Slipstream Dreams

Background 'Slipstream' literature (Sterling, 1988) describes works that are clearly literary but exhibit speculative aspects. Sterling argues that 'the work' of science fiction is to provide readers and writers with a place from which to (re)view their world, and that this work is now being done by literary fiction. 'Navigating the Art' is an essay that uses the notion of the 'slip stream' in order to interrogate how this may currently be taking shape in a specifically Australian context. Contribution In this essay I explore the ways in which Jane Rawson's From the Wreck and Briohny Doyle's This Island Will Sink are aligned with specific non-realist genres. My discussion is concerned with generic production and reception-the 'paratextual' and 'epitextual' aspects-of these titles, as well as the essential content of their fantastic stories. The research leads me to conclude that in an environment where science fiction is increasingly becoming science fact, producers and consumers are frequently seeking out more fantastic forms. Significance This research demonstrates that 'unreal' books by literary authors and small independent Melbourne presses challenge any easy identification of contemporary literary fiction as primarily realist. Local literary fiction is showing evidence of slipstream experimentation, responding to what James Bradley has identified, in the same wide-read and prestigious publication - The Sydney Review of Books clearly has an interest in experimental authors, commissioned this article in response to reading my application for their emerging critics award - as 'writing on the precipice' in the 'posthuman' era.