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.

Caroline Stevermer interview about her fantasy novel “The Glass Magician” (Tor Books, 2020)

Caroline Stevermer interview about her fantasy novel “The Glass Magician”

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2LER41f

Interview Timeline

Caroline Stevermer writes historical fantasy and is best know for her Scholarly Magic series and River Rats. She recently published The Glass Magician a fantasy novel about magic and shapeshifting in gilded age New York. We discussed this work and her approach to writing.

0:35 – Caroline talks about why she wrote The Glass Magician.

2:35 – Caroline talks about the details of The Glass Magician.

4:24 – Caroline how the shapeshifting people deal with their powers.

5:57 – Caroline talks about the historical research she did for the novel.

9:23 – Caroline talks about researching mythology on shapeshifters.

10:17 – Caroline talks about works that inspired her work and the novel.

14:42 – Caroline talks a bit more about vaudeville books.

16:07 – Caroline talks about other works that have inspired her such as LoTR.

18:01 – Caroline talks about the musical feeling of the book.

20:30 – Caroline talks about the transformations in her novel and how she dealt with clothing on her characters.

22:42 – Caroline talks about how she approaches writing.

25:16 – Caroline talks about her approach to writing. One book she highlights is “Becoming a Writer” by Dorothea Brand.

31:00 – Caroline talks about having been an art history major and how it affected her writing.

32:05 – Caroline talks about being an underwriter.

34:21 – Caroline talks about having wanted to live in a city.

35:37 – Caroline talks about difficulties in getting books published quickly.

39:39 – Caroline is working on the sequel to the novel.

40:47 – Caroline can be found at carolinestevermer.com and on twitter @cstevermer3

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2LER41f

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781466820838

http://carolinestevermer.com/

https://twitter.com/cstevermer3

Contact Information

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 / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Caroline Stevermer

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: fantasy, writer, novel, novelist, fiction, swan lake, swan maidens, mythology, foxes, Chinese Zodiac, vaudeville, stage magicians, New York City, Carter Beats the Devil, magic, The Prestige, the Illusionist, world’s fair, Danube, Frank cullen, American Vaudeville museum, LOTR, Ursula le Guin, Tor

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2LER41f

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.