SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23rd – 3PM
The San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
A Philip K. Dick Roundtable
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?
Join SF in SF with experts David Gill, David Agranoff, and author Rudy Rucker, along with publisher Jacob Weisman, in a discussion on PKD and Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? David Gill, the authoritative expert on PKD, will tie Dick’s life and writing process with David Agranoff’s expertise as the co-host of the PKDickheads podcast, and discuss the larger religious and philosophical questions the PKD’s work explores. Author Rudy Rucker, and Jacob Weisman, publisher of The Search for Philip K. Dick, by Anne Dick will join in as well.
Event is from 3:00PM until 5:00PM
****FREE AND ALL AGES WELCOME****
This will take place at the San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch– Chinese Center, 3rd Fl
Booksigning follows discussion, and attendees are welcome to bring their own books from home for signatures.
Books will be for sale courtesy of Fly By Night Books!
Our wonderful podcast hosts from Soma FM will be recording the evening’s talk for later broadcast – they are listener-supported, commercial-free radio broadcasting to the world! Catch up on previous SF in SF conversations and reading at our dedicated channel
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ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS
DAVID GILL has spent the last twenty five years obsessed with the famed sci fi writer Philip K. Dick. Progressing from a fan, to a scholar, to an expert writing a biography, David’s engagement with the notoriously strange and brilliant science fiction writer has shaped almost every aspect of his life for the past two decades, from becoming a creative writing major, to a graduate student in literature, to a teacher at San Francisco State University for the last eighteen years. On a deeper level, David’s engagement with novels like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (later filmed as Blade Runner) and The Man in the High Castle (in which the Axis powers win World War II) has taught him everything from ethics to psychology to how to be a good person.
Gill spearheads the Philip K. Dick fan and scholar community, running Total Dick-head over on Blogspot, with posts on news, analysis, and Philip K Dick-related info.
He wrote his master’s thesis at SFSU on Dick — specifically his novel, “Time Out of Joint” — and for over 15 years he taught literature at SFSU, regularly assigning “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” In 2012 Gill organized The Philip K Dick-Fest at SFSU, an international conference and fan get together which featured 130 guests from all over the world. Gill has been quoted talking about Dick in The New York Times, the LA Times, and Salon.com. He is the longtime host of Gill is currently running The Point Reyes Reality Investigation Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of consciousness, perception, and the elusive nature of reality. Through workshops, classes, guest speakers, and immersive events, we provide space for inquiry, discussion, and discovery, for a community of seekers, scholars, and creatives
DAVID AGRANOFF is a novelist, screenwriter, and horror and science fiction critic. He is the Splatterpunk and Wonderland book award-nominated author of 13 books including the novels The Last Night to Kill Nazis, Goddamn Killing Machines, Ring of Fire, Punk Rock Ghost Story and People’s Park from Quoir books. As a critic, he has written more than a thousand book reviews on his blog Postcards from a Dying World, which has recently become a podcast, featuring interviews with award-winning and bestselling authors such as Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay, Alma Katsu and Josh Malerman. For the last five years David has co-hosted the Dickheads podcast, a deep-dive into the work of Philip K. Dick reviewing his novels in publication order as well as the history of science fiction. His non-fiction essays have appeared on Tor.com, NeoText, and Cemetery Dance. His most recent novel is the science fiction novel Great America in Dead World. His next project is the book Unfinished PKD on the unpublished fragments and outlines of Philip K. Dick.
RUDY RUCKER is a writer, mathematician, and artist who worked for twenty years as a Silicon Valley computer science professor. Rucker is regarded as contemporary master of science-fiction, and received the Philip K. Dick awards for his cyberpunk novels Software and Wetware. It’s worth noting that his novel Software (2020), was the very first SF work to introduce the by-now-very-familiar notion of transferring a human personality to a bot. What’s more, Software was the first SF novel in which robot minds are evolved, rather than being designed. As well as writing cyberpunk, Rucker writes SF in a realistic style known as transrealism—where the author uses SF archetypes to symbolize the concerns of the characters. This is an increasingly common style among mainstream authors.
Rucker’s forty published books include non-fiction books on the fourth dimension, infinity, and the meaning of computation. Rucker has also worked on several software packages; he runs a podcast of his talks; and you can browse some of his works online, including his autobiography NestedScrolls and his Complete Stories. For many more links, see the main page of Rudy’s Blog. And for a teaser of PKD related info, check this out about Rudy and his encounter with Phil!
JACOB WEISMAN is the World Fantasy Award-winning editor and publisher at Tachyon Publications, which he founded in 1995, and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Authors he’s published include Peter S. Beagle, Joe R. Lansdale, Patricia McKillip, Daniel Pinkwater, Jane Yolen, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Nalo Hopkinson, Lavie Tidhar, Samantha Mills, and many others. He edits many of Tachyon’s titles, and is the series editor of Tachyon’s Hugo, World Fantasy Award, Nebula, Sturgeon, and Shirley Jackson Award-winning novella line. His writing has appeared in The Nation, Realms of Fantasy, the Louisville Courier-Journal, The Seattle Weekly, and The Cooper Point Journal.
In 2010 Tachyon published The Search for Philip K. Dick, by Anne Dick. Brilliant, talented, and charismatic, Philip K. Dick had it all. Already a successful young writer with a highly promising career, in 1958 he met his intellectual and romantic soul mate, his soon-to-be third wife, Anne Rubenstein. To his new family and friends, Dick appeared cheerful and loving. But behind the facade of an untroubled life was a man struggling with inner demons. In this riveting memoir and biography, Anne Dick creates an extraordinary portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most important writers.
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The San Francisco Public Library Main Branch is located on the corner of Larkin and Grove, off Hyde, with entrances on both Larkin and Grove. Parking is available in the Civic Center Garage across the street, and the Civic Center BART Station is located a block away in the UN Plaza. The 19 Polk MUNI bus has a stop directly in front of the library on Larkin Street. Check the website 511.org to easily plan your visit with public transportation!
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SAVE THE DATES – COMING UP NEXT WITH SF IN SF!
Join SF in SF for these next authors on our calendar!
Sunday, November 16th – Book launch for SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS! Interviews with Science Fiction Legends! With editor Richard Wolinsky of KPFA, publisher Jacob Weisman, and author Michael Kurland – at the SF Public Library
Sunday, November 23rd – Calling all Dickheads (otherwise known as Philip K. Dick fans!) Join SF in SF with experts David Gill, David Agranoff, and author Rudy Rucker, along with publisher Jacob Weisman, in a discussion on PKD and Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? David Gill, the authoritative expert on PKD, will tie Dick’s life and writing process with David Agranoff’s expertise as the co-host of the PKDickheads podcast, and discuss the larger religious and philosophical questions the PKD’s work explores. Author Rudy Rucker, and Jacob Weisman, publisher of The Search for Philip K. Dick, by Anne Dick will join in as well. This event is free and open to the public – no need to RSVP!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE EMAIL RINA AT sfinsfevents@gmail.com
We are beginning to book authors in for 2026! If you have a book or ebook coming out, please let us know!
