Nebula Conference 2018

When the real world continues to bombard us with fear and disappointment, it can be easy to write dark endings, or even worse, not write at all. Then along came Hopepunk. Alexandra Rowland describes this term as the opposite of grimdark. It’s not about writing happy endings, but creating stories where characters show true bravery by standing up for each other and fighting for a better world. This panel will bring authors and editors of optimistic fiction together to discuss the significance of using hope as an aesthetic, examples we've found, and how we as writers can use this subgenre to heal not only ourselves, but our readers.