Steampunk is a subgenre that explores alternate histories set in a Victorian era or similar time period with prominent steam powered technology. The name comes from "cyberpunk" but is set in a pseudo-Victorian world. Key influences and antecedents include the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Mary Shelley which featured mad scientists and the dangers of pushing scientific boundaries. Nikola Tesla is also an important figure as his inventions are featured in works like Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy. Steampunk now extends beyond literature into other mediums like art, music, fashion, and even a lifestyle for some followers.

1. LIB 617 Research in Young Adult Literature Fall 2011 Steampunk

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3. What is Steampunk? 3

4. 4 What is Steampunk? Where does the name come from? Well to begin with let's clear up the name. “Steampunk” started as a joke. There was a movement in science fiction to write in a genre known as “Cyberpunk”. When various writers began exploring similar concepts and ideas but setting them in a pseudo Victorian world one of those writers, K.W. Jeter coined the term “steampunk”. As a tongue in cheek descriptor it stuck. What is Steampunk: An overview for 2011

6. Count Zero, by William Gibson

7. Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson

9. 7 Who are the antecedents? 2. H.G. Wells To Steampunk, The Island of Doctor Moreau gives the kind of blind scientific ambition that characterizes many of the mad scientists of the subgenre, as well as the concept of degeneration of society that it shares with dystopian fiction. That science brought on this degeneration is an integral part of many near-future dystopian science fiction stories, and the aesthetic of the darker Steampunk works. Source: Blog Free the PrincessThe Roots of Steampunk -- H.G. Wells's The Island of DoctorFriday, April 16, 2010

10. 8 Who are the antecedents? 3. Mary Shelley Frankenstein gives to Steampunk its focus on dangerous science and pushing at what we already know. Novels like Boneshaker, where science gone wrong is one of the central facets of that world's history, owe a debt to tales like Frankenstein. Mary Shelley and other writers of Gothic literature that crafted terror over science in their readers were the progenitors of “mad science” in fiction. Source: Blog Free the Princess The Roots of Steampunk -- Mary Shelley's FrankensteinThursday, April 8, 2010

11. Another, not literary antecedent 9 The prototype mad scientist? See also Steampunk Notables: Nikola Tesla from

12. Tesla as a steampunk character 10 Books by Scott Westerfeld In Behemoth, the sequel to Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, the Steam/Diesel Punks that make up the Central Powers have ‘Tesla Cannons,’ which are, predictably, lightning generators. In the third book in the trilogy, Goliath, Tesla becomes a major character. Nikola Tesla in tvtropes

13. 11 Author of the Leviathantrilogy Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath Leviathan lesson plan

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15. 13 Alternate United State s History

16. 14 A Middle School Level Trilogy The Larklight trilogy by Philip Reeve

17. 15 Steampunk Graphic Novel Other titles in the The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Black Dossier League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #1 (1910) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #2 (1969) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 1 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 2

18. 16 Steampunk Internet?

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20. Steampunk is a culture 18

21. Steampunk Week 19 Steampunk Week on Tor.com With steampunk “hitting the mainstream,” the big question nowadays has changed from “What is steampunk?”* to “Where is it going?” Although this is only a week-long theme, I’ve packed it to the brim with contributions from both established and up-and-coming voices in the steampunk community. I’m especially proud of the diverse range of voices worldwide who offer a look at steampunk from various angles — from Eurocentric to multicultural, artsy to lowbrow, politics to fandom, and everything in between. Ay-leen the PeacemakerMon Oct 3 2011 Steampunk Week index page. * For those who have been living in a cave and have no idea what steampunk is, I suggest checking out Tor.com’s previous blogging events: Steampunk Month in 2009 and Steampunk Fortnight in 2010 for some clues.

22. So, what is Steampunk? 20 Many things! Over the years, steampunk has evolved into more than just a sub-genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Steampunk now extends into fashion, engineering, music, and for some, a lifestyle. With the Victorian British Empire or American Wild West as the backdrop, steampunk projects are a challenge of making something elegant out of random bits and bobs. Picture MacGyver or The A-Team in the 1800’s. Consider Dick Van Dyke’s Caractacus Potts and his creations in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the ingenious contraptions from Artimus Gordon’s laboratory in the television show The Wild, Wild West. What others see as junk or scrap parts, steampunk artists transform it into something new and expressive, be it an original creation or a modification of a modern convenience.