Fearless Women in SF&F
***Mary Kowal is no longer able to attend this year's Wisconsin Book Festival due to illness***
Three of the most exciting and, of course, fearless women writing today discuss the state of writing (and reading) Science Fiction and Fantasy.
About The Calculating Stars & The Fated Sky: Perfect for fans of the hit book and movie Hidden Figures, this new duology from Mary Robinette Kowal expands on her Hugo Award-winning novelette “Lady Astronaut of Mars.” Following The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky brings the mathmetician, pilot, and “lady astronaut” Elma York all the way to Mars on her new mission. The Calculating Stars introduced Kowal’s alternate 1950’s America where a meteorite causes a climate cataclysm. The International Aerospace Coalition draws on every available talent to colonize space before the earth becomes uninhabitable — and Elma York, a WASP pilot and mathematician, makes sure women have the opportunity to become astronauts too.
About City of Broken Magic (due out November 2018): If you think of The Hurt Locker, but replace bombs with magical weapons, you’ll have a sense of City of Broken Magic, the distinctive debut novel from Mirah Bolender. Blending elements of adrenaline-charged military thrillers with immersive and atmospheric fantasy like City of Stairs, debut author Mirah Bolender submerges readers in a world where non-magical humans battle ancient weapons not of their own making. Five hundred years ago, magi created a weapon they couldn’t control: an infestation that ate magic—and anything else it came into contact with. Only an elite team of non-magical humans, known as sweepers, can defuse and dispose of infestations before they spread. Most die before they finish training. Laura, a new team member, has stayed alive longer than most. Now she’s the last—and only—sweeper standing between the city and a massive infestation.
About The Phoenix Empress: Arsenault Rivera’s epic fantasy debut The Tiger’s Daughter was recently published to much critical acclaim and was named to the October 2017 Indie Next List. Her talent has been compared to Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik. The sequel, The Phoenix Empress continues the story of the powerful Empress O Shizuka as she bands together with fierce warrior Shefali to fight off immortal and seemingly unbeatable demons threatening their lands.
Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal is the 2008 recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, a multiple Hugo winner, and a frequent finalist for the Nebula and Locus Awards. Kowal was the previous vice-president and secretary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, currently co-hosts the Writing Excuses podcast with Brandon Sanderson, and organized the "Month of Letters" campaign. She lives in Chicago with her husband Rob and nine manual typewriters.
Mirah Bolender
Mirah Bolender graduated with majors in creative writing and art in May 2014. A lifelong traveler, she has traveled and studied overseas, most notably in Japan, and these experiences leak into her work. City of Broken Magic is her debut fantasy novel. She currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
K Arsenault Rivera
K Arsenault Rivera was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, but moved to New York when she was a toddler. While not managing a nutritional supplement store in Brooklyn, K is an avid participant in the role-playing community. Her adult fantasy debut was The Tiger’s Daughter. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her partner.