Non-Western fantasies increase readers’ understanding of diverse histories and cultures in an increasingly xenophobic age.
Read moreNon-Western Fantasies Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve
Novelette Finalists for the 2018 Nebula Award
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.
Read moreShort Story Finalists for the 2018 Nebula Award
“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington.” Illustration by Odera Igbokwe from Fireside Magazine.
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.
Read more"A People's Future of the United States"
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.
Read more"Muse of Nightmares": Looking Through the Lens of Trauma
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.
Read moreWhitney Scharer’s “The Age of Light” Illuminates Lee Miller During Her Man Ray Years
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.
Read more"Black Leopard, Red Wolf": A Knife to the Neck of Genre and Gender Tropes
2015 Man Booker winner Marlon James embraces epic fantasy with a non-conforming, lightning-paced tale that up-ends every expectation.
Read moreSooner or Later Sarah Pinsker Breaks Your Heart and Puts It Back Together All Weird
The award-winning Sarah Pinsker finally has a collection out, and it’s excellent.
Read moreThomas Ligotti and the Derangement of Creation
An underappreciated master of horror, appreciated.
Read moreMidwinter Inspirations
Entering Natura Obscura’s inspirational woodland.
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.
Read moreCelebrating Black Speculative Fiction: Some Favorites
For Black History Month, some favorite short stories by new and classic black SF/F writers.
Read moreHorrifyingly Heinous Speculative Valentine's Day Recommendations
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.
Read moreAverting Literary Extinction Events: An Appreciation of Undertow Publications
Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume Five Edited by Robert Shearman and Michael Kelly
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.
Read moreThe Ramayana: The Epic Heroic Adventure Beloved in Southeast Asia
The Indian Hindu epic The Ramayana unifies and defines the divergent cultures of Southeast Asia.
Read moreNo More Yielding but a Dream: Sandra Newman's "The Heavens" and the Progressive Vision
The Heavens by Sandra Newman from Grove Atlantic
Newman’s novel is an inspired time-travel story and a troubled look at progressive hopes.
Read moreBeginning the New Year with Beginnings
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.
Read moreTheir Hungry, Thirsty Roots: McGuire's latest Wayward Child
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.
Read moreBest of Fiction Unbound 2018
The new year - fresh and crisp as an ancient glacier. Lake Fryxel, in the Transantarctic Mountains. Photo credit: National Science Foundation.
It’s been a year. Our contributors look back on the Fiction Unbound highlights of 2018.
Read more"How Long ‘Til Black Future Month?": The Book Born Great
If three consecutive novel Hugos have not convinced you N. K. Jemisin is a modern master, this collection will bridge the gap.
Read moreRefusing Silence: A Review of Gabino Iglesias's "Coyote Songs"
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.”
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