Philip K. Dick: Essays of the Here and Now is an edited collection of critical essays published by McFarland, edited by David Sandner, Donald E. Palumbo, and C.W. Sullivan III. At 227 pages, the volume is part of the Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy series, a major academic series edited by Palumbo and Sullivan.
The series includes an extensive list of prior volumes covering a wide range of science fiction and fantasy topics: Christopher Straw Brawley on nature and the numinous in mythopoeic fantasy (2014), Deke Parsons on Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the birth of modern fantasy (2014), Donald E. Palumbo on the monomyth in American science fiction films (2014), and edited volumes on the fantastic in Holocaust literature and film, among many others.
The collection's subtitle, 'Essays of the Here and Now,' emphasizes Dick's continuing relevance rather than treating him as a purely historical figure. This approach reflects the growing recognition that Dick's explorations of simulated reality, surveillance, corporate power, and the nature of authentic experience have become more pertinent, not less, in the decades since his death. McFarland has been one of the most prolific publishers of science fiction scholarship, and this volume contributes to their extensive catalog of critical works on the genre.