Announcement: Our 2020 (and Beyond) Focus and an Open Call to Publishers and Creators
For the past few weeks, the United States and much of the world has been in the grips of a massive movement of protest and resistance against police brutality and systemic racism, all under the familiar and power banner of Black Lives Matter. To say that 2020 has been a difficult year is an understatement, but while there was very little we, as an SF/F/H podcast, could do about the COVID-19 pandemic, there is something, however small, we can do to support black communities in the world. And so we’re going to do it in the most forceful way we know how. With that in mind, we have three announcements to make:
Month of Joy: The Last Jedi by Jeannette Ng
It is astonishingly difficult for me to discuss how much I love THE LAST JEDI. I stumbled from the cinema, face utterly aching from all the ridiculous expressions I had pulled and mind a haze of images, but I was a different person. I say THE LAST JEDI is transformative because it transformed me. And that is very, very hard to quantify. My years and years of critical and analytical training fall by the wayside, not because I am incapable of seeing its flaws (this isn’t “turn off your brain” entertainment), but that whatever else one says about its negative qualtities, I could but numbly point to myself as testimony to its power: For the first time, I felt seen, truly seen by another in the medium of fiction. I felt reborn. The voices of doubt that have haunted me for so long are muted. I felt braver than I have in years and more able. I felt more at peace. I felt balanced.
Month of Joy: Signal Boost by Jen Zink
I know I’m beating a dead horse when I say this, but 2017 was a really tough year. There definitely were some amazing moments which brought me joy, including when the court granted my son his official name change and when he started his transition, when I got to share my daughter’s incredible artwork on the cover of the Robogoblin Gazette, and when my husband brought me home a beautiful flower he made for me out of molten metal. But I talk about those moments on twitter whenever they happen, so today I want to focus on Skiffy and Fanty.
Month of Joy: Furry Fandom Conquers with Love by Kyell Gold
There were a lot of things that brought me joy in 2017. N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy’s conclusion, Bojack Horseman, the movie Baby Driver, and WorldCon in Helsinki (with a side trip to Stockholm) were all wonderful parts of last year. In addition, my writing community and my furry community remained strong, positive parts of my life last year. I went to two writing retreats and taught at one workshop, and all of those were overwhelmingly joyful experiences. And, of course, my two partners and our dog brought me unending amounts of joy, as I’ve become accustomed to. I’d be happy to tell everyone about them, but I think I want to highlight a more unexpected source of joy (if not quite as much as my family): Furry Fandom vs. the Nazis.
338. Indigenous Representation in Horror — A Discussion w/ Darcie Little Badger, Nathan Adler, and Stephen Graham Jones
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode338IndigenousRepresentationInHorror/Sandf–Episode338–IndigenousRepresentationInHorror.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSJump scares, sacred stories, and contractions, oh my! Darcie Little Badger, Nathan Adler, and Stephen Graham Jones join Shaun Duke and David Annandale to discuss Indigenous Representation in Horror. Our guests share why they enjoy horror, who the real monsters of horror often are, especially given colonial history, what not to do when representing Indigenous stories, the violence inherent in cultural appropriation, and what both brings our guests hope and excites them about the horror genre. 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):
Fabulous and Free in SFF: Fictional. Queer. Here.
Hello everyone! I’m Becca, the new intern for Skiffy & Fanty! Long story short, I’m ecstatic to be a part of this amazing community and to lend my own voice to it. I’m happy to announce that I’ll be writing a few articles about the LGBT+ community within science-fiction and fantasy, and it starts here! A significant aspect of these articles is the use of the word “queer,” which has been debated for years within the community. For me, reclaiming the word has been an important part of my own identity, and is one way I can describe myself and others in this context without fear. Here at the Skiffy and Fanty Show, we’re on our own journey to represent all of the wonderful people in the LGBT+ community, and we feel that using “queer” as an identifier is a more inclusive and supportive way to do so. Check out this article from Pride.com for more information!
