Getting Started with Speculative Fiction

Getting started with exploring the concept of speculative fiction

Interested in learning all there is to know about speculative fiction? This introductory instructional course offers everything you need to get started!

Speculative fiction gives readers an imagined place where we can find a psychological getaway from the confronting matters of the every day.

In this three-hour course from award-winning, genre-bending author Eugen Bacon, you will learn:

  • what exactly speculative fiction is
  • the core ideas around world-building
  • genres and subgenres of speculative fiction including fantasy, science fiction, horror and the paranormal
  • the critical and cultural perspectives reflected in many speculative fiction texts

This course is suitable for anybody wishing to creatively explore speculative fiction and all that it encompasses.

For more information, see our FAQ below.

Course level: Aspiring, Emerging and Developing

Writing NSW members receive a $20 discount. Contact Writing NSW for your discount code. Not a member? Join here.


Your Instructor


Eugen Bacon
Eugen Bacon

Eugen Bacon, MA, MSc, PhD, is an African Australian author of several novels and collections. She’s a British Fantasy Award winner, a twice World Fantasy Award finalist, and a finalist in the Shirley Jackson, Philip K. Dick, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and the Nommo Awards for speculative fiction by Africans. Eugen is an Otherwise Fellow, and was also announced in the honor list for ‘doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction’. Danged Black Thing made the Otherwise Award Honor List as a ‘sharp collection of Afro-Surrealist work’. She’s an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Tasmania, and a 2024 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence. Visit her at eugenbacon.com.


Course Curriculum


  Introduction
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 7 - The Final Word
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!