Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier: A new volume from Amy Sturgis and Emily Strand.

Ok, May the Fourth may not be exactly the right day for this franchise, but these same editors have another volume on Star Wars coming out later this year, so close enough. I am excited to see the twin volumes and hope my local library will have them in, soon.  

In the meantime, the editors were kind enough to answer a few questions about the volume. 

What gave you the idea for the book?

Emily: I was approached by an acquisitions editor at Vernon Press after she heard me give a paper at the Southwest Popular and American Culture conference (SWPACA) in 2020 in a panel devoted to Star Wars and Star Trek. My paper was in defense of midi-chlorians from Star Wars, of all things. But it must have been persuasive, because she invited me to submit a book proposal for a scholarly anthology treating both franchises (in the same book). I knew I wanted to do it, but didn’t want to do it alone, so I invited Amy Sturgis to partner with me for the project. Fortunately, she said yes, and together we created and distributed a Call for Papers. We received so many high quality submissions from scholars around the globe that the publisher advised us to submit proposals for two books, one on each franchise. So that’s how both books were born—they’re “twins” as Amy says. (The volume Star Wars: Essays Exploring a Galaxy Far, Far Away will be out later this year, also from Vernon Press.) Although it made for an ambitious project (two books instead of one), it also created a natural division of labor, with Amy taking the lead on Trek while I spearheaded Star Wars. It’s been a great partnership.

What was it like to coordinate scholarship on a property that has had so many different iterations over the years?

Amy: It was an intimidating but thrilling task to undertake! We hoped to give our readers a sense of what it means to consider fifty-seven years of Star Trek transmedia storytelling – not only examining the television series and films, but also addressing the rich tapestry of Star Trek created by works of fiction and comics, as well as the texture and detail that emerges as official and fan artists co-create the universe together. We aimed to balance close reads of specific Star Trek works with big-picture discussions of characters, ideas, and themes that reach across decades and media. Throughout this process, our contributors have been our guides. We have been very fortunate to work with experts from a variety of different fields and perspectives, some of whom use a microscope and some of whom use a wide-angle lens to bring Star Trek into focus. We know that this is not the first anthology on the franchise, and it won’t be the last; that said, we are delighted at how these essays both help to identify and contribute to some of the current important discussions about Star Trek and also spotlight underrepresented topics that deserve more critical attention in the future. What comes through clearly in the pages of this volume, I think, is that Star Trek is an ongoing conversation about issues that matter, a challenge that is valuable to meet; our hope is that the book invites more people to ponder the questions raised by the franchise, join the dialogue, and appreciate the depth and breadth of the Star Trek universe.  

Who do you see as the book's target audience?

Emily: We devised the book (and its companion) to appeal to a wide readership: from interested, somewhat educated or “readerly” fans of Trek to scholars studying and writing about the franchise. One of its strengths (we think) is the accessibility of the writing, especially for an academic text. Since there has been something of a boom in university-level courses offered about Star Trek and other pop culture phenomena in the last decade or so, this book is also designed to make a great text for such courses, especially with the range of various disciplinary perspectives it represents. 

Where can interested people and institutions get the book?

Emily and Amy: The book is available on the publisher’s website, Vernon Press (click here for the link) (Vernon is offering a 24% “new release” discount using code CFC10822213C4 on checkout, for a limited time). It is also available on Amazon (click here), and from other sellers. We encourage campus libraries especially to purchase copies for their institutions!

Thank you, Emily and Amy, and may the force live long and prosper! You can also hear more from Emily about this new volume at her own blog: Liturgy and Life.