Oh!
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Oh! I still have a little bit of time in #Internationalwomensday, don't I? Some of the *great* sf/f writers are/were women.
I just spoke in another thread of CJ Cherryh's extraordinary skill at exposition in fiction.
But there are plenty more.
Andre Norton lit my youth, and is probably the oldest exemplar I know of.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder was there, too, with delightful tween-level fantasy, especially _Black and Blue Magic_.
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Oh! I still have a little bit of time in #Internationalwomensday, don't I? Some of the *great* sf/f writers are/were women.
I just spoke in another thread of CJ Cherryh's extraordinary skill at exposition in fiction.
But there are plenty more.
Andre Norton lit my youth, and is probably the oldest exemplar I know of.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder was there, too, with delightful tween-level fantasy, especially _Black and Blue Magic_.
Nora *fucking* Jemisin has won, so far, *three* Hugo Best Novel awards, two of them back to back, one for each book in the Broken Earth trilogy.
Ann Leckie's creations are universally regarded as top-notch sf.
Elizabeth Moon, with hard sf in usually military settings.
Octavia Butler was basically a god.
Martha Wells is big these days cuz of the MurderBot books, but her backlist is fantastic.
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Nora *fucking* Jemisin has won, so far, *three* Hugo Best Novel awards, two of them back to back, one for each book in the Broken Earth trilogy.
Ann Leckie's creations are universally regarded as top-notch sf.
Elizabeth Moon, with hard sf in usually military settings.
Octavia Butler was basically a god.
Martha Wells is big these days cuz of the MurderBot books, but her backlist is fantastic.
Ursula Leguin, who I think might have been the first female sf/f author I ever read whose name made it clear she was female, is, of course, *legendary*.
Arkady Martine has done some truly impressive work, esp. _A Desolation Called Peace_.
There are also writers who don't specialize in sf/f, but who have written there:
Margaret Atwood's _Oryx and Crake_ stands out.
As does Mary Doria Russell's *stunning* _Sparrow_ duology. (Be prepared to feel sad.)
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Ursula Leguin, who I think might have been the first female sf/f author I ever read whose name made it clear she was female, is, of course, *legendary*.
Arkady Martine has done some truly impressive work, esp. _A Desolation Called Peace_.
There are also writers who don't specialize in sf/f, but who have written there:
Margaret Atwood's _Oryx and Crake_ stands out.
As does Mary Doria Russell's *stunning* _Sparrow_ duology. (Be prepared to feel sad.)
The list goes on and on and on:
Charlie Jane Anders,
Tamsyn Muir,
Connie Willis,
Mira Grant,
Mary Robinette Kowal,
Lois McMaster Bujold,
Joan Vinge,
Nancy KressI am *certainly* forgetting many names I should not, but I am old and tired and working from memory.
Women have written some of the best sf/f of all time.
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The list goes on and on and on:
Charlie Jane Anders,
Tamsyn Muir,
Connie Willis,
Mira Grant,
Mary Robinette Kowal,
Lois McMaster Bujold,
Joan Vinge,
Nancy KressI am *certainly* forgetting many names I should not, but I am old and tired and working from memory.
Women have written some of the best sf/f of all time.
If you want to recommend others, just reply. We could all use a good list of women who've written sf/f on #internationalwomensday !
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The list goes on and on and on:
Charlie Jane Anders,
Tamsyn Muir,
Connie Willis,
Mira Grant,
Mary Robinette Kowal,
Lois McMaster Bujold,
Joan Vinge,
Nancy KressI am *certainly* forgetting many names I should not, but I am old and tired and working from memory.
Women have written some of the best sf/f of all time.
The McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga is one of my favourites.
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Ursula Leguin, who I think might have been the first female sf/f author I ever read whose name made it clear she was female, is, of course, *legendary*.
Arkady Martine has done some truly impressive work, esp. _A Desolation Called Peace_.
There are also writers who don't specialize in sf/f, but who have written there:
Margaret Atwood's _Oryx and Crake_ stands out.
As does Mary Doria Russell's *stunning* _Sparrow_ duology. (Be prepared to feel sad.)
@GeePawHill
Lots of excellent suggestions in this thread!
I've read or I'm in the process of reading many of the listed authors. Noting down new ones to try out.I think Anne McCaffrey (Dragon Riders of Pern) was the first sf/f author where the name made me sure the author was female.
I tried CJ Cherryh in my teens but wasn't ready for her excellent writing at the time. I reread Downbelow Station in 2021 and really liked it. This is a good reminder to resume reading her books.
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@GeePawHill
Lots of excellent suggestions in this thread!
I've read or I'm in the process of reading many of the listed authors. Noting down new ones to try out.I think Anne McCaffrey (Dragon Riders of Pern) was the first sf/f author where the name made me sure the author was female.
I tried CJ Cherryh in my teens but wasn't ready for her excellent writing at the time. I reread Downbelow Station in 2021 and really liked it. This is a good reminder to resume reading her books.
@roytoo Of course,. I didn't even mention Anne McCaffrey! I'm a dolt. As my wife points out, I'm not very smart, but I'm not very pretty, either.
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If you want to recommend others, just reply. We could all use a good list of women who've written sf/f on #internationalwomensday !
@GeePawHill
I'm a fan of Elizabeth Bear who has written in numerous genres.
Jenny Casey sf trilogy
White Space sf series
New Amsterdam series (steam punk, alternate history, vampire)
Karen Memory series (steam punk, western) -
If you want to recommend others, just reply. We could all use a good list of women who've written sf/f on #internationalwomensday !
@GeePawHill Ursula LeGuin is the GOAT. I discovered her Earthsea fantasy series around 11 or 12, and I’m do glad that I did.
More recently, I discovered @susankayequinn here on Mastodon. While I’ve only read a few of her stories, they are really good. -
If you want to recommend others, just reply. We could all use a good list of women who've written sf/f on #internationalwomensday !
@GeePawHill I quite enjoyed the Stars Uncharted books by Sherylyn and Karen Dunstall, and the Linesman trilogy is on my to-read list: https://www.skdunstall.com/book-table-2/
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@GeePawHill
I'm a fan of Elizabeth Bear who has written in numerous genres.
Jenny Casey sf trilogy
White Space sf series
New Amsterdam series (steam punk, alternate history, vampire)
Karen Memory series (steam punk, western)@GeePawHill
And I must mention Linda Nagata who has numerous great books and series.
The Nanotech Succession
Inverted Frontier -
Ursula Leguin, who I think might have been the first female sf/f author I ever read whose name made it clear she was female, is, of course, *legendary*.
Arkady Martine has done some truly impressive work, esp. _A Desolation Called Peace_.
There are also writers who don't specialize in sf/f, but who have written there:
Margaret Atwood's _Oryx and Crake_ stands out.
As does Mary Doria Russell's *stunning* _Sparrow_ duology. (Be prepared to feel sad.)
@GeePawHill Fantastic list. Thank you. I'll be bookmarking it.
Agree re: Sparrow but "sad" is an understatement. I haven't read the second installment but the first one wrecked me. -
@GeePawHill Fantastic list. Thank you. I'll be bookmarking it.
Agree re: Sparrow but "sad" is an understatement. I haven't read the second installment but the first one wrecked me.@dlbonhaus Yes. "Sad" is too weak.
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If you want to recommend others, just reply. We could all use a good list of women who've written sf/f on #internationalwomensday !
@GeePawHill oh boy, where to start…
Diane Duane
Jo Clayton
Carole Nelson Douglas
Ru Emerson
Barbara Hambly
Katharine Kerr
Katherine Kurtz
Mercedes Lackey
Anne McCaffrey
Robin McKinley
Patricia McKillop
Diana Paxson
Melanie Rawn
Jennifer Roberson
Midori Snyder
Sherri S Tepper
Deborah Turner Harris
Rebecca Yarros -
@GeePawHill oh boy, where to start…
Diane Duane
Jo Clayton
Carole Nelson Douglas
Ru Emerson
Barbara Hambly
Katharine Kerr
Katherine Kurtz
Mercedes Lackey
Anne McCaffrey
Robin McKinley
Patricia McKillop
Diana Paxson
Melanie Rawn
Jennifer Roberson
Midori Snyder
Sherri S Tepper
Deborah Turner Harris
Rebecca Yarros@wndxlori JFC, Lori, you're killin' me here.
There are like 4 writers there whose work I don't know, which leaves a very great number I failed to mention.
TYSM!
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Nora *fucking* Jemisin has won, so far, *three* Hugo Best Novel awards, two of them back to back, one for each book in the Broken Earth trilogy.
Ann Leckie's creations are universally regarded as top-notch sf.
Elizabeth Moon, with hard sf in usually military settings.
Octavia Butler was basically a god.
Martha Wells is big these days cuz of the MurderBot books, but her backlist is fantastic.
@GeePawHill
Did you mention ...
CL Moore
Nnedi Okorafor
James Tiptree Jr (Alice B (Raccoona) Sheldon)
Kage BakerAnd so many more ...
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@GeePawHill
Did you mention ...
CL Moore
Nnedi Okorafor
James Tiptree Jr (Alice B (Raccoona) Sheldon)
Kage BakerAnd so many more ...
@RonJeffries Hah! Brilliant! I didn't even know James Tiptree Jr was a woman. I knew the others, and I simply did not list them cuz I was working from memory.
Excellent additions!
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@wndxlori JFC, Lori, you're killin' me here.
There are like 4 writers there whose work I don't know, which leaves a very great number I failed to mention.
TYSM!
@GeePawHill Largely Fantasy, although quite a few of these swing both ways.
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@GeePawHill Largely Fantasy, although quite a few of these swing both ways.
@wndxlori Whatever. I *loved* Roberson, Kerr, Lackey. I spent *years* on Rawn.