Local author Harold R. Thompson will discuss his works and the connection between history, historical fiction, steampunk and alternate history. How has history influenced speculative fiction? Is all historical fiction alternate history? Thompson will address these questions and others while describing his influences and addressing some of the challenges facing genre writers.As a program developer with Parks Canada, Thompson has worked in the heritage field for over thirty years. In addition to writing short fiction in the fantasy, hard science fiction, steampunk and alternate history genres, he is the author of the “Empire and Honour” trilogy of historical novels, which includes Dudley’s Fusiliers, The Guns of Sevastopol, and Sword of the Mogul. His latest historical novel is End of the Tether, a dramatization of the Yorktown campaign during the American Revolution. Thompson’s science fiction short story “The Tunnels of Madness” is included in the Aurora-nominated steampunk anthology Clockwork Canada (edited by Dominik Parisien).
