{"id":2032,"date":"2020-05-01T05:32:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T04:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickwood.frogwrite.co.nz\/?page_id=2032"},"modified":"2020-06-30T00:45:55","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T23:45:55","slug":"water-must-fall","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nickwood.eketahuna.co.nz\/?page_id=2032","title":{"rendered":"Water Must Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WATER MUST FALL<\/a><\/strong> has just been launched virtually by NewCon Press<\/strong>, given the constraints of public spaces under viral attack, right now. Set in 2048, a year before the Blade Runner <\/strong>sequel date, it aims to avoid that <\/em><\/strong>pervasive and gloomy dystopia, by focusing on three alternating POV characters and their connections within developing small stories (but of a global groundswell) of community activism, aimed at taking control of the planet for a brighter, fairer solar based future. For surely we’ve all had enough of unmitigated dystopias by now, surely?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I’m guessing – for those of you interested in pigeon-hole labels – African Solar-Punk<\/em><\/strong> may be the best fit. (My latest essay SF in SA, vol 31<\/strong><\/em>, looks at the debate over the labels Afro v Africanfuturisms;<\/a><\/em><\/strong> April 2020.) TOR <\/strong>have a two parter on ‘Afro-Solarpunk<\/em><\/strong>‘ here <\/a><\/strong>and here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you interested in the genesis of WATER MUST FALL<\/strong>, it came after a Nine Worlds Panel in 2017 when the wonderful Russell Smith<\/strong> asked me to fill in at short notice on a panel for Tade Thompson<\/strong>. Tade <\/strong>has huge boots to fill and I was already anxious at the prospect – and then I saw my fellow panelists (see photos below<\/em>). Yes, I got to sit next to the fierce and legendary Pat Cadigan,<\/strong> alongside Adrian Tchaikovsky<\/strong> and Anna Smith-Spark <\/strong>– Russell Smith<\/strong> is speaking to Anna <\/strong>in the first photo, and is himself a fine writer. (In photo 2 that’s a first edition copy of ROSEWATER <\/strong>under my elbow, which I’d showed off to the audience.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n