Many SF tales, from Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star" to Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz to Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, deal with the intersection of unexpected discoveries on the faith of the characters. Cultural discourse often presents religious faith and science as polar opposites, and certainly there's a long history of conflict between them. But many people of many faiths have happily and successfully reconciled their beliefs with a scientific worldview, and SF/F is no stranger to spirituality, either. Both Joanna Russ and David Hartwell have described SF/F as essentially religious. This panel will present a civil conversation -- between people who respect both faith and science -- about how the two inform each other, both in SF/F and in the rest of the world.

Who was the most influential Doctor? Patrick Troughton? Tom Baker? David Tennant? One of the other 8? Maybe the answer is what is more cool - a very long scarf or a fez?

Science fiction can often treat nature, even an intriguing alien environment, in a very sterile manner. By contrast, both fantasy and nature writing often celebrate nature and make the reader want to run outside and explore. How can writers use the language of nature writing to help bring alien countrysides to life? What are some of the good and bad examples of writing about the great outdoors in science fiction, fantasy and nature narratives?