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| This is the discussion thread for the 2014 LGBT Speculative Fiction Challenge.
The nominations lists for the Lambda Literary Awards and the Gaylactic Awards are good places to look for LGBT-themed novels.
I'm going to be looking for more resources for lists of LGBT authors, but to get us started, this is a short list of ones that I know of:
Nicola Griffith
Clive Barker
Melissa Scott
Rachel Pollack
Lee Thomas
Joanna Russ |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | THIS is a good resource for lesbian sf. It hasn't been updated in quite awhile but there's still some great stuff listed.
I don't know if I'll be participating in this challenge. It's a grand idea - and definitely fits my reading interests - but I've already gone a wee bit crazy signing up for challenges! I shall ponder on it. |
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| A few others:
David Gerrold
Frank R. Robinson
Samuel R. Delaney
Nalo Hopkins
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Kelley Eskridge
Malinda Lo
Tanya Huff
Connie Wilkins
James Tiptree Jr (Alice B. Sheldon) |
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| Wikipedia has an LGBT SF list (despite the name on the link it is LGBT)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian_science_fiction
The tiptree awards at:
www.tiptree.org
are also a good resource.
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| Thanks, guys! I'm waiting to hear back from a buddy who writes LGBT spec fic, as he knows of lots of resources.
HRO, no worries, lol. I'd planned on doing no author repeats, much less choosing a single book to satisfy two lists, but eh, I don't think that's happening.
For anyone that wants to do the diversity trifecta and stack novels, Malinda Lo's Ash, Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads, and Octavia Butler's Fledgling fit the women, PoC, and LGBT challenges. IMO, so does N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon, though I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.
ETA: Justified, all of those authors have written at least one book that explores LGBT themes in a positive way, but I don't think all of them are LGBT authors - so not all of their books would necessarily qualify.
Edited by FeminineFantastique 2014-02-21 4:15 PM
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Location: Neither here...nor there | With a bit of research, I discovered I would be able to do this challenge without adding any additional books so....I'm in!
If anyone is looking for recommendations, I would encourage you to try Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. I read it last year for the WoGF challenge and it blew my mind. Great story, fabulous writing, and one of the most believable romantic relationships I've ever read. |
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| Sweet!
Yeah, only 3 of the 12 books I found for my LGBT list wouldn't easily satisfy another one of my 4 challenges (not including the women authors challenge, since I'm applying that to all of them).
As far as recommendations go, I read Nicola Griffith's Ammonite last month and it was bloody fantastic. This time I am reading her Hild.
Also, Hiromi Goto's The Kappa Child is another book that meets the diversity trifecta, though it's out of print.
Edited by FeminineFantastique 2014-02-21 6:56 PM
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| Actually I believe all of them are. The men all identify as gay and the women as lesbian except Sheldon who identified as bisexual. Which ones do you think don't qualify? |
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| My bad - I had a bit of brain flatulence. I mixed up a name on your list for another author who is, I'm pretty sure, LGBT, but not vocally so.
That's one of the things that made me revise the original challenge from LGBT authors to that plus LGBT-themed fiction, actually - authors that may be at varying stages of "out."
So, thread - any advice on what books to pick by Caitlin Kiernan and Nalo Hopkinson? I'm torn.
Edited by FeminineFantastique 2014-02-21 8:19 PM
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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA | I'd love to join this too, but I'm concerned about over-reaching as well. I plan on reading Samuel R Delaney's "Dhalgren" for the Grand Master Challenge. And I've been wanting to read Octavia Butler, Nicola Griffith and Charles de Lint. I I'll probably rearrange my other challenges to get some overlap.
I have a question for the creator of the challenge. I just read Deep Wizardry a few weeks ago for my Book Club. It's a YA fantasy novel. I wasn't that thrilled with the book. However, while it wasn't LGBT themed, the senior wizards who mentor the main characters are a gay couple. What astonished me the most was that the book was published in '85, which I thought was pretty early and progressive for putting positive LGBT characters in a YA book. And this book is the second in a series, so I think Tom and Carl also appeared in the first book in '83. So I'd like to include this in my challenge. Would you have any objections to this?
Lastly, Parallel Worlds Magazine might also be a source for ideas. They focus on books with LGBT and gender-identity themes. One of their reviewers has a review of Frankenstein in the WWE January poll. I always really enjoy her reviews. Here's a link to the site: http://www.parallelworldsmagazine.com/
Thanks for creating this challenge!
Steve |
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| Spoltz, works for me!
By LGBT-themed, by the way, we're talking main (or perhaps secondary) LGBT characters portrayed in a positive light. It doesn't have to be an "issues book," or a transformative society (with, say, all women), or whathaveyou, to fit.
And, yeah, YA from thirty years ago shifts things a bit, as well.
Butler and Griffith have written two of my favorite books ever! And the former's LGBT-themed work and most of the latter's novels fit into several challenge categories. |
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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA | Awesome, I'm in! |
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Location: UK | spoltz - 2014-02-22 5:19 AM
And this book is the second in a series, so I think Tom and Carl also appeared in the first book in '83.
They did, briefly. I just read the first one a few weeks ago.
Two of the best books I've read in recent months would fit this challenge: Slow River by Nicola Griffith and China Montain Zhang by Maureen McHugh. I didn't know much about either book going in, but really loved them both.
I don't think I'm going to rush into signing up for another challenge, though. |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | spoltz - 2014-02-22 12:19 AM What astonished me the most was that the book was published in '85, which I thought was pretty early and progressive for putting positive LGBT characters in a YA book.
I was a teen in the 80s and I don't really recall YA being a genre. There were a few authors who wrote on topics of particular interest to teens but it wasn't like today when half of a bookstore is devoted to a YA section. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly? I've often pondered on this.
I recall some genre books I read in the 80s that had a glbtq theme (though I don't know if they would be classified as YA) - The Catch Trap by Marion Zimmer Bradley and The Chronicles of Tornor by Elizabeth Lynn. |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | FeminineFantastique - 2014-02-21 9:06 PM So, thread - any advice on what books to pick by Caitlin Kiernan...
I've only read The Drowning Girl and I would highly recommend it. I went into it with very low expectations, thinking it would be some poorly written paranormal romance schlock. Au contraire! It's quite brilliant and fascinating.
Also, to those who have recommended Nicola Griffith - I have both Slow River and Ammonite on the reading list for this year. I don't know why I've never read them before. I greatly anticipate discovering her work. And about the book I recommended....Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge....she's Griffith's partner/gf/wife/lover/whatever-appropriate-word.
Edited by HRO 2014-02-23 5:59 AM
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| Thanks, HRO. I think I'm going to end up reading both of Kiernan's because it's so hard to choose, and I added that Kelley Eskridge book because I just cannot get into Palimpsest, as much as I want to.
Ammonite is the Griffith book I read and it's great. I'm reading Hild next.
I have decided, FTR, that N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon counts for this challenge. I don't know yet if the sequel would, though. |
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| Another LGBT author: Poppy Z. Brite.
Also, my sister tells me that one of the protagonists (Sleeping Beauty) of Jim Hines' Princess series is a lesbian, but I'm not sure which of the books in the series feature her heavily. |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | FeminineFantastique - 2014-03-05 2:32 PM
Also, my sister tells me that one of the protagonists (Sleeping Beauty) of Jim Hines' Princess series is a lesbian, but I'm not sure which of the books in the series feature her heavily.
According to this:
Talia....is a Princess with a past, and her fairy gifts, originally intended to make her more graceful and princess-y have instead helped her to become something like a ninja. As a side note, shes also a lesbian.
Talias story doesnt become fully fleshed out until the third book in the series, Red Hoods Revenge, where the three princesses have to travel back to her home country of Arathea. |
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| Sweet! Thanks, HRO.
I haven't read any of Hines' novels, but my sister tells me "they are like Neil Gaiman meets Disney." |
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| Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (who is of Japanese/American heritage) has a LGBT, POC protagonist and would be eligible for either the LGBT Challenge, the Women of Genre Fiction Challenge, or the 2014 Authors of Color Challenge. In addition, the main character suffers from a severely-debiliting chronic, terminal illness -- and I thought that theme was really well-handled. I quite enjoyed the book. I prefer my SFF very light on the romance (regardless of whether it's gay, straight, or other), so I thought the romantic stuff was a bit OTT. But YMMV -- and the book is fantastic, especially for a debut author.
Edited by illegible_scribble 2014-07-06 7:53 AM
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| Hi-just wondering if someone could tell me which of deLint's books would qualify for this challenge? I usually listen to one book and read another-and it's so confusing if both are fantasy or both are scifi-so I'd like a fantasy rec!
Thanks |
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| Dlw28 - 2014-08-22 11:36 AM
Hi-just wondering if someone could tell me which of deLint's books would qualify for this challenge? I usually listen to one book and read another-and it's so confusing if both are fantasy or both are scifi-so I'd like a fantasy rec!
Thanks
I wish I could help you but I'm unfamiliar with the author! Um... might help to check goodreads and see which ones are tagged as LGBT lit? (The actual tag might read "gay and lesbian," can't remember exactly.)
So Benjanun Sriduangkaew -- she was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award this year -- is about to release her novella Scale-Bright, which qualifies for the LGBT, Authors of Color, WoGF, Books Released in 2014, Fantasia, and Short Fiction challenge. I received an ARC so I've read it and it's... pretty amazing y'all. It's urban fantasy, which is not normally thing, and there's a strong romantic subplot, which is not normally my thing either. But there's also Chinese mythic fiction, which is my thing, and -- well, let's just say that I predict this one will Win Awards, and it's one of the most enjoyable works I've read this year in spite of so much in it not being my thing exactly. Strongly recommended. |
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| Whoops -- above post was me, y'all. Didn't realize I wasn't logged in. |
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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA | I haven't read him either and was wondering which of his books were LGBT themed. When I've told people about this challenge, they ask excitedly, "Have you read de Lint?" but when asked for specifics, they can never tell me a title. Okay, it was all of two people. But I am interested in reading him soon. |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | Dlw28 - 2014-08-22 12:36 PM
Hi-just wondering if someone could tell me which of deLint's books would qualify for this challenge? I usually listen to one book and read another-and it's so confusing if both are fantasy or both are scifi-so I'd like a fantasy rec!
Thanks
de Lint used to be one of my favorite authors and I've read a good portion of the Newford books. I honestly don't recall anything from any of his books that would qualify him for this challenge.
A google search shows that a story in his Moonlight & Vines collection features a lesbian character. I haven't read that collection of stories, though, so I can't verify that.
And I'm quite certain he's married so no qualifier there, either.
Edited by HRO 2014-08-30 5:25 AM
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| Ok! That's all I've found also. I've also enjoyed his work-so maybe I can find another challenge to fit him into! |
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Location: Neither here...nor there | Dlw28 - 2014-08-30 6:23 AM
Ok! That's all I've found also. I've also enjoyed his work-so maybe I can find another challenge to fit him into!
Have you read the Tansom House books - Spiritwalk and Moonheart? Those are my favorites by him. |
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| Re: Charles de Lint
Trader has a couple of lesbian secondary characters whose sexuality ends up being fairly plot-relevant. |
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| One more book to go! Looks like three people are done. Any favorites? I enjoyed Solitaie and Amonite a great deal. Looking forward to Brown Girl in the Ring. |
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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA | I finished the challenge Sunday (10/12). Woo-hoo!
- I loved Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson. It really moved me.
- Even though I gave it only three stars, I really liked Dhalgren by Samuel R Delaney.
- Poppy Z Brite's horror is astounding. Exquisite Corpse was mind-blowing and terrifying.
- And special props to Richard K Morgan who is a straight author. He wrote the "Land Fit for Heroes" fantasy trilogy with gay and Lesbian main characters. I loved the first book, was not as impressed with the second, but then was glued to the third. I'll have that review posted in a few days. |
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Location: SC, USA | My favorites had to be Babel-17 and China Mountain Zhang. |
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| I really enjoyed China Mountain Zhang when I read it a few years ago. Looking forward to Babel-17, which I'm reading for a different challenge. |
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| I just finished Babel-17 a couple of weeks ago. I am utterly blown away by the fact that Delany wrote it when he was only 23. You know how you often read 40-50 year old science fiction novels and they seem really dated, they have that whole sense of "Golden Age of SF" classic-but-clunky-and-outdated? Babel-17 doesn't. It is so well-written, I'd never have guessed that it was published nearly 50 years ago. It is easy to understand all the accolades the book got and continues to get. |
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| I know what you mean about dated classics. I've run across a few for the Masterworks challenge. I've tried to keep in mind the decade the book was written & the history/ science of the time, which can make parts of the plot fun-like traveling back in time ...but it can still be disappointing as a whole. Maybe Babel will find its way onto my night stand right after Brown Girl and Echopraxia. |
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| My favorite was probably Benjanun Sriduangkaew's Scale-Bright, though I think I loved the companion short stories set in the same universe a shade more than the novella.
So far. I'm only half done! Lots of life stuff has gotten in the way.
Edited by FeminineFantastique 2014-10-15 8:53 PM
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| Scale-Bright! I forgot to mention that as a fave. I agree, the short stories were really well done. |
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2014 LGBT Speculative Fiction Challenge