In this issue:
- Thank You
- Sirens in 2015
- Black Friday Promotion
- Volunteering
- You’re Excited About…
- Sirens Review Squad
THANK YOU
Thank you to Kendare Blake, Rosemary Clement, and Andrea Hairston for their informative, heartfelt, funny, and thoughtful keynote presentations. Thank you to every single volunteer who offered up an hour or two of time. Thank you to everyone who presented on the programming schedule. Thank you to everyone who donated or purchased an auction item. Thank you to all of our 2014 attendees. All of you, together, make the conversations and community of Sirens possible.
SIRENS IN 2015
Next year, we’ll be returning to our roots in the Rocky Mountain region, and though we’ll miss the northwest, we’re pleased to be back. Sirens will be held October 8–11, 2015, at the Inverness Hotel in the southern Denver metro area. Our guests of honor are Rae Carson, Kate Elliott, and Yoon Ha Lee, who have unique takes on next year’s theme: rebels and revolutionaries. We’ve updated our Reading List to help you start thinking about rebellion, too. Registration is currently $175, which includes a reception, two lunches, a breakfast, a conference t-shirt, and all programming (except for the Sirens Supper and Sirens Shuttle—and tickets for those will be available in 2015). You can get all the news on our website, and we’ll be featuring more on our guests, travel, programming, and theme throughout the year. In the meantime, feel free to grab a graphic to show your support. We hope you can join us in October!
BLACK FRIDAY PROMOTION
Not wanting to be left out of the shopping frenzy, for the first time, Sirens will be offering a Black Friday registration discount. Watch our Twitter account for the promotion code, and if you haven’t already purchased your registration, mark your calendar for Friday, November 28. You’ll be able to buy a registration for a discounted rate of $165 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Black Friday only.
VOLUNTEERING
The Sirens Review Squad is made up of volunteer readers reviewing books that they would recommend to others interested in women in fantasy. If you think you could contribute a book review of 250–500 words sometime during 2015, please visit the volunteer system and on the third page, where you are offered different volunteer team choices, indicate that you’d like to be a book reviewer in the section that says “Please tell us of any specific position you are interested in.” Review squad volunteering is very flexible; we simply ask that you share information about books you’ve enjoyed. You can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, and on a schedule that works for you. See below for this month’s review!
You can also see, from the magnificent collection below, that we like to feature news and book releases of interest to readers of women in fantasy. We’d like to split the book release research into manageable volunteer jobs for newsletter contributors. We’ll be setting up a small team that will communicate regularly via email and collaborate on highlighting new releases. If you might be interested in collecting for adult fantasy, young adult fantasy, picture books/middle grade, or graphic novels, or in being a project coordinator for the group and filling in where needed, we’d love to have you volunteer (and we promise to show you where we look for new releases, too). These are ongoing volunteer positions that will require 1–2 hours of work per month, probably in one sitting toward the end of the month, though that’s up to the volunteer, and volunteers should be comfortable with learning how to find and use new websites, with support. If you’re interested, please visit the volunteer system and on the third page, where you are offered different volunteer team choices, indicate that you’d like to be on the book release team in the section that says “Please tell us of any specific position you are interested in.” We’ll collect responses and set up a team if we get enough interest, probably in mid-December.
YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT…
After a hiatus, we’re thrilled to have so many links and new releases to share! (We’ll have a big offering in December, too, while we get caught up.) Keep reading for interesting articles, and covers and dates for new releases. We love to have your contributions—and we are happy to hear about things we might have missed. Please send the news to (help at sirensconference.org).
Obituary: We regret to hear of the passing of Eugie Foster.
“Poison Fish” by Nnedi Okorafor will be made into a shadow production.
Terri Windling on the magic of walking in cities and Women Destroy Fantasy.
The British Library is hosting a display on Gothic stories through January 2015.
Essay/discussion: “Where Are Women’s Friendships in Science Fiction and Fantasy?”
“The Islamic Roots of Science Fiction.”
The 2014 Mythopoeic Awards winners.
The 2014 Hugo Awards winners.
The 2014 British Fantasy Awards winners.
A new superhero/ine who fights terrorists in Pakistan.
Science Fiction & Fantasy 2014: How Multicultural Is Your Multiverse?
“The Glass Bottle Trick,” story by Nalo Hopkinson.
“When Gods and Vampires Roamed Miami,” story by Kendare Blake, and “3 of the Biggest Overreactions in Greek Mythology.”
Jennifer Lee, co-director of Frozen, signs on to film A Wrinkle in Time.
“The Enchantment of Imagining,” interview with Andrea Hairston.
Discussion on women, power, and fairytales.
The Book Smugglers enters publishing with short stories, and this fall’s selections are retold fairy tales.
The story of Dolores Umbridge, according to J. K. Rowling, and no log in required.
“Yoon Ha Lee: Axions & Theorems.”
Cover reveal for Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge.
Kari Sperring on Woman and History.
“The Otherworldly and Utterly Portland Ursula K. LeGuin”
…who is set to receive a lifetime achievement award.
“SFF IN CONVERSATION: A Diverse Mythical Creatures Round Table – Part 1.”
A Women in Fantasy coloring book.
“Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors Reveal Truths in the Strangest Fiction.”
“Women in Fantasy Illustration: Julie Dillon.”
“Sundance Next Fest: Are You Ready for An Iranian Vampire Western?”
“A. C. Wise on Women to Read: Where to Start: August 2014 Edition.”
Click the image for a closer look at the covers.
Anthologies edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow now available digitally.
Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, ed. Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios (August 5)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories, Rae Carson (August 26)
Ghost House, Alexandra Adornetto (August 26)
Sanctum, Madeleine Roux (August 26)
Deliverance, C. J. Redwine (August 26)
The Beautiful Ashes, Jeaniene Frost (August 26)
The Mirror Empire, Kameron Hurley (August 26)The Haunted Girl, Lisa M. Bradley (September 1)
Bone, Fog, Ash & Star (The Last Days of Tian Di #3), Catherine Egan (September 1)
The End of the Sentence, Maria Dahvana Headley and Kat Howard (September 1)Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3), Sarah J. Maas (September 2)
Ghost Layer, Robin D. Owens (September 2)
The Jewel, Amy Ewing (September 2)
Dark Blood, Christine Feehan (September 2)
The Winter Long, Seanan McGuire (September 2)
Julia’s House for Lost Creatures, Ben Hatke (September 2)
Spells at the Crossroads, Barbara Ashford (September 2)
Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches, Cherie Priest (September 2)
Trial by Fire, Josephine Angelini (September 2)
The Midnight Queen, Sylvia Izzo Hunter (September 2)
Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda’s Daughter, Maggie Anton (September 2)
Unwanteds: Island of Legends, Lisa McMann (September 2)
Wood Sprites, Wen Spencer (September 2)
House Immortal, Devon Monk (September 2)The Caller (Shadowfell), Juliet Marillier (September 9)
Evil Librarian, Michelle Knudsen (September 9)
Spirit’s Key, Edith Cohn (September 9)
Illusions of Fate, Kiersten White (September 9)
Rondo Allegro, Sherwood Smith (September 9)
Winterfrost, Michelle Houts (September 9)
The Iron Trial, Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (September 9)
Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales, ed. Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (September 9)
The Falcon Throne, Karen Miller (September 9)
Winterkill, Kate A. Boorman (September 9)
Vampires of Manhattan: The New Blue Bloods Coven, Melissa de la Cruz (September 9)Echoes of Us, Kat Zhang (September 16)
Broken Monsters, Lauren Beukes (September 16)
The Witch’s Boy, Kelly Barnhill (September 16)
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales, Margaret Atwood (September 16)
The Perilous Sea, Sherry Thomas (September 16)
The Magic Thief: Home, Sarah Prineas (September 16)
Hook’s Revenge, Heidi Schulz (September 16)
Made for You, Melissa Marr (September 16)
Gifts for the One Who Comes After, Helen Marshall (September 16)Rooms, Lauren Oliver (September 23)
Lark Rising, Sandra Waugh (September 23)
Unmade, Sarah Rees Brennan (September 23)
Salt & Storm, Kendall Kulper (September 23)
Firebug, Lish McBride (September 23)
The Guardian Herd: Starfire, Jennifer Lynn Alvarez (September 23)
Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, Christine Heppermann (September 23)Radiant, Karina Sumner-Smith (September 30)
Invisible, Dawn Metcalf (September 30)
Belzhar, Meg Wolitzer (September 30)
The Queen of Zombie Hearts, Gena Showalter (September 30)
Winterspell, Claire Legrand (September 30)
Love Is the Drug, Alaya Dawn Johnson (September 30)
The Curse Keepers, Denise Grover Swank (September 30)
The Bloodbound, Erin Lindsey (September 30)
Summer Moon, Jan DeLima (September 30)
The Clockwork Dagger, Beth Cato (September 30)Girl on a Wire, Gwenda Bond (October 1)
The Secrets of Life and Death, Rebecca Alexander (October 7)
Stray, Elissa Sussman (October 7)
Poison Fruit, Jacqueline Carey (October 7)
Stories of the Raksura: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (The Books of the Raksura), Martha Wells (October 7)
Silverblind, Tina Connolly (October 7)
Night Sky, Suzanne Brockmann and Melanie Brockmann (October 7)
Closer to Home, Mercedes Lackey (October 7)
The Young Elites, Marie Lu (October 7)
The Fall, Bethany Griffin (October 7)
The Spiritglass Charade, Colleen Gleason (October 7)
Exquisite Captive, Heather Demetrios (October 7)
Thursdays with the Crown, Jessica Day George (October 7)Sweet Unrest, Lisa Maxwell (October 8)
Lark Ascending, Meagan Spooner (October 9)
Chasing Power, Sarah Beth Durst (October 14)
Snow Like Ashes, Sara Raasch (October 14)
The Cure for Dreaming, Cat Winters (October 14)
The Fire Artist, Daisy Whitney (October 14)
Sublime, Christina Lauren (October 14)
Prophecies, Libels & Dreams: Stories, Ysabeau S. Wilce (October 14)
Mortal Gods, Kendare Blake (October 14)
The Princess in Black, Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, LeUyen Pham (ill.) (October 14)
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, A. S. King (October 14)DC SUPER HEROES: My First Book of Girl Power, Julie Merberg (October 21)
Princess Mononoke: The First Story, Hayao Miyazaki (October 21)
Fish Tails, Sheri S. Tepper (October 21)
The Sorcerer Heir (The Heir Chronicles #5), Cinda Williams Chima (October 21)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Maggie Stiefvater (October 21)
Follow Me Through Darkness, Danielle Ellison (October 21)
Centaur Rising, Jane Yolen (October 21)
Beware the Wild, Natalie C. Parker (October 21)
Seventh Grave and No Body, Darynda Jones (October 21)Atlantia, Ally Condie (October 28)
Compulsion, Martina Boone (October 28)
In the Afterlight, Alexandra Bracken (October 28)
The Secret History of Wonder Woman, Jill Lepore (October 28)
Shadowboxer, Tricia Sullivan (October 28)
Black Dog, Caitlin Kittredge (October 28)
Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2), C. C. Hunter (October 28)
Prince Lestat, Anne Rice (October 28)
Talon, Julie Kagawa (October 28)
Waterfall, Lauren Kate (October 28)
Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona (ill.) (October 28)The Door in the Mountain, Caitlin Sweet (October 29)
Dreamer’s Pool (A Blackthorn & Grim Novel), Juliet Marillier (November 4)
The Map to Everywhere (Pirate Stream), Carrie Ryan and J. P. Davis (November 4)
Forbidden, Kimberley Griffiths Little (November 4)
A Play of Shadow (Night’s Edge #2), Julie Czerneda (November 4)
Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3), Robin LaFevers (November 4)
Empire of Shadows, Miriam Forster (November 4)
Jala’s Mask, Rachel Grinti and Michael Grinti (November 4)Young Woman in a Garden: Stories, Delia Sherman (November 11)
The Bane Chronicles (#1–10), Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Jean (ill.) (November 11)Stranger, Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith (November 13)
Waistcoats and Weaponry, Gail Carriger (November 14)
Cold Hillside, Nancy Baker (November 18)
Stolen (Heart of Dread #2), Melissa de la Cruz (November 18)
SIRENS REVIEW SQUAD
Sea of Time (vol. 7, Chronicles of the Kencyrath)
P. C. Hodgell
Baen (June 2014)
Trade Paperback
Backstory: The Kencyrath (composed of three completely different races) have been bound together by their mostly absent god to fight the encroaching evil of Perimal Darking. They retreat from world to world as Perimal Darking consumes the Chain of Creation. They have resided on Rathilien for ages. The series follows Jamethiel Priests-Bane, pure-bred Highborn Knorth, and heir to her brother, the High Lord.
In Sea of Time, Jame has passed (by the skin of her teeth) the trials of the military academy and is assigned to her first post. In her usual fashion of slipping into odd corners and asking uncomfortable questions, she finds herself wrapped up in local politics and theology. Hodgell writes with a wry sense of humor that keeps Jame’s adventures from becoming overly heroic; in fact, they often seem accidental, if not downright capricious. Sea of Time doesn’t travel far in space, but it offers a unique perspective on the time travel paradox. Apparently, the arrival of the Kencyrath on this world caused a historical anomaly that is beginning to resolve itself, which affects trade, politics, and Knorth family history.
I do not recommend starting with Sea of Time, although it is an excellent installment in an often overlooked series. Now that Baen has re-issued the beginning volumes in two omnibus editions, you no longer have to search through used book stores and online marketplaces. Along with the main character’s antics, the series also continues to build this particular, peculiar world. I love the wide variety of people Hodgell gives us, including high lords, common soldiers, tavern keepers, and fellow cadets. Jame has a real talent for making both friends and enemies as she crashes through established society. She destroys that which is stagnant or rotten so that new, healthy growth has room to thrive.
Hodgell’s writing style is wonderfully weird, sometimes occurring in liminal space as well as detailing the mundane aspects of daily life. The emerging picture of the Kencyrath and Rathilien being on the verge of massive, mythic happenings keeps me excited for the next volumes. Please, ignore the bad, Baen-ish cover art to discover an astoundingly original, strong female protagonist in Jamethiel of Knorth. – Kristen Blount
Questions? You can comment here or write to us at (help at sirensconference.org).
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