Tucson Festival of Books

Control and the Speculative Imagination


What happens when technology, society or mysterious forces manipulate our lives? What does it take to reclaim things? This panel brings together three authors who explore speculative and futuristic worlds where the stakes are high, and the choices are both personal and profound.


Panelists
Nikki Erlick

Nikki Erlick is a New York Times bestselling author. Her debut novel, "The Measure," was a Read with Jenna Book Club pick on the Today Show and has been translated into 24 languages. Her second novel, "The Poppy Fields," was an instant USA Today bestseller, a Goodreads Most Anticipated Book, and a national LibraryReads selection....

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Yiming Ma

Born in Shanghai, Yiming Ma is the author of "These Memories Do Not Belong to Us," which was a Spotify Editor's pick and featured in The Washington Post, CBC Books, Strait Times, and Electric Literature....

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Eshani Surya

Eshani Surya is a chronically ill South Asian writer living in Philadelphia. She holds an MFA from the University of Arizona and is a 2025 Publisher's Weekly Writer to Watch, a 2023 Finalist for the A....

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Books:
The Poppy Fields (Standard Edition)
A Novel
Nikki Erlick
Fiction / Literature
HarperCollins Publishers
June 2025
ISBN 9780063449442
320 pages
Buy now

These Memories Do Not Belong to Us
A Constellation Novel
Yiming Ma
Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror
HarperCollins Publishers
August 2025
ISBN 9780063413481
224 pages
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Ravishing
Eshani Surya
Fiction / Literature
Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated
November 2025
ISBN 9780802164681
320 pages
Buy now