Big Science Read 2008 – Calling All Nominations!

 

In October 2008, Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester Science Festival, Time to Read and Jodrell Bank (The University of Manchester) will be co-hosting the Big Science Read Festival, an exciting opportunity to explore, re-discover and get excited about science-themed books.

 

To help us with one of the aspects of the festival, The Big Science Reading List, we'd like you to nominate your favourite books in three different categories:

 

Popular Science (factual science/biographies written in a style that is accessible to the lay reader)

Examples might include:

Why Don't Penguins Feet Freeze, Mick O'Hare

Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel

The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins

The Man Who Knew Too Much, David Leavitt

A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawkins

 

Science  Fiction (science fiction and techno thrillers)

Examples might include:

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Foundation, Isaac Asimov

Dune, Frank Herbert

Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton

The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Science Lit (literary fiction and poetry that explores science or technology as a core theme)

Examples might include:

Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Raw Shark Texts, Steven Hall

Ascent, Jed Mercurio

Zero Gravity, Gwyneth Jones

The Drought, J.G Ballard

 

You are allowed a maximum of two nominations per category, though you don't have to nominate books in all three categories. In each case, please tell us why you liked reading the book and what you think it has to offer other readers. What made it special for you? Why did it inspire you to nominate it?

 

Please email all nominations to [log in to unmask], marked 'Big Science Reading List nominations'.

 

The deadline for all nominations will be Monday 28^th January 2008. Once we've received all your suggestions, we'll produce The Big Science Reading List, which will be launched in June at Jodrell Bank's First Move Festival and promoted across the North West. Authors on the list will be invited to take part in the Big Science Read Festival in October.

 

Many thanks for your help.