Breaking the Mould: A New Era of Worldbuilding

Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Lincolnshire before heading off to Reading to study psychology and zoology. He subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives. Married, he is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and has trained in stage-fighting. He’s the author of Children of Time, the winner of the 30th Anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Sunday Times bestseller Shards of Earth.

With a DNA profile that lights up like a satellite photograph of earth, Saara El-Arifi’s heritage is intrinsically linked to the themes she explores in her writing. She was raised in the Middle East until her formative years, when her family swapped the Abu Dhabi desert for the English Peak District hills. This change of climate had a significant impact on her growth—not physically, she’s nearly 6ft—and she learned what it was to be Black in a white world. El-Arifi knew she was a storyteller from the moment she told her first lie. Though her stories have developed beyond the ramblings of a child, she still appreciates the thrill of a well-told tale.

Haris A. Durrani is a writer of fiction, history, and legal scholarship. He is the author of Technologies of the Self and numerous works of short fiction. He is a PhD candidate in History at Princeton University and holds a JD from Columbia Law School. At Columbia University, he co-founded The Muslim Protagonist literary symposium. His essays and academic articles investigate law, technology, and U.S. empire. He is also a scholar of the classic science fiction novel Dune.