Tim Powers is the author of such novels as The Anubis Gates, Last Call, and Declare. Along with his friends James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, he’s considered one of the founders of the steampunk genre. He was also good friends with Philip K. Dick, who included a character based on Tim in his novel Valis. Tim’s pirate novel, On Stranger Tides, inspired the video game, The Secret of Monkey Island, and also provided the premise for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Alex Garland’s first novel The Beach was adapted into a feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Garland then worked with the director of that film, Danny Boyle, on the movies 28 Days Later and Sunshine, for which Garland wrote the screenplays. He also wrote the screenplays for the recent films Never Let Me Go, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Dredd, based on the British comic book character Judge Dredd. Garland also wrote and directed the new science fiction thriller Ex Machina.

Our guest today is Charlie Jane Anders, editor-in-chief of io9, the internet’s most popular science fiction website. She also won a Hugo award in 2012 for her story “Six Months, Three Days.” We’ll be speaking with her today about her first fantasy novel, All the Birds in the Sky, about two friends who find themselves on opposite sides of a war between witches and mad scientists.

Bill McGoldrick is the head of original programming at Syfy. He was brought in two years ago to oversee a major overhaul in the network’s lineup, which is designed to lure hardcore science fiction fans back to the channel with smart, ambitious shows. The new lineup includes adaptations of many classic fantasy and science fiction novels, including works by Arthur C. Clarke, Aldous Huxley, and Frederick Pohl, as well as books by newer writers such as Dan Simmons, John Scalzi, James S. A. Corey, and Lev Grossman.