N.K. Jemisin Brings Her World-Building to New York City

Goodreads: The City We Became begins your first series since the triple-Hugo-winning Broken Earth series. You’ve called this series an “emotional palate cleanser” as well as your “chance to have a little monstrous fun after the weight of the Broken Earth saga.” Tell us more about that.

N.K. Jemisin: Hilariously, as soon as I said I wanted to have a little monstrous fun and started mapping out my research against current events, I realized just how dire all this was probably going to be. I definitely tried to have fun–all these characters were great to work on, and there's nothing like trying to figure out the physics of wielding an umbrella on top of a moving cab–but I realized very early on that no amount of supernatural shellac was going to change the fundamental stakes.

I hope it's an enjoyable ride for readers like it was for me, but without taking topics like gentrification and white supremacy seriously, the story would ring a little hollow.

GR: As a resident of New York, why did you decide to set your new series in the city and to put the city in peril against a sinister ancient evil?

NKJ: On some level the location was a gimme–it's one of the most famous cities in the world and is no stranger to being menaced by all sorts of supernatural perils. But for anyone who lives here, the speed–and directions–in which the city is changing is always personal, especially for those who find themselves being edged out of their hometown, or that some people's idea of change has no room for those who can't meet a price tag. The evils don't always have to be sinister and ancient; plenty of them are clear and present.

GR: In The City We Became, NYC’s defenders embody the five boroughs. What was the most fun part about bringing these very distinct neighborhoods to life as characters? What was the most challenging or surprising part?

NKJ: The most rewarding and least fun part of the process was the research–this is the first time my research has been so directly related to real-world events, which was a fascinating process but also a new one. History is a messy business, and reading multiple perspectives of New York past was nothing compared to trying to sort out New York present. It was also the first time I've been able to directly visit the places I'm writing about, which was invaluable–and sometimes surprising. (When I went to Inwood Park in the middle of a weekday, I was the only soul in the place, which for anywhere in New York is oddly creepy.)

GR: This is the first book of a new trilogy. Can you give us any hints about what will come next for our gang of heroes? Will you stick with New York or explore the personifications of some other cities?

NKJ: This is definitely a New York trilogy, and this town will be the battleground–sometimes against the common enemy and sometimes closer to home. But New York has always attracted people from other places, and the city avatars are no different; New York doesn't stand alone.

GR: You’re known for your attention to world-building, even teaching workshops on how to create these fictional places. Can you tell us about your research and process? How has it evolved over time?

NKJ: Honestly, the thing that's evolved the most is how I'm able to talk about the process overall. It's one thing to know what your own story needs (research on Egyptian toilets for the Dreamblood duology–those are some very specific search terms) and another to be able to walk a room full of people through building a world from scratch in real time. In that way, it's been most effective as a tool to see how people understand storytelling as it happens to them.

GR: As the first author to ever win three consecutive Hugo Awards for best novel, how has that recognition changed your career? Or has it?

NKJ: I spent a lot of years at a day job as a career counselor, and one of the pieces of advice I had to give most often was that pinning too much significance on any one metric was dangerous–it sets you up for disappointment if you fail, but also if you succeed, because...what then? All you can hope for are projects you can throw yourself into. I'm lucky enough to have that, and I wouldn't dare speculate beyond it–I've counseled too many people otherwise, and they might see me!

GR: Since the publication of your debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in 2009, what do you think has changed in the sci-fi and fantasy genres?

NKJ: I think quite a bit has changed–but I'm not sure how much of that is the things that really need to change. There's been a lot of interesting movement in terms of the breadth of marketing categorization, and to some extent a blurring of audiences as things like YA fantasy become solidly mainstream titles.

However, behind the scenes publishing remains as overwhelmingly white as ever, and marginalized writers aren't afforded nearly the same level of opportunity. Some changes happen faster than others, I guess.

GR: As a world-builder and creator of humanity-ending evils, what’s your take on our current times? How much of that view is represented in your work?

NKJ: The Broken Earth trilogy exists to answer exactly this question–and then I went back to New York City, condensed cosmic evil into a gentrifying white lady, and started over. Mine aren't the most optimistic takes, but sometimes you have to call them like you see them.

GR: As a speculative fiction and comic book author, are there any pop culture events you’re fangirling out about now?

NKJ: I recently finished–and loved–HBO's Watchmen. Up next: I'm excited about the third season of Westworld, and I cannot wait to yell at my TV through a whole new season of panicked courtiers getting eaten by zombies in Kingdom.