Exploring Big Questions and Big Feelings through Speculative Fiction with Grace Chan
In this episode, Krystle chats with Grace Chan about her novel Every Version of You, the story of which Grace tongue-in-cheekly describes as being about ‘staying in love after mind-uploading into virtual reality’. Spoiler: it’s loaded with meaning and big feelings and has us question what it is to be human. Krystle and Grace also geek out, discussing Neuralink (Elon Musk’s brain implant company), FKA Twigs’ AI doppelgänger, and Chinese scientists’ recent success in freezing brain tissue without damage.
About Grace Chan:
Grace Chan is an award-winning speculative fiction writer. She writes about brains, minds, and space. Her debut novel, Every Version of You, won The University of Sydney’s People’s Choice Award and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and The Age’s ‘Book of the Year’. It was longlisted for the Stella Prize and Indie Book Awards. Her short fiction and poetry can be found in Clarkesworld, Escape Pod, Going Down Swinging, and many other places. Grace’s short stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards - Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards - her story As Though I Were A Little Sun winning 'Best Science Fiction Short Story' in 2022.
Grace was born in Malaysia and works and lives on the unceded lands of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people.
Every Version of You is available here, by request from your local bookstore, and other online retailers.
Find Grace:
About Krystle Marie:
Krystle Marie is a mixed, neurodivergent sort-of writer based in Meanjin. She’s thrilled to have interned with SWN as a soon-to-be graduate of UQ’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing program. She's currently into Japanese-language immersion. She's always into noise-cancelling headphones.
The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!
The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google Podcasts (soon to be YouTube Music), Apple and Spotify now!
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Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html
Read the transcript here.
Related episodes,
Comfort in the Cosmic with Alicia Sometimes
Science in Virtual Realities with Michael Angilletta
