So long as civilization artificially creates hells on earth, Hugo wrote in his preface, books like Les Misérables cannot fail to be useful. A century and a half later, the hells of poverty and injustice still persist on earth—and on the planet Laterre, the far-future setting for Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell’s System System Divine series, a young adult trilogy that reimagines Les Misérables in space. The coauthors will discuss how Hugo’s novel inspired their story and talk about translating its elements into science fiction, turning Javert into a ruthless cyborg, the slums of Paris into the remains of vast rusting spaceships, and the convent into a secret underground “Refuge” that protects the last remaining library of books from earth. Brody and Rendell will share their collaborative writing and editing practices and offer clues about the easter eggs hidden in the books for true Les Mis fans. Following the talk, Hugo scholar Prof. Marva Barnett will moderate a Q&A session.