Women of Genre

I’ve just signed up for the Worlds without End Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge. I’m using it as a way of discovering speculative fiction written by women. There’s so much there. Huge holes in my reading to fill. I’m still fiddling with the 12 writers I will choose, but having just heard Lauren Beukes interviewed as part of the Sydney Writers Festival, her name moves closer to the top of my list.

Speaking of marvellous speculative fiction: Congratulations to the 2012 Aurealis Award winners. It was Margo Lanagan’s year with four awards. Her writing is both something to aspire to and to be carried away by. I was a judge of Science Fiction short stories last year and discovered some fine writing by men and women both.

Kameron Hurley’s essay “We have always fought: Challenging the ‘Women, Cattle and Slaves’ narrative” makes for some interesting reading.

Onwards and upwards