There be monsters here… Sailors have been spinning yarns since the first ship was invented. Giant octopuses, mermaids, and sea serpents haunt our dreams and nightmares. But where did these legends come from?

Join Dr. Emma Shelford, oceanography doctorate and author of nine fantasy novels, to examine the stories behind fantastical sea monsters and discover that fact is often way cooler than fiction.

Emma’s doctorate at UBC focused on the influence of marine viruses on global nitrogen cycling. Today, she is an author of contemporary fantasy novels. Her latest book features a local marine biologist who discovers that legendary sea creatures are real.