| Viable Paradise | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Speculative fiction |
| Begins | Autumn |
| Ends | One week |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Inaugurated | 1997 |
| Website | viableparadise |
Viable Paradise is an annual one-week residential writing workshop held each autumn on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts and is focused on speculative fiction. [1]
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts that is known for being an affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the smaller Chappaquiddick Island, which is usually connected to the Vineyard, though storms and hurricanes have separated them, as in 2007. It is the 58th largest island in the United States, with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km2), and the third-largest on the East Coast of the United States, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island. Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, Massachusetts, which also includes the Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land.
Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.
Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing fiction with certain elements that do not exist in the real world, often in the context of supernatural, futuristic or other imaginative themes. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, fairytale fantasy, supernatural fiction as well as combinations thereof.
The workshop began in 1997, as part of a science fiction convention presented by the Martha's Vineyard Science Fiction Association. After 1998, the convention was discontinued, but the workshop continued.
Present and past instructors include: Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, James D. Macdonald, Debra Doyle, Steven Gould, Laura J. Mixon, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Elizabeth Moon, Maureen McHugh, James Patrick Kelly, Elizabeth Bear, Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi, Sherwood Smith, Steven Brust, Daryl Gregory, and Scott Lynch.
Patrick James Nielsen Hayden, is an American science fiction editor, fan, fanzine publisher, essayist, reviewer, anthologist, teacher and blogger. He is a World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award winner, and is an editor and the Manager of Science Fiction at Tor Books. He changed his last name to "Nielsen Hayden" on his marriage to Teresa Nielsen in 1979.
Teresa Nielsen Hayden is an American science fiction editor, fanzine writer, essayist, and workshop instructor. She is a consulting editor for Tor Books and is well known for her weblog, Making Light. She has also worked for Federated Media Publishing, when in 2007 she was hired to revive the comment section for the blog Boing Boing. Nielsen Hayden has been nominated for Hugo Awards five times.
James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald is an American author and critic who lives in New Hampshire with his wife and frequent collaborator, Dr. Debra Doyle. He works in several genres, concentrating on fantasy, but also writing science fiction, and mystery and media tie-ins.
Past students include authors N. K. Jemisin, Marko Kloos, Sandra McDonald, Paul Melko, David Moles, Margaret Ronald, Greg van Eekhout, and Fran Wilde; and podcast editors and authors Serah Eley and Mur Lafferty.
Nora K. Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and a psychologist. Her fiction explores a wide variety of themes, including cultural conflict and oppression. She has won several awards for her work, including the Locus Award. As of her August 2018 win, the three books of her Broken Earth series have made her the only author to have won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in three consecutive years.
Marko Kloos is an author of military science fiction and fantasy, born in Germany but living and working in the United States.
Sandra McDonald is an American science fiction and fantasy author.
