BFS Online: Power in SFFH – Power Creeps

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Some are born with great power, while others have it thrust upon them. But what about those who don’t arrive in a blaze of glory? The slow starters and the slow burners? And what about that which seems innocuous but ends up as real danger or real harm?

Join moderator Eleanor Pender and panellists Shreya Ila Anasuya, Philip A. Suggars, and Wole Talabi for a discussion on the on the evolution of power in SFFH.

Shreya Ila Anasuya (she/her/they/them): Shreya Ila Anasuya is an award-winning writer and researcher from Kolkata, India. She is currently a PhD candidate in Cultural History (with Creative Writing practice) at King’s College London, supported by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership. Her stories have been published in Strange Horizons and the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, as well as anthologies by HarperCollins US, FC2/The University of Alabama Press, the Aleph Book Co, Hachette India, and more. Her first novel, The Poison Palace, is forthcoming from Sphere UK, Dutton US, and an imprint in India (to be announced) in 2027. Learn more about Shreya on her website. Or connect on Bluesky or Instagram. Get Shreya’s book: US, UK.

Philip A. Suggars (he/him): Philip A. Suggars has a single yellow eye in the middle of his forehead and a collection of vintage binoculars. His weird fiction/fantasy debut The Lighthouse at the End of the World was selected by Barnes and Noble as their speculative fiction pick for April 2026. Previously, his fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, The Guardian and Interzone and been featured in numerous short-form podcasts and the Best of British Science Fiction anthology series. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University. When not writing, he records music as half of the post-punk electronica outfit we are concrete. Born in South London, he lives on the south coast with his family. Find all Philip’s links here. Get his books here.

Wole Talabi (he/him): Wole Talabi is an award-winning Nigerian writer and engineer. He is the author of The Fist of Memory and Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (2023). His short fiction is collected in Convergence Problems (2024) and Incomplete Solutions (2019). His stories explore future and myth through an Africanfuturist lens. He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, as well as the Caine Prize for African Writing and he has won the Nommo award. He likes scuba diving, elegant equations, and oddly shaped things. He currently lives and works in Australia Find him on his website or on Instagram, Bluesky and Tiktok. Grab Wole’s book here.

Eleanor Pender (she/her): Eleanor has worked in the creative industries for over 10 years. Her first event chairing on a stage was with Patrick Ness at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2015. Since then she has gone on to host in-person and online events at events across the country, at the Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC), Cymera Festival, Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Bristol Women’s Literature Festival, Forbidden Planet and Waterstones Bristol bookshop events and more. Highlights include chairing V.E. Schwab at Cymera Festival in 2019 and interviewing V.V. James over Instagram Live from her back garden. When not chairing, Eleanor lectures at The University of the West of England, Bristol. As a writer, Eleanor has had stories published by Jurassic London and other anthologies, and she is currently working on her second novel. Follow Eleanor on Twitter or Instagram.