NIU Today

The Friends of the NIU Libraries and DeKalb Public Library’s Science Fiction Book Club are co-sponsoring a book signing and Q-and-A with renowned science-fiction author Gene Wolfe at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the lower level staff lounge of Founders Memorial Library. The selected title for the evening is “The Shadow of the Torturer,”...

Local teens are invited to read “The Fault in Our Stars” by wildly popular author John Green and then come together for the STEM Teen Read book discussion, scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, in Graham Hall 223. Experts from NIU and the community will join the teen readers to discuss the science behind the fiction in one...

by David J. Gunkel,  NIU Professor of Communication Perhaps it is just coincidence, but there is an interesting convergence of apocalyptic thinking taking place in the final month of 2012. On the one hand, we are quickly approaching the “end of the world” as predicted by the Mayan calendar – December 21, 2012 to be...

The Friends of NIU Libraries group invites the public to attend a presentation by Hugo Award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal, a novelist and professional puppeteer. Kowal will discuss “the intersection of puppetry and science fiction” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in the staff lounge on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library. A Chicago...

Lynne M. Thomas, curator of Rare Books and Special Collections for NIU Libraries, has earned her second Hugo Award, the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Earlier this month, Thomas was presented with the award for Best Fancast from the World Science Fiction Society at the 70th World Science Fiction...

Northern Illinois University Libraries has received an early Christmas gift. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections has acquired the first installment of the papers of Chicago-born author Fred Saberhagen, a best-selling science fiction writer whose works broke new ground in the genre. The Saberhagen papers, with several more installments to come, are a...

What if the Internet connected directly to your brain? Your favorite songs would play inside your head. Your favorite restaurant would know exactly when you were hungry. You wouldn’t have to waste time in school because you could instantly look up anything you ever wanted to know. That’s the premise of M.T. Anderson’s “Feed,” a...

Science fiction isn’t just about Klingon love poems or alien probings; some sci-fi stories are set right here on Earth and can act as a springboard for thinking critically about science and technology in our daily lives. This summer, teens in DeKalb County can experience science fiction in a whole new way. In June, August...

NIU Libraries curator Lynne M. Thomas digs “Doctor Who,” and, it turns out, she’s not alone. Thomas has been nominated for a Hugo Award, the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy, for a 2009 book she edited with Tara O’Shea. The book is titled, “Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor...