First announced on Friday, March 27th, the Second Life Book Club launches on Wednesday, April 8th as part of efforts to broaden the appeal of Second Life and showcase what can be achieved with a virtual platform, as well as offering SL users a new and informative series focused on the world of literate – which is actually a popular subject among SLers thanks to the long-running work by the likes of Seanchai Library and others.
These are strange times indeed: With the current public health crisis sweeping across the globe, many of us are finding it more difficult to go out and physically do the things that comfort us and bring us joy. Socializing. Shopping. Dancing. We can’t wait to get out and explore in the physical world again – but, fortunately, you can do these things virtually right now in Second Life.
During this time of great anxiety, stress and social isolation, we’ve seen a spike in interest and activity in Second Life as people seek online outlets for comfort and social connections. Many are discovering for the first time how Second Life can bring people together for friendly conversations and fun social activities – such as live music performances, virtual nightclubs and deejay events and even book readings.
– From the Second Life blog post, March 27th, 2020
Hosted in-world at a new venue which uses one of the Lab’s turnkey solutions to help businesses and organisations make use of Second Life (in this case, the Conference Centre design), The Second Life Book Club is, in the words of the official press release (also a blog post) about it, an:
Initiative that enables authors to have real-time book readings, engage in meet-and-greets with their fans and promote their publications in front of a live audience within the Internet’s largest user-created virtual world [ which] will kick off with a multi-author panel that will discuss the new reality of writing and selling books in the age of COVID-19. The event will feature a live Q&A with best-selling authors Matt Ruff (“Lovecraft Country”), Ken Liu (“The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories”), SL Huang (the Cas Russell series) and CB Lee (the Sidekick Squad series).
– Linden Lab, Second Life Débuts Virtual Book Tours, April 7th, 2020
The Second Life Book Club is a monthly event produced jointly by Linden Lab and Draxtor Despres who also hosts episodes.
Shows will take place before a live Second Life audience, with the first edition taking place on 10:00 SLT on Wednesday April 8th, at the Second Life Book Club Island. Audience space is limited, so if you are unable to secure a seat, it will be streamed live across all official Second Life social channels.
Further programmes and guests will be announced through the official Second Life blog.
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