Robert J. Sawyer in the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle
This interview is part of a series on the authors contributing to the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle, available starting July 11.
Though he likely doesn’t remember it, I first met Rob Sawyer at WorldCon, where he gave a fascinating presentation on the science of consciousness. The next time I met him was when I was a Writers of the Future winner and Rob was a judge and instructor at the Writers workshop. (He has been a Contest judge since 2005.) Among the many things I have learned from him, the one I hold closest is that you don’t have to be an athlete to be a sports reporter, and you don’t have to be a scientist to write science fiction. You just need a passion for the subject. And that’s a great description for Rob’s fiction!
Robert J. Sawyer — called “The dean of Canadian science fiction” by both the CBC and the Ottawa Citizen —is one of only eight writers ever (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on Rob’s Aurora Award-winning novel of the same name; A member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario and one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Rob lives in Mississauga. Visit his million-plus-word website at sfwriter.com.
Rob’s contribution to the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle is his novel Quantum Night. From the book’s description:
Quantum Night by Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Robert J. Sawyer
As a psychopathic American president decides that Canada is ripe for the taking, an experimental psychologist and a quantum physicist combine forces in a race against time to see if they can do the impossible — change human nature — before the entire world descends into darkness. Quantum Night, winner of Canada’s Aurora Award for Best Science fiction Novel of the Year, was a Main Selection of the Science fiction Book Club, and a #1 Locus bestseller.
“A fast-moving, mind-stretching exploration of the nature of personality and
consciousness.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Rob’s latest book (his 25th) is The Downloaded:
Just released! Rob’s 25th novel!
In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario. One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction …
“The Downloaded absolutely sizzles with fascinating ideas.”
—Robert Charles Wilson, Hugo Award-winning author of Spin“A wicked-smart thrill ride from start to finish. I loved it.”
—Sylvain Neuvel, bestselling author of A History of What Comes Next“One of the best SF novels I’ve read in years.”
—Allen Steele, Hugo Award-winning author of Coyote
I had a chance to ask Rob if there was a winning story or author from Writers of the Future that he would recommend to readers as an exemplar of the 41 years of the Contest. He named “Death and the Taxman” by David Hankins, which is now a novel—and one of the titles in this year’s bundle, so you can enjoy it as well!
Meeting Rob has been one of my true pleasures in winning Writers of the Future. If somehow you’ve never read his work before, I’m honored to be able to introduce him to you.
Learn more about Robert J. Sawyer
- Website: https://sfwriter.com
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/robertjsawyer
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robertj.sawyer
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/robertjsawyer (@RobertJSawyer)
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robertjsawyer.com
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/robertjsawyer