It’s hard to believe the month has flown by this quickly, but the third week has come to an end—thank you so much to all of last week’s guests! Before announcing the guests for the last week of April, here’s a brief summary of last week’s essays in case you missed any of them:
- Katherine Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in The Tower [2018]) discussed heroines—realizing they didn’t do anything in the older books she read in middle school, discovering that modern heroines often seem too perfect, and finding the balance between creating a remarkable heroine and a paragon in her own first novel.
- Maureen Eichner (By Singing Light) shared her early experiences with reading fantasy—and how six women shaped her understanding of the genre.
- Sylvia Izzo Hunter (The Midnight Queen, Lady of Magick, A Season of Spells) wrote about how fanfiction helped her hone her skills and gain self-confidence—and, ultimately, made her a better writer.
- Leanna Renee Hieber (Strangely Beautiful, Perilous Prophecy, The Eterna Files) discussed Gothic fiction and women’s portrayal within it—including older stories, her own work, and modern Gothics.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Women of Futures Past, Diving Universe, Retrieval Artist) wrote about the teaching experience that culminated in her editing Women of Futures Past—and the changes she’s seen in science fiction, particularly anthologies and best-of collections, in recent years.
Yesterday I also announced I’m giving away a copy of The Empire’s Ghost by Isabelle Steiger, an epic fantasy coming in May. Residents of the US and Canada are eligible to win, and the giveaway will run through April 28 (Friday).
If you haven’t already done so, there’s still time to add 10 science fiction and/or fantasy books by women that you read and loved in the last year to the ongoing list of reader-recommended SFF books by women.
And now, I’m excited to announce the schedule for the final week of guest posts, beginning tomorrow!
April 24: Fran Wilde (Bone Universe trilogy, “The Jewel and Her Lapidary”)
April 25: Nisi Shawl (Everfair, Filter House)
April 26: Megan Whalen Turner (Queen’s Thief series)
April 27: C. A. Higgins (Lightless trilogy)
April 28: Bridget (SF Bluestocking)
