Octavia Butler – FULL CONTACT NERD

Speculative Fiction anthology – “New Suns” (Solaris, 2019) – Nisi Shawl interview

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2CKiHVT

Nisi Shawl has written and edited speculative fiction for years and recently won the 2020 Locus Award for best anthology for her edited work New Suns. We spoke about the book, winning the award, the difficulties non-white authors face in the publishing industry, and about writing and editing in general.

0:42 – Nisi talks about how she felt about winning the 2020 Locus award for best anthology.

1:30 – Nisi talks about how the anthology was developed.

2:42 – Nisi talks about how she chose the stories she used in the anthology.

4:20 – Nisi talks about the process of editing the anthology.

5:45 – Nisi talks about how adult the material is in the anthology.

7:00 – Nisi talks about the various times of stories found in the anthology.

9:34 – Nisi talks about writing by non-white authors.

11:25 – Nisi talks about publishing support for non-white authors.

12:55 – Nisi talks about ways within which the industry can support non-white authors.

16:08 – Nisi talks about gender issues within publishing.

17:48 – Nisi talks about other kinds of feedback within the publishing industry.

20:59 – Nisi talks about social media in pushing change.

22:42 – Nisi talks about the nationalities of the authors in the book.

25:08 – Nisi talks about the lengths of the stories in the anthology.

26:26 – Nisi talks about the works that inspire her and works she enjoys.

28:47 – Nisi talks about her love of Outlander. She also gets into the importance of politics within the show.

34:35 – Nisi talks how she approaches the editing process.

37:38 – Nisi talks about she approaches giving editorial changes.

38:13 – Nisi talks about other anthologies she’s edited.

40:04 – Nisi talks about her editing work over time.

40:59 – Nisi talks about her approach to writing.

42:01 – Nisi talks about writer and editing interactions.

44:04 – Nisi talks about self-publishing.

46:10 – Nisi talks about past jobs she had apart from writing and editing.

47:14 – Nisi talks her desire to end world hunger.

49:07 – Nisi talks about how she got LeVar Burton to write the introduction for New Suns.

51:21 – Nisi talks about other non-white authors who should have as much notice as Octavia Butler such as Samuel Delaney and Charles Saunders.

53:44 – Nisi can be found at nisishawl.com.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2CKiHVT

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/New-Suns/Nisi-Shawl/9781781085783

http://nisishawl.com/

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Nisi Shawl

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, fantasy, writer, editor, anthology, fiction, tags: anthology, post-apocalyptic, future, historical, Octavia Butler, gender, sexuality, flash fiction, Everfair, Middlemarch, Outlander, glaucoma, Battlestar Galactica, time traveler, Scotland, British Empire, politics, ursula Le Guin, world hunger, twilight zone, Levar Burton, Library of America, Samuel Delaney, Charles Saunders, Gloria Naylor

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2CKiHVT

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Film history – “What Price Hollywood?” (University Press of Kentucky, 2020) – Elyce Helford interview

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Check the book out here https://amzn.to/38gJft7

Dr. Elyce Helford has spent years, studying, writing on, and teaching popular culture. She’s studied and written about anime, Octavia Butler and now most recently on the director George Cukor. She talks about the queer and gender-bending aspects of this early director’s work.

0:42 – Elyce talks about how she got into studying George Cukor.

4:53 – Elyce talks about how actresses felt like they good trust Cukor. She also talks about the homophobic actors who didn’t want to work with Cukor.

8:57 – We talk about how Hollywood prizes success and money and how Cukor dealt with the studios.

12:20 – Elyce talks about how few close friends Cukor had in Hollywood.

13:58 – Elyce talks about how the big Hollywood moguls were Eastern European Jewish. However Cukor was Jewish but his roots were in Western Europe.

16:29 – Elyce talks about his lack of influence on other directors despite his huge success.

20:49 – Elyce talks about Cukor’s stage experience and voice coach work.

22:14 – Elyce talks about how Cukor adapted to Hollywood.

27:17 – Elyce talks about Cukor’s dating life.

29:41 – Elyce talks about whether Cukor could have pushed boundaries in Hollywood.

36:05 – Elyce talks about whether Cukor had the power to push boundaries.

40:09 – Elyce talks about how she gathered information on Cukor.

49:38 – Elyce talks about Cukor’s output as a director.

52:24 – Elyce talks about whether Cukor might have identified as a woman.

56:23 – Elyce talks about how surprising it was to find so much to write about this subject.

1:00:00 – Elyce talks about the various subjects she’s studied including manga and anime.

1:03:10 – Elyce talks about trying to avoid Cukor’s answers on his own personality.

1:05:16 – Elyce discusses the importance of what the creator was intending to produce versus wht the viewer interprets.

1:06:47 – Elyce talks about having had breast cancer and turning to digital art for a time.

1:19:53 – Elyce talks about the past use of ethnicity as mysterious and dangerous.

1:21:44 – Elyce can be found at elycehelford.com and on twitter @elycehelford

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/38gJft7

https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813179292/what-price-hollywood/

http://www.elycehelford.com/

https://twitter.com/elycehelford

Guests: Elyce Rae Helford

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Philadelphia Story, George Cukor, Katherine Hepburn, bisexuality, homosexuality, drag, Octavia Butler, gender, homophobia, Jewish, Gone With The Wind, Billy Wilder, long take, Hitchcock, theater, HUAC, censorship, women’s director, noir, queer, trans, Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz, Hitchcock, gaslighting, academy award, Othello, lavender marriage, musicals, Star Trek, digital art, classic Hollywood, directing

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/38gJft7

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.