Richard Powers

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Even after winning a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, Richard Powers still has an insatiable curiosity for humans and the world around us. In his forthcoming fourteenth novel, Powers delves into seastedding, building cities that float on our oceans, envisioning the endless possibilities for humanity’s future with his ever-present empathy and imagination.

Across his life, Richard Powers has been driven by an insatiable curiosity for humans and the world around us. This has led him from budding scientist to award winning author, from Bangkok to the Netherlands, and has helped him win a Pulitzer Prize and a Macarthur Genius Grant. Powers is best known for his novels, including The Gold Bug Variations, named a Time Book of the Year, The Echo Maker, which received a National Book Award, and The Overstory, which received a Pulitzer Prize. Before becoming a writer, Powers studied physics and computer programming, but found the push towards specialization confining. Writing allowed him to take on a bird’s eye view of his world, creating twisting narratives involving a diverse cast of characters pitted against the most important topics of our time, including climate change, artificial intelligence, genetics, neuroscience, terrorism, and music. Powers is publishing fourteenth novel, Playground, which delves into the lives of artists, scientists, and teachers who choose to start seastedding, living on floating cities. Here, Powers envisions the endless possibilities for humanity’s future with his ever-present empathy and imagination.

Kim Stanley Robinson is widely recognized as one of the foremost living writers of science fiction. In The Ministry for the Future, Robinson imagines a near-future where climate change has wreaked havoc, from severe heat waves, to flooding, limited resources, and a global refugee crisis. It’s a terrifying set of circumstances, but it’s not without hope —Robinson brings to life a possible path for survival. Robinson has also published a memoir, The High Sierra: A Love Story, a “sublime” and “radically original” exploration of the Sierra Nevadas.

A limited number of tickets include a copy of Powers’ new novel, Playground.

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