Charlie Jane Anders

December 16, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Marjorie Liu, David Liss, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Michael Moorcock

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The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles and authors from around the web.

**In their podcast, Lez Geek Out! praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.**

Andi and Lise loved this collection of self-curated short stories (plus one novella) by majorly award-winning spec fic writer Marjorie Liu. These stories represent a collection from roughly 2009 until more recently, and span a range of spec fic genres, including paranormal, post-apocalyptic, fairy tale, superhero, and steampunk. Liu writes multi-layered character-driven stories that will suck you right in and leave you wanting more. Do yourself a favor and definitely pick up a copy of THE TANGLEROOT PALACE: STORIES.

Cover art by Sana Takeda
Design by Elizabeth Story

**Suroor Alikhan for Talking About Books interviews David Liss about several of his books including THE PECULIARITIES.**

TAB: You use magic and fantasy in your latest novel, The Peculiarities. I am curious to know what led you to do this.

DL: I’ve always had a fascination with real historical magic, by which I mean magic that was practiced by real people who believed that what they were doing was an efficacious way to interact with or influence the world around them. In particular, I’ve had an ongoing interest in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was a massively influential magical organization in late Victorian London. It’s no exaggeration to say that most people in the West who practice magic today are practicing some form of Golden Dawn magic. THE PECULIARITIES began with the desire to write about the Golden Dawn, though I didn’t really know what angle I wanted to take when I began researching. At some point in the process, I decided that treating their magical practices as valid and efficacious appealed to me as a narrative premise, and the rest unfolded from there.

Charlie Jane Anders on Tik Tok and Instagram discusses trans authors who influenced her writing including Caitlín R. Kiernan. Anders showcases the author with THE VERY BEST OF CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN.

Cover by Hannes Hummel
Design by Elizabeth Story

**In Locus, Paul di Filippo gushes about The Citadel of Forgotten Dreams, Michael Moorcock’s return to his seminal character Elric.**

Moorcock’s ability to convey action vividly, to envision otherworldly vistas, and to couch it all in elegant prose remains undimmed. I mentioned Lord Dunsany as a predecessor for Moorcock, but I would also have to enter Clark Ashton Smith as an inspiration and coequal. This alliance extends to Moorcock’s great ability to conjure up names, although I did object to one such: the evil Ramada Sabaru. The given name, of course, instantly evokes a hotel chain, while the surname echoes a carmaker. But aside from that, all is Vancian perfection.

This could very well be the final installment of Elric’s long exploits, and if so, Moorcock can retire proudly from the walls of Imrryr.

December 1, 2022

Powerful and poetic, R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING is one of the best novels of the year

Rick Klaw blog Charlie Jane Anders, runalong the shelves, SmallPressBigStories, the four profound weaves, the middle shelf, the unbalancing, the washington post, to other worlds, what we've been reading

Accolades for R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING keep arriving with Charlie Jane Anders in The Washington Post naming the title as one of the 9 best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022. At The Middle Shelf as part of the SmallPressBigStories series in their introduction to a brief interview with Tachyon Publicity Manager Rick Klaw, they mention the book as one of their favorite novels of the year (Klaw looks at some of the 2023 titles). THE UNBALANCING receives favorable notices from both Runalong the Shelves and To Other Worlds. Oddly, What We’ve Been Reading includes Lemberg’s previous Birdverse book THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES in “A book with a skeleton or bones on the cover”.

What could have been a clear-cut apocalyptic thrill ride becomes something much more thoughtful in the hands of Lemberg, who weaves together a gentle romance and an examination of what holds people together. Lemberg’s characters — an unlikely couple facing the death of their city — wield both social and magical power, and the difference between the two adds spice to a beautiful story about saving what you can.
The Washington Post

They have published one of my favourite novels of 2022, THE UNBALANCING and I’ve been consistently impressed by their novels and novellas I’ve read.
The Middle Shelf

THE UNBALANCING is a powerful and poetic read. Lemberg’s use of language and storytelling is a delight to savour and combined with the themes and overall approach make this twenty-first century fantasy that should stand attention. It is brilliant and a tale many readers will never forget. Strongly recommended!
Runalong the Shelves

If you’re up for a short, dense, but still quick read with lots of queerness and neurodivergence and magic and people trying their best, very much recommended.

Enjoyment: 4.5/5
Execution: 4/5
To Other Worlds

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

This is a real rarity in the fantasy genre – the protagonists are both elderly and queer. I think many readers will find it possibly didactic, but this is clearly intentional and not really cis-het facing? One of the characters has very, very recently transitioned, so his mind is very much on this topic and the changes in his social life, in particular. Even though transition in this book is magical and from a physical standpoint, simple and easy, it still isn’t as straightforward as it might seem it should be, and that’s a wonderfully nuanced approach to transition in a fantasy setting.
What We’ve Been Reading

October 18, 2022

R. B. Lemberg’s best-selling THE UNBALANCING is one of the best books of the fall

Rick Klaw blog book hub, Charlie Jane Anders, jeff somers, r. b. lemberg, the lawrence times, the raven bookstore, the unbalancing, the washington post

Praise for R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING hits new extremes as Jeff Somers at Book Hub includes the title among The 19 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of Fall 2022, for The Washington Post, Charlie Jane Anders discusses it in 4 science fiction and fantasy books mine a real issue: Climate change, and The Lawrence Times lists the title among The Raven Book Store’s bestsellers.

Nebula, Locus, and Ignyte finalist R. B. Lemberg delivers a beautiful tale about a world where 12 stars slumber throughout the world.
The 19 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of Fall 2022

There’s so much to cherish in THE UNBALANCING, a stand-alone novel in Lemberg’s Birdverse series. The relationship between Lilún and Ranra beautifully captures the spikiness and tenderness of a new connection that could turn into something beautiful. The world-building is full of deep lore and casual queerness, and Lemberg’s magic system is appropriately wild and poetic. But most of all, the noveloffers lessons in survival when complex, barely understood systems begin to fall apart.
4 science fiction and fantasy books mine a real issue: Climate change

Sarah Kendzior, They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent
R. B. Lemberg, THE UNBALANCING: A Birdverse Novel
Danny Caine, How to Resist Amazon and Why (Second Edition)
Lucas Bessire, Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains
Jennette McCurdy, I’m Glad My Mom Died
Louise Erdrich, The Sentence
Richard Osman, The Bullet That Missed: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery
Nina Totenberg, Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships
Nabil Ayers, My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family
Megan Bannen, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

The Raven Book Store

August 4, 2022

With the dense, nuanced THE BRUISING OF QILWA, Naseem Jamnia introduces a complex and intriguing world

Rick Klaw blog Charlie Jane Anders, childern's institute 10, Jo Ladzinski, Jo Writers Fantasy, more books please, Naseem Jamnia, Publishers Weekly, review, the bruising of qilwa

Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia’s fantastic debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA elicits rave reviews from Jo Ladzinski on their Jo Writers Fantasy blog and at More Books Please. Publishers Weekly reports that in her keynote speech for Children’s Institute 10, Charlie Jane Anders gave the book a shout out.

Cover for THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia — Cover by Elizabeth Story

Dense, nuanced, with characters who are trying their best in a complex cultural and political framework that ponders what trying one’s best on behalf of themselves and those around them.
Jo Writers Fantasy

Overall, this was a fantastic way to be inclusive and tell a unique story. However, I think authors should note how to handle pronouns from book. This was fantastic, and I would love to read more from Naseem Jamnia!
More Books Please

In addition to sharing anecdotes and writing advice, Anders boosted other SFF authors. She directed attendees to her Goodreads site and recommended Maggie Tokuda-Hall (The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea), Naseem Jamnia (THE BRUISING OF QILWA), Neil Cochrane (The Story of the Hundred Promises), and Megan Giddings (The Women Could Fly). Her talk, both genuine and generous, received a standing ovation from the audience.
Publisher’s Weekly

July 23, 2022

Happy birthday to the amazing Charlie Jane Anders

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Writer, editor, and commentator Charlie Jane Anders established herself as a major literary force with the lauded first novel Choir Boy (2005), which won the prestigious Lambda Literary Award and was an Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction finalist. Her first speculative fiction novel All the Birds in the Sky (2016) won the Nebula, Locus, and Crawford Awards. Time magazine placed the novel at No. 5 on its “Top 10 Novels” of 2016 and later selected it as one of its “100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time.” The City in the Middle of the Night (2019) garnered a Locus Award as well as a Clarke Award nomination. Anders’ has produced two volumes of the young adult series Unstoppable (Victories Greater Than Death [2021; Locus Award winner], Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak [2022]).

Anders’ many short stories include the Hugo Award winner “Six Months, Three Days (2011)” and the Sturgeon Award winner “Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue (2017).” These and others were collected in Six Months, Three Days, Five Others (2017) and Even Greater Mistakes (2021). In honor of the publisher’s 20th anniversary in 2011, Tachyon produced a chapbook of “Six Months, Three Days.”

Alongside Annalee Newitz, Anders founded the influential and popular blog IO9, started Other magazine, co-edited the anthology She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology & Other Nerdy Stuff (2006), and co-hosts the multi-Hugo award winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. She has been a juror for the Otherwise Award and Lambda Literary Award. Anders emcees and organizes the long-running San Francisco-based monthly reading series “Writers with Drinks.”

Her fiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, McSweeney’s, Mother Jones, Boston Review, Tor.com, Tin House, Teen Vogue, Conjunctions, Wired Magazine, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Lightspeed Magazine, Catamaran Literary Reader, ZYZZYVA, and many others. Anders’ TED Talk, “Go Ahead, Dream About the Future” has been viewed more than two million times.

All of us at Tachyon, wish the extraordinary Charlie Jane a happy birthday. Take the day off, will ya. You deserve it!

July 15, 2022

Meet Tachyon publisher Jacob Weisman and managing editor Jill Roberts and authors Charlie Jane Anders and Kimberly Unger at 2022 San Francisco Writers Conference

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Tachyon publisher Jacob Weisman, managing editor Jill Roberts, Kimberly Unger, and Keynote Speaker Charlie Jane Anders are all participating in the 2022 San Francisco Writers Conference, July 21-24 at Hyatt Regency, 5 Embarcardero, San Francisco.

The inaugural San Francisco Writers Conference was held February 15-16, 2004, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, under the direction of Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada. The 3rd through 15th conferences were held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. In 2019, the SFWC moved to the Hyatt Regency San Francisco at the Embarcadero.

The conference is held each President’s Day weekend in mid-February (except for the 2021 SFWC which was cancelled due to Covid and the 2022 SFWC which was postponed to July 21-24 because of Covid). The SFWC has expanded to a four-day event and it now starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday.

In addition to the main conference, there are pre/postMaster Classes that are open to the public, an exhibition hall, a YA/children’s session for students, and free open-to-the-public events. Events in addition to the conference include the San Francisco Writing for Change and year-round writing classes held at Mechanics’ Institute.
The SFWC Facts

The Extractionist — Covers by Elizabeth Story

Tachyon folk SFWC event schedule

Saturday

10:15-11:15 AM

Writing in the Metaverse: Try to Keep Up

with Kimberly Unger

11:30 AM-12:45 PM

Lunch & Keynote #2

with Charlie Jane Anders & Annalee Newitz

2:15-3:15 PM

So you Want to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, eh?

with Ken Bebelle, Kimberly Unger, Julia Vee, Jacob Weisman, and Moderator: Jill Roberts

April 13, 2021

Join Elly Bangs and Charlie Jane Anders at Mysterious Galaxy as they celebrate the release of Bangs’ spectacular debut novel UNITY

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On Tuesday, April 21 at 7PM PT, Mysterious Galaxy hosts the book birthday for Elly Bangs’ incredibly memorable debut UNITY with conversation between Bangs and the Hugo Award-winning Charlie Jane Anders.

October 21, 2020

Tachyon tidbits featuring Daniel Pinkwater, Peter S. Beagle, Nalo Hopkinson, Brandon Sanderson, Charlie Jane Anders, Michael Swanwick, and Cory Doctorow

Rick Klaw blog adventures of a dwergish girl, all the birds in the sky, brandon sanderson, brown girl in the ring, Charlie Jane Anders, cory doctorow, daniel pinkwater, interview, kids bookbuzz, michael swanwick, mistborn, mythaxis review, nalo hopkinson, peter s beagle, review, tais teng, the 100 best fantasy books of all time, the last unicorn, time, torforge, youtube 0

The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles and authors from around the web.

At KIDS BOOKBUZZ, Zara – Age 11 enjoys Daniel Pinkwater’s ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL.

I think that people ages from seven to one hundred and one could read ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL. It is a great book for everybody! Also, if you like fun adventure books, along with some humor and fun facts! I would definitely recommend this book, so go buy it!!

Cover by Aaron Renier
Design by Elizabeth Story

TIME’s The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time includes Peter S. Beagle, Nalo Hopkinson, Brandon Sanderson, and Charlie Jane Anders.

With a panel of leading fantasy authors—N.K. Jemisin, Neil Gaiman, Sabaa Tahir, Tomi Adeyemi, Diana Gabaldon, George R.R. Martin, Cassandra Clare and Marlon James—TIME presents the most engaging, inventive and influential works of fantasy fiction, in chronological order beginning in the 9th century

The book’s charm lies in the ways it defies fantasy convention. In this cult classic, written in lyrical prose and rife with both whimsical humor and philosophical ruminations on what it means to be human, Beagle spins a quasi-medieval fairy tale that remains timeless. —*Megan McCluskey*

A hybrid of sci-fi, fantasy, eye-popping horror and Afro-Caribbean lore, the eloquent *Brown Girl in the Ring* is a true original—and the savior at its center is a beacon of strength in the body of a young single mother. —*Judy Berman*

The detail with which Sanderson explores the hows and whys of allomancy in the novel, setting up a crescendo of action and adventure by its end, is a solid illustration of his own “First Law of Magics,” which posits that a writer’s capacity to resolve a story’s conflict using magic is directly correlated with readers’ understanding of how that magic works. —*Cate Matthews*

The burgeoning romance brims with eccentricities, but the true fun of Charlie Jane Anders’ Nebula Award-winning novel is its blend of the fantasy and science fiction genres. Anders reveals an intersection full of possibilities. —*Annabel Gutterman*

Tais Teng for MYTHAXIS REVIEW interviews Michael Swanwick.

TT: Some blockbuster fantasy writers are clearly paladins of Tolkien. I get the impression that you belong to a quite different tribe, harkening back to a time when each fantasy novel was one of a kind. Hope-in-the-Mist (which I read recently thanks to your glowing recommendation), The Night Lands, Gormenghast, A Voyage to Arcturus and The Gods of Pegana come to mind.

What are the novels and authors that inspired you when you just had started writing? Or better, when you yearned to become a writer but hadn’t sold a word yet?

MS: As a boy, I was determined to be a scientist. Nothing could be surer. Then, at age sixteen, Tolkien turned me into a writer. I read The Fellowship of the Ring over one long, sleepless night and that was it, I knew what I was going to be. This was before commercial fantasy was a genre, so I had to hunt out fantasy works, which were few and far between. So I read everything from E. R. Eddison’s Mistress of Mistresses to John Jakes’ Brak the Barbarian (very highly not recommended), the books you mention most definitely included. This imprinted on me the idea that great fantasy must necessarily be different from everything else and written in imitation of nobody.

I’ve never gotten over this conviction.

Also, back in the 1980s, I was on the Nebula Award Jury, which was, for reasons that made sense at the time, tasked with adding a single worthy but neglected work to every category on the final award ballot. We made a valiant but futile attempt to read everything published in genre that year and in so doing I read so much fantasy written in lockstep with the common expectation of what it should be that I developed a revulsion for it.

To sum it all up, I love fantasy the way you love your firstborn. You have such high expectations for it that any failure to live up to them is a disappointment. If it’s not astonishingly good, I’m not going to much like it.

For TORFORGE via YOUTUBE, Cory Doctorow discusses writing.

July 29, 2020

Tachyon well represented at CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention

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Many Tachyon authors, artists, and editors including Charlie Jane Anders, Ellen Datlow, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, John Picacio, and Carrie Vaughn are participating in CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention (July 29-August 2).

The legendary event, held annually since since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during World War II), celebrates science fiction. This years convention features Guests of Honor Greg Broadmore, Larry Dixon, Mercedes Lackey, George R. R. Martin. and Rose Mitchell.

Due to the worldwide pandemic, CoNZealand has had to move online. So instead of going to Wellington, New Zealand for a Worldcon, we on the CoNZealand committee are working hard to bring the Worldcon directly to you. The virtual CoNZealand will be, in many ways, an experiment in how to adapt to a future which science fiction writers may have predicted but science fiction fans did not expect.

CoNZealand offers a massive selection of virtual readings and panels.

June 30, 2020

Tachyon tidbits featuring Ellen Datlow, John Picacio, Charlie Jane Anders, Kameron Hurley, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Tim Powers, and Brandon Sanderson

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The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles and authors from around the web.

LOCUS MAGAZINE announced the winners of their annual awards with Ellen Datlow nabbing the Best Editor and John Picacio for Best Artist. Check out LOCUS for the complete award list. Congratulations to all the winners.

Congratulations to Charlie Jane Anders (The City in the Middle of the Night) and Kameron Hurley (The Light Brigade) for making the 34th Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist.

The shortlist for the 34th Arthur C. Clarke Award is:

The City in the Middle of the Night – Charlie Jane Anders
The Light Brigade – Kameron Hurley
A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine
The Old Drift – Namwali Serpell
Cage of Souls – Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Last Astronaut — David Wellington

GALAXY PRESS shared the news: Writers and Illustrators of the Future Announces a Combined Event with the 36th and 37th Annual Award-Winners in 2021. Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Tim Powers, and Brandon Sanderson number among the judges for the annual.

As the top names in the science fiction and fantasy world, Contest judges include Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, David Farland, Eric Flint, Brian Herbert, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Katherine Kurtz, Todd McCaffrey, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Nnedi Okorafor, Tim Powers, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Brandon Sanderson, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, and Sean Williams. Illustrator judges include Laura Freas Beraha, Echo and Lazarus Chernik, Ciruelo, Vincent Di Fate, Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Craig Elliott, Larry Elmore, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephan Martiniere, Gary Meyer, Mike Perkins, Sergey Poyarkov, Rob Prior, Dan dos Santos, Shaun Tan, and Stephen Youll.

Every quarter, three writers and three illustrators are selected by a panel of leading authors and artists of science fiction and fantasy. With no entry fee and judging done on an anonymous basis, the criterion is strictly merit. Beside first time publication, benefits include over $30,000 in cash prizes and royalties, a week-long workshop with top professionals of the genre as well as book signings, radio, and TV interviews organized by the Contest administrators to assist the winners in launching their careers

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Tachyon Publications

Charlie Jane Anders

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