Nicola Griffith's Blog, page 87
August 18, 2014
Accessing the Future: Disability in SF
Every now and again I come across a project I really want to support. Here's one:
Accessing the Future
, an SF anthology exploring disability and how it intersects with other factors, edited by Kathryn Allan and Djibril al-Ayad.
Disability—and those other factors—is something that concerns me deeply.1
Kathryn and Djibril are raising money at Indiegogo. They need your help. I hope you'll get behind and push. Meanwhile, here's Djibril to tell you a bit more about their goals (note: the footnotes are mine).
Disability in SF: support a new anthology
Djibril al-Ayad
Accessing the Future will be an anthology of disability-themed science fiction stories, co-edited by Kathryn Allan and Djibril al-Ayad for Futurefire.net Publishing. We want your help to raise the funds to produce it.
Why a disability-themed anthology?
Disability has always been one of the axes of privilege in fiction that Futurefire.net cares about. Issues around disability are poorly treated not only in fiction but in most aspects of our society. People with disabilities are still among the most marginalized and financially disadvantaged, and are often smeared as "malingerers" or "spongers."
In too much science fiction, especially cyberpunk or space opera, we see disabled characters "cured" by the miracle of modern technology (or "escape" their body into the freedom of cyberspace2). We can do better than this. Along with other, intersecting oppressions, disability needs to be addressed in science fiction.
Why address these issues via scifi?
Speculative fiction has freedom to be "unrealistic," utopian, imagine futures or alternate realities where prejudices and rules of our own world do not necessarily exist. In a secondary world, with invented laws of physics or magic, lines between realistic narrative and parable or “message” are blurred and multivalent. Every literary image has a cacophony of possible readings, conditioned by reader expectations via the shared perceptual filters of our society and genre. When you see a protagonist in mirrorshades talking about meatspace, you know what’s coming. Or you think you do, until the author slips you a queer ball.
These decisions impact the story we want to tell, whether in a subversive postcolonial agenda or a conservative "apolitical" romp. This may mean being overtly political, but the alternative is to be covertly so, and audiences aren’t stupid. If this means we find ourselves preaching to the choir, that's okay. People who already agree with us, especially when we’re talking about under-represented voices, deserve to read good, politically palatable stories too, to be reminded that they’re not alone, and the good fight is worth fighting.
And hey, having a choir at all in these circumstances is a good problem to have, right?
____
Support Futurefire.net’s latest anthology of disability-themed SF by pre-ordering or picking up one of the perks at igg.me/at/accessingfuture
1 It's a rant, yep. I do that sometimes.
2 Turns out I've ranted about this, too, in "Writing from the Body."
Disability—and those other factors—is something that concerns me deeply.1
Kathryn and Djibril are raising money at Indiegogo. They need your help. I hope you'll get behind and push. Meanwhile, here's Djibril to tell you a bit more about their goals (note: the footnotes are mine).
Disability in SF: support a new anthology
Djibril al-Ayad
Accessing the Future will be an anthology of disability-themed science fiction stories, co-edited by Kathryn Allan and Djibril al-Ayad for Futurefire.net Publishing. We want your help to raise the funds to produce it. Why a disability-themed anthology?
Disability has always been one of the axes of privilege in fiction that Futurefire.net cares about. Issues around disability are poorly treated not only in fiction but in most aspects of our society. People with disabilities are still among the most marginalized and financially disadvantaged, and are often smeared as "malingerers" or "spongers."
In too much science fiction, especially cyberpunk or space opera, we see disabled characters "cured" by the miracle of modern technology (or "escape" their body into the freedom of cyberspace2). We can do better than this. Along with other, intersecting oppressions, disability needs to be addressed in science fiction.
Why address these issues via scifi?
Speculative fiction has freedom to be "unrealistic," utopian, imagine futures or alternate realities where prejudices and rules of our own world do not necessarily exist. In a secondary world, with invented laws of physics or magic, lines between realistic narrative and parable or “message” are blurred and multivalent. Every literary image has a cacophony of possible readings, conditioned by reader expectations via the shared perceptual filters of our society and genre. When you see a protagonist in mirrorshades talking about meatspace, you know what’s coming. Or you think you do, until the author slips you a queer ball.
These decisions impact the story we want to tell, whether in a subversive postcolonial agenda or a conservative "apolitical" romp. This may mean being overtly political, but the alternative is to be covertly so, and audiences aren’t stupid. If this means we find ourselves preaching to the choir, that's okay. People who already agree with us, especially when we’re talking about under-represented voices, deserve to read good, politically palatable stories too, to be reminded that they’re not alone, and the good fight is worth fighting.
And hey, having a choir at all in these circumstances is a good problem to have, right?
____
Support Futurefire.net’s latest anthology of disability-themed SF by pre-ordering or picking up one of the perks at igg.me/at/accessingfuture
1 It's a rant, yep. I do that sometimes.
2 Turns out I've ranted about this, too, in "Writing from the Body."
August 11, 2014
Splendid full-page review in BBC History Magazine
Wow, the September issue of BBC History Magazine has a splendid full-page Nick Rennison review of Hild:
This is a powerful, clever novel. Griffith illuminates the so-called Dark Ages, reconstructing an often alien historical world with great precision, and in Hild has created a sympathetic, complex character to act as a guide.
If anyone recognises the stained-glass image used in the magazine please let me know. I can't place it. Sorry for the poor quality; I don't have a link and this is a grab from a scan.
While I croon and chortle over Hild's splendiferousness you could do worse than amuse yourself with one of the three other novels they mention in the review sidebar: Conscience of the King (Alfred Duggan), Credo (Melvyn Bragg) and The Bone Thief (V.M. Whitworth). Or you could get the magazine itself, stuffed (apparently—I haven't seen it) with information on Northumbrian kings. Enjoy.
ETA: The stained-glass is from Sneaton. (Thanks, Barbara.)
This is a powerful, clever novel. Griffith illuminates the so-called Dark Ages, reconstructing an often alien historical world with great precision, and in Hild has created a sympathetic, complex character to act as a guide. If anyone recognises the stained-glass image used in the magazine please let me know. I can't place it. Sorry for the poor quality; I don't have a link and this is a grab from a scan.
While I croon and chortle over Hild's splendiferousness you could do worse than amuse yourself with one of the three other novels they mention in the review sidebar: Conscience of the King (Alfred Duggan), Credo (Melvyn Bragg) and The Bone Thief (V.M. Whitworth). Or you could get the magazine itself, stuffed (apparently—I haven't seen it) with information on Northumbrian kings. Enjoy.
ETA: The stained-glass is from Sneaton. (Thanks, Barbara.)
August 9, 2014
A list of bookshops in the UK
I've pointed readers before to this international list of independent bookstores. Now I've finally got around to a UK-specific list.
These are booksellers in the UK, including mini-chains, where you should either be able to find Hild or they'll order it for you. (I'm assuming you all know where your local Waterstones is: they'll order the book, too.) The organisation is a little eccentric (especially the London section). I decided not to break things up by country or county, just alphabetically by city. Theh links are eccentric, too: some bookshops seem to have been taken over by a mini-chain but not changed their URL—assuming they'd bothered with a website in the first place (I've had to resort to Twitter and Facebook links here and there).
There are some lovely-looking bookshops here. No doubt I could add more. This list is far from complete: a mix of info from friends, readers, and my publisher. I'm relying on you to help me fill in gaps. What's your favourite bookshop in the UK?
* Aberdeen: Blackwell's
* Aldeburgh: Aldeburgh Bookshop Ltd.
* Banchory: Yeadons
* Bath: Mr B's Emporium* Bath: Topping and Co Booksellers Ltd
* Brighton and Hove: City Books
* Bristol: Blackwell's* Bristol: Foyles
* Cambridge: Heffers Academic and General
* Carlisle: Bookends
* Chepstow: Chepstow Bookshop
* Chipping Norton: Jaffe and Neal Ltd
* Colchester: Red Lion Books Ltd
* Edinburgh: Blackwell's
* Edinburgh: Word Power
* Elgin: Yeadons
* Ely: Topping and Co. Booksellers Ltd
* Exeter: Blackwell's
* Falmouth: Falmouth Bookseller
* Guisborough: The Guisborough Bookshop Ltd
* Haverfordwest: Victoria Bookshop Limited
* Hexham: Cogito
* Ilkley: The Grove Bookshop
* Keswick: Bookends
* Ledbury: Ledbury Books and Maps
* Leeds: Blackwell's
* Leeds: Radish
* London: Blackwell's (x2)
* London: Forbidden Planet
* London: Foyles Ltd (x many)
* London: Daunt Books (x6)* London: The British Library Bookshop * London: Primrose Hill Bookshop
* London: Owl Bookshop
* London: Muswell Hill Bookshop * London: The Riverside Bookshop Ltd
* London: Belgravia Bookshop
* London: John Sandoe (Books) Ltd
* London: Slightly Foxed* London: Barnes Bookshop* London: Village Books
* Ludlow: Castle Bookshop
* Lytham-St-Anne's: Plackitt and Booth Booksellers
* Monmouth: Rossiter Books
* Newcastle: Blackwell's
* Norwich: Jarrold and Sons Limited
* Oxford: Blackwell's
* Penarth: Windsor Bookshop
* Penzance: Edge of the World Bookshop
* Petersfield: One Tree Books
* Petworth: The Petworth Bookshop Ltd
* Plymouth: University Bookseller
* Richmond: Kew Books Ltd
* Ross-on-Wye: Rossiter Books
* Saltaire: Salt's Mill
* Sherborne: Winstone Books
* Spalding: Bookmark
* St Peter's Port: The Lexicon Ltd
* St Ives: The St Ives Bookseller
* Tetbury: The Yellow Lighted Bookshop
* Totnes: Totnes Bookshop
* Whitby: Whitby Bookshop
* Woodford Green: Village Bookshop
These are booksellers in the UK, including mini-chains, where you should either be able to find Hild or they'll order it for you. (I'm assuming you all know where your local Waterstones is: they'll order the book, too.) The organisation is a little eccentric (especially the London section). I decided not to break things up by country or county, just alphabetically by city. Theh links are eccentric, too: some bookshops seem to have been taken over by a mini-chain but not changed their URL—assuming they'd bothered with a website in the first place (I've had to resort to Twitter and Facebook links here and there).
There are some lovely-looking bookshops here. No doubt I could add more. This list is far from complete: a mix of info from friends, readers, and my publisher. I'm relying on you to help me fill in gaps. What's your favourite bookshop in the UK?
* Aberdeen: Blackwell's
* Aldeburgh: Aldeburgh Bookshop Ltd.
* Banchory: Yeadons
* Bath: Mr B's Emporium* Bath: Topping and Co Booksellers Ltd
* Brighton and Hove: City Books
* Bristol: Blackwell's* Bristol: Foyles
* Cambridge: Heffers Academic and General
* Carlisle: Bookends
* Chepstow: Chepstow Bookshop
* Chipping Norton: Jaffe and Neal Ltd
* Colchester: Red Lion Books Ltd
* Edinburgh: Blackwell's
* Edinburgh: Word Power
* Elgin: Yeadons
* Ely: Topping and Co. Booksellers Ltd
* Exeter: Blackwell's
* Falmouth: Falmouth Bookseller
* Guisborough: The Guisborough Bookshop Ltd
* Haverfordwest: Victoria Bookshop Limited
* Hexham: Cogito
* Ilkley: The Grove Bookshop
* Keswick: Bookends
* Ledbury: Ledbury Books and Maps
* Leeds: Blackwell's
* Leeds: Radish
* London: Blackwell's (x2)
* London: Forbidden Planet
* London: Foyles Ltd (x many)
* London: Daunt Books (x6)* London: The British Library Bookshop * London: Primrose Hill Bookshop
* London: Owl Bookshop
* London: Muswell Hill Bookshop * London: The Riverside Bookshop Ltd
* London: Belgravia Bookshop
* London: John Sandoe (Books) Ltd
* London: Slightly Foxed* London: Barnes Bookshop* London: Village Books
* Ludlow: Castle Bookshop
* Lytham-St-Anne's: Plackitt and Booth Booksellers
* Monmouth: Rossiter Books
* Newcastle: Blackwell's
* Norwich: Jarrold and Sons Limited
* Oxford: Blackwell's
* Penarth: Windsor Bookshop
* Penzance: Edge of the World Bookshop
* Petersfield: One Tree Books
* Petworth: The Petworth Bookshop Ltd
* Plymouth: University Bookseller
* Richmond: Kew Books Ltd
* Ross-on-Wye: Rossiter Books
* Saltaire: Salt's Mill
* Sherborne: Winstone Books
* Spalding: Bookmark
* St Peter's Port: The Lexicon Ltd
* St Ives: The St Ives Bookseller
* Tetbury: The Yellow Lighted Bookshop
* Totnes: Totnes Bookshop
* Whitby: Whitby Bookshop
* Woodford Green: Village Bookshop
August 8, 2014
Essay, review, coming soon...
Two more blog tour things:
An essay I wrote on the story behind Hild: Freed By ConstraintA long review of the book: Adventures in the 7th CenturyThere have been other reviews on the web but as they're neither from the official blog tour nor from a major journal I'll spare you. Some are a bit, hmmm, grumpy: not queer enough, not medieval enough, not plotty enough, etc.
Coming soon: a post about a crowd-funding campaign for an anthology worth supporting, Accessing the Future. Access matters to me.
An essay I wrote on the story behind Hild: Freed By ConstraintA long review of the book: Adventures in the 7th CenturyThere have been other reviews on the web but as they're neither from the official blog tour nor from a major journal I'll spare you. Some are a bit, hmmm, grumpy: not queer enough, not medieval enough, not plotty enough, etc.
Coming soon: a post about a crowd-funding campaign for an anthology worth supporting, Accessing the Future. Access matters to me.
August 6, 2014
If you crossed Arya Stark with Thomas Cromwell...
In black and white for change because change is good...More stuff's gone up in support of the UK publication of Hild. Enjoy!10 things about Hild, the woman
What we do and don't know. What I made up...
Hild's Voice
How I figured out how to write this book.
"If you crossed Arya Stark with Thomas Cromwell and Julian of Norwich, you would have an approximation of Hild." No link. I just really liked this quote from Hodderscape.
Hebrew "Gods and Genre"
The Hebrew translation of my post about Thor is up at Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy website
The Tattoed Book interview
"What's gratified me most is hearing from readers how real it all felt..."
August 4, 2014
New post up at my research blog
I've just posted a long piece over at my research blog about Anglo-Saxon origin stories.
It was a real challenge to write one particular scene in Hild because I had to allow her to believe something that today we don't think is true. But to be true to the experiment I'd set myself—to find out who Hild really was by recreating the seventh century as she would have known it and then growing her inside—I had to let her believe it and behave according.
The Yffings told themselves a story of how and when they came to England. In my blog post I point out all the ways in which this story isn't true. Hild will figure this out in Book Two...
It was a real challenge to write one particular scene in Hild because I had to allow her to believe something that today we don't think is true. But to be true to the experiment I'd set myself—to find out who Hild really was by recreating the seventh century as she would have known it and then growing her inside—I had to let her believe it and behave according.
The Yffings told themselves a story of how and when they came to England. In my blog post I point out all the ways in which this story isn't true. Hild will figure this out in Book Two...
August 1, 2014
Stay as an ebook in the UK
From: Laura
I'm looking for the ebook version of Stay but it doesn't appear to be listed on Amazon UK. Is it only available in paperback?
Sadly, yes, Stay is only available in the UK in paperback. The Aud books have never been officially published there, just imported from the US. Clearly HarperCollins (who published The Blue Place) and Riverhead/Penguin ( Always ) feel able to offer the Kindle version but Vintage/Random House (Stay) don't. Why? I don't know. A lot about publishing does not make sense to me.
Being able to get two of the books in digital form but not the third is so far from ideal it approaches the bizarre. This is currently out of my control. There's nothing I'd like more than to get the rights back to all three and publish them properly and as a coherent package all over the world. I'm working on it. As and when I get my own way on this I'll post the news here.
I am very proud of the Aud books but their publication has been a great frustration to me. One day I'll fix it. I'll probably fix it faster in the UK because here in the US it will require more money than I currently have available to buy back the territorial rights from three different publishers. But I have no idea of timeframes in either case.
Meanwhile, hey, at least there's the paperback.
July 31, 2014
Essays, rants, interviews, news
As Hild came out in the UK last week I've been busy writing stuff for other people's blogs. Here's a selection:
Who Owns SF? (also up on Book View Cafe later today)Gods and GenreEverything You Know About the Dark Ages is WrongTwo Thousand Years of History (includes a giveaway of the UK hardback)Keep the Money in the FamilyHild's VoiceTo Come Back IncreasedThere's more goodness scheduled. I'll keep you updated.
Meanwhile, Hild's made the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize longlist. (Operative word: loooong...) Go take a look.
Who Owns SF? (also up on Book View Cafe later today)Gods and GenreEverything You Know About the Dark Ages is WrongTwo Thousand Years of History (includes a giveaway of the UK hardback)Keep the Money in the FamilyHild's VoiceTo Come Back IncreasedThere's more goodness scheduled. I'll keep you updated.
Meanwhile, Hild's made the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize longlist. (Operative word: loooong...) Go take a look.
July 29, 2014
HILD on Not the Booker Prize long list
Hild
is on the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize long list. And i's a very long list. I'd say over 90. There's some good stuff, also some rubbish—mileage really does vary—including a couple on the official Booker Prize long list.
Only six books will be shortlisted. And here's the thing, you, yes you, the readers, get to decide which. To vote, you choose two of the long-listed novels (make sure they're from different publishers) and write a review for both in the comments on the post linked above. The more thoughtful the review, the better; the Guardian wants "something over 100 words."
The deadline is midnight (UK time) on Sunday, August 3.
As my publisher says: this will help build conversation around all the good books out there. Her favourite part of the terms and condition is 12. The author of the winning book will receive a Guardian mug. They may not want it, but there's nothing we can do about that. So go take a look. I wouldn't mind one of those mugs...
Only six books will be shortlisted. And here's the thing, you, yes you, the readers, get to decide which. To vote, you choose two of the long-listed novels (make sure they're from different publishers) and write a review for both in the comments on the post linked above. The more thoughtful the review, the better; the Guardian wants "something over 100 words."
The deadline is midnight (UK time) on Sunday, August 3.
As my publisher says: this will help build conversation around all the good books out there. Her favourite part of the terms and condition is 12. The author of the winning book will receive a Guardian mug. They may not want it, but there's nothing we can do about that. So go take a look. I wouldn't mind one of those mugs...
July 24, 2014
HILD is out today in the UK!
From Blackfriars/Little, Brown — 24th JuneHild is out today. You can buy it in hardback or ebook in the UK:
Foyles | Amazon | Waterstones | iTunes | Google | WordPower
and paperback or ebook in the rest of the English-speaking Commonwealth:
Apple iTunes | Amazon | Google Play | Kobo | JB Hi-Fi | Flipkart
If you still haven't got your US copy then, hey, you could wait for the paperback, due October 28, or see this long and luscious list of where to buy Hild, which includes many fabulous independent bookshops.
