For our November 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the film Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler, for Adrian's consideration.

SPOILER WARNING! You are strongly recommended to see this film before listening to the discussion!

Other talking points:

Getting the wrong war

Wooden nickels and company scrip

Possibly the best musical set piece ever.

Being British about sex

Vampire with a banjo

Horrifying vampire shindig

The fine detail in historical film-making

Writing for world, character and story

Naturalistic and stylised presentation

Vampires vs racists

Badass Choctaw vampire hunters

Media Mentions:

Vampire: The Masquerade TTRPG

Black Panther movie dir. Ryan Coogler

Next month there will be the Starship Alexandria Advent Calendar, and then in January we look at the novel The Bone Ships by RJ Barker.

This month's patron episode is the novella The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei, as suggested by patron J. Schuberth.

Emma's music recommendation: Miserabilia by Los Campesinos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBW_E_XV0yU&list=RDyBW_E_XV0yU&start_radio=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161

Adrian's most recent book is the novella Preaching to the Choir for which Emma provides the audiobook narration. https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUDIBLE-Preaching-to-the-Choir/dp/B0GPSF3CHY

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our October 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Matthew Lopes and Clayton Cowles for Emma's consideration.

Other talking points:

The craft of framing devices

Nested narrators

Tellings, retellings; narrative and meta-narrative

Killing people is not cricket

Badass butlers

Just 100% appreciation for the art

Equal Opportunities objectification

The apparent taboo of just making things up

Civilization vs Barbarity

Unspoken histories

The "Ninth Art" (French term for comics, not the "Tenth Muse" as I said in the podcast)

Media Mentions:

The Conan stories by Robert E Howard

Wuthering Heights novel by Emily Bronte

The Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The fantasy art of Boris Vallejo

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

Star Wars movie dir. George Lucas

Fargo TV series

Next month we look at the film Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler.

This month's patron episode is our live discussion of Event Horizon from Octocon in Cork.

Adrian's music recommendation: Musik ist keine Lösung by Alligatoah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNdcr7Uu7Jc&list=RDwNdcr7Uu7Jc&index=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is Engines of Reason https://bookshop.org/p/books/engines-of-reason-elder-race-book-ii-adrian-tchaikovsky/b69799af416d2980

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our September 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner for Adrian's consideration.

Other talking points:

Unspoiler warnings

Deniable wizbiz

Period writing styles

The straitjacket of expectations

Burning Bedfordshire

Lit and genre

Media Mentions:

Memoirs of a Survivor, novel by Doris Lessing (and our patrons-only discussion)

Writers referred to in general: Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Mervyn Peake, Jerome K Jerome, PG Wodehouse

Next month we look at the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by King, Evely, Lopes and Cowles

This month's patron episode is the novel A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

Emma's music recommendation: Washing Machine Heart by Mitski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vjkh-acmTE&list=RD3vjkh-acmTE&start_radio=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is Engines of Reason https://bookshop.org/p/books/engines-of-reason-elder-race-book-ii-adrian-tchaikovsky/b69799af416d2980

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com