Joanna Russ

Joanna Russ, radical feminist author and scholar, was born on this day in 1937. An entertaining and challenging novelist, Russ began her writing career in the 1950s, although her feminist concerns only really emerged through her work with the publication of her Alyx stories in the 1960s. She was an out lesbian in a time […]

We have, in the past, noted that certian days seem to have been overly blessed with the births of very talented authors; days like 26th July, 2nd August and 20th September.  But it stands to reason that if the history of SF has had some good days, it must also have had some bad days. […]

Joanna Russ, radical feminist author and scholar, was born on this day in 1937. An entertaining and challenging novelist, Russ began her writing career in the 1950s, although her feminist concerns only really emerged through her work with the publication of her Alyx stories in the 1960s. She was an out lesbian in a time […]

As previously noted, we will be republishing noted critic and reviewer Kev McVeigh’s ‘From the Attic’ columns over the coming weeks, to give new readers the opportunity to encounter his sage observations on some very important and all-too-often overlooked authors . . .   In the Nebula-winning novella “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” a […]

Two years ago today, we published the first in a series of posts wherein SF reviewer and critic, Kev McVeigh looked at a issue both topical and important: the place of women in SF and Fantasy. As well as addressing some historical injustices, Kev highlighted a number of more modern women writers who have been […]

In the Nebula-winning novella “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” a healer, Snake, uses three specially bred snakes to inject medicines to the sick.  Whilst saving the life of a young boy one of her snakes is killed by his suspicious family.  Unfortunately these dreamsnakes are almost irreplaceable and a healer without one is seriously […]

Perhaps it is the position of science fiction on the periphery of mainstream fiction that makes it so open to borrowing from elsewhere, from physics and fairy tales, from philosophy, folklore and myth.  And perhaps it is the position of women on the periphery of mainstream (patriarchal) culture that makes SF so suitable a genre […]