Her novels imagine other worlds, but her theory of fiction can help us better live in this one.

Director Alfonso Cuarón revisits Children of Men, his overlooked 2006 masterpiece, which might be the most relevant film of our dark new century.

"The look of the Genenthians in the story came from an attempt to visualize how a race of people who existed in a freezing, snowy environment might evolve to look like. Ursula had always had in her mind that these people would therefore resemble Inuit or Native American people... She described Genly Ai on the other hand as taller, dark-skinned, with an ethnicity that in the distant future would evoke a slight sense of racial mixing. I simply attempted to fulfill Ursula’s wishes and interpret her vision of the characters the best way I could."