I’m on the editorial board, and an acquiring editor for, a new series by the European academic publisher Springer. I’m busy but agreed to participate because I love the intersection of science and fiction and am the target audience for these type of books, and I bet many of you are, too I have some good company on the advisory board from the science fiction side (e.g., Geoffrey Landis, Gregory Benford, Rudy Rucker). I’m trying to get the word out to see what kind of books you might be interested in seeing from the series, and to solicit proposals. Anyway, here’s what it’s all about!
Science and Fiction
A unique new book series
NEW
In many respects the intellectual challenges of discovering new science and creating plausible new fictional worlds are two sides of the same coin. They both demand an understanding of the way the world is and, based on this, an ability to imagine how it might be. The titles in this new series will take various approaches to exploring and exploiting the narrow and often ill- defined frontier between science and science fiction, in particular seeking to discover mutual influences and to promote fruitful interaction.
Main pillars of the series will be concise works that:
► Indulge in science speculation – describing, in accessible manner, interesting, plausible yet unproven ideas
► Exploit science fiction for teaching purposes and as a means of promoting critical thinking
► Analyze the interplay of science and science fiction – throughout the history of the genre and looking ahead
► Publish essays on related topics, probably with a philosophical tenor
► Publish short works of fiction where (i) the scientific content is a major component and (ii) the text is supplemented by a substantial summary of the science underlying the plot
The published works in this series will be largely nontechnical; they will inform, entertain and stimulate. The series as a whole will promote the interaction and cross-fertilization of science and science fiction. In this way it will be a reaction vessel for inspired new scientific ideas – whether fiction, fact, or forever undecidable. Science and Fiction intends to go where no one has gone before!
Editorial and Advisory Board
Mark Alpert, Philip Ball, Gregory Benford, Michael Brotherton, Victor Callaghan, Amnon Eden, Geoffrey Landis, Rudy Rucker, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Rudy Vaas, Ulrich Walter, Stephen Webb
Potential topics include:
Time travel, superluminal travel, wormholes, teleportation, extraterrestrial intelligence and alien civilizations, artificial intelligence, planetary brains, the universe as a computer, non-anthropocentric viewpoints, synthetic biology, genetic engineering, developing nanotechnologies, eco/infrastructure/meteorite-impact disaster scenarios, future scenarios, transhumanism, posthumanism, intelligence explosion, virtual worlds, cyberspace dramas, consciousness and mind manipulation, simulated worlds
We look forward to receiving your book proposal for Science and Fiction
All proposals will be refereed for their suitability in reaching the goals of the series while retaining a high level of scientific (and narrative) credibility. Proposals are approved at the discretion of the editorial board and publisher. Authors will be encouraged to keep their manuscripts to a maximum of 80.000 words.
Join forces with the STM publisher of choice
When you publish with Springer, your work will be made available as :
►Printed book: always available thanks to print-on-demand
►eBook: accessible 24/7 worldwide
►MyCopy: printed eBook for 24.99 EUR/USD, exclusively available to patrons whose library offers Springer’s eBook Collection
Get a greater readership for your book
Springer’s leading eBook Collection is widely used in academic, governmental and corporate libraries. Your book will gain visibility and usage from cross-linking with other content on our online platform SpringerLink. SpringerLink attracts over 30 million users at more than 35,000 institutions worldwide. In addition, your book will be available in print and as eBook from online bookstores including Amazon, Google and Apple and of course The Springer Shop springer.com/shop.
Focus on your research and leave the rest to us
With Springer you can expect:
► Support from a team of dedicated professionals
► The reach, tools and experience to ensure maximum readership for your work
Let us help you find your audience and your audience find you
Our services are constantly adapting to the latest developments and include:
►Chapter previews and semantic linking
►Full indexing and enhanced Search Engine Optimization
►Social Media support
►Mobile app for convenient access from mobile devices
Get insights into the usage of your book
With realtime.springer.com you can see how often your book is downloaded, live and in real-time. This free analytics tool provides a variety of visualizations and shows you e.g. which chapters of your book are downloaded most.
More information and services for authors: springer.com/authors
Please contact me or your Springer Editors:
Christian Caron, christian.caron@springer.com Angela Lahee, angela.lahee@springer.com
What kind of books would you like to see in such a series? We’ve had one round of proposals so far, and I’ve probably got one book in the pipeline I’ve acquired, but there’s going to be a lot more.
I really like the idea of putting science fiction and related non-fiction/science side by side. I can see that as very useful from a teaching perspective, but also of significant interest to SF fans. As for topics, I guess I would be most interested in physics and cosmology, though that is likely an overly vague, not particularly helpful suggestion.