Women in Science Fiction & Fantasy Month, 2015
May 3, 2015 4:24 PM Subscribe
Every April for the past several years,
Fantasy Cafe has published a series of guest posts for Women in Science Fiction & Fantasy Month. This year, the article that generated the most discussion was "'I am ... ?': Representation of Mature Women in Fantasy" by Mieneke from A Fantastical Librarian, who asked, "So where are the older women in fantasy? Mature women who are the hero of their own story?" The many other guest posts this year offered an interesting range of questions, observations, and reflections--often by well-known names in the field.
Week 1
- In "Some Assembly Required: Recommendation Lists for a More Inclusive Fandom," Renay from Lady Business encouraged readers to update the Big Giant 2014 List of their favorite SF&F by women.
- Rachel Hartman, author of Seraphina and Shadow Scale, explained a key point from her world-building process in "The Gods Roll the Dice: Inventing a Gender System."
- Genevieve Valentine, author of books such as The Girls at the Kingfisher Club and currently the writer of DC's Catwoman, contributed "The Right Hand of Light, a personal appreciation of Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.
- In her recap of Week 1, Kristen from Fantasy Cafe mentioned two items of interest: Kari Sperring's Strange Horizons article, "Matrilines: The Woman Who Made Fantasy: Katherine Kurtz," and the fact that the 2014 Tiptree Award Winners had been announced (along with a noteworthy Honor List of other works to consider).
Week 2
- Brenda Cooper, author of The Silver Ship and the Sea among others, presented a few relevant reading recommendations in "Women Kick Science Fictional Ass."
- A. C. Wise, SF/F short fiction writer and columnist on women in SF/F, had some suggestions about new authors to look out for in "Women in SF&F Month: Debut Authors."
- In a post that's both a book review and a "love letter to science fiction," Tiara from The Bibliosanctum commented especially on The Feminine Future: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers, a recent anthology collecting stories published from 1873 to 1930.
- Urban fantasy author Nicole Peeler considered how much Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde series had been inspirational to her in "I Knew I Wanted to be a Witch When I Grew Up."
Week 3
- Posting on "twelve women whose comics work I love," Memory from In the Forest of Stories highlighted women creators whose comics are both old and new, well-known and obscure (including Rachel Hartman's early work, Amy Unbounded).
- Alison Croggon, author of The Books of Pellinor series, remarked on #womenwritefantasy and the reasons it had to be said once more.
- In "Mind of Her Mind," Wendy from The Bibliosanctum expressed her appreciation for Octavia Butler and the ways Butler's work shaped her own point of view.
- Michelle Sagara, author of the Chronicles of Elantra series and much more, published an essay that began "I don't write romance," expressing respect toward romance as a genre and exploring dilemmas that genre categorizations/associations have created for her as a writer and as a person.
- In "So You Think Women Don't Like SF/F ...," Lisa from Over the Effing Rainbow listed five bloggers/writers/podcasters that deserve a following for their reviews, interviews, and commentary on current SF/F.
Week 4
- Marjorie M. Liu, writer for several Marvel Comics titles, author of two series of urban fantasy / paranormal romance novels, and writer/creator of the upcoming Monstress, assembled a short list of "comics written and drawn by women — books that I absolutely love."
- Leah Petersen, author of the Physics of Falling series, addressed the value of representing mental illness and disability in SF/F in her short essay, "Finding the Fantastic through Depression."
- Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library, reflected briefly on her gradually dawning realization, as a young reader, of what the issues were with the representation of women in SF/F.
- In "Science Fiction Book Covers — Are They Different for Female Authors?" Kelley from Oh, the Books! raised an interesting question and left the answer to the reader to contemplate.
- Karen Miller, author of a number of fantasy series and Star Wars novels, contributed "Women Writers Are Awesome," which listed a great many of her personal favorites both as a child and as an adult.
Week 5
- Karina Sumner-Smith, author of the YA Towers Trilogy, responded with mature hindsight to a comment a man made to her in a bookstore when she was a girl: "I Don't Read Books by Women."
- Frequent Hugo & Nebula nominee Aliette de Bodard offered a personal appreciation of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles and, in particular, the impact that The Game of Kings has had on her own work.
- Danielle L. Jensen, author of the YA epic fantasy Malediction Trilogy, remarked briefly on different audiences and audiences for difference in YA vs. adult fantasy.
- In "Epic Female Protagonists Written by Women," Cecily from Manic Pixie Dream Worlds and the SF/F short fiction feed @SFFMicroReviews listed a dozen great female protagonists in SF/F by women--mostly recent work and a good mix of novels and short fiction.
posted by Fizz at 4:45 PM on May 3, 2015 [1 favorite]