Part 1. Essential Catalan women authors
- February: L’edat dels vius (Univers, 2022), by Mar Bosch
- March: Estimades màquines (Males Herbes, 2020), by Carme Torras
- April: Diatomea (La Magrana, 2022), by Núria Perpinyà
Part 2. Two masters of the 19th century
- May: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (Proa, 2019), by Edgar Allan Poe
- June: The Sphinx of the Ice (El Cep i la Nansa, 2021), by Jules Verne
- Juny: L’esfinx del glaç (El Cep i la Nansa, 2021), de Jules Verne
Part 3. Fantastic horror
- September: Carrie (Males Herbes, 2026), by Stephen King
- October: Mammalia (Males Herbes, 2024), by Elisenda Solsona
- November: The Dunwich Horror (Laertes, 2022), by H.P. Lovecraft
Registration
Sessions are held via the Tellfy application, an instant communication platform that allows the creation of chats and discussion spaces specific to each club or thematic community.
To register for the club, access the registration link available on the Libraries of Catalonia website and request admission to the relevant community.
Access to the books
The selected books can be accessed in two ways:
- Through the digital lending service eBiblio / Biblio Digital.
- At public and university libraries, subject to availability.
How to take part
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Access Tellfy via a web browser or download the app to your device.
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Create a user account on the platform.
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Request admission to the club or community of your choice using the corresponding link.
Books will be available between the 1st and 4th of the month in which they are to be read. Each reader will have a 21-day loan period, adjusted to the reading month.For the February reading, licences will be activated on 2 February.
Important information
Please note that places may be limited depending on the club or community.Participation requires a Libraries of Catalonia library card, which is necessary to access digital lending resources such as the books available on Biblio Digital.
Throughout the duration of the club, at least two in-person activities are organised at the Humanities Library, such as talks, presentations, or meetings with authors. These activities, carried out in collaboration with academic staff and other organisations, complement the club experience and foster cultural exchange and direct engagement with the reading community.
First activity: “Dear Machines: Robotics and Catalan Science Fiction” Symposium
Date: 22 April, 12:00–14:30
Moderator: Lluc Casals Perpinyà
1st talk: Carme Torras: Visions of the future that inspire reflection and action
The relationship between technoscience and fiction is increasingly important. The dream of creating artificial humans has inspired robotic assistants, while their development raises ethical questions explored in fiction. Science fiction helps researchers, educators and business leaders anticipate the benefits and risks of technologies such as AI and social robotics. By imagining future worlds and alternative ways of acting, speculative literature fosters ethical reflection and supports responsible decisions towards desirable futures. This convergence of technoscience and the humanities offers promising opportunities for the years ahead.
2nd talk: Víctor Martínez-Gil: Artificial consciousness in Catalan literature
The creation of artificial, conscious life has been a recurring theme in Catalan science fiction since its emergence between the Renaixença and Modernisme, echoing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. From early satire to contemporary debates on virtual immortality and AI, the talk explores these themes through the concepts of “futures of the past” and post-singularity.
3rd talk: Sara Martín Alegre: The ethical impact of robotics and digital technologies: Carme Torras, from La mutació sentimental to Enxarxats
Carme Torras Genís (Barcelona, 1956), an internationally renowned assistive robotics researcher and author, explores the ethical implications of technoscience in her award-winning science fiction novels La mutació sentimental (2008) and Enxarxats (2017). Through futures shaped by dependence on robots and digital legacies beyond death, her work examines the risks of robotics and digital communication, reflecting her ethical commitment as a scientist.
4th talk: Sergi Robles: When machines do not behave as expected: hidden risks of AI and intelligent robots
This talk examines the paradox of increasingly capable AI systems that remain vulnerable to manipulation. When integrated into robots or autonomous agents, these vulnerabilities can lead to undesirable behaviour and real-world consequences. Drawing on a classic science fiction theme, it explores how intelligent machines may act unpredictably not out of malice, but because of how they learn, interpret the world and respond to human influence.
Round table: Catalan science fiction narrative. Carme Torras, Antoni Munné-Jordà, Sara Martín Alegre and Víctor Martínez-Gil; moderated by Lluc Casals
Second activity: 50 Years of Carrie: Stephen King at Festival 42
Date: 9 November, 10–11 am
Moderator: Lluc Casals Perpinyà
Venue: Festival 42, Fabra i Coats, Room 2.
A discussion marking the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Carrie, the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, exploring the author’s influence on fantasy literature and cinema, as well as the enduring relevance of his legacy.
The session will feature writer Ricard Ruiz Garzón, Sara Martín Alegre, PhD in English Philology, and writer and translator Edgar Cotes. It will be moderated by Lluc Casals, from Òrbita Lectora, the UAB Humanities Library’s virtual reading club.
