I’ll be in conversation with Naseem Jamnia, author of The Bruising of Qilwa, at the venerable SF in SF series, held at the American Bookbinders Museum.

I’ll be in conversation with Mike Chen, author of Vampire Weekend. Register here!

I’ll be at WorldCon, on a lot of panels, and I’m also co-hosting the Hugo Awards with Charlie Jane Anders. Here’s my schedule:

Thursday, 9/1

1:00 pm / Ancient Cities and Futuristic Design, Michigan 1

4:00 pm / Systems of Governance in SFF, Grand Hall J

8:00 pm / Opening Ceremony, Grand Ballroom

Friday, 9/2

1:00 pm / Reading (with Charlie Jane Anders!), Grand Hall J

2:30 pm / Autographing

5:30 pm / Live recording of Our Opinions Are Correct, Grand Hall K

Saturday, 9/3

11:30 am / Far-Thinking Urban Planning and Agricultural Engineering, Grand Hall MN

5:30 pm / Using SFF for Science Communication, Regency Ballroom D

Sunday, 9/4

8:00 pm / Co-hosting the Hugo Awards Ceremony, Grand Ballroom

Monday, 9/5

2:30 pm / Closing Ceremony, Crystal Ballroom C

Join artist and biohacker Heather Dewey-Hagborg and science fact and fiction writer Annalee Newitz for a lively conversation exploring the generative intersection of art and science. Dewey-Haborg’s 2019 installation Lovesick, on view in MYR, was made in collaboration with research scientists and depicts a custom retrovirus that increases production of oxytocin (the “love hormone”) in the human body. Newitz explores both science fiction and nonfiction in their award-winning articles, books, and podcasts. Together, the two will discuss the increasingly blurring lines between the natural and the unnatural, ethically, philosophically, and in practice. This conversation is co-presented with the Exploratorium, where Dewey-Hagborg is Artist-in-Residence, and is introduced by MYR guest curator Elizabeth Thomas.

Hello, Montréal! I’ll be there for a small discussion at the incredible feminist bookstore L’Euguélionne! Plus I’ll be signing copies of Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age & The Future of Another Timeline!

A lecture and conversation with Dr. Michelle Rich, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Assistant Curator of the Arts of the Americas. Tickets are available here.

In Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. 

Through cutting-edge archaeological research, Newitz reveals the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements and introduces us to the often anonymous workers—enslaved people, women, immigrants, and manual laborers—who built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia. This journey into the forgotten past may also reveal something of our own fate. 

6:30 p.m.
Enjoy a pre-event tour of the DMA’s exhibition Spirit Lodge: Mississippian Art from Spiro, which includes artifacts with cultural ties to the Mississippian people of Cahokia, one of the cities investigated in Newitz’s book. Due to limited space on the tours, we strongly encourage you to register in advance by contacting Jennifer Krogsdale at jkrogsdale@dma.org.

TICKET PRICES   

Horchow seating

Public: $30

DMA Member/Educator: $20

Student: $10

Virtual ticket

Public: $12

DMA Member/Educator/Student: $10

Virtual ticket + Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

Public: $32

DMA Member/Educator/Student: $30

Please note that books will begin shipping on February 2, the day of the title’s paperback release. Copies of Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age are available for purchase on-site in the DMA Store on the night of the event and here on the DMA website.

I’ll be talking about the deep history of urban infrastructure and discussing its key role in keeping cities alive. This event will be virtual and on Pacific time. Buy tickets to reserve your space!

The Basket-maker, the Sex Worker, the Servant, and the Archaeologist: 9,000 Years of City Life

Stories of four ordinary women working in four great cities, separated by thousands of years and thousands of kilometers.

Archaeology often explores the lives of great warriors, queens, and philosophers. But the most interesting stuff happens in the kitchens and back alleys. Join me for a virtual lecture with San Francisco’s wonderful science & history series Odd Salon for stories about four ordinary women who lived in four ancient cities that defined the modern world. Get your tickets here. (Sliding scale starting at $5 — all proceeds go to Odd Salon, part of the InterCulture Foundation, a nonprofit.)

I’ll be in a featured conversation with journalists Nathaniel Rich (Second Nature) and Bonnie Tsui (Why We Swim) about whether this is actually the end of the world as we know it. Get tickets here. NOTE: This is a virtual event on Pacific Time.

I’ll be talking about my latest book Four Lost Cities in a virtual event at this lovely Montréal bookstore. Reserve your spot here. Note: This event is on Eastern Time.

I’m part of venerable Harvard Bookstore’s virtual event series, in conversation with award-winning author Arkady Martine (A Memory Called Empire). Arkady writes incredible fiction, and works in city planning. We’ll be talking about ancient cities, present-day urban problems, and future urbanism. Tickets are available here. NOTE: This event is on EASTERN TIME.

Join me for a virtual lunchtime discussion of ancient cities at Toronto Public Library. I’ll be talking with science journalist, Alanna Mitchell (The Spinning Magnet), about Four Lost Cities via the forgotten past, foreseeing a future in which the majority of people on Earth will be living in cities and revealing something of our own fate. Register here to get your spot. Note: this event is on Eastern Time.

I’ll be talking about Four Lost Cities and new directions in archaeology for this amazing virtual series, brought to you by the people behind Mule Design Studio. Reserve your spot here. Note that this event is on Pacific time.

I’ll be in conversation with the brilliant archaeologist and Egyptologist Sarah Parcak, author of Archaeology from Space. Get tickets here. Times are EDT.

I’ll be in conversation (virtually!) with Brandon Crilly at Ottowa’s excellent annual science fiction convention Can*Con, talking about my new book Four Lost Cities. Find out more and register for Can*Con! Times are in EDT.

I’ll be talking about Four Lost Cities with Amal El-Mohtar in NYPL’s awesome virtual program. Get your tickets here. This event is on eastern time.

I’ll be in conversation with The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang in this virtual literary series hosted by three terrific indie bookstores in the northwest: Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Oregon; Madison Books in Seattle, Washington; and Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, Montana. Reserve your spot here. This event is on Pacific time.

I’ll be reading from Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, and talking about why ancient people built the first cities — and why they abandoned them over and over again. This event will be virtual, and is on Pacific time. Register to attend here.

I’ll be discussing Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, with Arielle Duhaime-Ross (science reporter and host of VICE News Reports). This event will be virtual, and on east coast time. Get tickets here.

I’ll be talking to Rebecca Roanhorse (author of Black Sun and Trail of Lightning) at Left Bank Books about the indigenous city of Cahokia near today’s St. Louis. The city is featured in my book, and I spent two summers visiting archaeological digs there by day, and haunting Left Bank Books by night. Reserve your space here. This event will be virtual, and on central time.

I’ll be talking about Pompeii, one of the cities featured in my book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, with Brad DeLong. Brad is a UC Berkeley economist, author, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary to the Treasury under President Clinton. This event will be virtual, and on central time. Get tickets here.

Book launch! I’ll be talking to Charles C. Mann (author of 1491) about the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük, featured in my book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age. This event will be virtual, and on Pacific time. Get tickets here.