Us in Flux

Us in Flux is a series of short stories and virtual gatherings that explore themes of community, collaboration, and collective imagination in response to transformative events.

We are on hiatus after our upcoming event on August 10 (see below). While we’re taking an indefinite pause on publishing, we invite you to help us expand on the work of Us in Flux. In partnership with the Science Fiction Research Association, we’re seeking submissions for a special issue of SFRA Review that examines how speculative fiction can help us meet the challenges of today. Applications to contribute essays to the special issue are due October 4, 2020—learn more here.

To be notified about future Us in Flux stories and events, and to learn about other publications and opportunities from CSI, sign up for our mailing list.

“Tomorrow Is Another Daze” by Ernest Hogan - A story about Aztlán, creative reuse, and making technology work for you.
“Even God Has a Place Called Home” by Ray Mwihaki - A story about environmental health, technophilia, and transcendence.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Ray Mwihaki and Christopher Rowe [Video—Past Event] -
“The Wandering City,” by Usman T. Malik - A story about temporal anomalies, public spaces, and a new global consciousness.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Usman T. Malik and James Graham [Video—Past Event] -
“A Cyber-Cuscuta Manifesto” by Regina Kanyu Wang - A story about big data, emerging life forms, and a plea for coexistence.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Regina Kanyu Wang and Athena Aktipis [Video–Past Event] -
“Notice” by Sarah Pinsker - A tale of unanticipated mail and the limits of self-reliance.
Us in Flux: Conversations— Sarah Pinsker and Punya Mishra [Video–Past Event] -
“Fourth and Most Important” by Nisi Shawl - A tale of coded messages, clandestine drone deliveries, and surprising alliances.
Us in Flux: Conversations— Nisi Shawl and Ayana Jamieson [Video–Past Event] -
Five separate works by Nina Miller for the Us In Flux series. From left to right; a quilt sewn with black thread, embroidered leaves, fabric resist and dye piece, a second quilt sewn with white thread, a woman embroidered with thread The Art of Us in Flux: An Interview with Nina Miller - A conversation about art that visualizes the future, creative expression in moments of crisis, and how art can be a path into fictional worlds.
Two portraits embroidered on a quilt. The portrait on the left is stitched with black thread on white linen and the portrait on the right is stitched with various colored thread on a dark denim patch. “Skating Without Streetlights” by Tina Connolly - A story about virtual reality, friendship, and the unexpected benefits of impersonation.
Us in Flux: Conversations— Tina Connolly and Dennis Bonilla [Video–Past Event] -
A couch in front of a window, but it is pieced from multiple fabrics and quilted. It is fragmented and multicolored. “A Room of One’s Own” by Tochi Onyebuchi - A tale of quantum entanglement and self-care.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Tochi Onyebuchi and Michael G. Bennett [Video–Past Event] -
Fabric resist and dye piece depicting the moon over the ocean. “When We Call a Place Home” by Chinelo Onwualu - A utopian tale of historical memory, the dangers of forgetting…and vampires.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Chinelo Onwualu and Robert Evans [Video–Past Event] -
Green linen embroidered with the white outline of a squirrel, and five leaf shapes cut from multiple colors of fabric secured to the linen with cross stitches in various colors. “An Attempt at Exhausting My Deck” by Kij Johnson - A short story about backyard ecology, interspecies communities, careful observation, and solitude without loneliness.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Kij Johnson and Jessie Rack [Video—Past Event] -
Illustrationdone in fabric, quilted landscape with small person looking over vast hills covered in crops. “The Parable of the Tares” by Christopher Rowe - A short story about food, monoculture, and communities that draw together the human and nonhuman.
Us in Flux: Conversations—Christopher Rowe and Michael Bell [Video—Past Event] -