Blog Posts

The Intersection: Imagine

“This is called the theory of narrative causality and it means that a story, once started, takes a shape. It picks up all the vibrations of all the other workings of that story that have ever been. This is why history keeps on repeating all the time.” — Terry Pratchett “People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.” ― Terry Pratchett When people ask me why I feel diversity is important in Science Fiction and Fantasy, I direct them to Terry Pratchett. He wrote a great deal about racism, sexism, and classism. He also knew a thing or two about people and story. Mainly, that story has a big effect on how people view the world and themselves.

Blog Posts

The Word for World is Rainforest: Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer

Unar has always been sure that she will one day be the Goddess Audblayin’s bodyguard. In a world where the thirteen Gods and Goddesses of the rainforest whose treetops she lives in die and are reincarnated in the manner of Tibetan Lamas, Unar is certain in her heart that she was meant not just to be a slave, as her parents intended. She wasn’t even meant just to be a gardener for the Goddess of growth and fertility, as she has managed to become. Unar has striven so hard to get to the garden and her current position; she is convinced that she is meant for much more. With the death of Audblayin, the Goddess’ reincarnation is certain, although the child of course must be found, brought to the Garden and raised properly. Given the nature of deities, though, Audblayin could be reincarnated as a man. As a man, the deity will need a female bodyguard. That’s the rule. Audblayin has to reincarnate as a Man, and the bodyguard he will need has to be Unar. Unar is convinced of this, and it has been her guiding passion for her entire life.  But in the uncertain environment of the Garden without its Goddess,  Unar is forced out of the garden she has lived years in, and even beyond the barrier that separates the Canopy from the world below it.  Unar’s journey is full of dreams of  finding the reincarnated Goddess and returning to the Garden in triumph and restored station. However, her trip down into the understory of the rainforest dredges up her past, her future, and reveals a force that might upset the order of the entire rainforest. Crossroads of Canopy is the debut novel from Australian Fantasy author Thoraiya Dyer.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

314. Djibril al-Ayad (a.k.a. The Editor on Fire) — Problem Daughters (An Interview)

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode314DjibrilAlAyad/Sandf–Episode314–DjibrilAl-ayad.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIntersectional feminism, problem voices, and FIRE, oh my! In our first interview of they year, we talk to Djibril al-Ayad about the latest anthology from The Future Fire:  Problem Daughters (an anthology of science fiction & fantasy from the fringes of feminism). We discuss the making of the anthology, being an inclusive editor, the value of intersectionalism, the world today, and much more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 314 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:

Blog Posts

Book Review: Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling, edited by Jaym Gates and Monica Valentinelli

Tropes get a lot of bad press even as we crave them. People expect the Happily Ever After for a romantic comedy, but the fiftieth inevitable betrayal by the mentor in an action movie gets seen as being cliched. Movie after movie gets made, and makes box office, with a Chosen One, especially as an origin story, and at the same cry decry it as being more of the same. The website TV Tropes is a time suck, as one can get lost for hours following links on various tropes in movies, books and more, falling into a rabbit hole of storytelling conventions. So what can be said that is new about tropes? How can they be used, subverted, and rearranged? Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling, a diverse anthology and essay collection edited by Jaym Gates and Monica Valentinelli, sets out to do just that.

Announcements and Errata, Podcast Updates

The 2017 “Inclusion” Theme Begins: Announcements, Details, and Guest/Author Calls

2017 has arrived. It’s a thing. It’s happening. And it’s not the year many of us hoped for. When we first set out to create a theme for 2017, we didn’t know that it would become something more than a broad gesture about what we believe is crucial to the continued significance of science fiction and fantasy. As the months following the U.S. election rolled by, it became clear that our call for “Inclusion” would be a manifesto. It would be one of the ways we each would contribute to making this world a better place not just for ourselves, but also for everyone. “Inclusion” isn’t just about diversity. It’s about hearing people for who they are and recognizing the power of their voices. It’s about sharing those voices as far as this little podcast can so that as many of us as possible are heard in the cacophony of terror and rage filling the airwaves in these opening weeks of 2017. It’s about emptying the jar of silence so that this room we call the sf/f community is alive with infinite diversity in infinite combinations (to quote the Vulcan philosophy). Our mission is resistance through Inclusion. This podcast may not be a Congressman or an ambassador to the U.N. or a prime minister, but we are a voice within a community. We’re going to use that voice to make sf/f a better place. With that in mind, we’re officially opening up our annual “Call for Contributors.” The following is a description of what we’re looking for, what we’re planning to do, and how you can be involved:

Announcements and Errata, Awards Season

2017 Awards Season (Hugos, etc.): All the Eligible Things from a Year of Skiffy and Fanty!

Last year, we were honored to have many incredible authors, bloggers, and others, either on the show or posting guest blog posts on our page and we love being able to share their work with you. Many of our guests and our members are eligible for awards so we hope you’ll take a minute to go over this list, just to make sure you don’t miss anything when you do your nominations (eta: the Hugo nominations aren’t due until March so you have plenty of time to get reading)!

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