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.
Speculative fiction’s disruptive potential, and an Unbound dispatch from #AWP16
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.
After reading Sarah Boxer's article "Why are all the Cartoon Mothers Dead?" in The Atlantic, Fiction Unbound urges authors of speculative fiction to break the pattern of orphans and buddy-buddy fathers. Bring on the power moms!
A look at how slavery haunts the speculative imagination, from Mat Johnson's Pym to Star Trek: Voyager's holographic Doctor.
The Internet thinks Simon Pegg is worried science fiction and genre stories are responsible for the dumbing down of society. But is he really? Fiction Unbound thinks not.
The roiling debate over PEN's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo, with some commentary on free self-expression from speculative classics.
The Sleeper & the Spindle is a richly illustrated modern fairy tale that blends the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White into an almost unrecognizable retelling. Neil Gaiman has tackled the subject of sleeping and dreams before, but what he hasn’t done previously, is concoct a fairy tale retelling that speaks directly to children as much as adults, with veiled Grimm-like warnings about the trouble with misbehaving. In this retelling, though, the ones misbehaving are the elders.
More speculations on The Buried Giant and its woolly layers, from your fearless adventurers at Fiction Unbound.
FUN examines the search for home through stories in the post-pandemic worlds of Station Eleven, Year of Wonders, and The Dog Stars.
Join the Unbound Writers on a few hero's journeys as we illustrate a classic quest with Luke Skywalker, then diverge to follow Garth Nix's Clariel and Moira Young's Saba across The Dustlands.
An Unbound writer comes back from the Clarion SF/F Writers Workshop and into a dystopian moment.