Picture a novel set in space, and your mind will likely go to thoughts of sci-fi. But 2024 Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey regards her International Space Station-set novel Orbital as existing in a genre much closer to home: nature writing.
“Could I evoke the beauty of that vantage point with the care of a nature writer? … Could I pull off a sort of space pastoral?” she asked herself in its writing.
Put simply: yes and yes. During the novel’s 24 hours, her characters observe their silent blue planet from above in awe, wonder and rich detail as they spin past continents, cycle through seasons, and watch glaciers, deserts, mountains and oceans come into view beneath them.
She meets Pip Adam to discuss the craft – and possibilities – of this new frontier of nature writing.
Supported by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
Also at Auckland Writers Festival
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