Jonathan Thornton
Jonathan Thornton is studying for a PhD in Science Fiction Literature at the University of Liverpool. His project is focused on the portrayal of insects in speculative fiction and fantastika. He has a Masters in Science Fiction Literature and a Masters in Medical Entomology, and works as an insectary technician at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is also a reviewer for Tor dot com; writes criticism, reviews, and conducts interviews for internet publications Fantasy Faction, The Fantasy Hive and Gingernuts of Horror.
Jordan Casstles
Jordan Casstles is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool. His doctoral thesis focuses on investigating depictions of surveillance within post-9/11 speculative fiction. His research interests include modern and postmodern receptions of classical mythology, the interplay between occult studies and culture theory, aleatoric literature, and bizarre fiction. Beyond the realm of academia, he has experience working as a bookbinder, printing assistant, scriptwriter, proofreader and columnist. In his spare time, he can be found practicing card tricks, training in Gōjū-Ryu karate and Xingyiquan, and collecting unusual dice among other things.
Alex Veregan
Alex Veregan is a PhD student in the Department of English Literature at the University of Liverpool, working on his thesis, The Final Frontier: Space and the Rearticulation of the Wild West in Science Fiction. His research interests include the historical myth of the Old West, cyberpunk fiction, space operas, frontiers in SF, and the intersection between SF and the genre Western.
David Tierney
David Tierney is a Creative Writing PhD student at the University of Liverpool, researching non-human animal communication in science fiction. He has had fiction published in The Stinging Fly, poetry published in The Galway Review, and reviews published in Headstuff, The Fantasy Hive, and Green Letters. He is also a member of the ASLE committee and a host of The Bibliography podcast. Outside of his studies, David is an aspiring pianist and attempts to befriend every animal he meets.
Faye Lynch
Faye Lynch is a PhD student in the Department of English Literature at the University of Liverpool. She is currently working on her thesis which is concerned with representations of ‘fembots’ in post-1930 SF, examining how these representations inform and were informed by shifting cultural attitudes towards technology and gender. Her other areas of research interest include Contemporary American Fiction, Twentieth Century Poetry, and The Cold War in Literature and Visual Culture. Outside of academia Faye enjoys travelling and experiencing different cultures. She is also attempting to learn how to roller skate.
Nathan Lewis Bramald
Nathan Lewis Bramald is an English Literature PhD student studying the representation of dinosaurs within novels and short fiction, looking to ascertain the ways in which science is communicated to general audiences through literature. His other work pertains to the use of digital humanities to explore aspects of global theatre, and he has worked on projects such as the digital archiving of performances of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in modern day Iran and the “Global Shakespeares” website (globalshakespeares8.wordpress.com/). Outside of academia Nathan is an avid reader of literary theory, the history of the UK Prime Ministers, and the works of Kurt Vonnegut.
Richard Snowden-Leak
Richard Snowden-Leak is doing an English Literature PhD at the University of Liverpool. Their thesis currently investigates the mental health benefits of writing and reading New Weird literature that engages with intersectional communities, especially in online spaces. They are also a writer who has works published in CHM and Vastarien, with a pending article due to be released in Nightmare magazine. They are also an associate editor for Haven Spec magazine. They like theory and philosophy, drawing and painting, as well as playing games (with the hope he might have enough motivation to start making some).
Eleanor McAdam
Eleanor McAdam is a Creative Writing PhD student at the University of Liverpool. Their research interests concern science fiction literature, with a specific focus on Artificial Intelligence, the fictionalisation of coding languages and Inner Speech in robotics, and philosophies on consciousness and the soul. Their work can be seen in both University of Manchester and University of Liverpool Anthologies, with further work intended for publication in 2024. As an ex-barista, Eleanor has a serious coffee addiction; enjoys arts and crafts, baking bread, and cosmic horror movies.
Gemma Lough
Gemma Lough is a Visiting Lecturer in Computing at the University of Chester and a PhD student (NWSSDTP) at the University of Liverpool. With a background in English Literature, her research aims to ‘demystify algorithmic dystopia’ by exploring Artificial Intelligence through a multi-disciplinary approach drawing on science fiction studies, computer science, ethnomethodology, philosophy, and photography.
Past Members
2022 – 2023
Alex Carabine
Alex Carabine is an overdressed PhD student whose research examines the echoes of medieval culture in nineteenth-century Gothic literature. Her other interests include mythopoeia, speculative fiction and horror. She is currently writing a Victorian eco-gothic novel, and has had short fiction published in the Gramarye journal. Outside of her personal and professional obsession with books, Alex plays the Celtic harp, does yoga to stay sane, and has two grey cats with pretentious names.
2019 – 2023
Lucy Nield, MA
Lucy Nield is a PhD student and GTA in the Department of English Literature at the University of Liverpool. Her research interests include Dog-culture, posthumanism and the Anthropocene within contemporary speculative fiction. She has been an organizer for the Current Research in Speculative Fiction conference at the University of Liverpool since 2019 (@CRSFteam) and is a regular contributor to The Fantasy Hive (@TheFantasyHive). Lucy is an active member of the Olaf Staple Centre (UoL), has been published in Foundation Science Fiction Review (2021 & 2022) and SFRA (2019 & 2022), with a pending chapter for Bloomsbury’s ‘Future Werewolf,’ (2023), pending article for Comparative American Studies: An International Journal (2023) as well as a pending Special Collection with Extrapolation Journal (2023).
Current Research in Speculative Fiction Conference 2024 