Wizards & Spaceships

Welcome to our new season! To celebrate, we’re kicking it up a notch by holding an all-star roundtable of some truly incredible writers. Vajra Chandrasekera, Samantha Mills, and Gregory A. Wilson join us to discuss didactic genre fiction. Is it a skill problem? Is it a media literacy problem? Can you hammer home a message without alienating (sorry/not sorry) your audience?We're nominated for an Aurora Award for Best Fan-Related Work!Check out the ballot (and consider casting a vote for us) at the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.Show Notes:Vajra's websiteSamantha's websiteGregory's websiteGuillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein)Dante’s InfernoKatabasis, R.F. KuangRabbit Test, Samantha MillsA Sound of Thunder, Ray BradburyDune, Frank HerbertThe Witcher, Andrzej SapkowskiLe Roman de SilenceFrom the Notebooks of Doctor Brain, Minister FaustThe Time Machine, H.G. WellsIsland of Doctor Moreau, H.G. WellsStar Trek TOS: Let That Be Your Last BattlefieldOne star review of Pride and PrejudiceWorld Bank literacy statsGrendel, John Gardner

Genre fiction is full of strong, independent women, badass heroines, brave Final Girls, and virginal princesses. Frankly, we’re getting a little sick of it? For our season finale, with us to discuss difficult women is the queen of messy, complicated, and antiheroic female protagonists herself, the legendary Silvia Moreno-Garcia!Show NotesSilvia's websiteSilvia's Instagram and ThreadsSignal To Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (find out why Rachel is correct and all of the Goodreads reviewers are wrong)Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-GarciaCountess by Susan PalumboUnknown Number: The High School CatfishRachel’s Problematic FavesBellis Coldwine (The Scar by China Miéville)Baru Cormorant (The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickson)Essun (The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin)Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power by Nate Stevenson)David’s Problematic FavesMorgan Le Fay (Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory)Cersei Lannister (A Song Of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)Jadis (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)Silvia’s Problematic FavesEleanor and Theodora (The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson)Constance and Merricat (We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson)Everything by Tanith LeeRebecca and Rachel (Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier)Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert)Are they genre? Nah, but we still love themCass Neary novels by Elizabeth HandGone Girl by Gillian FlynnWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëThe Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithLolita by Vladimir NabokovWashington Square by Henry JamesAnna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Amazing Stories Magazine. It started way back in March or April, of 1926, depending on who you ask. With us to talk about the magazine's past, present, and maybe even the next hundred years, are its publishers and editors: Steve Davidson, Kermit Woodall and Lloyd Penney.Show notes:Amazing Stories Magazine onlineWikipedia's entryGalactic CentralSF Encyclopedia

Charles R. Saunders was a Halifax journalist and, with his Imaro novels, the founder of the "sword and soul" genre and a Black Canadian literary icon. When he died in obscurity in 2020, journalist Jon Tattrie joined fans worldwide to uncover where he was buried, commemorate his life, and bring him the prominence he deserved. For Black History Month, we're joined by Jon to tell us about Charles' remarkable career and his new biography, To Leave a Warrior Behind: The Life and Stories of Charles R. Saunders, the Man Who Rewrote Fantasy.Show Notes:To Leave a Warrior Behind: The Life and Stories of Charles R. Saunders, the Man Who Rewrote Fantasy by Jon TattrieWrite Now with Jon TattrieThe New Moon’s Arms by Nalo HopkinsonThe Broken Earth by N.K. JemisinThe Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarInterview With the Vampire (2022-)BladeStar Man’s Son by Andre NortonSkin of the Sea by Natasha BowenAnnaka by Andre FentonDark Fantasy zineJaycen Wise URAEUSMshindo I. KuumbaCharles in the CSFFA hall of fameCharles R. Saunders' select biography:Imaro (1981) Second Edition (2006) Third Edition (2014)The Quest for Cush (1984) Second Edition (2008)The Trail of Bohu (1985) Second Edition (2009)The Naama War (2009)Nyumbani Tales (2017)Dossouye (2008)Dossouye: The Dancers of Mulukau (2012)Other novelsDamballa (2011)Abengoni: First Calling (2014), fantasy novelNon-fictionSweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace (1990)Spirit of Africville (1992)Share & Care: The Story of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children (1994)Black & Bluenose: The Contemporary History of a Community (2002)

Magazines and journals have been a foundational part of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror since the very beginning and provide us with the stories, art, and critical analysis that keep the genre vibrant. These collaborations are a labour of love and the lifeblood of the literary scene. With us to talk about the work of editing and producing them are two rising stars in the field, Josh Wilson, editor of The Fabulist, and Alexandra Pierce, editor of Speculative Insight.Show Notes:The FabulistThe Fabulist on BlueskyThe Fabulist on InstagramSpeculative InsightSpeculative Insight on BlueskySpeculative Insight on InstagramLetters to TiptreeLuminescent ThreadsRadon JournalClarkesworldkhōréōTrollbreath