SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Quick Link: Women author suggestions
Quick Link: Author of color and LGBTQ author suggestions
Quick Link: Websites links to author/book lists, blogs, research, and data.
Quick Link: Our book club statistics


Some of us have noticed (see History below) that our SFF reading environment is sexist (and racist, and homophobic, etc.). Many have been discussing in what ways and to what extent this affects us and how we choose books. One solution has been to compile a list of female SFF authors, so that we can have more visible access to writers that have often been deemphasized because they are female. Another solution has been to make active suggestions for books to nominate and vote for in the polls, possibly correcting any unconscious bias our group has in selecting our (77% male) bookshelf. Also, many folks have been posting links to various blogs, statistics, and news reports around this discrepancy.

In this new thread, my goal is to compile resources for those of us who want to challenge our sexist environment (internal and external) as it applies to our reading. And I want to branch out and find resources for challenging other biases (racism, homophobia, etc.). It seems like sex categories are more consistently tracked (for example, Goodreads' author profiles list the sex but not race/orientation/etc. of the authors), but that doesn't have to stop us from challenging our biases there, too.

I'm sure these suggestions will create additional conversations and debates about what we, as readers, can do to counter the biases in our reading. Let's see how it evolves!

Guide for posting to the thread:
. Share suggestions for authors/books to read that challenge the straight white male preponderance
. Share suggestions for monthly polls/nominations that do the same
. Post links to interesting information/reports/blogs
. Discuss!


(History behind the thread)

On June 6, 2013, a group member posting as B.R. started a thread called "Are we as readers, sexist?". Here is a salient excerpt from B.R.'s original post:

"Then I looked at my bookshelf. Out of perhaps 180 paperbacks bought in the last 2 decades, how many were written by women?
One.
...
Now, I know that I do not deliberately avoid women authors, and I certainly do not consider them inferior in terms of talent. But do I, at an almost subconscious level, reach for a male author because I know I will relate better to his point of view? I am not sure.
...
Have a look at your own collections, and tell me what you find. I am also open to suggestions as to whose books I should read if I am to break out of my chauvinist ways.

The original thread has gotten HUGE (nearly 20 pages/1,000 posts in one year); maybe it will go on forever. But because of that, it is hard to find many of the interesting suggestions and links that the thread has accumulated over time. Recently, the idea evolved of suggesting female authors for the monthly polls, as a way to increase visibility of female authors to our group members, and counteract a disturbing trend where our group monthly reads have included fewer and fewer women. I love the idea that we're not limited to just complaining about injustice in reading and publishing; there are also practical, doable steps we can take to start changing things, locally, with ourselves. I thought it would be nice to have a new thread to focus even more on that. Enjoy!

I'm using this post to compile author suggestions from our book club members - I cannot create a Listopia list because Goodreads' lists are necessarily of books, not authors. I will note suggested books after the authors' name, where applicable.

When an author matches more than one category, I will add them to each list. The way I figure it, if you are being marginalized in more than one way, you deserve to be promoted in more than one way.

Female Author Suggestions
Katherine Addison
Aguirre, Ann (Ann Aguirre)
Al-Mohamed, Day (Day Al-Mohamed)
Asaro, Catherine (Catherine Asaro)
Atwood, Margaret (Margaret Atwood)
Baker, Kage (Kage Baker)
Bear, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Bear)
Berg, Carol (Carol Berg)
Lauren Beukes
Bishop, Anne (Anne Bishop)
K.J. Bishop
Bolekaja, Lisa (Lisa Bolekaja)
Brackett, Leigh (Leigh Brackett)
Bradley, Marion Zimmer (Darkover) (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
Bradford, K. Tempest (K. Tempest Bradford)
Marie Brennan
Poppy Z. Brite
Brown, Shanae (Shanaé Brown)
Bujold, Lois McMaster (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Bull, Emma (Emma Bull)
Burke, Lita (Lita Burke)
Butler, Octavia (Octavia E. Butler)
Byrne, Monica (Monica Byrne)
Cadigan, Pat (Pat Cadigan)
Carter, Angela (Angela Carter)
Casil, Amy Sterling (Amy Sterling Casil)
Charnas, Suzy McKee (Suzy McKee Charnas) (Holdfast Chronicles)
Cherryh, C. J. (C.J. Cherryh)
Clarke, Susanna (Susanna Clarke)
Clough, Brenda W. (Brenda W. Clough)
Collyer, J.S. (J.S. Collyer)
Cooper, Susan (Susan Cooper)
Czerneda, Julie (Julie E. Czerneda)
de Bodard, Aliette (Aliette de Bodard)
Candas Jane Dorsey
Doyle, Debra (Debra Doyle)
Duane, Diane (Diane Duane)
Due, Tananarive (Tananarive Due)
Eddings, David/Leigh (co-wrote) (Leigh Eddings David Eddings)
El-Mohtar, Amal (Amal El-Mohtar)
Elliott, Kate (Kate Elliott)
Engdahl, Sylvia (Sylvia Engdahl)
Louise Erdrich
Friedman, C.S. (C.S. Friedman)
Friesner, Esther M. (Esther M. Friesner)
Gentle, Mary (Mary Gentle)
Gillespie, Donna (Donna Gillespie)
Gilman, Carolyn Ives (Carolyn Ives Gilman) (Halfway Human)
Goldstein, Lisa (Lisa Goldstein)
Goonan, Kathleen (Kathleen Goonan)
Guin, Ursula K. Le (Ursula K. Leguin)
Hairston, Andrea (Andrea Hairston)
Hambly, Barbara (Barbara Hambly)
Hamilton, Laurel K. (Laurell K. Hamilton)
Elizabeth Hand
Hartman, Rachel (Rachel Hartman)
Hatley, Jamey (Jamey Hatley)
Hawkins, Jaq D. (Jaq D. Hawkins)
Haydon, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Haydon)
Henderson, Zenna (Zenna Henderson)
Hobb, Robin (Robin Hobb)
Hodgell, P.C. (P.C. Hodgell)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Hopkinson, Nalo (Nalo Hopkinson)
Huff, Tanya (Tanya Huff)
Hurley, Kameron (Kameron Hurley)
James, P.D. (P.D. James)
Jemisin, N.K. (N.K. Jemisin)
Johnson, Alaya Dawn (Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Kij Johnson
Diana Wynne Jones
Jones, Gwyneth (Gwyneth Jones)
Jones, Kima (Kima Jones)
Kagan, Janet (Janet Kagan)
Kendall, Mikki (Mikki Kendall)
Kennealy, Patricia (Patricia Kennealy-Morrison)
Kerr, Katherine (Katherine Kerr)
Caitlín R. Kiernan
Kirstein, Rosemary (Rosemary Kirstein)
Kathe Koja
Kress, Nancy (Nancy Kress)
Kurtz, Katherine (Katherine Kurtz)
Kushner, Ellen (Ellen Kushner)
Lackey, Mercedes (Mercedes Lackey)
Margo Lanagan
Lauffey, Shanna (Shanna Lauffey)
Leckie, Ann (Ann Leckie)
Lee, Tanith (Tanith Lee)
L'Engle, Madeline (Madeline L'Engle)
Lindskold, Jane (Jane Lindskold)
Locke, MJ (a/k/a Laura Mixon) (M.J. Locke)
Karen Lord
Lowachee, Karin (Karin Lowachee)
Elizabeth A. Lynn
R.A. MacAvoy
Margaret Mahy
Valerie Martin
Mason, Lisa (Lisa Mason)
May, Julian (Julian May)
McCaffrey, Anne (Anne McCaffrey)
McCarthy, Anne (does anyone know which Goodreads page this is?)
McHugh, Maureen (Maureen McHugh)
McIntyre, Vonda (Vonda N. McIntyre)
Patricia A. McKillip
McKinley, Robin (Robin McKinley)
Meluch, R.M. (R.M. Meluch)
Mitchell, Sandy (Caiphas Cain stories) (Sandy Mitchell)
Mixon, Laura (a/k/a MJ Locke) (Laura Mixon)
Moon, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Moon)
Moore, C.L. (Northwest Smith) (C.L. Moore)
Morgenstern, Erin (Erin Morgenstern)
Moriarty, Chris (Chris Moriarty)
Nagata, Linda (Linda Nagata)
Niffenegger, Audrey (Time Traveler's Wife) (Audrey Niffenegger)
North, Claire (Claire North)
Norton, Andre (aka Mary Norton) (Andre Norton)
Norton, Mary (aka Andre Norton) (Mary Norton)
Novick, Naomi (Naomi Novick)
Oyeyemi, Helen (Helen Oyeyemi)
Peters, Ellis ('Cafael' stories) (Ellis Peters)
Pierce, Tamora (Tamora Pierce)
Piercy, Marge (He, She and It) (Marge Piercy)
Rachel Pollack
Priest, Cherie (Cherie Priest)
Rice, Anne (Anne Rice)
Richards, Leigh (Califia's Daughters) (Leigh Richards)
Rios, Julia (Julia Rios)
Justina Robson
Rosenblum, Mary (Mary Rosenblum)
Rowling, J.K. (J.K. Rowling)
Rusch, Kristine Kathyrn (Kristine Rusch)
Russ, Joanna (Joanna Russ)
Russell, Mary Doria (Mary Doria Russell)
Sagara, Michelle (Michelle Sagara)
Samatar, Sofia (Sofia Samatar)
Schwab (V.E. Schwab)
Scott, Melissa (Trouble and Her Friends) (Melissa Scott)
Sedia, Ekaterina (Ekaterina Sedia)
Shawl, Nisi (Nisi Shawl)
Shelley, Mary (Mary Shelley)
Anna Smaill
Smith, Kristine (Kristine Smith)
Smith, Sherwood (Sherwood Smith)
Stewart, Mary (Mary Stewart)
Sullivan, Tricia (Tricia Sullivan)
Tahir, Sabaa (Sabaa Tahir)
Anna Tambour
Judith Tarr
Tepper, Sherri S. (Gate to Women's Country) (Sheri S. Tepper)
Tiptree_Jr., James (James Tiptree Jr.)
Valente, Cathrynne (Cathrynne M. Valente)
Vinge, Joan (Joan D. Vinge)
Paula Volsky
Vourvoulias, Sabrina (Sabrina Vourvoulias)
Walton, Jo (Jo Walton)
Wanak, LaShawn M. (LaShawn M. Wanak)
Helene Wecker
Wells, Martha (Martha Wells)
Kit Whitfield
Wilhelm, Kate (Kate Wilhelm)
Willis, Connie (Connie Willis)
G. Willow Wilson
Windling, Terri (Terri Windling)
Wrede, Patricia C. (Patricia C. Wrede)
Patricia Wrightson
Wurts, Janny (Janny Wurts)
Viehl, S.L. (S.L. Viehl)
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Yolan, Jane (Jane Yolen)
Yu, E. Lily (E. Lily Yu)
Zettel, Sarah (Sarah Zettel)

Potential Recommendations from Lightspeed Magazine's Women Destroy Science Fiction 2014
Anders, Charlie Jane (Charlie Jane Anders)
Arnason, Eleanor (Eleanor Arnason)
Birdsall, Elizabeth Porter (Elizabeth Porter Birdsall)
Clitheroe, Heather (Heather Clitheroe)
Connolly, Tina (Tina Connolly)
Crighton, Katherine (Katherine Crighton)
Dara, Galen (Galen Dara)
Denham, Ellen (Ellen Denham)
Eikamp, Rhonda (Rhonda Eikamp)
Fox, Emily (Emily Fox)
Headley, Maria Dahvana (Maria Dahvana Headley)
Humble, Cathy (Cathy Humble)
Kowal, Mary Robinette (Mary Robinette Kowal)
Leicht, Stina (Stina Leicht)
Lostetter, Marina L. (Marina L. Lostetter)
McGuire, Seanan (Seanan McGuire)
Millering, Kris (Kris Millering)
Moore, Maria Romasco (Maria Romasco Moore)
Murphy, Pat (Pat Murphy)
Murray, Samantha (Samantha Murray)
Norton, K.C. (K.C. Norton)
Perez, Anaid (Anaid Perez)
Pinsker, Sarah (Sarah Pinsker)
Rasmussen-Silverstein, Rhiannon ()
Schofield, Holly (Holly Schofield)
Seiberg, Effie (Effie Seiberg)
Sheldon, Alice (Alice Sheldon)
Stalker, Gabriella (Gabriella Stalker)
Torline, Vanessa (Vanessa Torline)
Vaughn, Carrie (Carrie Vaughn)
Welser, Tracie (Tracie Welser)
Willis, Jennifer (Jennifer Willis)
Winternheimer, Kim (Kim Winternheimer)

Author of Color and LGBTQ author suggestions continued in the next post...

Continued... I'm using this post to compile author suggestions from our book club members. When an author matches more than one category, I will add them to each list.

Author of Color Suggestions
Ahmed, Saladin (Saladin Ahmed)
Al-Mohamed, Day (Day Al-Mohamed)
Allen-Agostini, Lisa (Lisa Allen-Agostini)
An, Owomoyela (Owomoyela An)
Bolekaja, Lisa (Lisa Bolekaja)
Barnes, Steven (Steven Barnes)
Bazelli, T.S. (T.S. Bazelli)
Bradford, K. Tempest (K. Tempest Bradford)
Brissett, Jennifer Marie (Jennifer Marie Brissett)
Broaddus, Maurice (Maurice Broaddus)
Brown, Shanae (Shanaé Brown)
Buckell, Tobias (Tobias Buckell)
Butler, Octavia (Octavia E. Butler)
Chan, Nick T. (Nick T. Chan)
Chu, John (John Chu)
Clough, Brenda W. (Brenda W. Clough)
de Bodard, Aliette (Aliette de Bodard)
Delany, Samuel R. (Samuel R. Delany)
Divya, S.B. (S.B. Divya)
Due, Tananarive (Tananarive Due)
El-Mohtar, Amal (Amal El-Mohtar)
Fernandes, Fabio (Fábio Fernandes)
Hairston, Andrea (Andrea Hairston)
Harris, Nin (Nin Harris)
Hatley, Jamey (Jamey Hatley)
Hopkinson, Nalo (Nalo Hopkinson)
Hosein, Kevin Jared (Kevin Jared Hosein)
Hudson, Brian K. (Brian K. Hudson)
Jemisin , N.K. (Jemisin N.K.)
Johnson, Alaya Dawn (Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Jones, Kima (Kima Jones)
Kanakia, Rahul (Rahul Kanakia)
Karki, Isha (Isha Karki)
Kendall, Mikki (Mikki Kendall)
LaValle, Victor (Victor LaValle)
Lee, Yoon Ha (Yoon Ha Lee)
Liu, Ken (Ken Liu)
Lord, Karen (Karen Lord)
Lowachee, Karin (Karin Lowachee)
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)
Mosley, Walter (Walter Mosley)
Naval, Teresa (Teresa Naval)
Ntwari, Dayo (Dayo Ntwari)
Okorafor, Nnedi (Nnedi Okorafor)
Older, Daniel Jose (Daniel José Older)
Older, Malka Ann (Malka Ann Older)
Oyeyemi, Helen (Helen Oyeyemi)
Palmer, Dexter (Dexter Palmer)
Pardo, Edmee (Edmee Pardo)
Rios, Julia (Julia Rios)
Samatar, Sofia (Sofia Samatar)
Santiago, Gabriela (Gabriela Santiago)
Saunders, Charles (Charles Saunders)
Scott, Rion Amilcar (Rion Amilcar Scott)
Shawl, Nisi (Nisi Shawl)
Singh, Vandana (Vandana Singh)
Sriduangkaew, Benjanun (Benjanun Sriduangkaew)
Sundar, Naru Dames (Naru Dames Sundar)
Tahir, Sabaa (Sabaa Tahir)
Taylor, Terence (Terence Taylor)
Viehl, S.L. (S.L. Viehl)
Vourvoulias, Sabrina (Sabrina Vourvoulias)
Wanak, LaShawn M. (LaShawn M. Wanak)
Yang, JY (JY Yang)
Yoachim, Caroline M. (Caroline M. Yoachim)
Yu, E. Lily (E. Lily Yu)

LGBTQ Author Suggestions
Anders, Charlie Jane (Charlie Jane Anders)
Bigelow, Susan Jane (Susan Jane Bigelow)
Brenchley, Chaz (Chaz Brenchley)
Brewer, Zac (Zac Brewer)
Chabon, Michael (Michael Chabon)
Cherryh, C. J. (C.J. Cherryh)
Chu, John (John Chu)
Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur C. Clarke)
Cox, Stephen (Stephen Cox)
Davin, Felicia (Felicia Davin)
Dawson, James (James Dawson)
Delany, Samuel R. (Samuel R. Delany)
El-Mohtar, Amal (Amal El-Mohtar)
Fletcher, Jane (Jane Fletcher)
Friese, Gabrielle (Gabrielle Friesen)
Galey, Kate (?)
Gauger, Eliza (Eliza Gauger)
Gerrold, David (David Gerrold)
Griffith, Nicola (Nicola Griffith)
Griggs, Claudine (Claudine Griggs)
Hopkinson, Nalo (Nalo Hopkinson)
Huff, Tanya (Tanya Huff)
Hurley, Kameron (Kameron Hurley)
Kushner, Ellen (Ellen Kushner)
Lemberg, Rose (Rose Lemberg)
Maroon, Everett (Everett Maroon)
Matthews, Susan R. (Susan R. Matthews)
Payseur, Charles (Charles Payseur)
Peavey, Shannon (Shannon Peavey
Pinsker, Sarah (Sarah Pinsker)
Reed, Gabby (Gabby Reed)
Russ, Joanna (Joanna Russ)
Ryman, Geoff (Geoff Ryman)
Satifka, Erica L. (Erica L. Satifka)
Saxey, E. (E. Saxey)
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda (Jessica Amanda Salmonson)
Scott, Melissa (Trouble and Her Friends) (Melissa Scott)
Sherman, Delia (Delia Sherman)
Sleator, William (William Sleator)
Stufflebeam, Bonnie Jo (Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam)
Susman, Tim (Tim Susman)
Szpara, K. M. (K.M. Szpara)
Takács, Bogi (Bogi Takács)
Tiptree Jr., James (James Tiptree Jr.)
Yang, Jessica (Jessica Yang)
Yang, J.Y. (J.Y. Yang)


Let me know if anyone has read or recommends these authors. I found them in a Wikipedia LGBT topic and an Absolute Write Forum:
Thomas M. Disch
Kelly Eskridge
Jane Fancher
David Gerrold
Mel Keegan
Elizabeth Lynn
Frank M. Robinson
William Sleator

Writes LGBTQ SF, but their identity is unclear
Barret, Sandra (Sandra Barret)
Butler, Octavia (Octavia E. Butler)
Diaz, Ruth (Ruth Diaz)
Wolfe, Chris Anne (Chris Anne Wolfe)
Wright, Barbara Ann (Barbara Ann Wright)

How are we doing as a Book Club?

Here are our group bookshelf percentages by year and category, with totals - let me know if you see any errors! (I don't see any mixed sex collections or co-authored books on our bookshelf yet, unless we count The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales, which I'm calling male-authored; in those situations I guess I'd count it as .5 or something. Same with authors of unknown sex.)

Year : Category : Total : Female : Percent : Cumulative
2008 : SciFi : 10 : 0 : 0% : 0%
2009 : SciFi : 12 : 3 : 25% : 14%
2010 : SciFi : 12 : 4 : 33% : 21%
2011 : SciFi : 15 : 3 : 20% : 20%
2012 : SciFi : 16 : 3 : 19% : 20%
2013 : SciFi : 12 : 1 : 8% : 18%
2014 : SciFi : 12 : 4 : 33% : 20%
2015 : SciFi : 12 : 2 : 17% : 20%
2016 : SciFi : 12 : 3 : 25% : 20%

Year : Category : Total : Female : Percent : Cumulative
2008 : Fantasy : 8 : 2 : 25% : 25%
2009 : Fantasy : 12 : 4 : 33% : 30%
2010 : Fantasy : 12 : 4 : 33% : 31%
2011 : Fantasy : 13 : 5 : 38% : 33%
2012 : Fantasy : 17 : 5 : 29% : 32%
2013 : Fantasy : 12 : 1 : 8% : 28%
2014 : Fantasy : 12 : 1 : 8% : 25%
2015 : Fantasy : 12 : 3 : 25% : 25%
2016 : Fantasy : 12 : 6 : 50% : 28%

Year : Category : Total : Female : Percent : Cumulative
2008 : Combined : 18 : 2 : 11% : 11%
2009 : Combined : 24 : 7 : 29% : 21%
2010 : Combined : 24 : 8 : 33% : 26%
2011 : Combined : 28 : 8 : 29% : 27%
2012 : Combined : 33 : 8 : 24% : 26%
2013 : Combined : 24 : 2 : 8% : 23%
2014 : Combined : 24 : 5 : 21% : 23%
2015 : Combined : 24 : 5 : 21% : 23%
2016 : Combined : 24 : 9 : 38% : 24%

Notice the numbers through June of this year for 2014 [2015/01/15 edit] are noticeably higher for sci-fi. This may or may not correlate with conversations and nomination suggestions that occurred on the "Are we as readers, sexist?" thread. It would be nice to think that thread activity has made a difference, but I'm not sure if there is any way to know.

And hurray for 2016, when we read 38% female authors. This is the highest ratio of women authors our club has ever read in a year, and the first time we have increased the cumulative average in 5 years! Pat yourselves on the back!
How are we doing as readers?

I encourage all of you to look over your own bookshelves and see if you have any biases that surprise you. If so, you might want to look intentionally at your to-read lists and see if there is anything that you want to change. I've made some changes to my own reading and have very much enjoyed my discovery of books by white women and people of color this past year. (The percentage of those that are LGBTQ is unclear to me but I know it needs work, too).

This list might be helpful: https://www.worldswithoutend.com/auth...

This is a great list. I'm please that I've read many/most of them. The only omissions I found were Ann Aguirre and S.L. Viehl.

Any value in sorting by generation?

There's also everybody in Lightspeed Magazine, June 2014: Women Destroy Science Fiction! Special Issue. And Brenda Clough, who is a member of this group. Joanna Russ, Cathrynne Valente, Lisa Goldstein...

Sarah wrote: "This list might be helpful: https://www.worldswithoutend.com/auth..."

Thanks! That reminds me I have some links to other lists that I'll post...

I'm using this post to collect links to websites with useful information: author/book lists, blogs, research, and data.

Other Groups' Author Lists
Andrea K Höst's 99 Author Challenge at The Book Smuggler's Blog
Worlds Without End's Database of Female Authors
Index to Female Writers In Science Fiction, Fantasy & Utopia
Wikipedia's Speculative Fiction Writers of Color

Other Groups' Book Lists
Ian Sales' List of 100 Great Science Fiction Stories by Women
Ian Sales' List of Ninety-One 20th Century SF Books by Women
Worlds Without End's Complete List of Award-Winning Books by Women Authors
Vector's Collections of Top 10 Novel Lists for Female SF 2001-2010
Goodreads' List of 119 Best SF Written by Women 2001-2010 as compiled by io9
Goodreads' List of 48 Speculative Fiction Classics (pre-1980) by Female Authors
Goodreads' List of 158 Traditional Fantasy Written by Women
Goodreads' List of 754(!) Science Fiction Books by Female Authors
Goodreads' Compilation of James Tiptree Jr. Award Winners
Goodreads Club: Australian Women Writers Challenge: Fantasy
Goodreads Club: Australian Women Writers Challenge: Science-Speculative

Award Sites
James Tiptree, Jr. Award - announced March/April, ceremony May (WisCon)
Lambdas – announced around June 6 of each year
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards - announced at a convention, around October
Carl Brandon Parallax Award - 2012-2013 cycle was started in March, 2016 but no updates since then
African American Literature Book Club - hosts results of many awards (no SFF yet, but maybe someday...) in their "books" tab

Anthologies, Collections
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Kindred Spirits: An Anthology of Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction
Bending The Landscape: Science Fiction
Bending the Landscape: Fantasy
The Dragon and the Stars
Beyond: the Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology

Female author blogs:
Ann Aguirre's Blog
Delilah Dawson's Blog
Seanan McGuire's Blog

News, Blogposts
SFWA Guest Post: Checking the Gender Balance by Cheryl Morgan
The Guardian Article: Will #readwomen2014 change our sexist reading habits?
Kickstarter Project: Women Destroy Science Fiction (And Fantasy And Horror)
Slate Article: Which Is the Manliest Literary Magazine of Them All?
Ad Astra Article: The Leaky Pipeline: Where are the Women in Science Fiction?
Ad Astram Article about marginalized voices
Article on representation in bookstores by Sophia McDougall
Tell Yourself It's the UK's Problem With Gender Bias ... not US ... Tell Yourself Again by Amy Sterling Casil
Writing the Other: Learn to write characters very different from you sensitively and convincingly (an initiative from Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford)

Data and Statistics
http://clarkesworld.livejournal.com/1...

Examples of bias
a Lady Business project from 2015 analyzing gender bias in the SFF Award space

Laz wrote: "This is a great list. I'm please that I've read many/most of them. The only omissions I found were Ann Aguirre and S.L. Viehl.

Any value in sorting by generation?"

Good catches! I've read S.L. Viehl's StarDoc series and I have Ann Aguirre's blog on my list of links, but I missed them on the list.

I can see that it might be useful to know what authors are "current" or not, but grouping them by generation is tricky since many are/were active for decades. (Unless you mean sorting by age?) I was sorting alphabetically so I can easily see if a suggestion is already on the list, and delete duplicates...

Michael - love the additions to the lists!

Regarding generations, I consistently swim against the tide of everyone re-reading the classics. I am always on the look for new and current authors. It's scary how many self-avowed "serious" scifi readers have not read anything new or different.

So my personal mission is to highlight new and intriguing authors - of either gender.

Laz wrote: "Michael - love the additions to the lists!

Regarding generations, I consistently swim against the tide of everyone re-reading the classics. I am always on the look for new and current authors. I..."

Thanks! I've updated the links and stats sections, too, so now the thread is ready for ongoing updates...

I know what you mean, I'll have to think about ways to highlight this. My first idea was to put the most recent publication date by each author, but that could be tricky to determine and wouldn't work for reissues. And I don't want to put someone like Margaret Atwood in a previous generation because of her The Handmaid's Tale fame, when her MaddAddam is part of the modern day canon.

I'm thinking everyone may have their own purpose with this list, some may want to seek out military sci-fi, as an example I've heard come up. Maybe it's best to let the external lists speak to that. For example, the two links in that section for 2001-2012 authors might address authors you are talking about.

SF Authors of color, off the top of my head:

Sofia Samatar
Nnedi Okorafor
Helen Oyeyemi
Charles Saunders
Maurice Broaddus
Vandana Singh
Andrea Hairston
Day Al-Mohammed
Amal El-Mohtar
Tanarive Due
Rion Amilcar Scott
Ken Liu
Aliette de Bodard
Jamey Hatley
Kima Jones
Shanae Brown
Karen Lord
Tobias Buckell
Lisa Bolekaja
Victor LaValle
Sabrina Vourvoulias
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Nalo Hopkinson
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Daniel Jose Older
E. Lily Yu
Rahul Kanakia
Julia Rios
An Owomoyela
Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Yoon Ha Lee
N.K. Jemisin

Sarah wrote: "There's also everybody in Lightspeed Magazine, June 2014: Women Destroy Science Fiction! Special Issue. And Brenda Clough, who is a member of this group. Joanna Russ, Cathrynne Vale..."

Brenda is already on the list - she's been posting some great links on the other thread, too. But I added the others you named, and am working on the Lightspeed list - I see your name in there, congratulations! I've got a copy and am looking forward to reading the issue...

Michael wrote: "Brenda is already on the list - she's been posting some great links on the other thread, too. But I added the others you named, and am working on the Lightspeed list - I see your name in there, congratulations! I've got a copy and am looking forward to reading the issue... "

Cool! And thanks! I can't wait to read it myself.

I don't have time to start on the LGBTQ list tonight but I'll come back :)

@Sarah, I have not read any of the authors on your list. Which one would you recommend first for hard scifi a la Cherryh or Moon, etc?

Laz wrote: "@Sarah, I have not read any of the authors on your list. Which one would you recommend first for hard scifi a la Cherryh or Moon, etc?"

Benjanun Sriduangkaew - you can find several of her stories on Clarkesworld.

Laz wrote: "@Sarah, I have not read any of the authors on your list. Which one would you recommend first for hard scifi a la Cherryh or Moon, etc?"

SF based on your list: Try Julie E. Czerneda,in particular her title In the Company of Others (that one is as close to CJ as you'll find) Sarah Zettel's hard SF titles, for space opera like Moon but with crack humor, R.M. Meluch's Merrimack series, or for edges, Karin Lowachee

Janny wrote: "SF based on your list: "

An unexpected surprise! Thanks. My TBR is going to get deeper.

@Sarah, I was referring to your list of POC authors.

Laz wrote: "Janny wrote: "SF based on your list: "

An unexpected surprise! Thanks. My TBR is going to get deeper.

@Sarah, I was referring to your list of POC authors."

That was my answer in Message 16 - Benjanun Sriduangkaew

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sridu...
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sridu...

It is interesting that a lot of the authors on that list write more fantasy than SF. Ken Liu has some good SF stories - The Waves, for example. Maurice Broaddus had a story in Asimov's a couple of months ago.

Sarah wrote: "That was my answer in Message 16 - Benjanun Sriduangkaew"

Oops, missed that one. Sometimes happens when I use the Notifications to jump to a post in a thread.

Thanks.

Walter Mosley for your authors of color category. He is best known for his contemporary and historical (20th c LA) mysteries, but he does write near future SF. He always deals with socity's/a community's issues with race.

Mmm. I suppose I am an author of color. I use my husband's surname, because C is a better letter of the alphabet to be filed under than W. I learn however I can no longer describe myself as Oriental...

@Brenda - I'm intrigued by your books. My TBR pile just got bigger.

You GO Brenda! I can attest that Brenda is an incredible SF writer.

Viz the "authors of color" deal - I would say you are all the colors of Brenda. I was croggled just now to discover the extreme divergence of male v. female authors in F & SF - I want to say it hasn't always been that way, but with SF, kinda - yeah. What on God's green earth will happen when my hard SF that reads like something from the New Yorker shows up there?

Oh I love Ken Liu! Glad to see him up there.

And between Elizabeth Moon and C.J. Cherryh I'd choose Cherryh, but that's just me and because I love her Foreigner series.

There's actually an entire anthology of short SF by Asian sf writers, The Dragon and the Stars.

I've just been to Continuum X (Science Fiction convention in Melbourne, Australia) where I participated in a panel discussing gender stereotyping in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Amongst other things we talked about what happens when the female protagonist has kids and needs to head off to slay the dragon, and why women who are not the 'thin ideal' are rarely portrayed as the main, powerful, protagonist.

And a confession. I'm also a female writer of Sci-fi. (One book so far, with another very shortly.) The rest of the panel consisted of another three authors - one male, and two female. It was a lively, interesting discussion.

Well, we have to write them. I have written two novels now where the heroine is pregnant and gives birth on the last page but one...

Brenda wrote: "Well, we have to write them. I have written two novels now where the heroine is pregnant and gives birth on the last page but one..."

And that was actually one of our conclusions :) And I have another idea percolating which I'm playing with. I like the idea of your heroine, Brenda!

It is your natural countdown-clock scenario. Only instead of the suitcase bomb, slowly ticking down 10,9,8, you have the onset of labor.

Have you read The 9th Orb? It's erotica, but it's also female driven scifi.

Appearance-wise, what do people think about these two female characters?

http://bit.ly/1n8Z2LF

http://bit.ly/1qbm5Kw

Amy wrote: "Appearance-wise, what do people think about these two female characters?

http://bit.ly/1n8Z2LF

http://bit.ly/1qbm5Kw"

I like the first one.

The first one is very BRAVE, the curly red-headed archer girl.

Meria!!! Ain't this the story of my life LOL. She'll be thrilled.

I don't recommend throwing lizards!

Both are intriguing in their own way.

Have you read Crossing Swords?

Wow, Michael, that was a lot of work getting that all together. Thank you! What a great list.

Here are some potential fantasy covers.

http://www.boredpanda.com/bali-shipwr...

Fantastic indeed!

Brenda wrote: "Mmm. I suppose I am an author of color..."

I didn’t get any sense of “Asian” in your two Suburban Gods books, but I didn’t really expect any. In America, Japanese, Koreans, Han Chinese, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asians all get plugged into the “generic oriental” persona. It must be annoying as hell.

I was born and raised in the US, and am fluent only in English, so for all practical =literary= purposes there is no Asian in me. I do not scruple to pull on it when I like, of course. (The same way I advised my kids, each exactly 50% Asian, to check off the Asian box if it seemed advantageous to do so, or shift to white if it seemed better the other way. You set up these silly categories, expect me to exploit them.)

Amy wrote: "Appearance-wise, what do people think about these two female characters? "

The off the shoulder blouses seem a bit odd- maybe it's just the angle, but the archer's top looks like it would be around her waist pretty quickly, and losing your shirt in the midst of a fight might be a bit distracting. Bras also weren't used in the West until recently :-)

I do like the women a lot- they look fairly strong and confident, as well as normal. Great job.

Amy wrote: "Appearance-wise, what do people think about these two female characters?

http://bit.ly/1n8Z2LF

http://bit.ly/1qbm5Kw"

I liked the second one best, because I can't imagine trying to shot a bow wearing a dress, with puffy sleeves. I agree with Jen about the off the shoulder blouses as well. The second one looks very confident.

Men tend to wear thick padded clothing in battle for a reason :-)

Brenda wrote: "I was born and raised in the US, and am fluent only in English, so for all practical =literary= purposes there is no Asian in me."

I’ve been recently reading David Mitchell, who can feel very Asian (without “being” Asian). He does use a little Japanese (in romanji) but this is rare, and isn’t a major tonal influence. I was once told that Basque-ness is a question of being Catholic and speaking Euskadi, but it seemed like a rather superficial perspective.

However, many readers seem to prefer characters that look like them (why there were so many 14-year-old-boys in SciFi). Do “minority” writer generally have to choose between writing about themselves, or writing for an audience that isn’t optimally interested in them?

Michael wrote: "I'm using this post to compile author suggestions - I cannot create a Listopia list because Goodreads' lists are necessarily of books, not authors. Making a list of books of every author suggested..."

A strong debut author - Monica Byrne's, The Girl in the Road classified as "Literary Science Fiction" (:D). Can you add her to your list, Michael?

Jim wrote: "Men tend to wear thick padded clothing in battle for a reason :-)"

Exactly! Always a pet peeve of mine.

Jim C. Hines was one of the guests of honour at Continuum, and is quite well known for his cover pose rip offs, and compered a cover art pose-off which although hilarious, demonstrated some of the ridiculousness that masquerades as women appearing in cover art. (With or without appropriate protective clothing.)

We had quite a lively discussion on a panel about gender stereotyping which included inappropriately clothing female characters and their artwork.

I assure you that writers do not worry about these things. We have larger issues, like OMG, the laws of England so do not accommodate what has to happen in this plot! Or, is there any reason why water has to freeze at that particular temperature? The book would work out so much better if I could futz that little detail. The nature of the protagonists springs from deeper levels than mere PC considerations.
I have noticed that Jim Hines' work, and that of others, has put a spotlight on the latent issues. And there is change! I went and saw EDGE OF TOMORROW the other day. And last year I saw PACIFIC RIM (a lesser movie IMO). In both movies, there was no gratuitous female nudity! Not a single cleavage or ass shot. Everything, sorta, made sense (in this area)! I am very impressed.

Maybe it’s a requisite suspension of disbelief thing: if you’re thinking that a naked woman might not survive a laser blast to the chest, then the little head may not be doing its job. (Okay, if you’re a woman, I guess you don’t have a little head, but roll with me on this.)

Our species evolved with hidden estrus. Men are so totally clueless, we fixate (ever-hopeful) on any unfamiliar sexual display—making us susceptible to giving up half our closet, or buying theater tickets (or books that we may not read when we get them home and realize there are no pictures on the inside). But I’m not sure a Kevlar hijab is the answer.

David wrote: "Our species evolved with hidden estrus. Men are so totally clueless, we fixate (ever-hopeful) on any unfamiliar sexual display—making us susceptible to giving up half our closet, or buying theater tickets (or books that we may not read when we get them home and realize there are no pictures on the inside). But I’m not sure a Kevlar hijab is the answer. o..."

More likely it is that Hollywood targets adolescent males as its main audience for this sort of film. They pull entirely different sets of levers if they make a romantic weepy where they expect a mainly female audience.
I mean, remembering a BBC TV production, why have Mr Darcy dive into the pond wearing his shirt if you're not aiming for a female audience

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hasKmD...

That particular version of PRIDE & PREJUDICE is so, hmm, stimulating that doctors have taken to prescribing it to women patients, before resorting to anti-depressants.