Four members – Libbie Farrell, Madeline Henderson, Chandler Escalante and Allison Hoops – of the Nova Aera Collective at Arizona State University spoke on The Sun & World Podcast with Syllble Founder, Fabrice Guerrier.
Guests:
Madeline Henderson is earning her Master of Science in Global Technology and Development at Arizona State University. Madeline also earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in Civic Education and International Studies from Arizona State University. She works as an engagement coordinator for the Center of Science and the Imagination at ASU as well as a part-time tutor for children with disabilities. She is currently co-writing a science fiction novel which includes speculative futures and worldbuilding processes for her masters thesis. She previously worked as a MEdia Arts Teacher for children in special needs education. She focused on finding more ways to incorporate creative methods of teaching children as well as inspiring her students in developing creativity and self-expression through various art forms and media. Madeline is an artist who enjoys sketching, painting (acrylic & watercolor), and some photography. She is currently teaching herself how to create digital art through programs including Adobe Photoshop and Procreate and will be responsible for all of the digital art that will be used in her collaborative masters thesis.
Chandler Escalante is a Master of Science in Global Technology and Development student at Arizona State University. He currently works for the Sustainable Cities Network at ASU, which is going to influence the section of the book.
Allison Hoops is a second year graduate student in the Global Technology and Development program at Arizona State University. She worked as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2019- 2020 in the beautiful Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho where she taught high school math and life skills. From 2020 to 2021 she served in Los Angeles as an Americorps VISTA Leader supporting volunteer outreach for the food banks and pantries across 8 counties in southern California. Since starting grad school she has been interning with the SolarSPELL initiative at ASU developing their monitoring and evaluation system and supporting the partnership development between SolarSPELL and Peace Corps Lesotho. Over the last couple of months she has been supporting SolarSPELL training in Lesotho and Malawi with educators and students. She is also working on a short documentary focused on the information gaps in Lesotho’s education system and how SolarSPELL can be one part of the solution to improving the quality of education in Lesotho.
Libbie Farrell is a second year Masters student in the Global Technology and Development Program at Arizona State University. She has spent her tenure at ASU exploring various topics including complex adaptive systems, environmental sovereignty, and the social impact of offline digital learning programs. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Timor-Leste from 2019-2020 working on climate change mitigation strategies with a local NGO. Some common threads through her work are participatory action, the interface of human-nature relationships, and the value of reciprocity. Outside of her academics and work, Libbie enjoys rock climbing and hiking with friends, spending time with her partner and cat, and making bread and soup.
They reflected on their experiences creating the Nova Aera world and discussed the stories they wrote in this collaborative science fiction novel called: “Nova Aera: a micro-novel”, which was just released by Syllble Books in August 2022.
This is the first time in the U.S. that a group of students and a faculty on a college campus have come together to imagine a futuristic world and co-author a collaborative science fiction novel. Explore The Nova Aera Universe and Meet It’s Creators: https://syllble.com/novaaera/