We held an information meeting today on our writers residency, the Worldbuilding Academy, which will take place later this year.
Lots of people attended the online event including social scientists, economists, activists, fiction writers and anthropologists from all corners of the globe. The energy was high with lots of questions asked that we can further clarify below.
What’s the purpose of the residency?
Science Fiction writing has produced some excellent worlds over the years. In fact, we think it’s doing a better job at imagining different futures and economies than the real world is. Because of this the Fondazione di Comunità Messina and Sci-Fi Economics Lab are organising for one author to travel to Messina in Italy to spend some time sketching out a new world.
Messina itself is an inspiring place - it has built its own economic model through the work of the Fondazione - and is an ideal location to create the outline for a future blueprint.
How are we doing it?
The project is open ended but we will be placing a particular emphasis on building new economies - lots of economies.
This is a collaborative project, where the chosen writer will sketch out his or her own world and bring the work to the Edgeryders’ platform. Here, our experts - we have over 100 economic experts, anthropologists and scientists with a lot of knowledge to share - will build on some of the elements put forward by the writer. Ideas will be tested through a critical lens to see if they are tangible.
We want to see a world and economies that could be fully visualised and exist in the near future.
What do we want to achieve?
We see lots of potential with this project, and judging by the level of interest so do many others. We want to build a bible or canon which will be open-source and allows other authors, writers and worldbuilders to create stories based in this reality.
The canon will be the intellectual property of the author(s) but will have a Creative Commons – Attribution license.
How will covid impact the residency?
With country restrictions constantly changing due to Covid we aren’t entirely sure how it will impact this project. We are currently processing applications and we will select an author to travel to Messina, but we understand circumstances may change.
We are open to work with the chosen author and come to an arrangement that suits both parties. For instance, if restrictions only allow for a virtual residency to take place in 2020, we will do that and arrange that the author gets to visit Messina in 2021.
How to apply?
If you would like to apply for the residency please write a short letter of intent to andreja@edgeryders.eu. Explain how you propose to build this world, add a CV or link to your personal website and anything else you think allows us to learn more about you.
The writer will likely be chosen by October 23rd, but if you happen to see this post after that deadline, please still send us your details; we may still be working on the project - or something similar - and need your help.
Who should apply?
We welcome applications from all types of people as long as they care about creating economic systems that work for all. It will help if you are a speculative fiction author, economist, anthropologist, social scientist, but it’s not necessary.
I want to join the project but I have other commitments and won’t be able to take 15 days to write this, what should I do?
Not to worry, you can still join in the discussion on Edgeryders’ platform. We would love to have your input on this collaborative project. You can comment on this post with your interest and we will keep you updated on the project.
The writer’s residency is just the start of this project, we will have other ways in which you can engage with this project in 2021.