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Welcome

Blog
Celebrating Black Speculative Fiction: Some Favorites
Feb 15, 2019
Celebrating Black Speculative Fiction: Some Favorites
Feb 15, 2019

For Black History Month, some favorite short stories by new and classic black SF/F writers.

Feb 15, 2019
Blog
Horrifyingly Heinous Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 8, 2019
Horrifyingly Heinous Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 8, 2019

It’s time for the Fiction Unbound 3rd annual roundup of speculative fiction recommendations to gift you’re beloved. Sure to please.*

*Not a legally binding guarantee.

Feb 8, 2019
Averting Literary Extinction Events: An Appreciation of Undertow Publications
Feb 1, 2019
Averting Literary Extinction Events: An Appreciation of Undertow Publications
Feb 1, 2019

Undertow Publications is a small press that has won the Shirley Jackson award for best edited anthology. Their lauded anthology, Year’s Best Weird Fiction went from endangered to extinct with Volume 5. Come celebrate this beautiful volume and learn about this press, which despite this set back, has amazing books on offer this year.

Feb 1, 2019

APPRECIATIONS    

Blog
Celebrating Black Speculative Fiction: Some Favorites
Feb 15, 2019
Celebrating Black Speculative Fiction: Some Favorites
Feb 15, 2019

For Black History Month, some favorite short stories by new and classic black SF/F writers.

Feb 15, 2019
Averting Literary Extinction Events: An Appreciation of Undertow Publications
Feb 1, 2019
Averting Literary Extinction Events: An Appreciation of Undertow Publications
Feb 1, 2019

Undertow Publications is a small press that has won the Shirley Jackson award for best edited anthology. Their lauded anthology, Year’s Best Weird Fiction went from endangered to extinct with Volume 5. Come celebrate this beautiful volume and learn about this press, which despite this set back, has amazing books on offer this year.

Feb 1, 2019
"The Hazel Wood": Interrogating the European Fairy Tale
Aug 24, 2018
"The Hazel Wood": Interrogating the European Fairy Tale
Aug 24, 2018

Melissa Albert’s debut novel cuts to the bone of European fairy tales to find the essence of nightmares: horrors that are both seductive and disturbing.

Aug 24, 2018
"The Strange Bird"
Jul 27, 2018
"The Strange Bird"
Jul 27, 2018

Jeff VanderMeer’s spare, heartbreaking novella soars through the world of Borne.

Jul 27, 2018
Binti is back! Celebrating the new hardcover editions
Jul 20, 2018
Binti is back! Celebrating the new hardcover editions
Jul 20, 2018

We love Binti! We’re celebrating the re-release of Okorafor’s Hugo and Nebula award-winning trilogy in beautiful hardcover editions with an appreciation of the difficulties involved in coming of age, intergalactic exploration, and saving the world, all at the same time.

Jul 20, 2018
A Celebration of Carmen Maria Machado
Jul 14, 2018
A Celebration of Carmen Maria Machado
Jul 14, 2018

Celebrating Carmen Maria Machado with a summer re-post of our review of Her Body and Other Parties

Jul 14, 2018
What's so Different About "The Expanse," Anyway?
Jul 6, 2018
What's so Different About "The Expanse," Anyway?
Jul 6, 2018

A thoughtful vision of humanity’s future among the stars is well translated from book to screen in The Expanse.

Jul 6, 2018
Southern Gothic: Interviewing "The Past is Never" Author Tiffany Quay Tyson
Jun 8, 2018
Southern Gothic: Interviewing "The Past is Never" Author Tiffany Quay Tyson
Jun 8, 2018

An interview with Tiffany Quay Tyson.

Jun 8, 2018
The Creative Destruction of "Annihilation"
Apr 13, 2018
The Creative Destruction of "Annihilation"
Apr 13, 2018

On the page or on screen, Annihilation will test the limits of what you know about the world and yourself. 

Apr 13, 2018
Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" A Fantasy Novel for All Ages
Mar 9, 2018
Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" A Fantasy Novel for All Ages
Mar 9, 2018

With the exciting film release of A Wrinkle in Time, the Fiction Unbounders went back to the source material and re-lived some childhood magic.

Mar 9, 2018
"Strange the Dreamer": Tired of Killing
Feb 23, 2018
"Strange the Dreamer": Tired of Killing
Feb 23, 2018

In Liani Taylor's lyrical and dark fantasy, killing your enemies doesn't solve anything and there are no easy answers. 

Feb 23, 2018
Ursula K. Le Guin: A Retrospective
Feb 16, 2018
Ursula K. Le Guin: A Retrospective
Feb 16, 2018

Le Guin dreamed whole realities that forced us to reexamine assumptions we took for granted, and to see new ways forward.

Feb 16, 2018
There’s Always Time for Time Travel
Feb 2, 2018
There’s Always Time for Time Travel
Feb 2, 2018

From recent takes to enduring classics, we love time travel stories.

Feb 2, 2018
Odd Couples: "The Shape of Water," "Selkie Stories Are for Losers"
Jan 26, 2018
Odd Couples: "The Shape of Water," "Selkie Stories Are for Losers"
Jan 26, 2018

Pairing Guillermo del Toro's water monster romance with Sofia Samatar's celebrated 2013 selkie story.

Jan 26, 2018
2017 Best of Fiction Unbound
Dec 29, 2017
2017 Best of Fiction Unbound
Dec 29, 2017

The Unbound Writers look back on the wild ride that was 2017 and gear up for what comes next.

Dec 29, 2017
Cold-Weather Classics
Dec 15, 2017
Cold-Weather Classics
Dec 15, 2017

When the weather outside gets frightful, make the most of the atmosphere by treating yourself to one of these cold-weather classics of speculative fiction. 

Dec 15, 2017
Halloween Horror Reading Recommendations: Tricks and Treats
Oct 27, 2017
Halloween Horror Reading Recommendations: Tricks and Treats
Oct 27, 2017

The Unbound Writers go trick-or-treating down Memory Lane for Halloween horror recommendations.

Oct 27, 2017
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" - Fiction Unbound Reviews Our Childhood Nightmares
Oct 13, 2017
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" - Fiction Unbound Reviews Our Childhood Nightmares
Oct 13, 2017

This Friday the 13th the Fiction Unbounders discuss their favorite Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and how these tales became the source material for favorite childhood nightmares.

Oct 13, 2017
Best High Fantasy Literature: An Ode to Patricia A. McKillip
Sep 29, 2017
Best High Fantasy Literature: An Ode to Patricia A. McKillip
Sep 29, 2017

If you have a craving for lush, high-fantasy there is no one better than Patricia A. McKillip

Sep 29, 2017
Hugo Award Winners 2017
Aug 25, 2017
Hugo Award Winners 2017
Aug 25, 2017

Rounding out our coverage of the 2017 Hugo winners, with special congratulations to Lois McMaster Bujold for winning the first-ever "Best Series" Hugo Award.

Aug 25, 2017
"The Art of Starving": Speculative Fiction and the Unreliable Narrator
Aug 11, 2017
"The Art of Starving": Speculative Fiction and the Unreliable Narrator
Aug 11, 2017

In Miller's poignant debut novel the power to control and the power to discover truth are superhuman abilities in a world where everything is in doubt.

Aug 11, 2017
Hugo Awards Coverage Part II: Short Story Nominees
Aug 4, 2017
Hugo Awards Coverage Part II: Short Story Nominees
Aug 4, 2017

The Unbound Writers appreciate Hugo Award nominee short stories.

Aug 4, 2017
2017 Hugo Awards Coverage Part I: Nominees for Best Novella
Jul 28, 2017
2017 Hugo Awards Coverage Part I: Nominees for Best Novella
Jul 28, 2017

This week we take a peek at the year’s best novellas. The Unbound Writers threw the titles of the Hugo Award nominations for Best Novella into a hat and passed it around. We found they're all worth a read.

Jul 28, 2017
Ellen Datlow Is Virgil in Your Journey to the Underworld
Jul 14, 2017
Ellen Datlow Is Virgil in Your Journey to the Underworld
Jul 14, 2017

No one is reading more dark fiction than Ellen Datlow. Her knowledge of the horror genre is deeper than mine or yours.

Jul 14, 2017
The Fairy Tales of Helen Oyeyemi: A Closer Look at "Is Your Blood as Red as This"
Jul 7, 2017
The Fairy Tales of Helen Oyeyemi: A Closer Look at "Is Your Blood as Red as This"
Jul 7, 2017

Helen Oyeyemi proving once again that she is a magical fairy tale spinner with her short story collection, What is Not Yours is Not Yours. 

Jul 7, 2017
An Interview With Brenna Yovanoff
Apr 14, 2017
An Interview With Brenna Yovanoff
Apr 14, 2017

Brenna Yovanoff's Gothic monsters are full of teeth, and she is an author full of surprises.

Apr 14, 2017
The Heroic Ideals of "The Grace of Kings"
Mar 24, 2017
The Heroic Ideals of "The Grace of Kings"
Mar 24, 2017

In praise of complicated heroes in Ken Liu's epic fantasy.

Mar 24, 2017
"The Sparrow" at 20 Years: A Space Theodicy
Mar 3, 2017
"The Sparrow" at 20 Years: A Space Theodicy
Mar 3, 2017

It's Lent. What better time to contemplate Catholics in space? Theodore McCombs and CS Peterson discuss The Sparrow, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Book of Strange, New Things.

Mar 3, 2017
"The Reader": Traci Chee's Stunning Debut
Feb 24, 2017
"The Reader": Traci Chee's Stunning Debut
Feb 24, 2017

The Reader is a meta-meditation on the mystical act of reading itself. With pirates. And assassins.

Feb 24, 2017
The Brooklyn Brujas of Córdova’s “Labyrinth Lost”
Jan 27, 2017
The Brooklyn Brujas of Córdova’s “Labyrinth Lost”
Jan 27, 2017

Family, identity, and the trouble with relatives living and dead.

Jan 27, 2017

CURIOSITIES

Blog
Horrifyingly Heinous Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 8, 2019
Horrifyingly Heinous Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 8, 2019

It’s time for the Fiction Unbound 3rd annual roundup of speculative fiction recommendations to gift you’re beloved. Sure to please.*

*Not a legally binding guarantee.

Feb 8, 2019
The Ramayana: THE Epic Heroic Adventure Beloved in Southeast Asia
Jan 25, 2019
The Ramayana: THE Epic Heroic Adventure Beloved in Southeast Asia
Jan 25, 2019

The Indian Hindu epic The Ramayana unifies and defines the divergent cultures of Southeast Asia.

Jan 25, 2019
Best of Fiction Unbound 2018
Dec 28, 2018
Best of Fiction Unbound 2018
Dec 28, 2018

It’s been a year. Our contributors look back on the Fiction Unbound highlights of 2018.

Dec 28, 2018
Personal Narratives and the Eye of the Beholder: Julie Buffalohead at the Denver Art Museum
Dec 7, 2018
Personal Narratives and the Eye of the Beholder: Julie Buffalohead at the Denver Art Museum
Dec 7, 2018

The best world-building is participatory, a collaboration between artist and audience. Artist Julie Buffalohead creates narrative images layered with personal meaning, both playful and serious. At the same time, she invites the viewer in, leaving of room for the mysterious.

Image: Julie Buffalohead (Ponca), A Little Medicine and Magic, 2018. Oil on canvas; 52 x 72 in. Courtesy of Julie Buffalohead and Bockley Gallery. Image courtesy of Julie Buffalohead and Bockley Gallery

Dec 7, 2018
The Fiction Unbound Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2018
Nov 23, 2018
The Fiction Unbound Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2018
Nov 23, 2018

The holidays are here again. The days are short and the nights are long. Best stock up on stories that will see you through the long dark.

Nov 23, 2018
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Scene in Colorado: Find your Tribe
Oct 26, 2018
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Scene in Colorado: Find your Tribe
Oct 26, 2018

The Unbound writers attended Denver’s 50th annual SF/F fan and writer convention: MileHiCon.

Oct 26, 2018
Field Notes from Lit Fest: Speculative Writing in Denver
Jun 29, 2018
Field Notes from Lit Fest: Speculative Writing in Denver
Jun 29, 2018

Our editors share their thoughts on Lit Fest 2018 in Denver.

Jun 29, 2018
2018 Summer Reading Recommendations
Jun 15, 2018
2018 Summer Reading Recommendations
Jun 15, 2018

Grab a frosty beverage and head to the hammock or the beach with one of these great speculative summer reads!

Jun 15, 2018
Completely Atrocious Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 9, 2018
Completely Atrocious Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 9, 2018

Tremble before the Cyclopean obscenity of our Valentine's Day recommendations!

Feb 9, 2018
Our New Year's (Literary) Resolutions: We're Ready for 2018!
Jan 12, 2018
Our New Year's (Literary) Resolutions: We're Ready for 2018!
Jan 12, 2018

Here at Fiction Unbound, we're ready for 2018. Are you? Here are our literary New Year's resolutions and a look back at our personal moments and favorite books of 2017.

Jan 12, 2018
Happy Holidays 2017
Dec 22, 2017
Happy Holidays 2017
Dec 22, 2017

Some holiday traditions are better than others. 

Dec 22, 2017
The Fiction Unbound Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2017
Nov 24, 2017
The Fiction Unbound Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2017
Nov 24, 2017

The Unbound Writers picked their favorites to recommend books that will see you and your friends and families through the holiday season and beyond.

Nov 24, 2017
A Clarion Field Report
Aug 18, 2017
A Clarion Field Report
Aug 18, 2017

An Unbound writer comes back from the Clarion SF/F Writers Workshop and into a dystopian moment.

Aug 18, 2017
2017 Summer Reading Recommendations in Speculative Fiction from Fiction Unbound
Jun 2, 2017
2017 Summer Reading Recommendations in Speculative Fiction from Fiction Unbound
Jun 2, 2017

Fiction Unbound's 2017 summer reading recommendations. Look no further for great speculative fiction to dive into this summer.

Jun 2, 2017
"Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman and Viking Relics
May 26, 2017
"Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman and Viking Relics
May 26, 2017

Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology pairs perfectly with a visit to “Vikings: Beyond the Legend” at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

May 26, 2017
Absolutely Terrible Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 17, 2017
Absolutely Terrible Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
Feb 17, 2017

Need some book recommendations for Valentine's Day? Well, frak, don't ask us.

Feb 17, 2017
Happy Holidays!
Dec 24, 2016
Happy Holidays!
Dec 24, 2016

Enjoy a well-deserved rest with the Unbound Writers and enjoy this five-hour Darth Vader Yule Log. 

Dec 24, 2016
Your Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2016
Nov 25, 2016
Your Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2016
Nov 25, 2016

Magic and miracles on a long dark night. We recommend some great books to keep you and yours company until the sun returns.

Nov 25, 2016
"Star Wars and the Power of Costume" at the Denver Art Museum
Nov 11, 2016
"Star Wars and the Power of Costume" at the Denver Art Museum
Nov 11, 2016

"Luminous beings are we," says Yoda. Star Wars and the Power of Costume at the Denver Art Museum celebrates the creative process that brought to life a modern myth.

Nov 11, 2016
Down The Rabbit Hole: Reader's Edition
Aug 5, 2016
Down The Rabbit Hole: Reader's Edition
Aug 5, 2016

Looking to lose a little time? The best links from around the web, according to us. This edition is dedicated to readers--our most favorite people!

Aug 5, 2016
Dystopia, Cacotopia, or Cock-a-topia? The Experts Discuss.
Jun 24, 2016
Dystopia, Cacotopia, or Cock-a-topia? The Experts Discuss.
Jun 24, 2016

Panelists at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's LitFest '16 debate “The Resurrection of Dystopian Lit,” and The Unbound Writers speculate.

Jun 24, 2016
Jun 17, 2016
The Unbound Writers Attend LitFest 2016 in Denver
Jun 17, 2016
Jun 17, 2016
2016 Summer Speculative Reading From Fiction Unbound
Jun 10, 2016
2016 Summer Speculative Reading From Fiction Unbound
Jun 10, 2016

Ah, summer! It stretches out before us with plenty of lazy afternoons to get lost in a book. But what to read? We have a few suggestions.

Jun 10, 2016
Packed Perfectly for the Apocalypse
May 20, 2016
Packed Perfectly for the Apocalypse
May 20, 2016

What would you pack for the end of the world?

May 20, 2016
Matrilineal Moon Cults & Creepy Orphans
May 13, 2016
Matrilineal Moon Cults & Creepy Orphans
May 13, 2016

Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Charles Lambert's The Children's Home both want to know, "Are you my mummy?" (and if you're not, then please tell me where you've stashed her and DON'T mention poison).

May 13, 2016
Literature on an Alternate Plane: Audio Speculative Fiction
Mar 18, 2016
Literature on an Alternate Plane: Audio Speculative Fiction
Mar 18, 2016

The Unbound Writers read a lot of speculative fiction, but listening to it sometimes adds another layer of satisfaction. Here are some of our faves.

Mar 18, 2016
Your Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2015
Nov 27, 2015
Your Speculative Holiday Gift Guide for 2015
Nov 27, 2015

The holidays are all about magic and miracles in the midst of a cold dark night. What better way to while away the evenings than with a book that leads you into dreams of other worlds? Books are the perfect gift. The writers here at Fiction Unbound have suggestions for every speculative fan on your list.

Nov 27, 2015
Speculative Book Stack Poems
Aug 7, 2015
Speculative Book Stack Poems
Aug 7, 2015

Ever notice how your books sometimes talk to you? No? Well, maybe it's just us here at Fiction Unbound. 

Aug 7, 2015
Summer Reads for the Discerning Speculative Enthusiast
Jul 10, 2015
Summer Reads for the Discerning Speculative Enthusiast
Jul 10, 2015

Looking for a great summer read? The Unbound Writers have you covered. (Photo by EM Gonzalez.)

Jul 10, 2015
Field Notes from Denver Comic Con 2015
May 29, 2015
Field Notes from Denver Comic Con 2015
May 29, 2015

Fiction Unbound went to its first Comic Con last weekend, and our Unbound contributors are here to talk cosplay, comics artists, and the special salience of our nerdiest literary medium.

May 29, 2015

REVIEWS

Blog
No More Yielding but a Dream: Sandra Newman's "The Heavens" and the Progressive Vision
Jan 18, 2019
No More Yielding but a Dream: Sandra Newman's "The Heavens" and the Progressive Vision
Jan 18, 2019

Newman’s novel is an inspired time-travel story and a troubled look at progressive hopes.

Jan 18, 2019
Their Hungry, Thirsty Roots: McGuire's latest Wayward Child
Jan 4, 2019
Their Hungry, Thirsty Roots: McGuire's latest Wayward Child
Jan 4, 2019

Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series continues with a story that asks, “What if life were fair?” It’s portal fantasy at its best: A door appears, a choice is made, you come back changed … if you come back at all.

Jan 4, 2019
"How Long ‘Til Black Future Month?": The Book Born Great
Dec 21, 2018
"How Long ‘Til Black Future Month?": The Book Born Great
Dec 21, 2018

If three consecutive novel Hugos have not convinced you N. K. Jemisin is a modern master, this collection will bridge the gap.

Dec 21, 2018
Refusing Silence: A Review of Gabino Iglesias' "Coyote Songs"
Dec 15, 2018
Refusing Silence: A Review of Gabino Iglesias' "Coyote Songs"
Dec 15, 2018

Guest Contributor Manual Aragon reviews Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias. “[Iglesias] creates a world that I know, where language knows no barriers, no walls, and moves exactly where it is most comfortable.”            

Dec 15, 2018
"Mechanical Animals": An Anthology of Animal Automata, Old and New
Nov 30, 2018
"Mechanical Animals": An Anthology of Animal Automata, Old and New
Nov 30, 2018

Biomimicry abounds in this themed collection of new and classic science fiction “at the crux of creatures and tech,” from Hex Publishers.

Nov 30, 2018
A Human Being Is Only Breath and Shadow: "The Book of M"
Nov 7, 2018
A Human Being Is Only Breath and Shadow: "The Book of M"
Nov 7, 2018

Peng Shepherd’s thrilling debut novel explodes post-apocalyptic fantasies of independence.

Nov 7, 2018
"Finding Baba Yaga": The Perfect Book for the Season of the Witch
Oct 19, 2018
"Finding Baba Yaga": The Perfect Book for the Season of the Witch
Oct 19, 2018

Jane Yolen’s novel-in-verse, Finding Baba Yaga, arrives just in time for the season of the witch.

Oct 19, 2018
"New Fears 2": Nightmares Are the Price We Pay for Dreaming
Oct 12, 2018
"New Fears 2": Nightmares Are the Price We Pay for Dreaming
Oct 12, 2018

In the second New Fears anthology, horror knows no boundaries.

Oct 12, 2018
What Feels Like Fate: Daisy Johnson’s "Everything Under"
Oct 5, 2018
What Feels Like Fate: Daisy Johnson’s "Everything Under"
Oct 5, 2018

A watery, Gothic update of Greek myth by an exciting new voice in dark fiction.

Oct 5, 2018
"Exit Strategy": Beware the Wrath of Murderbot
Sep 28, 2018
"Exit Strategy": Beware the Wrath of Murderbot
Sep 28, 2018

In volume 4 of The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot’s climactic showdown with an evil corporation pushes the rogue SecUnit to its limits, and beyond.

Sep 28, 2018
"Circe": A Thousand Ways to Deal with Lovers
Sep 21, 2018
"Circe": A Thousand Ways to Deal with Lovers
Sep 21, 2018

Yes, you can turn them into pigs, but there are so many other situations women find themselves in and such a variety of possible responses. Gods and Heroes, trigger warning: not all of them act like gentlemen.

Sep 21, 2018
Great Graphic Novels — Teens Struggling to Fit In
Sep 7, 2018
Great Graphic Novels — Teens Struggling to Fit In
Sep 7, 2018

Being different is hugely consequential for teens who populate graphic novels, as well as for teens who read them.

Sep 7, 2018
The Black God's Drums: Steampunk of the African Diaspora
Aug 23, 2018
The Black God's Drums: Steampunk of the African Diaspora
Aug 23, 2018

The Black God’s Drums beats a hammer of imagination against the anvil of history and forges a dense alternate history.

Aug 23, 2018
Mid-Summer Speculative Short Story Round Up
Aug 10, 2018
Mid-Summer Speculative Short Story Round Up
Aug 10, 2018

To mark summer’s midpoint, here are a few of the best speculative short stories Amanda has read since summer’s inauguration back in June.

Aug 10, 2018
"Rogue Protocol": This Heartless Killing Machine Is All Heart
Aug 1, 2018
"Rogue Protocol": This Heartless Killing Machine Is All Heart
Aug 1, 2018

Murderbot is back. Its mission: help to bring down GrayCris, the evil corporation that has made thievery and killing a business model.

Aug 1, 2018
"49 Buddhas": An Unlikely Detective, Searching for Enlightenment
Jun 22, 2018
"49 Buddhas": An Unlikely Detective, Searching for Enlightenment
Jun 22, 2018

A reincarnated Buddhist monk, armed with the wisdom of many lifetimes (and a little black magic), tries to solve a murder mystery and bring enlightenment to all beings.

Jun 22, 2018
"Scythe": Why Die? The Problems with Immortality
Jun 1, 2018
"Scythe": Why Die? The Problems with Immortality
Jun 1, 2018

It’s a perfect world. Just a little bit too full of people.

Jun 1, 2018
Cloud Orca Land: "Blackfish City" and the Struggle for Utopia
May 25, 2018
Cloud Orca Land: "Blackfish City" and the Struggle for Utopia
May 25, 2018

Sam J. Miller’s new novel wrestles with catastrophes to come, and what kind of power might form out of the struggle.

May 25, 2018
"The Queen of Sorrow"
May 18, 2018
"The Queen of Sorrow"
May 18, 2018

The final tale in the Queens of Renthia saga is here. More queens, more lands, more spirits, and answers to questions as large as the universe.

May 18, 2018
Nebula Finalist Novellas for 2018: Twisty Plots, Humor, Gender Fluidity and Big Questions
May 11, 2018
Nebula Finalist Novellas for 2018: Twisty Plots, Humor, Gender Fluidity and Big Questions
May 11, 2018

Nebula Award finalist novellas are plot-twisty, gender-bending, humorous, and pithy with Big Questions in a smaller, digestible format.

May 11, 2018
Nebula-Nominated Short Stories/Novelettes
May 4, 2018
Nebula-Nominated Short Stories/Novelettes
May 4, 2018

It’s Nebula Awards season! Our editors share their thoughts on a selection of nominees for Best Shorty Story and Best Novelette.

May 4, 2018
"Children of Blood and Bone": Tomi Adeyemi's Blockbuster Debut
Apr 20, 2018
"Children of Blood and Bone": Tomi Adeyemi's Blockbuster Debut
Apr 20, 2018

Adeyemi's breakout debut features a richly drawn world inspired by West African traditions, compassionate social commentary, and a new take on magic.

Apr 20, 2018
"The Atrocities": A Concentrated Gothic Pill
Apr 6, 2018
"The Atrocities": A Concentrated Gothic Pill
Apr 6, 2018

How much more Gothic could The Atrocities be? None. None more Gothic.

Apr 6, 2018
"A Wrinkle in Time": Fiction Unbound Reviews the Film [Spoiler Warning]
Mar 23, 2018
"A Wrinkle in Time": Fiction Unbound Reviews the Film [Spoiler Warning]
Mar 23, 2018

Going from beloved classic book to blockbuster movie is a tricky proposition. The writers at Fiction Unbound weigh in on what worked, and what didn't.

Mar 23, 2018
Temporal Ecologies in Kelly Robson's "Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach"
Mar 16, 2018
Temporal Ecologies in Kelly Robson's "Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach"
Mar 16, 2018

Kelly Robson's new novella cannily links time travel escapism to our ecological crisis.

Mar 16, 2018
Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" A Fantasy Novel for All Ages
Mar 9, 2018
Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" A Fantasy Novel for All Ages
Mar 9, 2018

With the exciting film release of A Wrinkle in Time, the Fiction Unbounders went back to the source material and re-lived some childhood magic.

Mar 9, 2018
"Black Panther": Society as Superhero
Mar 2, 2018
"Black Panther": Society as Superhero
Mar 2, 2018

The Unbound Writers review and revel in the newest Marvel super hero film: Black Panther

Mar 2, 2018
"Strange the Dreamer": Tired of Killing
Feb 23, 2018
"Strange the Dreamer": Tired of Killing
Feb 23, 2018

In Liani Taylor's lyrical and dark fantasy, killing your enemies doesn't solve anything and there are no easy answers. 

Feb 23, 2018
Odd Couples: "The Shape of Water," "Selkie Stories Are for Losers"
Jan 26, 2018
Odd Couples: "The Shape of Water," "Selkie Stories Are for Losers"
Jan 26, 2018

Pairing Guillermo del Toro's water monster romance with Sofia Samatar's celebrated 2013 selkie story.

Jan 26, 2018
"The Last Jedi" — Where We Stand
Jan 5, 2018
"The Last Jedi" — Where We Stand
Jan 5, 2018

The Last Jedi turns expectations upside down and fans inside out.

Jan 5, 2018

SPECULATIONS

Blog
Beginning the New Year with Beginnings
Jan 11, 2019
Beginning the New Year with Beginnings
Jan 11, 2019

As we crack the cover on 2019 and dig into the books on our resolution reading lists, Christie and Meghan take a look at what makes a great opening.

Jan 11, 2019
Personal Narratives and the Eye of the Beholder: Julie Buffalohead at the Denver Art Museum
Dec 7, 2018
Personal Narratives and the Eye of the Beholder: Julie Buffalohead at the Denver Art Museum
Dec 7, 2018

The best world-building is participatory, a collaboration between artist and audience. Artist Julie Buffalohead creates narrative images layered with personal meaning, both playful and serious. At the same time, she invites the viewer in, leaving of room for the mysterious.

Image: Julie Buffalohead (Ponca), A Little Medicine and Magic, 2018. Oil on canvas; 52 x 72 in. Courtesy of Julie Buffalohead and Bockley Gallery. Image courtesy of Julie Buffalohead and Bockley Gallery

Dec 7, 2018
Ghosts in the House & the Machine: A Love Story, Hill House, & Two-Tongued Jeremy
Nov 16, 2018
Ghosts in the House & the Machine: A Love Story, Hill House, & Two-Tongued Jeremy
Nov 16, 2018

Parenting is risky business, more so when ghosts take an uninvited co-parenting role.

Nov 16, 2018
You Don't Just Lose Your Life: An Interview With Gabino Iglesias
Nov 2, 2018
You Don't Just Lose Your Life: An Interview With Gabino Iglesias
Nov 2, 2018

Writer Gabino Iglesias’ new book Coyote Songs hit book stores this week. Check out this interview for ideas about writing, the horror of murder and living interstitially.

Nov 2, 2018
The Magic at Our Elbow: Anime and the Fantastical Woven into the Everyday
Sep 14, 2018
The Magic at Our Elbow: Anime and the Fantastical Woven into the Everyday
Sep 14, 2018

In the world of Japanese anime you can slip from the ordinary to the magical at any moment.

Sep 14, 2018
We Can't Outrun Pain: Interview with Priya Sharma
Aug 31, 2018
We Can't Outrun Pain: Interview with Priya Sharma
Aug 31, 2018

Fiction Unbound’s Gemma Webster chats with UK writer Priya Sharma.

Aug 31, 2018
Apr 27, 2018
Southern Gothic: Wrestling With Our Demons -- Part 2, Novels
Apr 27, 2018

Head into the swamps with some fallen families and wild grotesques in Part 2 of our Southern Gothic extravaganza.

Apr 27, 2018
Southern Gothic: The Present Haunted by the Past -- Part I, Short Stories
Mar 30, 2018
Southern Gothic: The Present Haunted by the Past -- Part I, Short Stories
Mar 30, 2018

An exploration of Southern Gothic speculative literature.

Mar 30, 2018
The Wild, Raging Girl
Jan 19, 2018
The Wild, Raging Girl
Jan 19, 2018

Wild, raging girls seem to be everywhere these days, from movies like Logan to books like The Girl with All the Gifts. 

Jan 19, 2018
Revisiting "The Buried Giant": Still More Thoughts on Ishiguro's Latest
Dec 8, 2017
Revisiting "The Buried Giant": Still More Thoughts on Ishiguro's Latest
Dec 8, 2017

In honor of Ishiguro's Nobel lecture last night, we revisit our woolly musings on 2015's The Buried Giant.

Dec 8, 2017
We Want to Experience These Great Reads on our Screens
Dec 1, 2017
We Want to Experience These Great Reads on our Screens
Dec 1, 2017

Everybody loves SF/F adaptations these days. We'd like to see these.

Dec 1, 2017
"Logan" and "Hillbilly Elegy": The Bewilderment of the Blue-Collar Hero
Sep 1, 2017
"Logan" and "Hillbilly Elegy": The Bewilderment of the Blue-Collar Hero
Sep 1, 2017

What do Logan, the noir-Western superhero film featuring the classic brooding antihero of the X-Men, and Hillbilly Elegy, the memoir by J.D. Vance, have in common? Put on some Jonny Cash, pour yourself a bourbon and let's talk.

Sep 1, 2017
A Clarion Field Report
Aug 18, 2017
A Clarion Field Report
Aug 18, 2017

An Unbound writer comes back from the Clarion SF/F Writers Workshop and into a dystopian moment.

Aug 18, 2017
How We Are Haunted
Mar 31, 2017
How We Are Haunted
Mar 31, 2017

Steven Millhauser's short story "Phantoms” invites readers to consider the phantoms that haunt them.  Jon considers his phantoms and how they expose his complicity in perpetuating prejudice against trans people.

Mar 31, 2017
The Ghosts of Cambodia
Mar 10, 2017
The Ghosts of Cambodia
Mar 10, 2017

At the cultural crossroads of Cambodian folklore, belief and speculative literature, with emerging author Kay Chronister

Mar 10, 2017
Women Writing Women:  Fighting Pre-Inauguration Blues with Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab
Jan 6, 2017
Women Writing Women: Fighting Pre-Inauguration Blues with Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab
Jan 6, 2017

After a politically tumultuous 2016, Jon seeks solace in the fantasy worlds of Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab.

Jan 6, 2017
2017 Tuesday Craft Talks at College Hill Library, Westminster
Jan 5, 2017
2017 Tuesday Craft Talks at College Hill Library, Westminster
Jan 5, 2017
Jan 5, 2017
Against the Current: Adventures in Streaming TV
Oct 28, 2016
Against the Current: Adventures in Streaming TV
Oct 28, 2016

Gem and Jon wade through the tired tropes that television can’t get enough of.

 

Oct 28, 2016
Docility and Rage: Exploring Performance and Blackness in "The Ballad of Black Tom"
Oct 14, 2016
Docility and Rage: Exploring Performance and Blackness in "The Ballad of Black Tom"
Oct 14, 2016

Is the world ready to say goodbye to the docile black man trope?

Oct 14, 2016
Cross-Cultural Fables:  A Field Report from Bhutan
Sep 23, 2016
Cross-Cultural Fables: A Field Report from Bhutan
Sep 23, 2016

Lisa Mahoney looks for common themes in Bhutanese folktales and finds... the phallus town.

Sep 23, 2016
Denver Comic Con 2016: Enthusiastic Cosplayers and Nervous Writers
Jul 1, 2016
Denver Comic Con 2016: Enthusiastic Cosplayers and Nervous Writers
Jul 1, 2016

The ambitious cosplay of devoted fans, contrasted to the quiet insecurities of blockbuster writers. 

Jul 1, 2016
Dystopia, Cacotopia, or Cock-a-topia? The Experts Discuss.
Jun 24, 2016
Dystopia, Cacotopia, or Cock-a-topia? The Experts Discuss.
Jun 24, 2016

Panelists at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's LitFest '16 debate “The Resurrection of Dystopian Lit,” and The Unbound Writers speculate.

Jun 24, 2016
Sublime Scale in Cixin Liu’s "The Three-Body Problem"
May 6, 2016
Sublime Scale in Cixin Liu’s "The Three-Body Problem"
May 6, 2016

An ambitious masterpiece of Chinese science fiction, reviewed.

May 6, 2016
Genrequeer
Apr 8, 2016
Genrequeer
Apr 8, 2016

Speculative fiction’s disruptive potential, and an Unbound dispatch from #AWP16

Apr 8, 2016
Time Travel & Fractured Selves: Kindred and The River of No Return
Mar 4, 2016
Time Travel & Fractured Selves: Kindred and The River of No Return
Mar 4, 2016

Time travel novels Kindred and The River of No Return question how the evolving ethics of society shape our sense of self.

Mar 4, 2016
Revolt 1680/2180: Past as Prologue
Jan 22, 2016
Revolt 1680/2180: Past as Prologue
Jan 22, 2016

In "Revolt 1680/2180," an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, artist Virgil Ortiz explores a post-apocalyptic world informed by the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, where the future echoes the past.

Jan 22, 2016
Corruption & Control: Naomi Novik's Uprooted
Dec 4, 2015
Corruption & Control: Naomi Novik's Uprooted
Dec 4, 2015

Questions of corruption and its ability to change and control us take center stage in Naomi Novik's latest, Uprooted, which reminds us how easy it can be to forget to see the (evil) forest for the (evil) trees.

Dec 4, 2015
Childbirth Gothic: BELOVED, ALIEN, and ROE v. WADE
Sep 11, 2015
Childbirth Gothic: BELOVED, ALIEN, and ROE v. WADE
Sep 11, 2015

How the abortion debates of the 20th century delivered a new Gothic aesthetic

Sep 11, 2015
Marisha Pessl’s NIGHT FILM, Ann Radcliffe’s THE ITALIAN, and the Legacy of the Gothic Romance
Aug 28, 2015
Marisha Pessl’s NIGHT FILM, Ann Radcliffe’s THE ITALIAN, and the Legacy of the Gothic Romance
Aug 28, 2015

How does the modern Gothic novel stack up against 1797's finest? Fiction Unbound uncovers some dark secrets.

Aug 28, 2015
The Origamist: César Aira’s Folded Fictions
Jul 31, 2015
The Origamist: César Aira’s Folded Fictions
Jul 31, 2015

The Musical Brain, a new collection by Argentine avant-gardist César Aira, reviewed. With monkeys.

Jul 31, 2015

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