8 Great Book Readings at SXSW 2018

The Forrest Four-Cast: December 6, 2017

For SXSW 2018, the format for Book Readings has changed, as authors will now have 60 minutes to talk about their creativity. Eight of the sessions that I am most excited about for next spring are as follows:

1. Architectural Intelligence: AI & Design. The history of AI is the history of design. Molly Wright Steenson shows how luminaries like Nicholas Negroponte with the MIT AI Lab and Christopher Alexander at UC Berkeley put in place the foundation of our digital landscape — in ways that reverberate deeply today. Scheduled for March 13.
2. The Art of Screen Time. Journalist and mother Anya Kamenetz takes a refreshingly practical approach to one of the biggest challenges facing parents today: mediating our kids’ use of media, when media is like the air we breathe. Scheduled for March 10.
3. Cut the Crap & Jargon to Focus Your Startup. In this session, Shradha Sharma will focus on mistakes entrepreneurs make as they scale and chase big ambitions. He will cover lessons learnt from the trenches, and like the title of his book, this presentation will be hard-hitting and to the point. Scheduled for March 9.
4. Futureproof Your Business for the Next Disruption. What’s the secret (sauce?) for succeeding in digital transformation and for onboarding new technologies to drive your business? In Futureproof, based on their experience, research and many case studies, Minter Dial and Caleb Storkey explore the key success factors, presenting specific and concrete action plans for individuals, entrepreneurs and executives. Scheduled for March 10.
5. How To Fix The Future. Comparing today’s digital revolution with the 19th and 20th century industrial revolution, Andrew Keen session reveals the best practices from around the world that are fixing our future. Examples will include innovations of entrepreneurs, policy makers and educators in Estonia, India, Singapore, the European Union and the United States. Scheduled for March 11.
6. Kill All Normies: The Online Culture Wars of 2016. Angela Nagle’s book attracted equal and extreme praise and criticism when it emerged just after the Alt-Right were catapulted to mainstream media fame. In this session, he will recap how we got here as well as explore the future of the online political culture wars. Scheduled for March 13.
7. Opposite of Hate: How To Change Your Trolls. Writer and CNN political pundit Sally Kohn (pictured above) has some of the worst trolls ever. For her new book, she tracked her trolls down and called them on the phone — to find out why they troll, and whether they really mean the mean things they type. Scheduled for March 12.
8. The Runaway Species: How Creativity Remakes the World. Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman examine human creativity and draw out what creative acts have in common, viewing them through the lens of cutting-edge neuroscience to uncover the essential elements of this critical human ability. Schedule for March 11.

All these authors will also be signing copies of their work. Click here to browse the complete schedule of Book Readings for SXSW 2018. Be part of all the discovery that is March Magic by purchasing your badge today.

Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.

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