Locked On!

Abstract

<p>Locked On! The Seventh and Most Illegal in the Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy is an illustrated climate fiction ('cli-fi') novel. Using this genre first described in 2013 by Angela Evancie, it incorporates accounts of two northern New South Wales environmental and social justice blockades involving the 'Lock the Gate' activist coalition: the 2012-14 Leard Forest blockade against Whitehaven's coal mine near Narrabri, NSW, Australia's first coal mine blockade; and the successful 2010-14 campaign against unconventional gas extraction at Bentley near Lismore. Locked On! showcases fifty original artworks, most by the author alone but including some collaborative works, and a cover featuring a painting by Aboriginal artist Lloyd Hornsby. A work of fan fiction, the novel is based on characters from Douglas Adams' six-part 'trilogy', The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the sixth was written after Adams' death by Eoin Colfer). The illustrated novel is an example of using visual arts and humorous, dynamic literature to encourage pro-environmental behavior, express emotional indignation at environmentally damaging paradigms, and critically engage with social movement dynamics.</p>