The Utopia Of Us, With Teika Marija Smits and Guests

The year 2024 marks the centenary of the first publication of the hugely significant novel We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. The direct inspiration for George Orwell’s 1984, We also influenced many other novels, such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed and Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano.

This Russian novel was first published in English, and in the US. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1988 that it was published in the author’s native country. This was a book that the people in power in the Soviet Union wanted erased. Yet it ushered in a new genre – the future dystopia – and in doing so gave birth to the many dystopian novels and films which have found their way into our popular culture.

Setting aside what its publication history says about Russia’s past, it also happens to be a beautifully written and page-turning novel, and one that is still currently relevant since it speaks to the very heart of what it means to be human. In short, the centenary of this wonderful novel should be, and needs to be, celebrated, and how better to do that than by a globally minded, independent press, publishing an anthology of science fiction stories inspired by We?

At this event there will be readings from We and The Utopia of Us, the tribute volume published in celebration. The line up of readers will be announced later.

Refreshments included