New Suns
A Feminist Literary Festival
Available within the UK only.
Access to content throughout the weekend, until 11.59pm on Tuesday 9 March.

The feminist literary festival returns to explore the legacy of science-fiction author Octavia Butler and her prophetic Earthseed series. With online panel discussions, workshops and a film screening.
The third edition of New Suns takes place online and draws inspiration from themes in Octavia Butler’s writing, in particular the Earthseed series. Often hailed as prophetic – and increasingly prescient over the last five years – imagining 2020s America ravaged by ecological disaster, violent and racist disorder, and led by a disruptive president – with our heroine looking to the stars for rebirth. Together we’ll examine the inevitability of change, adaptive and resilient communities, and humanity’s relationship to the stars.
We invite you to join us online over the weekend for a film screening, panel discussions and workshops featuring acclaimed writers, artists, and thinkers. Plus, sign up to receive a special merchandise pack containing a New Suns anthology of writing.
Available within the UK only.
Captioning will be provided for all events.
Artwork credit: Cecilia Serafini
This is a past event. Subscribe to our newsletters to hear about upcoming events
How to watch
If you have a ticket, you'll be able to log in and access all the content here.
Arrive a few minutes early to make sure everything is working. You can get help in our live chat if you need it.
If you don’t have a password you need to create one using this reset password link.
Be sure to use the same email address that you used to purchase your ticket.
Weekend programme
Fri 5 Mar
From 12noon – film is available to watch on demand all weekend.
Watch: Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival
2016 Fabrizio Terranova, 90 min
Available to watch on demand all weekend.
Feminist thinker, writer and historian of science Donna Haraway shares her life, influences and ideas in this documentary film by director Fabrizio Terranova. Haraway is best known for her work on gender, cyborgs, unconventional partnerships and post-colonialism – including the ground-breaking ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century’ (1985).
Keynote talk: The Parables of Octavia Butler
adrienne maree brown in conversation with Ama Josephine Budge
7pm – 8:15pm
Writers and activists adrienne maree brown and Ama Josephine Budge in conversation, exploring the work of Octavia Butler. The power and inevitability of change is central to Butler’s visionary stories, as well as the reimaginations of social relations across race, gender and class – how can we collectively seed, cultivate and create the worlds we want, and build habitable futures?
Sat 6 Mar
Workshop: What-if?
A Speculative Science Fiction Writing Workshop with Season Butler
11am – 1pm
Writer, performance artist and teacher Season Butler leads a workshop on fantastical, futuristic writing: how to conjure voice, subjectivity, and compelling, engaging prose. There will be breakout sessions to practice exercises within the workshop and writers at all levels are welcome. Only available with the New Suns plus ticket.
Panel talk: Among the Stars
A poetry live reading with Precious Okoyomon, Dorothea Lasky and Izabella Scott + discussion with The White Review
5pm – 6pm
For millennia we have stargazed for inspiration and knowledge via astrology, astronomy and space exploration. With poetry readings and conversation, Dorothea Lasky, Precious Okoyomon and Izabella Scott explore the relationship between stars and the soil: how can what lies beyond our world help us here on earth?Unfortunately, Precious Okoyomon was not able to make the Among the Stars panel talk on Saturday evening. Live poetry readings were performed by Dorothea Lasky, followed by a discussion with Izabella Scott.
Sun 7 Mar
Workshop: Journaling / Diary writing with the London Review of Books
12pm – 1:15pm
Led by Alice Spawls, co-editor of the LRB, this workshop explores journaling as a foundation for creative writing. Focusing on skills for independent editing, playing with time and structuring prose, the workshop will draw from a combination of Octavia Butler’s writings and diary pieces from the LRB.
--
Bookers can continue to watch all content back until Tuesday 9 March 11.59pm.
Ticket options
Excludes access to the Science Fiction workshop with Season Butler.
(£15)
Ticket booking closes at 12noon Sunday 7 March. After this point if you have a ticket you will be able to watch everything up until 11.59pm on Tuesday 9 March. If you don’t have a ticket, unfortunately you won’t be able to watch.
You can only buy one online ticket. If you wish to buy a ticket for someone who will be watching in a different household please contact our Box Office team at tickets@barbican.org.uk
Includes exclusive merchandise bundle and access to the Science Fiction workshop with Season Butler.
(£25)
Purchase this ticket option by Thu 18 Feb for delivery of the bundle in time for the festival. Any booked after this date will still receive the package, but may not receive it before the festival.
Ticket booking closes at 12noon Sunday 7 March. After this point if you have a ticket you will be able to watch everything up until 11.59pm on Tuesday 9 March. If you don’t have a ticket, unfortunately you won’t be able to watch.
You can only buy one online ticket. If you wish to buy a ticket for someone who will be watching in a different household please contact our Box Office team at tickets@barbican.org.uk

New Suns + Anthology + Bonus Workshop Ticket Option
For £25 you’ll get access to all the online sessions and content plus a package sent to your door featuring: an exclusive anthology, New Suns art bookmark and postcard, and a packet of seeds.
Looking for a new book?
A New Suns reading list
Explore the New Suns reading list in partnership with bookshop.org. Read more from this year’s contributors and support independent book shops at the same time