![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/s-with-mask-2-300x200.png\")
I\u2019ve been doing my best to learn from the examples set by writers who lived through past epidemics \u2013 Sherwood Anderson, Beatrix Potter, and W.E.B. Du Bois (all of whom wrote during the 1918 flu outbreak); and Francesco Petrarca, Thomas Nash, and William Shakespeare (who penned some of their greatest works during Europe\u2019s deadliest plagues).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nThe above excerpt is from a piece I posted here<\/a> in September 2020.<\/p>\n As far as I know, none of those plays or novels were about influenza or plague, but today it seems some writers are indeed writing about covid. One of them is Anne Tyler, whose novel French Bread<\/a><\/em> deals with a retired couple whose adult son and grandson move in with them during the pandemic; and Sigrid Nunez (author of a 2010 novel Salvation City<\/a><\/em> that dealt with the 1918 flue epidemic) who is reportedly working on a new book about the early days of the pandemic.<\/p>\n But what about horror writers?<\/p>\n To find out, I\u2019ll be dropping by Confluence<\/a>\u00a0this weekend to moderate a panel titled The Pandemic\u2019s Impact on Horror Fiction<\/em>. Here\u2019s the description from the convention’s program book:<\/p>\n Horror fiction about pandemics has been popular for a long time, and includes classic works such as <\/em>I Am Legend and <\/em>The Stand. But how has the recent pandemic impacted horror fiction and how it deals with pandemics?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n On hand to help consider that question will be fellow panelists Frederic Durbin<\/a>, S. A. Bradley<\/a>, and Brandon McNulty<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll endeavor to report some of their comments in a future post, but for my part, I\u2019d like to add Mary Shelley\u2019s novel The Last Man<\/a><\/em> to the panel\u2019s description. Perhaps not as widely known as I am Legend<\/em><\/a> or The Stand<\/em><\/a> (both of which have benefited from being adapted to the big and small screens), Shelley\u2019s novel is prescient in its consideration of commercial air travel, war in the Middle East, and a 21st-century pandemic.<\/p>\n If there are recent works of horror and science fiction that deal with the current pandemic, I trust the panelists will know about them. So \u2026 if you’re planning to attend Confluence this weekend, consider joining the discussion at 6:00 on Friday. Otherwise, I\u2019ll hope to include some of the panel\u2019s recommendations in a future post.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/the-last-man-2-200x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n