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Fiction Unbound explores the fresh voices and exciting ideas that are the novellas nominated by SWFA members for the Nebula Awards. No predictions.
Headley’s retelling of Beowulf through the eyes of Grendel’s mother and Hrothgar’s wife takes on epic heroes, American veterans with PTSD, gentrification, the monstrosity of racism, and Edward Scissorhands.
Non-Western fantasies increase readers’ understanding of diverse histories and cultures in an increasingly xenophobic age.
For Black History Month, some favorite short stories by new and classic black SF/F writers.
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.
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.
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.
Celebrating Carmen Maria Machado with a summer re-post of our review of Her Body and Other Parties
A thoughtful vision of humanity’s future among the stars is well translated from book to screen in The Expanse.
An interview with Tiffany Quay Tyson.
On the page or on screen, Annihilation will test the limits of what you know about the world and yourself.
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.
In Liani Taylor's lyrical and dark fantasy, killing your enemies doesn't solve anything and there are no easy answers.
Le Guin dreamed whole realities that forced us to reexamine assumptions we took for granted, and to see new ways forward.
From recent takes to enduring classics, we love time travel stories.
Pairing Guillermo del Toro's water monster romance with Sofia Samatar's celebrated 2013 selkie story.
The Unbound Writers look back on the wild ride that was 2017 and gear up for what comes next.
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.
The Unbound Writers go trick-or-treating down Memory Lane for Halloween horror recommendations.
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.
If you have a craving for lush, high-fantasy there is no one better than Patricia A. McKillip
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.
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.
The Unbound Writers appreciate Hugo Award nominee short stories.
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.
No one is reading more dark fiction than Ellen Datlow. Her knowledge of the horror genre is deeper than mine or yours.
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.
Brenna Yovanoff's Gothic monsters are full of teeth, and she is an author full of surprises.
In praise of complicated heroes in Ken Liu's epic fantasy.
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.
We are halfway between winter and spring. The eagles have returned to their nests, the owlets have already hatched. But if you’re stuck in the doldrums, here are two books and a field trip to reawaken your imagination.
It’s time for the Fiction Unbound 3rd annual roundup of speculative fiction recommendations to gift your beloved. Sure to please.*
*Not a legally binding guarantee.
The Indian Hindu epic The Ramayana unifies and defines the divergent cultures of Southeast Asia.
It’s been a year. Our contributors look back on the Fiction Unbound highlights of 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
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.
Our editors share their thoughts on Lit Fest 2018 in Denver.
Grab a frosty beverage and head to the hammock or the beach with one of these great speculative summer reads!
Tremble before the Cyclopean obscenity of our Valentine's Day recommendations!
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.
The Unbound Writers picked their favorites to recommend books that will see you and your friends and families through the holiday season and beyond.
An Unbound writer comes back from the Clarion SF/F Writers Workshop and into a dystopian moment.
Fiction Unbound's 2017 summer reading recommendations. Look no further for great speculative fiction to dive into this summer.
Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology pairs perfectly with a visit to “Vikings: Beyond the Legend” at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Need some book recommendations for Valentine's Day? Well, frak, don't ask us.
Enjoy a well-deserved rest with the Unbound Writers and enjoy this five-hour Darth Vader Yule Log.
Magic and miracles on a long dark night. We recommend some great books to keep you and yours company until the sun returns.
"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.
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!
Panelists at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's LitFest '16 debate “The Resurrection of Dystopian Lit,” and The Unbound Writers speculate.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Ever notice how your books sometimes talk to you? No? Well, maybe it's just us here at Fiction Unbound.
If you are interested in the themes of mirrors and mothers, bodies as machines, daughters and madness, flowers and blood, then Georgina Bruce’s debut story collection is for you!
Fiction Unbound explores the fresh voices and exciting ideas that are the novellas nominated by SWFA members for the Nebula Awards. No predictions.
Headley’s retelling of Beowulf through the eyes of Grendel’s mother and Hrothgar’s wife takes on epic heroes, American veterans with PTSD, gentrification, the monstrosity of racism, and Edward Scissorhands.
Fiction Unbound’s celebration of Nebula Award nominees continues. This week, a collection of slightly longer SF/F confections: novelettes. Come for the alternate histories, stay for the reincarnation and romance.
Fiction Unbound continues our annual tradition of admiring the unique voices and daring ideas that are the short stories nominated by SWFA member writers for the Nebula Awards. No predictions.
Dystopia can be fun, in the right hands, but time loops probably aren’t. Example: our own era. Fiction Unbound writers Gemma and Catie explore stories that consider what the future may bring based on where we are presently, in the new collection A People’s Future of the United States.
Laini Taylor put a restriction on this project: killing couldn’t be the solution to her characters’ conflicts. The result is a harrowing exploration of nightmares, both lived and dreamed.
Whitney Scharer’s historical fiction The Age of Light is a sumptuous look into photographer and artist Lee Miller’s relationship with Man Ray. Set in Paris in the early 1930’s, this novel does a beautiful job of giving Lee Miller a strong, clear voice during her formative years as a artist.
2015 Man Booker winner Marlon James embraces epic fantasy with a non-conforming, lightning-paced tale that up-ends every expectation.
The award-winning Sarah Pinsker finally has a collection out, and it’s excellent.
Newman’s novel is an inspired time-travel story and a troubled look at progressive hopes.
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.
If three consecutive novel Hugos have not convinced you N. K. Jemisin is a modern master, this collection will bridge the gap.
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.”
Biomimicry abounds in this themed collection of new and classic science fiction “at the crux of creatures and tech,” from Hex Publishers.
Peng Shepherd’s thrilling debut novel explodes post-apocalyptic fantasies of independence.
Jane Yolen’s novel-in-verse, Finding Baba Yaga, arrives just in time for the season of the witch.
In the second New Fears anthology, horror knows no boundaries.
A watery, Gothic update of Greek myth by an exciting new voice in dark fiction.
In volume 4 of The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot’s climactic showdown with an evil corporation pushes the rogue SecUnit to its limits, and beyond.
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.
Being different is hugely consequential for teens who populate graphic novels, as well as for teens who read them.
The Black God’s Drums beats a hammer of imagination against the anvil of history and forges a dense alternate history.
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.
Murderbot is back. Its mission: help to bring down GrayCris, the evil corporation that has made thievery and killing a business model.
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.
It’s a perfect world. Just a little bit too full of people.
Sam J. Miller’s new novel wrestles with catastrophes to come, and what kind of power might form out of the struggle.
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.
Nebula Award finalist novellas are plot-twisty, gender-bending, humorous, and pithy with Big Questions in a smaller, digestible format.
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.
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
Parenting is risky business, more so when ghosts take an uninvited co-parenting role.
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.
In the world of Japanese anime you can slip from the ordinary to the magical at any moment.
Fiction Unbound’s Gemma Webster chats with UK writer Priya Sharma.
Head into the swamps with some fallen families and wild grotesques in Part 2 of our Southern Gothic extravaganza.
An exploration of Southern Gothic speculative literature.
Wild, raging girls seem to be everywhere these days, from movies like Logan to books like The Girl with All the Gifts.
In honor of Ishiguro's Nobel lecture last night, we revisit our woolly musings on 2015's The Buried Giant.
Everybody loves SF/F adaptations these days. We'd like to see these.
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.
An Unbound writer comes back from the Clarion SF/F Writers Workshop and into a dystopian moment.
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.
At the cultural crossroads of Cambodian folklore, belief and speculative literature, with emerging author Kay Chronister
After a politically tumultuous 2016, Jon seeks solace in the fantasy worlds of Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab.
Gem and Jon wade through the tired tropes that television can’t get enough of.
Is the world ready to say goodbye to the docile black man trope?
Lisa Mahoney looks for common themes in Bhutanese folktales and finds... the phallus town.
The ambitious cosplay of devoted fans, contrasted to the quiet insecurities of blockbuster writers.
Panelists at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's LitFest '16 debate “The Resurrection of Dystopian Lit,” and The Unbound Writers speculate.
An ambitious masterpiece of Chinese science fiction, reviewed.
Time travel novels Kindred and The River of No Return question how the evolving ethics of society shape our sense of self.
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.
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.
How the abortion debates of the 20th century delivered a new Gothic aesthetic
How does the modern Gothic novel stack up against 1797's finest? Fiction Unbound uncovers some dark secrets.
The Musical Brain, a new collection by Argentine avant-gardist César Aira, reviewed. With monkeys.
If you are interested in the themes of mirrors and mothers, bodies as machines, daughters and madness, flowers and blood, then Georgina Bruce’s debut story collection is for you!