Sean Williams 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.

I first met Sean Williams 10 years ago when I attended the Writers of the Future workshop as a winner in Volume 31. Sean was one of the judges and instructors; and as is the workshop tradition, Sean educated and entertained us at the hotel bar long into the night. He was generous with his time and with his knowledge. When I attend the workshop in later years, helping to guide the new winners through the week, I try to live up to Sean’s example. If the students have a question, I try to be there for them, remembering late nights with Sean and the other judges. The Contest is about Paying It Forward, after all, and Sean embodies that spirit.

Sean Williams is a #1-bestselling, multi-award-winning author of over sixty books and one hundred and twenty shorter publications for readers of all ages. He is Discipline Lead of Creative Writing at Flinders University, and is also a composer of music and scores for stage and screen.

His original works include series, novels, stories and poems that have been translated into multiple languages for readers around the world. He has collaborated with other authors, including Garth Nix, and his novelisation of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was the first computer game tie-in in history to debut at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Musically, he has collaborated with artists Steve Roach, Philip Samartzis and Deepspace and captured the fragile spaces of Antarctica in a four-hour minimalist epic (Hyperaurea). His love affair with the southernmost continent (which he visited in 2017 via a residency at Casey Station) continues through spatialized multi-media and literary works.

He lives on Kaurna Country (Adelaide) in South Australia.

I had the opportunity to ask Sean a few questions about him, his work, and the Writers of the Future Epic eBundle.

How are you associated with Writers of the Future, and what does it mean to you?

I was a winner in 1993 (Volume IX) and became a judge around ten years later. WOTF gave me an enormous boost, both psychologically and professionally. I met many people I’m proud to call friends, and I’m very keen to help the new waves of winners as they venture out into their own careers.

Tell us about your books in the bundle. Why did you choose these books from all your works?

Astropolis is space opera full of intrigue, action, and vast scales—as all space opera should be, I reckon! It’s set hundreds of thousands of years in the future, and follows the quest of a person reborn into the wrong body as they hunt for the person who murdered them, and possibly murdered the galaxy too. It’s inspired by my favourite mystery, noir and Gothic novels, and leans heavily into queer narratives as well. There’s even a character who speaks solely in the lyrics of 80’s electro-pioneer Gary Numan! These books (all three are bundled into one volume here) were nominated for the Philip K Dick, Ditmar and Aurealis Awards (the first took home a gong for Best SF Novel in its year), but they’ve been hard to find lately. This seemed a good offer for readers who might not have come across these books before.

What was your favorite part of writing/editing this book?

I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was the Gary Numan exercise, even though sometimes it was also very trying. Lyrics are expensive and dealing with music publishers can be a nightmare, but Gary himself was amazing: I knew he read SF, and I found out later that he enjoyed these books which was amazing. The project as a whole was so much fun, because it gave me a chance to explore themes and inspirations I’d been thinking about for years. I wanted to write the biggest space opera I could imagine, and ended up trying to capture a war that lasts literally billions of years. That was a mind-bending exercise—a lot of fun.

What other of your books should readers check out?

Oh man, there are a few to choose from across a lot of genres and forms. For YA science fiction: Twinmaker (aka Jump in Australia). For more space opera: Geodesica: Ascent (with Shane Dix). For YA fantasy: The Stone Mage & the Sea. For adult fantasy: The Crooked Letter. For MG fantasy: Troubletwisters (with Garth Nix). For Stars Wars: Fatal Alliance. For YA contemporary: Impossible Music. For old school science fiction: Metal Fatigue. For short stories: Uncanny Angles. For flash fiction: Little Labyrinths.

Is there another story or author would you recommend to your readers as an exemplar of the Writers of the Future Contest?

Woah, now that’s a hard question! Elizabeth E Wein and Eric Flint come immediately to mind, and not just because they were also in my year. They wrote amazing stories, and the continued writing amazing novels by digging deep into what they love and delivering outstandingly to the market. I’m full of admiration for those two, and continue to learn from their ongoing successes—but really, the winners list is so incredibly long that I’ve probably offended three dozen people by not mentioning them!

What’s your favorite takeaway from Writers of the Future?

One of the things that was really important to me, both as a winner and then a judge, was the feeling of being connected to an international community of writers. As a young lad growing up in South Australia, far from anywhere else in the world, it was hard to feel connected to anyone except through the printed word. This was in the days before the internet, but even now, there are certain kinds of interactions that make all the difference if they’re conducted in person. WOTF helped me gain the confidence I needed to meet people I would never have met otherwise. Some of them I’ve gone on to know professionally as well as personally. It’s an opportunity that cannot be overstated for anyone feeling isolated maybe even a bit odd, for loving the stories I loved, as I was back then.

Learn more about Sean Williams

• FB: https://www.facebook.com/seanwilliamsauthor
• Other Social Media (except X): adelaidesean