Thank you so much to all of this year’s guests for all the wonderful essays and making this another amazing Women in SF&F Month! And thank you to everyone who shared posts and helped spread the word about this year’s series. It is very much appreciated!
Although this year’s series has come to an end, I wanted to make sure there was a convenient way to find all of this year’s pieces for anyone who missed them during April. This was the twelfth annual Women in SF&F Month, which is dedicated to highlighting some of the many women doing fantastic work in speculative fiction genres. Guest posts have included both discussions related to women in science fiction and/or fantasy and more general discussions about the genre(s) and what makes them special, experiences and influences, writing, and creating stories, characters, and/or worlds.
You can browse through all the Women in SF&F Month 2023 guest posts here, or you can find a brief summary of each and its link below.
2023 Women in SF&F Month Guest Posts
Ashing-Giwa, Kemi
The Splinter in the Sky author Kemi Ashing-Giwa wrote about her space opera spy thriller and how it reflects herself and her family.
Bear, Lauren J. A. — “Finding Fantasy, My Postpartum Power”
Medusa’s Sisters author Lauren J. A. Bear shared how reading fantasy by and about women helped her during a time she needed hope and the unique catharsis found in the genre.
Blackgoose, Moniquill
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath author Moniquill Blackgoose shared how the media representation she’d encountered had an impact on what she imagined in SFF stories as a young writer.
Bonnin, Elisa A. — “Breaking the Mold, or ‘What even is neurotypical anyway?’”
Dauntless and Stolen City author Elisa A. Bonnin discussed autism, writing, and defaults—and her realization that some of her characters she’d thought were neurotypical may not be after all.
Chao, A. Y. — “Mirrors and Doorways”
Shanghai Immortal author A. Y. Chao discussed erasure, her Chinese Canadian diaspora identity, and what it means to feel seen in stories.
Cruz-Borja, Vida — “‘New myths’ and the people who tell them”
Song of the Mango and Other New Myths author Vida Cruz-Borja discussed mythology, appropriation, and the “new myths” of her collection.
Davenport, N. E. — “Why I Write Confident Heroines”
The Blood Gift Duology author N. E. Davenport shared why it’s important to her to write women who are proud and outspoken about their achievements.
Deane, Maya
Wrath Goddess Sing author Maya Deane wrote about literary realism—what it means for a story to be “realistic” and how fantasy’s refusal to be so makes it powerful.
Elsbai, Hadeer — “The Doctoress on a Donkey: Finding Transformative Fantasy in History”
The Daughters of Izdihar author Hadeer Elsbai wrote about researching Egyptian history and using real-life inspirations in fantasy fiction.
Frost, Sienna — “A World You Don’t Belong”
Obsidian: Awakening author Sienna Frost shared about why she writes and publishes as an indie and discussed the amazing superpower of creating fictional worlds that live on in others’ imaginations.
Kaner, Hannah — “Don’t damsel your fury”
Godkiller author Hannah Kaner discussed women’s anger and the experiences that led her to make her main character “a woman who never learned how to be small in a world that didn’t expect it of her.”
Okosun, Ehigbor — “Myth and Magic, Seen and Unseen”
Forged by Blood author Ehigbor Okosun discussed her writing journey, the magic of stories, and what led her to create her debut novel and main protagonist.
Older, Malka
Centenal Cycle author Malka Older shared how rereading Watership Down as an adult inspired thoughts on fiction and the past that went into her science fiction novel The Mimicking of Known Successes.
Penelope, Leslye — “When Fantasy and STEM Collide”
Song of Blood & Stone author Leslye Penelope shared about how she found her way to computer science and how it fits with writing fantasy.
Weekes, Gemma — “Coming Home to Magic”
“(Dying of) Thirst” author Gemma Weekes, whose story appears in Glimpse: An Anthology of Black British Speculative Fiction, discussed her love of fantasy and the power that lies within books and stories.
Wells, Martha — “Deconstructing Epics”
The Murderbot Diaries author Martha Wells wrote about using different structures in fantasy and science fiction epics and discussed a few SFF books that do this in addition to her fantasy novel Witch King.
