N K Jemisin: Writing new worlds
The American science-fiction author goes in-depth about her world-building process and the power of fiction
New York-based writer N. K. Jemisin is one of the biggest names in modern science-fiction. She’s the first in the genre’s history to win three consecutive Hugo Awards, for each book in her Broken Earth trilogy.
In conversation with presenter Dr Vic James, Jemisin talks in-depth about world-building. She reveals how the initial idea for Broken Earth came to her in a dream. This then led her to a NASA writing residency and a trip to Hawaii, flying over its volcanoes in order to accurately visualise the trilogy’s setting: a super-continent called The Stillness that is ravaged by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Jemisin reflects on how it all came together, how she gives voice to the oppressed, and why she thinks these books have resonated with so many people around the world.
Presenter: Vic James
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Executive produced by Rebecca Armstrong for the BBC World Service
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- Tue 17 May 202203:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
- Tue 17 May 202204:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Tue 17 May 202210:32GMTBBC World Service
- Tue 17 May 202221:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Tue 17 May 202222:32GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Sun 22 May 202201:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
