Didya hear the news! Women have destroyed science fiction! Victory is ours!!! And it is in the form of a 544 page special issue of Lightspeed Magazine.
Several months ago Lightspeed let loose a battle cry against all those who sought to utter the words “women are ruining the SF genre”. Their Kickstarter campaign far surpassed their goal of $5,000, raising over $50,000 for a special issue dedicated to women writers. EVEN BETTER they will be releasing Women Destroy Horror and Women Destroy Fantasy magazines in the future. I first heard about the campaign when I attended a WisCon panel in May, where we discussed the dangers of silo-ing women’s writing into “women’s sections”. While that fear is legitimate, I do not think Lightspeed Magazine fell into that trap. After all, the cover isn’t pink and glittery, and it doesn’t say SF for Girls on it. The artwork has “super-cool and serious SF” written all over it.
I downloaded a copy onto my Nook as soon as it hit the digital presses last month. Since then I have read a story here and a story there, but this week I sat down and finally digested a big chunk of it. And it is delicious. So far my favorites are
- Each to Each by Seanan McGuire (I now realize I need more of this author in my life)
- Walking Awake by N.K. Jemisin (no surprise there)
I can’t wait to dig my eyes into the rest of it. I have been impressed by the diversity of style and content. Even more importantly, this is the first time I’ve ever purchased or read a SF magazine. I think I will make it a new habit. How about you?
PS. checkout the NPR review for even more info
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