobby, and an attentive, appreciative audience, many of whom are writers themselves.
Readings and subsequent Q & A are recorded and made available online as well.
Karen and I used to correspond many moons ago, and I hugely enjoyed seeing her again. Her star has risen enormously over the years (a MacArthur grant, breakout literary success with Sarah Canary, commercial and cinematic success with The Jane Austen Book Club, awards, awards, awards), and it has been a delight to witness. What I like most is that none of this seems to have affected her work — she remains sui generis, she hasn’t distanced herself from science fiction as a genre, and she continues to produce intelligent, involving, and affecting work.
I had some great conversations before & after the event, and felt very welcomed (everybody seemed to know each other).
SF in SF is a terrific resource for the community, and huge kudos to Terry Bisson, Rina Weisman, and all who put forth the considerable effort in organizing it. I’m giving a reading there on November 13, and I am hugely looking forward to it.
