Information Science

Join us for learning and networking on Feb 12, 2026 with Toronto Women's Data Group, in downtown Toronto! Hear from two leading data professionals, who will share their insights on the Data/ML field, hard-earned lessons, and what the day-to-day really looks like. Whether you’re looking to learn, considering a pivot or advancing your career, this event is for you! Speakers: \- Jessica David \- Principal Data Engineer\, Elastic \- Ella Chen \- Software Engineer\, Shopify Schedule (subject to change): 6:00 pm - Doors open 6:30 pm - Speaker sessions, Q&A 8:00 pm - Networking/chatting Shoutout to our sponsors: Index Exchange - https://www.indexexchange.com/ Elastic - https://www.elastic.co/ Allies are welcome to attend, with the understanding that these events are focused on spotlighting the career experiences of women.

Important Register on the [event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021214) (Due to room capacity and building security, you must pre-register at the link for admission) **Description:** Welcome to the AI meetup in Toronto. Join us for deep dive tech talks on AI, GenAI, LLMs and machine learning, food/drink, networking with speakers and fellow developers. **Speakers/Topics:** \- Gleb Otochkin \(Google\) Stay tuned as we are updating speakers and schedules. If you have a keen interest in speaking to our community, we invite you to submit topics for consideration: [Submit Topics](https://forms.gle/JkMt91CZRtoJBSFUA) **Sponsors:** We are actively seeking sponsors to support AI developers community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food, or cash sponsorship. Sponsors will not only speak at the meetups, receive prominent recognition, but also gain exposure to our extensive membership base of 10,000+ AI developers in Toronto or 500K+ worldwide.

**Important note about the retirement of the OWASP Meetup platform** Fellow OWASP Toronto members, We are making an important announcement regarding an upcoming transition. The OWASP Foundation has announced that they will be retiring their Meetup Pro subscription effective January 31, 2026: https://owasp.org/blog/2026/01/13/retiring-meetup.html This means that our OWASP Toronto Meetup group may be removed in the coming days. We understand this may be short notice, so we want to make this announcement before we lose access. You are an important part of our chapter community. Many attendees I have spoken to have discovered OWASP Toronto via Meetup. To continue engaging with the community while using a platform that enables discoverability, we will moving to the [Evenbrite](https://owasp-toronto-chapter.eventbrite.com/) for publishing our events. You can continue to follow us via our [Google Group mailing list](https://groups.google.com/a/owasp.org/g/toronto-chapter), our [Chapter page](https://owasp.org/www-chapter-toronto/), our [LinkedIn group](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/owasp-toronto-chapter/), our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqmBl-u_4cOEiH3OXWE3sPg), our Slack channel ([#owasp-toronto-chapter](https://owasp.slack.com/archives/C075DRCB1PZ), does not require an OWASP membership), as well as on our new [Discord channel](https://discord.gg/eg3upJ6N). Please see below for details of our February 12 event. Visit our [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/owasp-toronto-february-2026-tickets-1982057078076) page for more information! \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* **Dual Talk Event: Raising Cyber Awareness Through Electronic Word of Mouth \| When AI Becomes Application Logic: Securing Shadow AI** Presentation #1: Raising Cybersecurity Awareness Through Electronic Word of Mouth: A Data-Driven Assessment Awareness of the many cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and solutions to mitigate these threats/vulnerabilities is instrumental in improving basic cybersecurity behaviours. A healthy body of knowledge has been devoted to exploring how to better increase awareness, in any given topic, among members of the general public which have explored the role of word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in spreading awareness. In recent years, the rise of social media platforms as an alternative communication channel has created efforts to promote cybersecurity awareness online regarding the numerous cybersecurity threats. However, little research attention has been devoted to exploring eWOM communication on social media surrounding cybersecurity awareness. Moreover, no research to date has considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these eWOM discussions related to cybersecurity awareness. To address these literature gaps, this research collected 227, 270 relevant tweets surrounding cybersecurity awareness from 2018 to 2022 conducting an exploratory analysis of the corpus using social network analyses, topic modelling and semantic similarity analysis. The results found topics rose in prominence and then dissipated as newer topics emerged while information was found to spread incredibly far despite a high degree of community forming, suggesting the online discourse is very open and evolving over time. These findings illustrate the potential of social media as an effective tool for raising cybersecurity awareness. The impact of COVID-19 observed an increase in the reach of information in addition to new specific topics emerging in the discourse, but the effects appear to be temporary. Speaker: Dane Vanderkooi Dane Vanderkooi is a fifth-year Doctoral Candidate in management science at TorontoMet University who specializes in researching cybersecurity and digital privacy behaviours. He completed his bachelor's of commerce at Uottawa and holds a master's in management science degree from Ryerson University. Dane has published his research in academic journals, conferences and industry reports. Dane has also presented his research at various conferences including HC2P, SERENE-RISC, HCII, CyberToronto, ASAC and SocialMedia+Society, AMCIS, and ICIS. Dane is certified in cybersecurity (CC) from ISC2 and has practical experience working in the field of cybersecurity with private industry, non-for-profits, and the public sector including the Canadian Armed Forces, Public Health and Safety Canada, Justice Canada, Innovation Science and Economic Development (ISED), Bell, BMO, Desjardins, Ritchie Bros and Achev. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Presentation #2: When AI Becomes Application Logic: Securing Shadow AI AI is entering production faster than security teams can see it. From “simple” chatbot integrations to LLMs wired directly into business logic — and agents running entire application flows — organizations are accumulating Shadow AI: untracked, ungoverned, and often dangerously over-privileged. This talk shows how AI quietly changes application behavior at runtime: expanding trust boundaries, introducing non-deterministic authorization paths, and creating blast radiuses that static inventories and policy checklists cannot capture. Using real-world architectural patterns and runtime signals, we’ll demonstrate how security teams can identify where AI is actually used, what it can access, and how attackers abuse AI-driven logic to exploit new classes of vulnerabilities. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for securing AI-powered applications — grounded in runtime behavior and evidence, not assumptions. Speaker: Daniel Shechter Daniel Shechter is the CEO and Co-Founder of Miggo, an Application Detection and Response platform. Shechter has an impressive background in both threat intelligence and within the security industry. Before founding Miggo he was leading cyber security teams in Israel's elite cyber intelligence division, Unit 8200. He later joined McKinsey, a strategy and management consulting company, where he provided guidance on acquisition, developing new business strategies and more. Shechter is an industry expert in security, incident detection and response, threat intelligence, and attack observability.

Stop Babysitting LLMs, Start Shipping. PRs got bigger, not better. Seniors are burning hours on AI bug hunts while *throughput stays flat*. Encode your existing **SDLC** into a gated multi-agent flow so LLMs do the noisy work. Review changes that have already passed **CI**. ## **Swarm Architecture** Encodes a full SDLC loop (**issue** → **spec → plan → PR** → **gate** → **deploy**) in a gated **45-agent swarm** you can explore after the talk. ## **Shift Left** **Mutation-on-diff** and **contract/schema checks** wired into your agentic flow before review. Reduce **review pain** instead of just generating more code. ## **Failure Modes & Guardrails** Hallucinations, reward hacking, process confabulation, and how your architecture catches and fixes them before they reach reviewers. ## **Takeaways** * ✓You'll leave with a working **demo swarm repository** you can clone into your own repos, and a clearer way to decide when to lean on **tokens versus human review**. * ✓For platform and DevEx engineers, tech leads and staff+ developers, and engineering leaders who are tired of wrestling with AI-generated code and **review pain**. * ✓The talk and swarm will be released under **Apache 2.0**. *Come at 5:30 pm have some pizza and chat for a bit. The presentation starts at 6:00 pm.*

Elastic and Toronto Women's Data Group are happy to partner together on a community meetup in Toronto! Hear from two leading data professionals, who will share their insights on the Data/ML field, hard-earned lessons, and what the day-to-day really looks like. Whether you’re looking to learn, considering a pivot or advancing your career, this event is for you! Speakers: \- Ella Chen \- Software Engineer\, Shopify \- Jessica David \- Principal Data Engineer\, Elastic Schedule (subject to change): 6:00 pm - Doors open 6:30 pm - Speaker sessions, Q&A 8:00 pm - Networking/chatting Allies are welcome to attend, with the understanding that these events are focused on spotlighting the career experiences of women. **When:** February 12th 6:00 pm **Location:** 8 Spadina Ave See you there!

Important Register on the [event website](https://www.aicamp.ai/event/eventdetails/W2026021214) (Due to room capacity and building security, you must pre-register at the link for admission) **Description:** Welcome to the AI meetup in Toronto. Join us for deep dive tech talks on AI, GenAI, LLMs and machine learning, food/drink, networking with speakers and fellow developers. **Speakers/Topics:** \- Gleb Otochkin \(Google\) Stay tuned as we are updating speakers and schedules. If you have a keen interest in speaking to our community, we invite you to submit topics for consideration: [Submit Topics](https://forms.gle/JkMt91CZRtoJBSFUA) **Sponsors:** We are actively seeking sponsors to support AI developers community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food, or cash sponsorship. Sponsors will not only speak at the meetups, receive prominent recognition, but also gain exposure to our extensive membership base of 10,000+ AI developers in Toronto or 500K+ worldwide.

\*These classes are not a language exchange, but instead are meant to be a step in between so that students feel confident maintaining in depth and grammatically correct oral conversations outside of class\* \***Meetup event numbers only tend to show new students registering and do not include returning students attending class.** **Per class, there is an average of 7 students.** The first 2 classes are free and then only cost between $15 and $35 depending on which type of class you want to continue with\* These French, English (For Spanish and French speakers only), and Spanish classes are primarily meant for adults who are travellers, or who are planning to live in a French, English, or Spanish-speaking country. The classes are primarily oral-based through guided conversations. They will teach you how to handle conversations in situations such as **"Going to the Convenience Store"**, **"Making Plans"**, **"Negotiating Prices"**, and **"Going out for a Drink"**. To ensure that students get used to using the language automatically, students will learn to maintain contextual conversations with timing before moving on to the next lesson. Call (647)787-9953, e-mail us info@monkeylingo.ca, or visit monkeylingo.ca for more information! **Online and private classes are also available!** No other language classes are as conversational as these ones. We guarantee it! Cheap parking can be found using the "Spot Hero" app.

Based on feedback from last event, we are bringing back a Part 2 of this event! How do we really know that our vaccines don't have microchips? How do we know that GMOs won't change our DNA? Just because big brother said "trust me bro"? Excessive scientific distrust is harmful, but we are also often powerless in front of it. One can only call flat-earthers "stupid" so many times. Is it possible that we had the wrong science communication approach this whole time? In this session, we will be reading and discussing Prof Gabrile Contessa's paper on Philosophy of Science, "It Takes a Village to Trust Science: Towards a (Thoroughly) Social Approach to Public Trust in Science". Read the paper or the summary provided in advance if you have time, or we can read the summary together in the first 20 minutes. The rest of the session will be reserved for structured and guided discussion. All we ask is that you bring an open and curious mind. Full paper (estimated reading time = 50-90 min): [https://classes.matthewjbrown.net/teaching-files/hps/contessa-trust.pdf](https://classes.matthewjbrown.net/teaching-files/hps/contessa-trust.pdf) Summary (estimated reading time: 5 min): [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fnznzzUvDw9ZZUGdjI74wknKT7B74IeUfVJrwyftUbU/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fnznzzUvDw9ZZUGdjI74wknKT7B74IeUfVJrwyftUbU/edit?usp=sharing)

### Thursday Evening Discussion Group **In\-Person \| Starts at 8:00 PM \(Doors open at 7:30 PM\) \| Drop\-In** **Starting material:** *[Network of Thought](https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Network-of-Thought-Krishnamurti-ebook.pdf)* by **Jiddu Krishnamurti** This weekly discussion group offers a reflective and open space to explore themes of **mysticism, spirituality, and inner transformation** through selected writings and talks by Jiddu Krishnamurti, Annie Besant, Alice Bailey, and other thinkers whose work invites deep **inquiry into consciousness, freedom, truth,** and **the nature of self-understanding**. Rather than promoting a particular belief system, the group emphasizes **shared reading, thoughtful reflection, and respectful dialogue**. Participants are welcome to engage at their own pace—whether through listening, contemplation, or open discussion. While there is **no requirement to commit before attending**, *the intention is to gradually build a group of participants who are interested in returning regularly and engaging sincerely with the material* and the group process. Newcomers are very welcome, and those who feel drawn to ongoing study are warmly encouraged to continue attending. This is a **drop-in group**, and no prior background or preparation is required. **All are welcome.** Come as you are, reflect together, and take part in a spirit of openness and mutual respect.

Struggling with motivation and focus as you hammer away on your manuscript at home? Want to join a community of writers as we embrace the joys and pains (mostly pains) of writing together? Bring your laptop, pen & paper, old-school typewriter, or futuristic writing gadget, and join an enthusiastic community of science fiction and fantasy writers as we work on our current projects in the same space. The format will be similar to our online writing sprints: 30-minute blocks of focused, quiet writing time (the sprints), interspersed with breaks where we can chat, ask questions, and share our writing experiences.

Let's learn Agentic AI! Welcome to our [KSUG.AI Americas](https://us1.ksug.ai) meetup! **Latest promotions** discovered by our community! * **50%** off [Linux Foundation](https://gk.ksug.ai/) EXPIRED, [Get Notified](https://ksug.ai/?notify&ref=meet) for next BIG one! * **20%** off [KubeCon Europe](https://ksug.ai/events/?ref=meet) 2026 using code **KSAI20** * Up to **30%** off popular [Books](https://ksug.ai/books/?ref=meet) and [Events](https://ksug.ai/events/?ref=meet) Stop Babysitting LLMs, Start Shipping. PRs got bigger, not better. Seniors are burning hours on AI bug hunts while *throughput stays flat*. Encode your existing **SDLC** into a gated multi-agent flow so LLMs do the noisy work. Review changes that have already passed **CI**. ## **Swarm Architecture** Encodes a full SDLC loop (**issue** → **spec → plan → PR** → **gate** → **deploy**) in a gated **45-agent swarm** you can explore after the talk. ## **Shift Left** **Mutation-on-diff** and **contract/schema checks** wired into your agentic flow before review. Reduce **review pain** instead of just generating more code. ## **Failure Modes & Guardrails** Hallucinations, reward hacking, process confabulation, and how your architecture catches and fixes them before they reach reviewers. ## **Takeaways** * ✓You'll leave with a working **demo swarm repository** you can clone into your own repos, and a clearer way to decide when to lean on **tokens versus human review**. * ✓For platform and DevEx engineers, tech leads and staff+ developers, and engineering leaders who are tired of wrestling with AI-generated code and **review pain**. * ✓The talk and swarm will be released under **Apache 2.0**. *Come at 5:30 pm have some pizza and chat for a bit. The presentation starts at 6:00 pm.* **Volunteers / Sponsors / Speakers:** [KSUG.AI](https://ksug.ai/?ref=meetup) is actively seeking speakers & sponsors to support our KubeSmart & AI community. Whether it is by offering venue spaces, providing food, or financial support. Sponsors will not only speak at our meetups, receive prominent recognition, but also gain exposure to our extensive membership base of 31,000+ Cloud Native + AI enthusiasts globally. [Volunteering](https://volunteer.ksug.ai/), [Submit Topics](https://speaker.ksug.ai/), [Sponsor Us](https://sponsor.ksug.ai/)! 🚀 **Let's be [kubestrong](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kubestrong/)!** 🎉 Please take a note this event is organized by our peers. We thought it's useful to our members. Join **[#Discord](https://discord.com/invite/Rp9WzYyKua)** for latest update 👉 [https://discord.com/invite/Rp9WzYyKua](https://discord.com/invite/Rp9WzYyKua) 🔖 𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬: ☸ **30%** OFF [#CNCF Certs](https://cka.ksug.ai/) \- code **30K8SUG** ☸ **37%** OFF [#KodeKloud plans](https://ksug.ai/kk/?ref=meet) \- code **K8SUGKK** 𝟏𝟖𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ follow **[KSUG.AI](https://ksug.ai/discount/?ref=meetup)** 🔥 [linktr.ee/ksug.ai](https://linktr.ee/ksug.ai) ✅ Learn 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 ⚡ ✅ Certify 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 💰 ✅ Grow 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 💪 [KSUG.AI - KubeSmart & AI User Group](https://linkedin.com/company/k8sug) *By registering, you consent to the management of your personal information in accordance with KSUG.AI Meetup's [Privacy Policy](https://k8sug.ai/privacy). Additionally, you agree that our sponsors may contact you.* **[KSUG.AI](https://ksug.ai/?ref=meetup)** is an independent community and not affiliated with or endorsed by CNCF. Kubernetes, K8s, Kubestronaut are registered trademarks of The Linux Foundation.

We are kicking off **2026** with a relaxed, in person **a11yTO** social focused on connection, reflection, and conversation. This is a casual evening with no formal presentation and no slides. The goal is simply to bring the community together, reconnect with familiar faces, meet new people, and share experiences from the past year. As part of the evening, we will offer optional mini lightning prompts for anyone who would like to participate. These are short, three minute reflections focused on looking back at 2025. You might share one accessibility win from last year that truly made a difference, or one thing that did not work and what it taught you. Listening is just as welcome as sharing, and there is no need to prepare anything in advance. Whether you are new to accessibility or have been working in the space for years, everyone is welcome. Register at: [https://tickets.a11yto.com/e/33/a11yto-february-social-reflecting-on-our-accessibility-journey-in-2025](https://tickets.a11yto.com/e/33/a11yto-february-social-reflecting-on-our-accessibility-journey-in-2025)

This is a ticketed event. Please register at [this link](https://luma.com/1tdy8el7). ​Agent swarms can complete multi-month to year software development tasks. What does this mean for timelines? [Julian Moncarz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-moncarz/?originalSubdomain=ca) provides an overview of safety risks that emerge when agents work in swarms. ​​​**Event Schedule** 6:00 to 6:30 - Food and introductions 6:30 to 7:30 - Presentation and Q&A 7:30 to 9:00 - Open Discussions ​​​​​​If you can't make it in person, feel free to join the live stream starting at 6:30 pm, via [this link](https://www.youtube.com/@Trajectory-Labs/live). ​​​This is part of our weekly **[AI Safety Thursdays ](https://luma.com/trajectory-labs?k=c)**series. Join us in examining questions like: * ​​​How do we ensure AI systems are aligned with human interests? * ​​​How do we measure and mitigate potential risks from advanced AI systems? * ​​​What does safer AI development look like?

한국어는 아래를 참조하세요! A warm welcome to CanAsian Station’s In-Person English x Korean Meetup! A weekly event where we invite you to enjoy sharing language and culture with each other. * Beginners are welcome, what’s important is you’re willing to learn! * Short on ideas? Fear not! We provide new topics each week ,also doubling as study material! Our participation fee is **$5 per event**. All fees are to be E-transferred to canasianstation@gmail.com We also accept payment in cash, but please be advised that E-Transfers are preferred. Looking very forward to meeting and sharing with you all! 😊 Location: Go to the food court downstairs. CanAsian Station의 대면 영어 x 한국어 만남에 오신 것을 환영합니다! 매주 열리는 행사로, 여러분이 서로의 언어와 문화를 나누며 즐길 수 있는 자리를 마련합니다. 초보자도 환영합니다! 중요한 것은 배우고자 하는 마음입니다. 아이디어가 부족하다면 걱정 마세요! 매주 새로운 주제를 제공하며, 그 주제들은 학습 자료로도 활용됩니다! 참가비는 **행사당 5달러**입니다. 모든 요금은 canasianstation@gmail.com으로 E-Transfer를 통해 송금해주세요. 현금 결제도 가능합니다만, E-Transfer를 선호합니다. 여러분과 만나고, 함께 나누게 될 것을 기대하고 환영합니다!😊 장소: 지하에 있는 푸드 코트로 와주시길 바랍니다

I love my job and one of the main things I do is help customers get going with any of the data technologies at Microsoft. Right now there are a lot of my customers asking about Microsoft Fabric. It's hard to weave across all the shiny new options across the Fabric landscape, let alone figure out where it fits into your organization. In this session we'll focus on answering one question - how can I get data into Fabric? We'll talk through the "it depends" options and see some of the options in live demos.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBA

Friday Night French Conversation Hour Bonjour tout le monde! (English Below) Je vous propose une soirée, ce vendredi qui vient, à l'hôtel Junto à Columbus. 19hr. 13 Vendredi 2026. C'est très bien située avec de l'espace extérieur et intérieur, un feu, un café (cafe se ferme à 19h; arrivez tot si ca vous interesse), un resto, et un bar. Le parking est payé est juste en face au musée des sciences COSI. Il y'en a aussi dans les rues mais un peu plus loin. Vous n'êtes pas obligé d'acheter quelque chose, car l'ensemble de l'espace c'est vraiment un grand lobby et de l'hôtel, mais c'est cool. J'ai parlé avec le management et ils sont ravis de nous accueillir, mais il n'y a pas de place particulière réservé pour nous. Ce sera à partir de 19h jusqu'à ? Moi, je suis Brandon. J'aimerais que ce soit un évènement mensuel et si l'espace ne vous convient pas, on peut discuter d'autres options. Je vais porter une casquette bleue et blanche qui dit "Québec." Venez nombreux! A tres bientot \-\-\-\- Hello everyone! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Friday night French meetup. I suggest that we meet at the Junto Hotel in Columbus this coming Friday, 13 February 2026 at 7PM. There’s a great spot with both outdoor and indoor areas, a café (which closes at 7 p.m., come a bit early if that interests you), a restaurant, and a bar. Parking is paid and is located right across from the science museum called COSI. There is additional free and paid street parking around at varying distances. It’s a bit expensive, but you don’t have to buy anything since the area is really just a large hotel lobby. It's nice though. I spoke with management, and they’re happy to welcome us, though there’s no specific space reserved just for us. It’ll start at 7 p.m. and go until whenever. I’d like this to become a monthly event, and if this space doesn’t suit us well, we can discuss other options. Speaking and understanding French well is ideal but there may be learners there as well. I’m Brandon. I’ll be wearing a blue and white cap that says “Québec.” Come find us.

Join the Columbus AI community for our quarterly gathering — a casual, community-focused evening where everyone has a chance to share, learn, and connect. These open mic–style events give anyone in the community up to **5 minutes** to present a project, share a tool, pose a question, or offer a perspective on the evolving AI space. No slides required — just a welcoming space to exchange ideas and keep the local AI conversation moving. If you’d like to take the stage, message **Chris (the organizer)** with a **title and short description** of what you’d like to share. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.transformlabs.com/services)

This meeting will be an open discussion about the book "an Immense World" by Ed Yong

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.