Nova Mob Calendar
September 7 – Jane Routley & the Nova Mob discussion “My Favourite Utopia”. In person and Zoom.
October 5 – to be finalised. Zoom only.
November 2 – Ian Mond “Mondiale – best books of 2022”. In person and Zoom.
December 7 – Chris Flynn “Here Be Leviathans”. In person and Zoom.
December 14 – end of year celebration event. In person only.
1st February 2023 – First meeting of the new year. Topic to be finalised.
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Jane Routley – “My Favourite Utopia”
September 7 – Jane Routley & Mob “My Favourite Utopia”.
In person and remotely by Zoom.
Utopias are perfect places, which is a problem for story-tellers because compelling stories require
conflict and the ideal utopia is universally a happy place. It follows that Utopian fiction is about the flies in the ointment, not the ointment itself. There is an exception, it’s of limited appeal, where recipes of the ointment are provided by way of tour guides of the utopia and not much happens by way of story.
Jane’s been reading the 2022 Utopia Award nominees and it’s put the spotlight on the problem of Utopia as “ointment, would you like flies with that?”. According to some academics Utopian fiction is one of sf’s largest subgenres, or is a separate genre. If there’s so much of it, surely there should be some really good stories?
Jane will discuss this year’s Utopia Award nominees.
Then it’s open discussion on these questions:
1. one’s favourite utopia – in which utopia would you want to live?
2. recommend a novel or story for someone new to utopian fiction
3. best film or TV utopia
Of course, a utopia doesn’t have to be labelled as such to be perceived as being a utopia by the reader or by its inhabitants. Is the near-future of Star Trek a utopia? To many viewers, it is.
Discussion will include Zoom participants. The list of stories from the night will be published.
Jane Routley and the Nova Mob – “My Favourite Utopia”
– Nova Mob 7 September 2022
Please share this invitation with like-minded friends and fans
Meet the speaker face to face at the Kensington Town Hall
You are invited to a Nova Mob gathering at:
Wednesday 7 September
8.00pm – 9.30 pm or so, first floor Conference Room
Kensington Town Hall 30 – 34 Bellair St
Kensington Melbourne VIC 3031
Simultaneously with a Zoom meeting.
COVID-19 protocols apply. Please don’t attend if you feel unwell, nor if you are not fully vaccinated.
By Zoom
Wednesday 7 September
8.00pm – 9.30 pm Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney time
7.30pm – 9.00pm Adelaide time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09
Passcode: nova
Meeting ID: 417 758 3193
A note about Zoom
Each meeting we get a little better at Zoom, and encounter new twists to the conundrum of operating a seamless video conference in combination with the face to face meeting. We see this process of continuous improvement as never-ending, indeed interminable.
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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