The Coode Street Podcast

Episode 664: Julie Phillips and talking about Ursula K. Le Guin Oct 27, 2024

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic The Dispossessed, we sit down for a chat with award-winning biographer and writer Julie Phillips, author of James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon and The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Body Problem.

Julie is currently at work on the authorized biography of Le Guin, and her insights from her research and her many discussions with Le Guin—not only regarding The Dispossessed but all aspects of her career, and on the challenges of writing biography—were so compelling that we ran a few minutes over our usual hour. We think it’s well worth it, and wish we could have gone on even longer.

Episode 663: How science fiction responds Oct 13, 2024

For our first October episode, we try out another new opening, touch upon the recent catastrophic weather in Florida and the hazards of attempting near future SF in a rapidly changing world, with Norman Spinrad’s Russian Spring as one example.

After a brief digression (what else?) on novels that extrapolate political decisions more than technological change—like the two novels that preceded the movie Dr. Strangelove, we touch upon the question of whether J.G. Ballard may catch the current zeitgeist in the same way Philp K. Dick did a generation ago.

Finally, a few more short digressions on whether awards like World Fantasy can significantly influence a book's sales or reputation, on the value of “best of” anthologies, and on what makes a good gift book for the forthcoming holiday season.

Episode 662: Rambling to the end of the year Sep 29, 2024

As we gear up for the inevitable year-in-review discussions, and the annual semi-hiatus between the fall and spring convention sessions (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), we return to our familiar questions of canon and influence, noting that while some books seem to drop out of the discussion within months of being published, others,like Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, continue to generate responses despite controversy.

From that, we not-quite-seamlessly segue into a discussion of Harlan Ellison and J. Michael Straczynski’s The Last Dangerous Visions and the problems in presenting stories over 50 years old together with brand-new tales, finally chatting about what makes you want to recommend a book to a friend.

Along with way, we mention several interesting writers, including Emily Tesh, Wole Talabi, and Kate Heartfield.

Episode 661: Emily Tesh and Some Desperate Glory Sep 15, 2024

In this episode we are delighted to welcome the extremely talented Emily Tesh, who managed the rare achievement of winning a World Fantasy Award for her first novella Silver in the Wood and a Hugo Award for her first novel, Some Desperate Glory.

We touch upon some works that figure in Emily’s approach to science fiction and fantasy, including Orson Scott Card's Ender’s Game and a children's SF novel from the '90s that she wishes someone would remember the title of (if you know it, let us know in the coments!), her own background in classics and how Some Desperate Glory reflects the military culture of ancient Sparta, the influence of gaming on her work, and what it’s like to be in conversation with the new space opera tradition of Ann Leckie, Arkady Martine, Tamsyn Muir, and others. And, a few insights into her forthcoming novel, due out next year.

As always, our thanks to Emily for joining us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 660: Nalo Hopkinson and Blackheart Man Sep 07, 2024

With the Glasgow World Science Fiction Convention behind us, and with Gary back in Chicago and Jonathan back in Perth, our faithful podcasters pick up the task once again.

This week we are delighted to welcome long-time friend of the podcast, Nalo Hopkinson, who joins us to discuss her brilliant new novel, Blackheart Man, and her soon to be released short story collection, Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions.

As always, our thanks to Nalo for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode. We'll see you in a week or two!

Episode 659: Joe Haldeman and The Forever War (Live in Glasgow) Aug 13, 2024

The Forever War, the debut novel from US writer Joe Haldeman, was first published by St Martins Press in 1974. It was shortlisted for the Locus Award, and was awarded the Hugo and Nebula Awards as Best SF Novel of the year.

It went on to become recognised as an essential classic of the science fiction field, was listed as #1 in the Gollancz Science Fiction Masterworks, and has never been out of print.

On a Saturday afternoon at the recent Glasgow World Science Fiction Convention, Jonathan and Gary and a boisterous crowd of science fiction fans welcomed John Scalzi, Gay Haldeman, and Joe Haldeman to discuss the 50th Anniversary of The Forever War and why it is so beloved.

Our thanks for Joe, Gay, and John for taking part, to the crowd for their support, and to the wonderful tech team from Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon for Our Futures for making the recording possible.

Episode 658: A resumption of normal service Jul 21, 2024

With the Glasgow WorldCon just around the corner, Gary and Jonathan turn their attention to plans for the event. In addition to panel appearances, there'll be a special live recording of The Coode Street Podcast where we are joined by Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman, and John Scalzi to discuss 50th anniversary of the publication of The Forever War.

Since rambling is unavoidable, there is also a brief discussion of how newer readers discover older SFF texts and writers, both in terms of short fiction and novels, anthologies like The Science Fiction Hall of Fame and Dangerous Visions series (which has been in the news because of the much-delayed publication of The Last Dangerous Visions,) as well as single-author collections like Harlan Ellison's Greatest Hits. That somehow leads to a chat about how reputations are made and sustained, and Gary and Jonathan touch upon a number of contemporary writers—but you’ll have to listen in order to find out which ones.

Episode 657: Being Alvaro and Michael Jul 14, 2024

We're delighted to welcome a distinguished pair of guests, the legendary Michael Swanwick and writer and critic Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, whose book-length interview Being Michael Swanwick explores Michael’s entire career, and whose debut novel Equimedian has been described as a love letter to the SF of the '70s and '80s.

As usual, we wander a bit, discussing not only Michael's life in SF, but how stories are generated, SF and the mainstream, influential editors, what it means to have a career these days,and a number of classic writers who probably ought to be remembered more than they are.

Episode 656: Stop us if you've heard this one before Jun 29, 2024

For any listeners who have missed our longstanding tradition of almost unfettered rambling, we turn our attention this week to the questions of how and why certain novels and writers seem to hold up better than others, how younger readers can enjoy some older classics while completely tuning out others, and the difference between books that celebrate old traditions as opposed to books that seek to reinvent the field, or that are simply sui generis.

We touch upon a few novels from 50 years ago, like The Mote in God’s Eye, The Dispossessed, Dhalgren, and The Forever War, books that seem to find new readers in each generation, and writers who seem to fade away with time.

Episode 655: Kaaron Warren and the Underhistory of things Jun 22, 2024

Multiple Aurealis, Ditmar, and Shirley Jackson award winner Kaaron Warren joins us for this week’s episode, along with old friend of Coode Street and fellow Locus reviewer Ian Mond, mostly to discuss Kaaron’s wonderful new novel The Underhistory, how it does or doesn’t align with traditional genre categories, and what such categories mean anyway. Ian explains his notion of literary horror, and Kaaron suggests her intriguing concept of Gothic crime fiction. As always, the talk takes off in various directions ranging from short stories vs. novels, the challenges of publishing and marketing, and the growing awareness of Australian fiction on the world stage.

You can order The Underhistory:

in the UK;

in Australia.

Episode 654: Paolo Bacigalupi and the Road to Navola Jun 14, 2024

The distinguished Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Locus Award winner Paolo Bacigalupi joins us this week to talk about his forthcoming historical fantasy Navola, as well as the challenges of shifting from a focus on environmental SF to epic fantasy, the liberation that comes from being able to invent a world (and partly a language) that echoes Florentine history without being bound by it, the importance of following one’s own choices and needs in writing fiction, and his own earlier classics like The Windup Girl and The Water Knife.

We run a bit longer than usual, but that’s a measure of how fascinating it is to chat with Paolo.

Episode 653: Lev Grossman and The Bright Sword Jun 08, 2024

We’re delighted to welcome to Coode Street Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy, to discuss his major new Arthurian novel The Bright Sword, which appears from Viking in July.

We touch upon earlier versions of Arthurian fiction by T.H. White, John Steinbeck, Bernard Cornwell, Nicola Griffith, and others, the balance between historical research and pure fantasy invention, the development of characters based on little or no historical evidence, and even Lev’s earlier career as a critic for Time magazine, when he helped bring fantasy literature into the mainstream.

Order it here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554241/the-bright-sword-by-lev-grossman/

Episode 652: Ellen Klages and the Ham in Jeopardy Jun 03, 2024

For this special short episode, Jonathan and Gary are joined by an old friend, Nebula and World Fantasy winner Ellen Klages, who recently gained an entirely new kind of recognition when she appeared on the long-running TV quiz show Jeopardy and recalled the “scary ham” story, which she first improvised at a Nebula ceremony ten years ago, when called upon to fill time during a technical glitch.

We not only touch upon the venerable history of the anecdote, but upon some other midwestern family memoirs, the use of autobiographical material in fiction, and the possibility of future memoirs. As usual, Ellen is a delight.

Reactor link to the story: https://reactormag.com/the-scary-ham/
YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqvg8N9nc84

Episode 651: Vajra Chandrasekera and The Saint of Bright Doors May 25, 2024

This episode is a wide-ranging discussion with two important guests: the brilliant Vajra Chandrasekera, whose amazing first novel The Saint of Bright Doors is currently nominated for both Hugo and Nebula Awards, and whose even more adventurous Rakesfall will be published in June, and our old friend, the excellent critic, reviewer and fellow podcaster (The Writer and the Critic) Ian Mond.

We touch upon some of the sources of Vajra’s fiction, the notion of science fantasy, and how his novels incorporate a wide variety of styles and themes, from almost documentary realism about the brutality of colonialism—especially in his native Sri Lanka—to mythic tales and far-future SF. It’s a pretty lively chat!

Note: We experienced some technical difficulties towards the end of the recording so it does end somewhat abruptly. We do hope you enjoy the recording and we'll come back to some of the topics soon in another podcast.

Episode 650: Tobi Ogundiran and the Guardian of the Gods May 18, 2024

Gary and Jonathan are joined by Tobi Ogundiran, whose novella In the Shadow of the Fall is the first of the “Guardian of the Gods,” and whose first story collection Jackal, Jackal, was published to considerable acclaim last year.

Winner of the Ignyte and nominee for the BSFA, and Shirley Jackson awards, Tobi discusses growing up in Nigeria reading what SFF he could come across, the importance of discovering FIYAH as a place for his fiction, the relationship between Western and African storytelling traditions, managing viewpoints and voices, and his own plans for the future.

As always, our thanks to Tobi for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the podcast!

Episode 649: Nghi Vo and The Brides of High Hill May 05, 2024

This week, we’re joined by the wonderful Nghi Vo, whose The Brides of High Hill is out this week. It’s the fifth of her ongoing “Singing Hills” sequence of novellas about the peripatetic Cleric Chih and their sharp-tongued companion hoopoe, Almost Brilliant.

We discuss how Nghi has made use of different storytelling modes throughout the series, her novels The Chosen and the Beautiful and Siren Queen, a forthcoming novella (again alluding to the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and a very intriguing novel due in the fall, The City in Glass, which involves doing very interesting things with libraries. There are also, as usual, some totally irrelevant digressions involving everything from writing blurbs to The Clan of the Cave Bear.

Episode 648: Genre, marketing, and more Apr 27, 2024

This week Jonathan and Gary start out with something resembling a topic: the proliferation of subgenres, movements, and marketing categories in SF and fantasy: from the evolution of space opera in SF to the rise of epic fantasy (and Ballantine’s earlier term “adult fantasy”), as well as consciously developed movements such as the New Wave, cyberpunk, or Africanfuturism and new market categories such as “romantasy".

After a wide-ranging discussion of the various ways of slicing up genres, we spend some time musing about the hot market for collectible, special, limited, and subscriber editions from publishers such as the Folio Society or Subterranean Press.

Episode 647: Oh no, not us again... Apr 21, 2024

Once again with no guest to give us focus, Jonathan and Gary return to rambling mode, spurred on by the observation that voting for the 2024 Hugo Awards is now open.

This leads to our ongoing discussion of what the Hugo Awards do and do not represent, why voting for your favorite works is important even if you haven’t read all the nominees, what makes a genuine SFF classic, and how the Hugo procedures and categories differ from those of the World Fantasy Awards—which are also accepting nominations from members of the 2022, 2023, and 2024 conventions.

We suggest you take a look at Jo Walton's An Informal History of the Hugos if you're interested in a history of the Hugos, and point out that nominations for the 2024 World Fantasy Awards are now open too.

Episode 646: Peter S. Beagle and a Life Filled With Story Apr 14, 2024

This week we are joined by the legendary author of The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle, who discusses his new novel I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons (published next month by Saga Press & Gollancz), as well as his storied career, his pals from childhood, influential writers such as Robert Nathan and Avram Davidson, and last year’s important retrospective collection The Essential Peter S. Beagle.

As always, our thanks to Peter for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 645: Jack Dann and Fifty Years of Wandering Stars Apr 07, 2024

On the fiftieth anniversary of his groundbreaking anthology Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy, we’re joined by the terrific author and editor Jack Dann.

During our conversation, we mention his new collection Islands of Time—published almost exactly 50 years after his first book— as well as his The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Alternate History and some of his classic novels like The Memory Cathedral and The Rebel.

Mostly, though, we discuss how that classic anthology evolved, in part from his friendship with Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski, what the anthology meant in 1974, and how the nature of Jewish science fiction has evolved over the decades.

Episode 644: Cozy books and a prickly writer Mar 24, 2024

This time out, Jonathan and Gary consider the meaning of "cozy" (or "cosy") SF and fantasy, and whether cozy horror is even a thing. We trace the term back to cozy mystery novels and Brian W. Aldiss’s characterization of certain British writers of the 1950s—especially John Wyndham—as "cozy catastrophes".

Not surprisingly, this doesn’t lead to any meaningful conclusions, but we do touch upon whether the notion of cozy has to do with the fiction itself, or just the reader's experience of it. Authors mentioned include Travis Baldree, Becky Chambers, Peter S. Beagle, Martha Wells, and Terry Pratchett.

Then, with our usual lack of grace, we transition awkwardly into a discussion of the new Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, how well Ellison’s fiction holds up, and some brief previews of forthcoming episodes.

Episode 643: All Time Top 5s Mar 04, 2024

Somewhat hesitantly, Jonathan and Gary return to the mics, sans guests, and somehow get into a discussion of various SFF listicles—partly because of Gary’s recent contribution to fivebooks.com of a list of five novels about science fiction. Why are such lists so appealing and so ubiquitous these days, and who are they for?

By the time we're done, Jonathan begins musing on a possible list of the top five most disappointing SF novels of all time. You'll have to tune in to see what’s at the top of that list—and get ready to argue!

Episode 642: Premee Mohamed and The Butcher of the Forest Feb 17, 2024

This week Nebula and World Fantasy award winner, Premee Mohamed, joins Gary and Jonathan from somewhere in the wilds of Canada to discuss writing, reading, building a career, and her fabulous new novella, The Butcher of the Forest. We also discuss the projects Premee has planned for the rest of the year, including forthcoming new novel The Siege of Burning Grass, which you can pre-order now.

As always, we'd like to thank Premee for making time to join us, and hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 641: Kelly Link and the love of books Jan 28, 2024

For our second episode of 2024, we’re joined by the inimitable Kelly Link, whose forthcoming first novel The Book of Love is already receiving stellar advance reviews (including one from Gary in Locus). Kelly explains how the novel evolved, it connections to various genres from romance to supernatural horror, the importance of valuable encouragement from friends such as Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, the challenges of shifting from short fiction to a long novel, managing multiple narrative viewpoints, and maintaining the balance between the interiority of the characters and the large-scale history and spectacle of the fantasy elements. She also updates us a bit on Small Beer Press and her own plans for future work.

As always, our thanks to Kelly. We hope you enjoy the podcast!

Eating the Fantastic: Episode 217: Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan Jan 28, 2024

All round good guy Scott Edelman was at the recent World Fantasy Convention, and took Gary and Jonathan out for lunch and a chat. That chat became the latest episode of Eating the Fantastic, Scott's terrific podcast.

If you're interested, you can hear the episode here.

Episode 640: A new year begins. Shenanigans ensue? Jan 21, 2024

And just liked that, our end of year hiatus is over and the Coode Street Podcast is back! Gary and Jonathan return from their annual break and kick off a brand new year with discussions of recent news events in science fiction, how our thoughts about books and ideas change over time, 50th anniversaries, the delightfully happy news that Gary got married(!!!), and the sad news about the passing of several friends of the podcast, including Howard Waldrop, Terry Bisson, and Rick Bowes.

As it always is at the start of a new year, it's great to be back and we're filled with optimism for the year ahead. We hope to get at least our scheduled 26 episodes out this year, to do some special episodes, and to travel to Scotland for the 2024 World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow.

For now, though, we hope you enjoy the new episode!

Episode 639: A Very Coode Street Gift Guide Roundtable 2023 Dec 17, 2023

For the 2023 instalment of the Very Coode Street Gift Guide, we invited some old friends to share their recommendations of books read in 2023: Alix E. Harrow (whose very worthy Starling House was a favorite, officially excluded from discussion because of her participation in the episode), award-winning Locus reviewer Ian Mond, and distinguished novelist James Bradley, whose nonfiction Deep Water: The World in the Ocean will be out next year.

The books mentioned during the podcast are listed below.

James Bradley recommended:

The Deluge, Stephen Markley
Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
White Cat, Black Dog, Kelly Link
Translation State, Ann Leckie
Some Desperate Glory, Emily Tesh

Alix E. Harrow recommended:

Menewood, Nicola Griffith
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, Roshani Chokshi
He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan
The Magician's Daughter, H.G. Parry
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Heather Fawcett

Ian Mond recommended:

Conquest, Nina Allan
Terrace Stories, Hilary Leichter
In Ascension, Martin MacInnes
Him, Geoff Ryman
I am Homeless if this Is Not My Home, Lorrie Moore

Gary recommended:

Mr. Breakfast, Jonathan Carroll
The Essential Peter S. Beagle (2 vols.), Peter S. Beagle
Airside, Christopher Priest
Lost Places,Sarah Pinsker (and also Monstrous Alterations, Christopher Barzak; Jewel Box, E. Lily Yu; & The Privilege of a Happy Ending, Kij Johnson)

Jonathan recommended:

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, Garth Nix
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi
The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera
The Crane Husband, Kelly Barnhill
Hopeland, Ian McDonald

As always, our thanks to Alix, James, and Ian for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the podcast and that the guide is of some help at this time of the year.

Episode 638: Books that were off our radar Dec 12, 2023

The end of the year may be fast approaching, but this episode isn’t quite our usual year-in-review discussion (which will come up later), or our books-we’re-looking-forward-to episode. Instead, we spend some time musing about books we maybe should be looking forward to, if we only knew about them.

This raises the question of forthcoming novels that contain substantial fantasy or speculative elements, but that are marketed almost entirely as general or “literary” fiction. The examples Gary cites are The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard and Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. (Of course, some of our favorites like Kelly Link also get this “mainstream” treatment, as with The Book of Love.)

This is turn raises the question of how we find out about new novels from the margins of the field, how we choose what we read when discovering an exciting new writer may mean forgoing a new novel by a favorite, and how to find a balance.

Episode 637: A Quick One, While We Wait Nov 26, 2023

With plans for are promised chat with Elizabeth Hand and Alix E. Harrow on temporary hold, Jonathan and Gary share some pleasant memories of the World Fantasy Convention, muse about whether the nature of conventions has changed in the wake of the pandemic, and speculate about next year’s events in Glasgow, Niagara Falls, and elsewhere.

They then touch upon some books they're looking forward to in 2024, including novels by Kelly Link, Nisi Shawl, Peter S. Beagle, and Paolo Bacigalupi, and some titles they’d recommend from 2023, including novels by Ian McDonald, Nina Allan, Geoff Ryman, Christopher Priest, Francis Spufford, Wole Talabi, and Nicola Griffith, as well as a few story collections, anthologies, and nonfiction books. By the end, it almost all comes into some sort of focus.

Episode 636: Jeffrey Ford, Kij Johnson and the Art of Narrative Nov 11, 2023

The 2023 World Fantasy Convention was held in Kansas City, Missouri over the weekend of October 26-29 2023. The convention was incredibly kind and generous and featured Jonathan as a guest of honour and Gary as a panelist.

During the weekend we grabbed long-time friends of the podcast Kij Johnson and Jeffrey Ford and attempted to discuss 'the art of narrative' or perhaps how you go about finding and telling a story.

The conversation was interesting and we hope you enjoy it. Our thanks to everyone at the Kansas City convention, but special thanks to co-chair Rosemary Williams and her spouse, both of whom went far above and beyond to make sure you got to hear this recording.

See you again soon!

Episode 635: On the nature of purpose in science fiction Oct 01, 2023

Responding in part to some issues raised by Niall Harrison in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Jonathan and Gary discuss the value and purpose of year’s best anthologies, whether it’s even possible to still represent such a diversified international field, and how stories we read in anthologies frame our own reading experiences and help us discover exciting new writers. Needless to say, a lot of digressions leads us into some other topics as well.

Episode 634: Jack Dann and the Fiction Writer’s Guide to Alternate History Sep 10, 2023

For this episode, Jonathan and Gary are joined by the distinguished novelist, editor, and scholar Jack Dann, whose new The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Alternate History: A Handbook on Craft, Art, and History has just been published by Bloomsbury Academic.

Jack discusses definitions of alternate history (as opposed to secret history or parallel universes), his own work in developing his da Vinci novel The Memory Cathedral and his more recent Shadows in the Stone, the responsibilities of the alternate history writer, some key writers and texts, and some recent trends in alternate history fiction.

Episode 633: A classic ramble Sep 04, 2023

In a return to classic rambling form, Jonathan and Gary begin thinking about the waning months of the year, and the inevitable recommended reading discussions.

Jonathan starts off by asking why we always seem to say it was a surprisingly good year for collections, when just about every year is a good year for collections. We also touch upon anthologies, such as Jared Shunn’s massive The Big Book of Cyberpunk, and what implicit arguments are being made by such broadly inclusive anthologies.

We also touch upon Jonathan’s brand-new The Book of Witches, the question of whether SFF is starting to mature enough that broadly diverse voices are viewed as simply part of the mainstream of the field, and some of the books we’ve been reading or anticipating, including Elizabeth Hand’s A Haunting on the Hill and Aliz E. Harrow’s Starling House (both will be guests on a future podcast), Tobias S. Buckell’s A Stranger in the Citadel, Nicola Griffith’s Menewood (and how historical fiction relates to SFF),The Best of Michael Swanwick, and Christopher Barzak’s Monstrous Alterations.

Episode 632: Wole Talabi and Shagidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon Aug 13, 2023

This week Hugo and Nebula nominee Wole Talabi joins Jonathan and Gary for a wide-ranging discussion celebrating the publication of his wonderful first novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon and his Hugo Award-nominated novelette, "A Dream of Electric Mothers".

We discuss the recent worldwide recognition of African SFF, his use of Yoruba religion and mythology in his novel, the importance of movies (especially heist movies)to his work, the nature of Africanfuturism, his attraction to SF as a professional engineer, and his future plans—including a new volume of short fiction due next spring.

Episode 631: Awards, debut novels, and science fiction at the moment Jul 23, 2023

After Gary enjoyed a weekend at Readercon, we’re back with another one-on-one ramble that covers topics from the proliferation of SF awards (and what they really might be for), to some recent and forthcoming books we’re excited about (including Kemi Ashing-Giwa's The Splinter in the Sky, Vajra Chandrasekera's The Saint of Bright Doors, Wole Talabi’s Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, and Emily Tesh's Some Desperate Glory), the question of whether anthologies might rightly or wrongly be seen as definitive, and the importance of supporting short fiction publications given some major changes facing the field in 2023.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 630: Kij Johnson and the Nature of Story Jul 09, 2023

After an unplanned hiatus, we’re back with the wonderful Kij Johnson, who will be a guest of honour at this year’s World Fantasy Convention in Kansas City this coming October. Small Beer will publish a new collection of Kij's work, The Privilege of the Happy Ending, to coincide with the convention.

We discuss the challenges and opportunities of teaching fiction writing in workshops versus university creative writing programs, how the workshop and the reading group have become so important to new writers since the early days of Kate Wilhelm and Damon Knight’s Milford, the different problems of writing short stories, novellas, or novels, the balance between estrangement and immersion in stories, and Kij’s own current and recent work, which ranges from experimental fiction to stories that revisit older writers like Lovecraft and Kenneth Grahame.

As always, Kij is bristling with good ideas, and we could easily have gone on for another hour.

Episode 629: Ursula Vernon and A Story with Good Bones Jun 03, 2023

In this episode, Jonathan and Gary have a long overdue extended discussion with the wonderful Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), whose excellent horror novel A House With Good Bones appeared in late March, and whose thoroughly original imagining of the Sleeping Beauty story Thornhedge, is forthcoming in August.

We also touch upon some of her best-known works like Nettle and Bone and A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, what she read while growing up, her career from webcomic artist to children’s author to fantasy and horror novelist, the role of humour in horror, and why even stories involving murder priests, child abductions, and gruesomely reanimated corpses are actually sweet romances.

As always, we would like to thank Ursula for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 628: Sarah Pinsker and Lost Places May 20, 2023

Returning after a brief hiatus, Coode Street welcomes the wonderful multiple award-winning Sarah Pinsker, whose new collection Lost Places has just been published by Small Beer Press, and includes the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning “Where Oaken Hearts do Gather.”

We touch upon her career as both story writer and novelist, the relationship of her music performances to her fiction, the balance between teaching and writing, the challenges for new authors entering the field, and of course the stories in her new book.

Episode 627:Kelly Link for the love of a good book Apr 23, 2023

This week, Jonathan and Gary talk with Kelly Link, whose new collection White Cat, Black Dog is already showing up on bestseller lists. It's her first themed collection, with each of the seven stories linked to a particular fairy tale.

We also touch upon several writers whose work has been important to Kelly, including Joanna Russ, Peter Straub, M.R, James, Fritz Leiber, Nicola Griffith, and Shirley Jackson, and even chat a bit about being an author who’s also a publisher (with Small Beer Press) and bookseller (with Book Moon), both co-owned and managed with Gavin J. Grant.

We also discuss a few other things, including her highly anticipated forthcoming novel, The Book of Love.

Episode 626: Awards season, British criticism and more Apr 10, 2023

It’s awards season again (or maybe still), so Jonathan and Gary take a moment to remind everyone of the deadlines for nominating candidates for Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy, and Nebula Awards, and to discuss briefly a proposal to add a one-time category of “Best Fantasy Novel” to the Hugos at the 2024 Glasgow Worldcon.

They also chat a bit about the Best Related Work Hugo, and whether or not certain categories might be eliminated. First, however, they touch upon whether the central concerns of mainstream SF were laid down in the interwar era, as Paul Kincaid argues in a new essay. And then Niall Harrison's new collection, All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays. Finally, we touch upon the question of how important opening paragraphs and titles are when it comes to drawing a reader into a work of fiction.

Episode 625: Kelly Barnhill and the Mind of a Writer Mar 06, 2023

This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by World Fantasy and Newbery Award winner Kelly Barnhill, whose When Women Were Dragons was one of last year’s outstanding fantasy novels. We talk about her just-published The Crane Husband, which powerfully combines aspects of the classic fairy tale, science fiction, horror, and coming-of-age tale. We touch upon mixing genres, writing while raising a family, making up disposable fairytales, how stories involve both the forebrain and the hindbrain, and reading Terry Pratchett.

Coode Street 624: On short fiction Feb 19, 2023

We are always casting around for inspiration. After getting ChatGPT to provide a new introduction for the podcast, Gary and Jonathan kick off a discussion about the health of the short fiction field, the scope and variety of short story collections due to be published in 2023, and share some (okay, many) thoughts on the history of short fiction collections in the science fiction field.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We'll see you again in two weeks.

Episode 623: The 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List Feb 05, 2023

This week, in our more-or-less annual discussion of the Locus Recommended Reading List, we are delighted to be joined by Locus Editor-in-Chief Liza Groen Trombi.

We talk about the purpose of the list, how it has changed over the years, how books or stories get on the list, and a few thorny questions about how to decide whether a novel is SF or fantasy if it contains substantial elements of both. In addition to mentioning some of our own favourite works of the year, we touch upon the importance of the First Novels list, which might be a harbinger of what’s to come, and how story collections and YA novels have grown in importance over the years.

As always, our thanks to Liza and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 622: More about space opera Jan 22, 2023

It's not been that long since they last discussed it, but this week Jonathan and Gary return to the question of space opera, new space opera, and what contemporary SF authors might make of the concept.

Is space opera the core narrative of SF, as Jonathan suggests, or only one of them? What are its essential characteristics? Has the greater diversity of SF over the last decade changed its basic form? It seems that when the term was first coined, it clearly referred to pulp adventure tales that we popular in the 1930s. But later versions have questioned the assumptions of those old chestnuts, redefining the form for each generation.

How, for example, do current writers like Arkady Martine, Charlie Jane Anders, and Emily Tesh make use of the form? We definitely don’t settle any of these questions, but we’ll probably keep trying.

Episode 621: Coode Street’s Books for Look Forward to in 2023 Jan 08, 2023

To kick off 2023, Jonathan and Gary share their lists of the books that they’re looking forward to reading in 2023.

They mention a lot of forthcoming titles, ranging books from old masters like Peter S. Beagle, Howard Waldrop, Joanna Russ, Gene Wolfe, and Connie Willis to newer writers like Samit Basu, Vajra Chandrasekera, Alix E. Harrow, Emily Tesh, and Premee Mohamed, as well as essential collections from Kelly Link, E. Lily Yu, Joanna Russ, K.J. Parker, Sarah Pinsker, and others.

The team also cheerfully acknowledge that the year will undoubtedly present us with some complete surprises and that we will be reading fantastic work from authors we haven’t even heard of yet. The field seems as lively and promising as ever!

Pre-order links

Books mentioned in the podcast include:

Blade of Dream, Daniel Abraham
Conquest, Nina Allan
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, Samit Basu
The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera
Furious Heaven, Kate Elliott
The Landing, Mary Gentle
Menewood, Nicola Griffith
Starling House, Alix E. Harrow
The Water Outlaws, S.L. Huang
Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher
The Deep Sky, Yume Kitasei
Translation State, Ann Leckie
White Cat, Black Dog, Kelly Link (collection)
The Blue Beautiful World, Karen Lord
Hopeland, Ian McDonald
No One Will Come Back For Us and Other Stories, Premee Mohamed (collection)
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, Garth Nix
Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic, Tobi Ogundiran (collection)
Under My Skin, K.J. Parker (collection)
He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan
Lost Places, Sarah Pinsker (collection)
Machine Vendetta, Alastair Reynolds
The Navigating Fox, Christopher Rowe
Joanna Russ: Novels and Stories, Joanna Russ (collection)
Him, Geoff Ryman
New Suns 2, Nishi Shawl ed.
Ghost Engine, Charles Stross
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi
Some Desperate Glory, Emily Tesh
System Collapse, Martha Wells
The Road to Roswell, Connie Willis
The Wolfe at the Door, Gene Wolfe (collection)
Jewel Box, E. Lily Yu (collection)

Episode 620: A Very Coode Street Advent Bonus: M. Rickert Dec 24, 2022

There's Christmas and then there's Krampus. Here at Coode Street, there's nothing quite like a little bit more, and as a very special holiday bonus Gary sat down with the wonderful M. Rickert to talk about what she'd been reading, what she'd recommend, and her fabulous Krampus tale, Lucky Girl, one of our favourites and perfect for a cold, winter's night.

As always, our thanks to Mary and hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 619: And Happy Holidays to all! Dec 24, 2022

And that's a wrap. Time to hang up the headphones and take a short break. The Coode Street Podcast is going on hiatus for the remainder of 2022 and will return early in 2023.

Just before the Gershwin Room closes for the holidays, though, Gary and Jonathan take a moment to chat about the Advent Calendar, the year just gone, and more.

Doing something like the podcast is a joy and a privilege, so Gary and Jonathan would like to thank everyone who has appeared on the podcast, everyone who has listened to it, and everyone who has supported it in any way.

We'd also like to thank everyone who has appeared on the podcast this year and everyone who has taken the time to listen. It's a privilege to do this, and we're grateful. See you next year!

Episode 618: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Elizabeth Hand Dec 24, 2022

And so we come to the final episode of the 2022 Coode Street Advent Calendar. Gary sits down to chat with a dear friend of the podcast, Elizabeth Hand, about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, her holiday recommendations, her own classic Christmas story, "Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol", and her fabulous new novel Hokolua Road.

We'd like to thank Liz for making the time to chat with us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 617: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: N K Jemisin Dec 23, 2022

Way back in March 2020 we sat down with N.K. Jemisin to talk about her then-new fantasy novel, The City We Became. It was great. Then we had a whole pandemic, so we thought we'd check in to see how things are going. The holidays are literally upon us and Jonathan and Nora chat about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, and the sequel to that 2020 novel, The World We Make.

As always, our thanks to Nora. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 616: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Tochi Onyebuchi Dec 22, 2022

We spoke with Tochi Onyebuchi back in 2020 as part of "Ten Minutes with...", when his award-winning novella Riot Baby was still new in the world. Since then Tochi's been busy but has still managed to deliver another incredible novel, this time Goliath.

Today Jonathan and Tochi discuss what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, his holiday reads, and what he's been working on.

As always, our thanks to Tochi. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 615: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Nghi Vo Dec 21, 2022

Although Nghi Vo published her first short story all the way back in 2007, it's only been in the last five years that she's really grabbed everyone's attention, first with the 'Singing Hills' cycle of novellas, then with her stunning debut novel, The Chosen and the Beautiful. This year she has two books among the year's very best: 'Singing Hills' novella Into the Riverlands and her fabulous sophomore novel, Siren Queen.

Today for the Coode Street Advent Calendar Gary sits down to talk to Nghi about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, her holiday reads, and what she's got coming out.

As always, our thanks to Nghi for making the time. We hope you all enjoy the episode.

Episode 614: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: John Clute Dec 20, 2022

There are friends of the Podcast, and then there's family. We've been talking to the great and glorious John Clute -- writer, critic, encyclopedist, and more -- since 2010.

Whether it's been about events at the SF Encyclopedia, happenings in SF, or some other thing, he has always been warm, witty, and wise. Today Gary called John in Camden to talk about what he's been reading and what he'd recommend, while also spending some time chatting about his latest collection of essays, Sticking to the End.

As always, our thanks to John for making the time. We hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 613: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Naseem Jamnia Dec 19, 2022

Depending on where you are in the world the weather is either turning chilly or it's becoming warm and sunny, but either way, it's not long till the end of our Advent Calendar. Today Gary talks to Naseem Jamnia about what they've been reading, what they'd recommend, and their exciting new novella, The Bruising of Qilwa.

As always we'd like to thank Naseem for making the time to talk to us and hope you all enjoy the episode!

Episode 612: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: John Kessel Dec 18, 2022

John Kessel has long been a favourite of the podcast. We spoke to him in July about his major new retrospective short story collection, The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel, so it's no real surprise that he's part of our Advent Calendar.

Today Gary had the pleasure of calling John and chatting about what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, and what he's been working on. As always, we thank John for taking the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 611: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Neon Yang Dec 17, 2022

With a week left to go in the Advent Calendar, Jonathan sits down with Neon Yang to discuss what they've been reading, what they've read that they'd recommend, their holiday recommendations, and their exciting debut novel, space opera The Genesis of Misery!

As always, our thanks to Neon, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 610: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Richard Butner Dec 16, 2022

The Coode Street Advent Calendar rolls on through December and today Gary sits down with Shirley Jackson and Locus Award nominee Richard Butner to discuss what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, his holiday reads, and his wonderful new collection, The Adventurists.

As always, our thanks to Richard for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 609: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Lavie Tidhar Dec 15, 2022

We're halfway through December and more than halfway through our Advent Calendar. Today Gary sits down with one of the most interesting and diversely creative writers working in science fiction today, Lavie Tidhar, about his new novels Neom and Maror, his many other projects, as well as what he's been reading lately and would recommend.

As always, our thanks to Lavie for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 608: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Sarah Tolmie Dec 14, 2022

Aurora award winner Sarah Tolmie chats with Gary about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, her holiday recommendations, and her fabulous new novella All the Horses of Iceland (Tordotcom), which was one of our favourite books of the year.

As always, we'd like to thank Sarah for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 607: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Christopher Rowe Dec 13, 2022

As we move closer and closer to the end of the Advent Calendar, Jonathan sits down with good friend of the podcast Christopher Rowe to discuss what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, his holiday reads, and what he's been working on, including his wonderful new novella These Prisoning Hills, which came out earlier this year.

As always, our thanks to Christopher for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 606: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: C S E Cooney Dec 12, 2022

And for the sixteenth day of the Advent Calendar, something a little special. Today Jonathan talks to the delightful C.S.E Cooney about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, her holiday recommendations, and her absolutely wonderful new novel Saint Death's Daughter and collection Dark Breakers.

As always, our thanks to Clare for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 605: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Alix E. Harrow Dec 11, 2022

The Advent Calendar rolls on as we move through the holidays towards year's end. Today Jonathan calls up good friend of the podcast and all-round wonderful person Alix E. Harrow to talk about what she's been reading (lots!), what she'd recommend (also lots!), if she has any favourite holiday reads (yes!), and what she had out this year (the hopefully not-the-last-but-almost-certainly-the-last instalment in the Fractured Fables series, A Mirror Mended) and has coming up (a new novel!).

As always, our thanks to Alix for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 604: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Charlie Jane Anders Dec 10, 2022

Hugo and Nebula Award winner Charlie Jane Anders joins Gary for the 14th instalment of the Advent Calendar to discuss what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, her favourite holiday reads, and her fabulous new novel, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, the latest in her new Unstoppable young adult space opera series.

As always, our thanks to Charlie Jane, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 603: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Stephanie Feldman Dec 09, 2022

With the Coode Street Advent Calendar now in its second half, Gary sits down with the terrific Stephanie Feldman, the author of Who Will Speak for America? and Angel of Losses, to talk about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, and her fabulous new novel, Saturnalia.

As always, our thanks to Stephanie, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 602: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Kelly Robson Dec 08, 2022

As we get towards day 12 and the halfway mark of the Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls up Canada and talks to the always fabulous Kelly Robson about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, what she's working on, and her latest book, lesbian stoner comedy High Times in the Low Parliament , a book that you never knew you needed, but you do.

As always, our thanks to Kelly and we hope you're enjoying the Coode Street Advent Calendar!

Episode 601: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Liz Williams Dec 07, 2022

The holidays are in full swing. Hopefully, everyone is on top of their seasonal shopping and ready to relax and have fun. But if not, we can help. Today Gary sits down with Liz Williams, the award-winning author of Comet Weather, Blackthorn Winter, and the recently released Embertide, to discuss what Liz has been reading, what she'd recommend, what she's been working on, and, maybe, some holiday reading too.

As always, our thanks to Liz. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 600: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Guy Gavriel Kay Dec 06, 2022

It's fitting that the tenth day of the Advent Calendar, which is also the 600th (!!) official episode of The Coode Street Podcast, should feature a dear friend, Guy Gavriel Kay, who chats with Jonathan about what he's been reading lately, what he might recommend, his wonderful book All the Seas of the World, and even recommends a special holiday cocktail!

As always, our thanks to Guy and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 599: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Rachel Swirsky Dec 05, 2022

As we move through the first week of December and into day nine of the Advent Calendar series, Gary spends some time chatting with the incredible Rachel Swirsky about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, what she reads on the holidays, what work she has coming out, and her fabulous science fiction novella January Fifteenth (Tordotcom), which looks at how universal basic income might affect some of us.

As always, our thanks to Rachel for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 598: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Tamsyn Muir Dec 04, 2022

For the eighth day of the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Jonathan called Tamsyn Muir, author of the New York Time Bestselling 'Locked Tomb' series, to talk about her somewhat unexpected novel Nona the Ninth, what she's been reading lately, what she'd recommend, and her thoughts on holiday reads.

As always, we would like to thank Tamsyn for taking the time to chat with us and hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 597: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Kate Heartfield Dec 03, 2022

Earlier this year we talked to the fabulous Kate Heartfield about her novel, The Embroidered Book. Now, for day seven of the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Gary chats with Kate about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, and her favourite holiday reads.

As always, our thanks to Kate. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 596: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Sequoia Nagamatsu Dec 02, 2022

Day six of the Coode Street Advent Calendar sees Jonathan chatting with the incredible Sequoia Nagamatsu about what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, what he might recommend for the holidays, and his fabulous debut novel, How High We Go in the Dark.

As always, our thanks to Sequoia and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 595: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Sam J. Miller Dec 01, 2022

The Coode Street Advent Calendar rolls into the fifth day, and this time Gary takes a little time to chat with the wonderful Sam J. Miller about his new novella, Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy, and his short story collection, Boys, Beasts & Men. There's also, no doubt, some holiday chat with books and such being recommended.

As always, our thanks to Sam and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 594: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Alex Jennings Nov 30, 2022

For the fourth instalment of the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Jonathan called New Orleans to talk to exciting debut author Alex Jennings about how he was still envious about not having made it to the World Fantasy Convention there. The conversation also touched on what Alex had been reading, what they have coming out, and their fabulous first novel, The Ballad of Perilous Graves, which Alex describes as "a Blaxploitation Pippi Longstocking adventure"!!!

As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 593: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Aliette de Bodard Nov 29, 2022

The third day of the Coode Street Advent Calendar sees Gary talking to long-time podcast favourite Aliette de Bodard about their year in reading and writing, their new novella, Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances, and the first ever Xuya universe novel, The Red Scholar’s Wake. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation!

Episode 592: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Kelly Barnhill Nov 28, 2022

For the second day of the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Jonathan sits down to chat with the delightful Kelly Barnhill, whose novels When Women Were Dragons and The Ogress and the Orphans came out this year. Both are highly recommended. Enjoy!

Episode 591: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Nicola Griffith Nov 27, 2022

The end of the year is fast approaching, and this year the Coode Street Podcast is doing something a little different. We've invited 24 creators of some of this year’s best and most interesting books to join us for ten minutes or so to talk about what they're reading now, their favourite holiday reads, what they had out this year, and what they’ve got coming out in the year ahead. It’s a Coode Street Advent Calendar if that’s your thing, or just a run-up to December 24 for book lovers.

Today's guest is the wonderful Nicola Griffith, the multiple award-winning author of Ammonite, Slow River, Hild, and many more. Her brilliant queer recasting of the Arthurian story, Spear, was published earlier this year.

Episode 590: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2022 Nov 27, 2022

With the end of the year almost upon us, Coode Street was looking for a way to celebrate the books we read and loved during 2022. We also wanted to help you find something great to read for yourself or for someone close to you. And so the 2022 Coode Street Advent Calendar was born! Here are twenty-eight books that we loved and that we think you might love too. Space operas and epic fantasies, horror stories and comedies. Six-hundred page immersive tomes and light-footed short story collections. A little bit of everything! To make this more than just a list, though, we're going to do something else. Every day between now and December 25 we're chatting with the wonderful creators of these books and asking them about what they've been reading, what holiday story they'd recommend, their own books for this year, and the ones they might have coming in 2023.

Kelly Barnhill and When Women Were Dragons & The Ogress and the Orphans
Richard Buttner and The Adventurists
C.S.E Cooney and Saint Death's Daughter
Aliette de Bodard and Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances & The Red Scholar's Wake
Stephanie Feldman and Saturnalia
Nicola Griffith and Spear
Elizabeth Hand and Hokuloa Road
Alix E. Harrow and A Mirror Mended
Kate Heartfield and The Embroidered Book
N.K. Jemisin and The World We Make
Alex Jennings and The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Guy Gavriel Kay and All the Seas of the World
Paul McAuley and Beyond the Burn Line
Sam J. Miller and Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy & Boys, Beasts & Men
Tamsyn Muir and Nona the Ninth
Sequoia Nagamatsu and How High We Go in the Dark
Tochi Onyebuchi and Goliath
M. Rickert and Lucky Girl: How I Became a Horror Writer
Kelly Robson and High Times in the Low Parliament
Christopher Rowe and These Prisoning Hills
Rachel Swirsky and January Fifteenth
Lavie Tidhar and Neom
Nghi Vo and Siren Queen & Into the Riverlands
Liz Williams and Embertide
Neon Yang and The Genesis of Misery

The sharp-eyed among you will notice that there aren't quite 28 entries in our Advent Calendar. You're right! We're still to record a few, but they should all be in place before this is done. But keep your eyes peeled for more.

What else did we do? Well, it's Coode Street, so we rambled about books of the year, short story collections and more. Hope you enjoy it!

Episode 589: Announcing a Coode Street Advent Calendar Nov 13, 2022

The end of the year is nigh. Jonathan and Gary are working on their year-end recommended reading, and many of us are working on our holiday shopping lists. It's that magical time of the year, for many.

And so, as a little bonus, the Coode Street team are reviving the Ten-Minutes with... format and talking to twenty-four writers about what their reading, what they have coming out, and what their favourite holiday season reading is. Twenty-four writers? It's like one of those calendar-thingies you get in shops at this time of the year. Cool!

We are having fun recording these episodes and, come the first of December, we hope you have fun listening!

Episode 588: Let’s Talk About Space (Opera), Baybee... Oct 30, 2022

With Gary about to leave for the World Fantasy Convention to be held in New Orleans next week, and with Jonathan in the process of assembling anthologies on the most recent iterations of space opera, we spend most of our time discussing the characteristics, history, and too-common misuse of that venerable term.

While we do touch briefly on the etymology of 'space opera', and on the pulp-era adventures that Wilson Tucker had in mind when he rather contemptuously coined the term in 1941, most of the discussion focuses on how the idea has evolved since M. John Harrison set out to demolish the old-school space opera with The Centauri Device in 1974, the efforts of Paul J. McAuley and others to define a new space opera in the 1980s (and Jonathan and Gardner Dozois’s The New Space Opera anthologies of 2007 and 2010), the influence of media, and more recent examples ranging from James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series to Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya universe, Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series, and other authors who have energetically begun to reclaim space opera for a more diverse cast of characters. We fully expect enthusiastic disagreements.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. See you all again after World Fantasy!

Episode 587: Eileen Gunn and the Night Shift Oct 22, 2022

This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by the wonderful Eileen Gunn, whose Night Shift Plus... is the latest volume in PM Press’s ongoing series of “Outspoken Authors” collections, which combine fiction and nonfiction with an author interview by series editor Terry Bisson.

We discuss Eileen’s stories, her essays on Ursula K. Le Guin, Carol Emshwiller, and Gardner Dozois (and her essay on William Gibson's Neuromancer that she could not include in the collection), her earlier collections Stable Strategies and Questionable Practices, the early days of the online zine Infinite Matrix and what it was like in the early days of Microsoft, her wide range of connections in the SF world, and her fascinating novel in progress. As usual, there are digressions, but they’re pretty interesting, too.

Episode 586: Ray Nayler and Breaking Down Communicating Oct 09, 2022

With the fall season of Coode Street underway, Jonathan and Gary sit down with the brilliant Ray Nayler, whose first novel The Mountain in the Sea has just been published. We touch upon the many themes of the novel, from the problems of alien communication to artificial intelligence, the nature of consciousness, the ethics of science, and corporate malfeasance—not to mention lots of octopuses.

We also chat about his eclectic reading habits, from his early passion for Shakespeare to allusions in his novel as varied as Mary Shelley and Jack London. He also discusses his relationship to genre and how his reading and writing fit into the considerable demands of his professional career.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 585: Caution - May Contain Traces of Kitten Sep 18, 2022

After far too many weeks of an unscheduled summer hiatus, Jonathan and Gary are back with a discussion of the recent Worldcon, which felt in many ways like a return to classic Worldcon form. But then we amble into a discussion that ranges from whether there are too many awards in SF to the question of whether “hard SF” is still a viable category that means what it once did—"playing with the net up”--and how the multiverse seems to have joined time travel and even moon colonies as narrative devices which has more or less escaped the rigours of SF to become features of mainstream novels and media franchises. Also, as always, a bit about who and what we’ve been reading.

Episode 584: Back on the ramble Jul 31, 2022

For the handful of listeners who might be nostalgic for those earlier Coode Streets which were mostly just disorganized rambles, this week we return to form—or lack of form, as the case may be.

We do mention Rich Horton’s recent re-reads of pre-Hugo SF classics, and his contention that 1953 was a high point in SF publishing, but then get into questions of why it was just an impressive year (partly due to a backlog of SF writing that hadn’t previously been widely available in book form), which in turn leads us to another discussion of the familiar periods of SF history still make much sense given the broadening of the field in the last half-century. Are there other Golden Ages? Are we in one now? How do today’s readers decide which earlier SF is worth reading? Is the overall quality of SF stronger today than ever, or are we simply applying different or more stringently literary standards? This leads to a digression about exciting books coming out later this year, and a number of other topics that we challenge you to even try to keep track of. But at least we had fun.

Episode 583: John Kessel and a Life in Science Fiction Jul 17, 2022

This week we’re joined by the distinguished, multiple award-winning John Kessel, whose collection The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel is recently out from Subterranean Press, representing John’s four-decade career as an SF writer, teacher, editor, scholar, and workshop leader. We touch upon not only his short fiction, but novels like The Moon and the Other and Pride and Prometheus, his early studies under James Gunn, his thematic anthologies co-edited with James Patrick Kelly, and what really happened in SF during the 1980s.

As always, we'd like to thank John for taking the time to talk to us and hope you'll enjoy the episode.

Episode 582: Rachel Swirsky and the Universality of Caring Jul 04, 2022

For the first week in July, we’re joined by Nebula Award winner Rachel Swirsky, whose novella January Fifteenth ( just out from Tordotcom) is a provocative exploration of the idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as it might play out in the lives of four women in very different circumstances. We touch upon Rachel’s decision to focus on characters rather than systems, to set the tale in a recognizable near future, and to deliberately restrain from many science-fictional bells and whistles.

This leads to how SF deals, too rarely, with questions of economic policy and the effects on individual lives —in the case of January Fifteenth, a woman escaping from an abusive ex-spouse, a journalist covering the effects of UBI, a well-off college student whose friends deliberately waste their annual checks, and a young member of a repressive religious cult. As usual, we touch upon what’s next for Rachel, including an intriguing collaboration with Ann Leckie.

As always, our thanks to Rachel for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 581: Kate Heartfield and The Embroidered Book Jun 19, 2022

This week, Jonathan and Gary are delighted to chat with Kate Heartfield, whose thoroughly engrossing historical fantasy The Embroidered Book, already a bestseller in the UK and Canada, has just been published in the United States.

We talk about the research that went into her fascinating tale of the sisters Antoine and Charlotte, who grew up to become Marie Antoinette and Queen Charlotte of Naples, and of how magical books of spells secretly helped shape the history of 18th century Europe. We touch upon her earlier Aurora-winning Armed in Her Fashion, the various ways of incorporating fantasy into history, the question of whether historical fiction might be received differently in different cultures and markets, and some hints about her current work in progress.

It’s a pretty lively discussion, and we think a lot of fun. As always, our thanks to Kate for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 580: Christopher Rowe and the Instrumentality of Influence May 22, 2022

This week, Jonathan and Gary are joined by the brilliant Christopher Rowe, whose novella These Prisoning Hills appears next week from Tordotcom, revisiting the wonderful and bizarre world first introduced in his earlier stories “The Voluntary State” and “The Border State.”

We cover quite a bit of territory, ranging from Christopher's own influences, what it means to be associated with a particular region (such as Kentucky and Tennessee in Christopher’s case), the nature of influence in SF, and Christopher’s own discovery of the work of Cordwainer Smith, whose stories he’s been assiduously collecting in their original magazine appearances.

As usual, we would like to thank Christopher for taking the time to talk to us, and hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 579: Remembering Patricia A. McKillip May 16, 2022

Earlier this week, we were all stunned by the news of the tragic death of World Fantasy Life Achievement Award winner Patricia McKillip, whose luminous works have influenced and moved generations of readers and writers for nearly half a century.

Jonathan and Gary are joined by McKillip’s longtime friend, Ellen Kushner, herself a winner of World Fantasy, Locus, and Mythopoeic Awards, and by Campbell Award winner E. Lily Yu, We talk some about Pat’s personal modesty and sharp wit, but mostly about her astonishing body of work, not only in fantasy but (as Lily points out) in her less familiar forays into SF. Like all tributes, it’s probably inadequate to the work, but it’s deeply felt by all of us.

Episode 578: Kind of dull, but it’s something May 01, 2022

This week’s discussion begins with Gary wondering about what he tentatively calls the use of absurdism in some recent novels, mentioning Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons and Sunyi Dean's forthcoming The Book Eaters, each of which features a powerful central metaphor that refuses to resolve itself into traditional SF or fantasy systems—somewhat like the old Theatre of the Absurd playwrights like Ionesco. This leads to yet another discussion of what may be happening with the notion of genres, and how an earlier generation of gatekeeping editors has given way to editors more welcoming to a variety of voices and approaches. We more or less conclude that, while this reinvigorates the traditional genres, there are plenty of options for readers who still prefer the familiar formulas and traditions. Finally, we talk a bit about getting together for a possible live podcast at Chicon later this summer.

Episode 577: Books, classics, and collecting Apr 15, 2022

It's only been a week since Jonathan and Gary sat down to chat with Nicola Griffith about her new book, Spear, but in a bid to get back on schedule, they took a moment to record a new episode for the coming long weekend.

They kick off chatting about travel during the pandemic and the coming WorldCon, before Jonathan admits he's only just read Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, and they then go on to talk about Le Guin's work, the oddities of book buying and collecting, and then our hosts attempt to answer the age-old questions: do you need to read a book? if so, why? do you need to keep book? which ones can you get rid of, and how? Really, it's a ramble that kicks off with Earthsea and ends up chatting about books. It's a Coode Street podcast.

As always, our thanks for your patience with our rambles. We hope you enjoy the episode, and see you again pretty soon!

Episode 576: Nicola Griffith and Spear Apr 03, 2022

This time out, Jonathan and Gary are joined by the brilliant Nicola Griffith, whose Spear, out this month, revisits Arthurian tales from an entirely new perspective. We chat about how the novel came about, Arthurian literature as fan fiction, the wonderful illustrations by Rovina Cai, and what it was like to record the audiobook. We also discuss its similarities to and differences from her well-received historical novel Hild and its forthcoming sequel Menewood, as well as Nicola’s classic early novels Ammonite and Slow River, her recent So Lucky, and forthcoming reissues of her Aud Torvingen novels, beginning with The Blue Place.

Episode 575: New books, old readers, and such Mar 27, 2022

With Gary just back from ICFA in Florida, he discussed whether this will really be the year of re-emergence, with both the World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago and World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans in the offing. This led, as it does, to discussion of the Hugos, whether small categories with few nominations should be dropped, whether other categories should be added, and whether major historical studies such as Mike Ashley’s five-volume The History of the Science-Fiction Magazines really have a chance of being seen because of availability issues, as compared to the increasingly broad definition of “related work.”

Inevitably, we chatted about new or forthcoming books we’re excited about. We both liked Guy Gavriel Kay’s All the Seas of the World, Alix E. Harrow’s A Mirror Mended, and Christopher Rowe’s These Prisoning Hills, while Jonathan is tempted by Karen Joy Fowler’s new novel Booth and Gary’s about to start Samit Basu’s The City Inside.

Of course, there are lots of digressions in between, including the nature of historical fiction and nostalgia for printed books in the age of e-books (at least for reviewers and critics).

Episode 574: Kickstarters, communities, and more Mar 06, 2022

After reminding listeners that the deadline for Hugo nominations is fast approaching on March 15 (and reminding them once again of the eligibility of this podcast for Best Fancast and of Jonathan for Best Editor, Short Form), we move on to the much-discussed, record-setting Brandon Sanderson Kickstarter, and the question of whether it really matters to anyone other than Sanderson and his readers. Acknowledging that Sanderson readers are fully likely to get exactly what they are expecting, this led us into a brief discussion of reader expectations, also the topic of a recent essay by Molly Templeton on Tor.com. While occasionally we come across a book with almost no prior knowledge or publicity, most books come with expectations based on the author’s previous work, or even the publisher’s reputation.

Some of the authors discussed here, and some that Jonathan and Gary are currently reading or expecting to read, include Guy Gavriel Kay, R.F. Kuang, Kelly Barnhill, Nghi Vo, John Crowley, and Karen Joy Fowler. At the end, we touch briefly upon the question of history in fiction, and the different strategies of using entirely fictional characters, almost entirely historical figures, or a mixture of both.

Episode 573: The 2021 Locus Recommended Reading List Feb 20, 2022

This week, in our more-or-less annual discussion of the Locus Recommended Reading List, we are delighted to be joined by Locus Editor-in-Chief Liza Groen Trombi.

We talk about the purpose of the list, how it has changed over the years, how books or stories get on the list, and a few thorny questions about how to decide whether a novel is SF or fantasy if it contains substantial elements of both. In addition to mentioning some of our own favourite works of the year, we touch upon the importance of the First Novels list, which might be a harbinger of what's to come, and how story collections and YA novels have grown in importance over the years.

Toward the end, we pay a brief tribute to two Locus Magazine pioneers, reviewer Faren Miller (who was also the magazine's first full-time employee), and bibliographer William G. Contento, who helped establish resources that remain crucial to anyone interested in the SFF field.

Episode 572: Genre, change, and the passage of time Feb 13, 2022

This week (episode 3 of season 13) we return to our tradition of almost entirely unstructured rambling. Jonathan and Gary consider such questions as to whether a novel can be good SF, but not much good in literary terms, or a good literary novel not much good as SF.

While we recognize that many popular subgenres, from military SF to heroic fantasy, have plenty of readers loyal to the old traditions, we muse about whether many of today’s writers feel some pressure to meet both traditional literary and SF standards, and Jonathan namechecks R.F. Kuang. Some writers we mention, such as Arkady Martine, seem to effortlessly do both. On the other hand, why were several genre mystery readers of the 1930s and 1940s, like Hammett and Chandler, were later recognized as major literary figures, the same didn’t seem to have to SF writers of the same period.

Toward the end, we touch upon Paul Kincaid's provocative new essay, "A Taxonomy of Reviewing" and his book on Brian W. Aldiss, amongst other things.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 571: The New Year and New Books Jan 24, 2022

This week Jonathan and Gary are back, a little early, to talk about the annual science fiction calendar, the awards season, how there are so many awards, what books they’re reading, and what books they’ve worked on. Oh, and for a short moment, they touch on movies and TV too.

All in all, episode two of season 13, sounds pretty much like most of the other episodes we've recorded over the past twelve years, so if they were your jam, this might be too.

As always, we hope you enjoy it and are very grateful to everyone for listening in...

Episode 570: Coode Street’s Books to Look for in 2022 Jan 15, 2022

Welcome to The Coode Street Podcast. With 2021 barely in the rearview mirror, it's time to kick off season 13 with a brand new episode. A little over a month ago we sat down with James Bradley, Alix E. Harrow, and Ian Mond to discuss 2021: The Year in Review in Episode 568. At the end of that chat, we all said we'd back to discuss the books we're looking forward to in 2022, and here we are!

This week we discuss 25 or so books that we are looking forward to or, maybe, have read already and can recommend that you check out (along with a few strays). Pre-order links are below. We also are clear we've definitely missed books we'll end up loving.

As always, our sincere thanks to James, Alix, and Ian for making time to chat with us. We hope you enjoy the episode and that you'll see us again in a couple weeks.

JAMES

The Candy House, Jennifer Egan
To Paradise, Hanya Yanigihara
Goliath, Tochi Onyebuchi
Sea of Tranquility, Emily St John Mandel
A History of Dreams, Jane Rawson

ALIX

Siren Queen, Nghi Vo
Saint Death's Daughter, C.S.E. Cooney
How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu
Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir
Spear, Nicola Griffith

IAN

The This, Adam Roberts
Dark Breakers, C.S.E Cooney
The Last Blade Priest, Will Wiles
Booth, Karen Joy Fowler
Hard Places(1), Kirstyn McDermott

JONATHAN

The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest, Felix Salten (trans. Jack Zipes)
Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, R.F. Kuang
The Landing, Mary Gentle
All the Seas of the World, Guy Gavriel Kay
Devil House, John Darnielle

GARY

A Mirror Mended, Alix E. Harrow
Aspects, John M. Ford
High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robson
The Daughter of Dr. Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Boys, Beasts, and Men, Sam J. Miller

(1) Pre-order not yet available.

Episode 569: A Thank You for Supporting Us for So Long Dec 24, 2021

The Coode Street Podcast kicked off in May 2010. Over the next 568 episodes Jonathan and Gary, and far too many friends of the podcast to be named here individually, talked about a shared love of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in all of their many forms.

Just a week ago, the members of the World Science Fiction Convention awarded the Coode Street Podcast with the Hugo Award for Best Fancast. This time out we take a moment, on the very edge of the holidays, to say thank you. Thank you to everyone out there involved, no matter how small or how large your contribution to our ongoing conversation. We will ever be in deeply in your debt for your support.

We'll be back in 2022, but for now we'd like to wish you a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season and a thoroughly magical New Year. See you again soon!

Episode 568: A Very Coode Street Gift Guide Roundtable Dec 05, 2021

The holiday season is upon us, another strange, unforgettable year is almost done, and here at Coode Street it's time for our annual gift guide/year in review, where we recommend some books we loved during the year.

This time out we invited special guests and good friends James Bradley, Alix E. Harrow, and Ian Mond to join us to recommend just a few of the books we'd loved the most during 2021. Perhaps more than in any other year, this was a time when we all were almost surprised at how much great reading we found.

Because this is Coode Street, traditions are traditions and we had some technical issues. All is good for most of the hour of the recording, but there's a jump or two towards the end. We hope you'll excuse this, and that the recommendations will prove of interest.

As always, our thanks to Alix, James, and Ian for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the podcast and that the guide is of some use. To help, the recommendations are below. And we're in talks to maybe return in January for a books we're looking forward to chat as well...

James Bradley recommended:

Jennifer Mills, The Airways
Elizabeth Knox, The Absolute Book
Nina Allan, The Good Neighbours
Olga Ravn, The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century

and also mentioned:

Alexandra Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun
Laura Jean McKay, The Animals in That Country
Marion Engel, Bear
Garth Nix, Terciel and Elinor
Sim Kern, Depart, Depart
Hari Kunzru, Red Pill

Alix E. Harrow recommended:

Lee Mandelo, Summer Sons
Shelley Parker-Chan, She Who Became the Sun
Ava Reid, The Wolf and the Woodsman
Nghi Vo, The Chosen and the Beautiful

And I also loved/mentioned/endorsed:

Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Angela Slatter, All the Murmuring Bones

Ian Mond recommended:

Build Your House Around My Body, Violet Kupersmith
The Thing Between Us, Gus Moreno
The Confessions of Copeland Cane, Keenan Norris
All the Murmuring Bones, Angela Slatter
Dead Souls, Sam Rivière
The Angels of L19, Jonathan Walker
Mrs Death: Misses Death, Salena Godden
The Employees, Olga Ravn (translated by Martin Aitken)

Jonathan recommended:

The Hood, Lavie Tidhar
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers
The Wisdom of Crowds, Joe Abercrombie

and passingly mentioned The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty.

Gary recommended:

Karin Tidbeck, The Memory Theatre
M. Rickert, The Shipbuilder of Belfairie
E. Lily Yu, On Fragile Waves
Nina Allan, The Art of Space Travel and Other Stories
P. Djèlí Clark, A Master of Djinn

Pus a couple of titles that were also on other folks’ lists, like The Hood and The Chosen and the Beautiful.

Episode 567: Sheree Renée Thomas and science fiction Nov 21, 2021

Welcome to episode 25 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary sit down with the very talented and extremely busy Sheree Renée Thomas to discuss her award-winning collection Nine Bar Blues, her first year editing the venerable Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the lasting impact of her Dark Matter anthologies, her forthcoming anthologies Trouble the Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue (co-edited with Pan Morrigan and Troy L. Wiggins) and Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction (co-edited with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Zelda Knight, her own experiences growing up as an SF and horror reader, and the new age of recognizing African and African diaspora SFF. It’s a pretty lively conversation.

As always, our sincere thanks to Sheree Renée Thomas, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Order now!

Episode 566: On life achievement, awards, and more Nov 08, 2021

Welcome to episode 24 of Season 12 of the Coode Street Podcast. As the year draws to a close and winter comes to Chicago and summer to Perth, Gary and Jonathan sit down for an unexpected and unplanned conversation about life achievement awards and their meaningfulness, a brief foreshadowing of a discussion about interrogating the sociopolitical assumptions of a work of fiction, and more.

This time out there were a few technical issues in the final five minutes of the recording, but those have hopefully been addressed by editing. Two episodes remain in the season - a good time to be discussing the year in review and the best fiction of 2021 - before we go on hiatus, but for now we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 565: On work published after the author‘s death Oct 24, 2021

Welcome to episode 23 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week, after a brief and mostly irrelevant discussion of whether the proposition that Ray Bradbury as the quintessential October writer means anything at all outside North America, Jonathan and Gary actually try to focus on an important question: whether posthumous publications actually do anything to enhance an author’s reputation.

We make distinctions between works that the author clearly wanted to be published (like Philip K. Dick final four novels), works that the author clearly did not intend for publication (like some late Heinlein manuscripts), and works which the author may or may not have tried to publish during their lifetimes (such as a number of R.A. Lafferty manuscripts completed or continued by other hands, including novels by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Robert Jordan, and Terry Pratchett). We even touch upon whether the J. Michael Straczynski The Last Dangerous Visions is a useful idea decades after Harlan Ellison began the project. Do author's estates see posthumous publication as a means of keeping an author’s name alive, as a purely commercial proposition, or as a way of arguing for an author’s canonical status? Other authors touched upon include J.R.R. Tolkien, John M. Ford, Philip José Farmer, and even a few examples from mainstream fiction, such as John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, which won a Pulitzer Prize more than a decade after its author's death.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 564: Oghenechovwe Ekpeki and African Speculative Fiction Oct 10, 2021

Welcome to episode 22 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. In this episode, Gary and Jonathan talk to Oghenechovwe Ekpeki, author of the Otherwise Award-winning and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, British SF Award, and Nebula Award-nominated novella "Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon", editor of The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction, and co-editor with Zelda K. Knight of the British Fantasy Award-winning anthology Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora.

Oghenechovwe joins us from Lagos, Nigeria to discuss growing up reading speculative fiction in Nigeria, his hopes for The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction series, the challenges facing writers from Africa to get a chance to be a part of the international science fiction community, his upcoming anthology African Risen for Tordotcom (co-edited with Sheree Renee Thomas and Zelda K. Knight), and much more.

While there are, later in the podcast, a few moments where static affected our Skype connection, we hope you'll bear with the episode. As always, we'd like to thank Oghenechovwe for taking the time to talk to us, and hope that you enjoy the episode.

Available for order now:

Episode 563: A Ramble in the Wilderness Sep 19, 2021

Welcome to episode 21 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast.Once again, it's just Jonathan and Gary, talking about the various roles anthologies have played in the history of science fiction and how that role may be different these days, the nominees and winners of the 2021 Ignyte Awards from FIYAHCON 2021, N.K. Jemisin being named as one of Time Magazine's top 100 most influential people, how SF has begun to shift its historical perspective in terms of colonialism and international literatures, new media adaptations of Asimov and Herbert, and, as always, how genre and other barriers are breaking down and how neither of us is quite keeping up with all the fascinating new fiction published every month, suggesting that maybe 2021 is turning out to be a pretty exciting year.

Episode 562: Reading, reviewing, and an old question answered Aug 29, 2021

Welcome to episode 20 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. It's just Jonathan and Gary again, eventually circling around an interesting question raised by Andrew Liptak in Transfer Orbit concerning the question of reading the right book at the right time, rather than being chained to the constant parade of new books and their publicity cycles.

Along the way we pause to note the recent passing of Erle Korshak, one of the last survivors of 1930s fandom; the value and hazards of re-reading old favorites from Gene Wolfe to Dune; the way to arrange stories in an anthology or collection; some newer books by Lavie Tidhar, Joe Abercrombie, and others; the importance of context in reviewing, and, inspired by Matt Bell's My Le Guin Year: Craft Lessons from a Master on Tor.com, how Ursula Le Guin got some things right long before anyone else did, with her own Tehanu. In other words, our usual laser-like focus on whatever comes up in the moment.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 561: Science fiction, influence, and more Aug 22, 2021

Welcome to episode 19 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This time out, Jonathan and Gary return, sans guests or much of a plan. They do manage to touch upon a number of significant issues, such as the work of newly minted World Fantasy Life Achievement winner Howard Waldrop, whether Waldrop could be viewed as a regional author (a Texan in particular), and which other writers might be thought of a representing particular regional voices (R.A. Lafferty, Andy Duncan, Christopher Rowe, Daryl Gregory?), and how regional voice may show up even in the work of hard SF writers like Gregory Benford. This leads into a more general discussion of influences. Are films based on Philip K. Dick now more influential than Dick’s novels themselves? How are innovative writers like Greg Egan (who just turned 60) and Ted Chiang seen as influential?

This leads, somehow, into a discussions of how writers like Dick, Lovecraft, Le Guin, Octavia Butler made it into the Library of America, and finally to the importance of international and regional anthologies such as Oghenchovwe Donald Ekpeki’s new Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction. As always, we also touch upon what we’re reading this week.

Episode 560: Arkady Martine and Memories of Empire Aug 08, 2021

Welcome to episode 18 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This time out, Jonathan and Gary are joined by the wonderful Arkady Martine, author of the Hugo-winning A Memory Called Empire and its equally remarkable sequel A Desolation Called Peace. We touch upon how her research as an academic historian helped shape her fiction, the various meanings of empire (and the comparative virtues of SF and fantasy in dealing with such concepts), growing up with a houseful of SF classics from Asimov to Zelazny, and her own current work—including the possibility of more stories set in the Teixcalaanli universe and a likely venture into near-future SF.

As always, our thanks to Arkady for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 559: Partway through the pandemic, a ramble Aug 01, 2021

Welcome to episode 17 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. For those very few of you who might be wondering what Jonathan and Gary ramble on about when they’re not recording or talking to guests, here's a taste—especially if you make it all the way to the last ten minutes or so, when we end up talking about our vaccination cards and possible travel plans.

Before we get there, however, we touch upon the new Lavie Tidhar novel The Hood, which we’re both in the midst of reading and is due out in October. That leads to a broader discussion of Tidhar's work and an even broader discussion about how historical material is handled differently in fantasy from the way it is in SF, and whether the classic view of SF’s manifest destiny even holds up anymore, given the variety of voices and perspectives now available.

Some of the authors we touch upon are Arkady Martine, John Varley, C.J. Cherryh, Isaac Asimov (and the forthcoming Apple TV+ series derived from the Foundation series), Kelly Robson, John Varley, and a few others. A mixed bag, for sure.

Episode 558: M. Rickert and The Shipbuilder of Bellfaerie Jul 25, 2021

Welcome to episode 16 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week, Jonathan and Gary chat with the marvellous M. Rickert, whose new novel The Shipbuilder of Bellfaerie is out next week from Undertow Publications.

We touch upon how the novel draws from traditions as varied as nautical legends, mysteries, and even Frankenstein, and on the virtues and challenges of the novel as a form compared to novellas and short fiction, the importance of letting the reader use their own imaginations, whether or not M. Rickert fiction is horror fiction (depending, of course, on how horror is defined), whether a reader missing the point is really such a bad thing, and some earlier classic M. Rickert stories like “The Chambered Fruit,” “Bread and Bombs,” and “The Mothers of Voorhisville.”

As always, our thanks to Mary for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 557: All This and Dystopia Too Jul 18, 2021

Welcome to episode 15 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast.

For the first time in more than two months, it’s just Jonathan and Gary again, talking about science fiction of the anthropocene, whether science fiction has shifted its “consensus future” away from the optimism of past eras, the notion that forms such as space opera have begun to look more like heroic fantasy than old-fashioned extrapolation, and the rapidly multiplying meanings of the term dystopia.

In an unusual departure from our usual literature-based rambles—we also touch on what we both think of recent MCU contributions like Loki, Black Widow, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—and what they may tell us about corporate storytelling, along with chatter about Miracle Workers and Jonathan's rewatch of The Lord of the Rings.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 556: Lavie Tidhar and a World of Science Fiction Jul 02, 2021

Welcome to episode 14 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by multiple award-winning author and editor Lavie Tidhar to discuss his brand new anthology, The Best of World SF: Vol 1, his years working to bring SF from around the world to North American and UK audiences, the value of reading widely and from different perspectives, and much more. Along the way we also touch on his forthcoming new novels The Escapement and The Hood, and much more.

As always, our thanks to Lavie for making time to talk to us and we hope you enjoy the episode. See you again soon!

Episode 555: Catherynne M. Valente and Telling Tales Jun 26, 2021

Welcome to episode 13 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by the wonderful Catherynne M. Valente to talk about her new book The Past is Red, which continues the tale of Tetley Abednego, first introduced to readers in the Sturgeon Award-winning "The Future is Blue" from Jonathan’s anthology Drowned Worlds.

We discuss the origins of that story, of the Hugo-nominated Space Opera and its forthcoming sequel Space Oddity, the thriller Comfort Me With Apples (also forthcoming this October), and the importance of working with supportive editors and agents

As always, our thanks to Cat for taking the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 554: Zen Cho and Finding Black Water Sister Jun 21, 2021

Welcome to episode 12 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by the remarkable Zen Cho, whose new novel Black Water Sister will be followed later this summer by an expanded version of her Crawford Award-winning collection Spirits Abroad from Small Beer Press.

We touch upon issues of Malaysian identity both in the new books and in her popular duology Sorcerer to the Crown and The True Queen, the stylistic and thematic challenges of writing for diverse audiences and writing humor in fantasy (with early influences including Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse), and the wonderfully inventive dragons in her short fiction, including the Hugo-winning ‘If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again."

As always, our thanks to Zen for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 553: Daryl Gregory and The Album of Doctor Moreau Jun 05, 2021

Welcome to episode 11 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by Daryl Gregory, whose new novella The Album of Dr. Moreau is an improbable but delightful mashup of H.G. Wells, boy bands, Las Vegas, and locked-room murder mysteries.

We discuss the challenges of attempting so much at novella length, the importance of managing tone, and, not least, the sheer fun of the whole undertaking. Along the way, we touch upon some of Daryl’s earlier novels, including The Devil’s Alphabet, Raising Stony Mayhall, We Are All Completely Fine, and Spoonbenders, as well his forthcoming novel Revelator, a gothic tale set in the Smoky Mountains.

As always, our thanks to Daryl and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 552: Nghi Vo and The Chosen and the Beautiful May 23, 2021

Welcome to episode 10 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary have a delightful conversation with Nghi Vo, whose The Empress of Salt and Fortune won this year’s Crawford Award and is a Hugo finalist, and whose debut novel The Chosen and the Beautiful, a fantastical revisioning of The Great Gatsby with a queer, Asian Jordan Baker as narrator, is out this week.

We discuss the value of fanfic, the virtues and vacancies of Fitzgerald’s classic novel, the question of whether any narrators are ever reliable, and how Nghi managed to convey the sense of a full epic fantasy in The Empress of Salt and Fortune and then shift to a very different narrative mode in When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, the second novella in the “Singing Hills” cycle. We also get a preview of the forthcoming novel Siren Queen, with its intriguing exploration—again in fantastic terms—of the early Hollywood film industry as experienced by an Asian actress.

As always, our thanks to our guest, Nghi, for her time. We hope all of you enjoy the episode.

Episode 551: Sarah Pinsker and We Are Satellites May 08, 2021

Welcome to episode 9 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by Nebula and Philip K. Dick award-winning author and musician Sarah Pinsker, whose new novel We Are Satellites is out this week. We touch upon the actual science of brain implants which served as background research for the novel, her reasons for narrating the story from the points of view of four different family members, the issues of corporate responsibility for new technology, and the surprisingly lax government oversight of medical devices such as those featured in the novel. We also discuss the reception of her much-heralded and prescient novel from last year, Song for a New Day, the challenges of writing near-future SF, her own influences and early reading in the field, balancing a career in music with one in fiction, and some of the stories in her collection Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea.

As always, we'd like to thank Sarah for joining us and hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 550: P. Djèlí Clark and A Master of Djinn May 02, 2021

Welcome to episode 8 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This time out, Jonathan and Gary are joined by P. Djèlí Clark, whose novella Ring Shout has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards this year and whose first novel, A Master of Djinn, appears this month.

We touch upon themes of colonialism and racism, why he decided to set a steampunk novel in 1912 Cairo, his earlier short fiction, how his work as an academic historian informs his fiction, and what it was like, after a lifetime of reading, to discover a community that seemed to welcome his vision. Djèlí’s insights into everything from old Twilight Zone episodes to Birth of a Nation to Robert Jordan’s fantasies make for one of the more stimulating conversations we’ve had in some time.

As always, our thanks to Djèlí and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 549: Lockdown, science fiction, and more Apr 25, 2021

Welcome to episode 7 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary return to form with a classic ramble through a jumble of topics ranging from the postponement of this year’s Swancon in Perth (and a bit of trivia about an American Swanncon from decades ago); the possible effects of the missing convention years on the SFF field; a brief foray into utopian/dystopian fiction; Charles de Lint, urban fantasy, and his new novel Juniper Wiles; our mutual admiration for Catherynne Valente's forthcoming The Past is Red; and bits about what we’ve been reading lately, including Nghi Vo's The Chosen and the Beautiful, fictions that focus on a single technology like Sarah Pinsker's We Are Satellites, alternate histories like P. Djèlí Clark's A Master of Djinn, set in Cairo, and why we’ve been overloaded on London steampunk (especially on TV), while other world cities seem to get short shrift in the whole steampunk/alternate history trend. Some of these authors, we promise, will get a chance to speak for themselves in future episodes.

This year has been tough for a lot of people. Swancon has suffered a lot of extra costs and GoH Claire Coleman is running a GoFundMe to help them out. You can donate here. Also, John Varley had major heart surgery earlier this year. They're running a GoFundMe to help him with expenses. You can donate here. Both campaigns are worthy of support.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We'll see you again soon!

Episode 548: Kelly Robson and Alias Space Apr 18, 2021

Welcome to episode 6 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by the delightful Nebula and Aurora winning author Kelly Robson, whose first collection Alias Space and Other Stories has just been published by Subterranean Press. Kelly discusses life during lockdown in Toronto, the joys of becoming a widely admired short fiction writer after starting out as a “late bloomer,” how SF and fantasy helped get through challenging times when younger, what she’s learned from writers such as Michael Bishop, James Tiptree, Jr., Howard Waldrop, and Connie Willis, the worldbuilding behind her novella Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach (and other stories set in that universe), and the fun she’s had exploring humorous fiction in new work that she's completing right now. And, of course, the wonderful stories that go to make up her new collection.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We'll see you again soon!

Episode 547: Nominating for the World Fantasy Awards Apr 05, 2021

Welcome to episode 5 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. After three weeks of unexcused absences, Jonathan and Gary return, just as the world starts re-emerging with the announcement that the Montreal World Fantasy Convention, at least at present, expects to host an in-person event in early November. That led us to return to our occasional discussion of possible candidates for Life Achievement Awards (limited to those over 62 years of age), with Jonathan again presenting his case for Howard Waldrop, which Gary finds it hard to disagree with. But Gary also mentions several other eligible possibilities.

That leads us toward the other categories on the ballot, and we name some possible candidates for novel, novella, anthology, collection, and artist, as well as the more mysterious categories of special achievements, professional and nonprofessional. As always, we welcome reminders of those we have inevitably overlooked, some of which we will undoubtedly embarrassed about.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We'll see you again soon!

Episode 546:Veronica Schanoes and Burning Girls and Other Stories Mar 07, 2021

Welcome to episode 4 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. Despite an unexpected glitch that caused Jonathan to disappear partway through, he and Gary are joined by Veronica Schanoes, whose Burning Girls and Other Stories is just out, with endorsements from writers and scholars as diverse as Karen Joy Fowler, Jack Zipes, Jane Yolen, Catherynne Valente, Jeffrey Ford, and Roz Kaveny. We talk about fairy tales, anti-Semitism, feminism, labour history, immigrant history, punk rock, and many other elements that go to make up her remarkable short stories.

As always, we'd like to thank Veronica for making the time to talk to us, and hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 545: Aliette de Bodard and Fireheart Tiger Feb 20, 2021

Welcome to episode 3 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week the brilliant Aliette de Bodard joins us from Paris to discuss her new Fireheart Tiger, which is already gathering stellar reviews, as well as the challenges of writing a complex romance with significant political themes, how much world-building is needed for a particular story, her use of mystery plots in recent novellas like Seven of Infinities and The Tea Master and the Detective, and the importance of the city of Paris to her well-received Dominion of the Fallen trilogy.

As always, our thanks to Aliette for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode and see you next time!

Episode 544: Ten Minutes with Max Gladstone Feb 07, 2021

Last year Coode Street sat down with people from all over the world to talk about what they were reading, what they were up to, and how they were coping with strange times. We did it every day, which we probably never will again, and along the way found out it was fun and interesting to check in for a short chat. We're continuing that during 2021.

Ten Minutes with Max Gladstone

The second "Ten Minutes with..." chat for 2021 is with Max Gladstone, the acclaimed author of the Craft Sequence, the Empress of Forever and, with Amal El-Mohtar, This Is How You Lose the Time War.

Max sat down with Jonathan last year and discussed what he had been reading (a lot!), what he'd recommend, and what he had coming up. As always, our thanks to Max for taking the time to chat with us.

Episode 543: The Year in Review and Other Digressions Jan 31, 2021

Welcome to episode 2 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week, in the second of our main season of twenty-six hour-long episodes, our hosts Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan talk to Locus Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Liza Groen Trombi and award-winning writer Daryl Gregory about the year in science fiction and fantasy.

The annual Locus Recommended Reading issue is due out at the beginning of February featuring an overview of the year, the 50th Locus Reader's Poll and annual recommended reading list, so it seemed like a good time to talk trends, themes, books, and more. And, of course, there's the odd digression because it's Coode Street and that's what we do.

As always, our thanks to our guests Liza and Daryl. We hope you enjoy the episode and see you next time!

Episode 542: Ten Minutes with Jason Sizemore Jan 20, 2021

Last year Coode Street sat down with people from all over the world to talk about what they were reading, what they were up to, and how they were coping with strange times. We did it every day, which we probably never will again, and along the way found out it was fun and interesting to check in for a short chat. We're continuing that during 2021.

Ten Minutes with Jason Sizemore

The first "Ten Minutes with..." chat for 2021 is with Apex Magazine editor and publisher, Jason Sizemore. Apex is an award-winning magazine that publishes fantastic fiction. It paused publication due to illness, but is back with exciting new material in 2021. During our conversation Jason discusses the future of the magazine, watching Deadwood for the first time, and the fiction of Mary Doria Russell.

Episode 541: John Clute and Science Fiction Repeating the Future Jan 16, 2021

Welcome to Season 12 of the Coode Street Podcast. This year we're repeating our commitment to bring you at least twenty-six hour-long episodes where our hosts, Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan, talk about science fiction and stuff with little or no coherent purpose, and occasionally interact with interesting people. There will also be additional episodes and bits and pieces, but they'll come in due time.

John Clute and Science Fiction Repeating the Future

This week we're delighted to be joined by the venerable John Clute, who talks to us from a weirdly deserted Camden Town in London, discussing the impact of World War I on the surprisingly large numbers of scientific romance writers of the 1920s and 1930s, some provocative ideas which John laid out in his 2017 Telluride talk "Those who do not understand Science Fiction are Condemned to Repeat It", including the notion of “techno-occultism,” what’s happened with space opera, generation starships, and apocalyptic literature, and what’s wrong with the idea of self-driving cars. As usual with John, there are a lot more ideas that pop up along the way.

I suspect, on reflection, some of us are more optimistic about the future of science fiction and the world than this chat suggests, but we hope you enjoy it and want to sincerely thank John for making the time to talk to us.

Episode 540: The Last Official One for 2020 Dec 13, 2020

Since we’re as anxious as everyone else to finally escape 2020, this one is likely to be Jonathan and Gary’s final episode of the year, unless we think of something irresistible.

We start by reminding long-time listeners (or explaining to some for the first time) where the Coode Street name comes from, then honouring major figures we’ve lost in the last couple of weeks, including Ben Bova, Richard Corben, and Phyllis Eisenstein.

Then, as usual at this time of year, we reflect on some of the important and/or overlooked books we’ve read, the continually widening diversity of the field, some of the major works from major writers that appeared in 2020, and the most pleasant surprises of the year.

We wish you the best of holidays and hope to see you in 2021 when everything will be magically all better all at once. (Hey, we’re talking about SF here!)

Episode 539: A Very Coode Street Gift Guide Nov 29, 2020

We're getting to the end of an extraordinary year and it's almost time to shutter the podcast before a well-earned holiday break.

But, before Gary and Jonathan close the door on the Gershwin Room for the last time for 2020, a special gift guide episode. There were no notes, no plans, no lists - just some off-the-cuff gift suggestions for the holidays. We hope you'll consider your local independent businesses when choosing gifts for the holidays. They're a vital part of our communities.

While this isn't the last time you'll hear from Coode Street in 2020, we would like to thank you all for listening and wish you and your loved ones a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season.

Episode 538: Sheree Renée Thomas, Charles Coleman Finlay and F&SF Nov 15, 2020

Jonathan and Gary continue their irregular 2020 schedule with a conversation with Charles Coleman Finlay, who for more than five years has carried on the grand tradition of editing The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Sheree Renée Thomas, who picks up the mantle as new editor beginning with the March/April 2021 issue. We talk about the magazine’s distinguished history, the challenges of maintaining an iconic magazine in a radically changing short fiction field, and their own experiences as SF readers, writers, and editors.

Episode 537: Ten Minutes with Charlie Jane Anders Nov 03, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and book lovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo and Nebula winner Charlie Jane Anders talks about some new books she’s been reading by Rebecca Roanhorse, Holly Black, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Darcy Little Badger, some past favourites including Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Katherine Dunne, and Ursula K. Le Guin, and her own forthcoming YA trilogy—as well as the differences between writing YA and adult fiction.

Books mentioned include:

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Elatsoe by Darcy Little Badger
Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963–1973 by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

Episode 536: Time for another list Oct 18, 2020

After spending a few minutes chatting about what it’s like to live in a relatively safe but relatively sealed-off environment—something Jonathan can experience in Western Australia, but something SFF has occasionally touched upon—your intrepid hosts venture into the questions raised by Time magazine’s much-discussed list of "The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time,” with occasional reference to similar past lists in Michael Moorcock's Fantasy: The 100 Best Books and Locus magazine's All-Time Best Fantasy poll.

We discuss what’s useful about such lists, what’s silly about them, and who are they really for? Who do they include and who do they exclude, and are they really ever anything much more than something to chat about with friends? As usual, we arrive at some definitively non-definitive answers.

Episode 535: Ten Minutes with Rebecca Roanhorse Oct 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning writer Rebecca Roanhorse chats about living and working through lockdown in New Mexico, the appeal of epic fantasy, reading fantasy for pleasure and science non-fiction for work, her stunning new fantasy novel Black Sun, and her experiences working in the writers' room for an unnamed new TV show.

Books mentioned include:

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark

Episode 534: Ten Minutes with Sheila Williams Oct 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo Award-winning Asimov’s editor Sheila Williams talk about the early days of the pandemic in Manhattan, the challenges of finding time to read anything other than the 800 submissions per month she sees at the magazine, her good luck to have travelled to Ireland and the Canary Islands just before the lockdown began, her new anthology in the Twelve Tomorrows series from MIT Press, and, of course, what she’s been reading.

Books mentioned include:

Entanglements: Tomorrow's Lovers, Families, and Friends edited by Sheila Williams
The Wright Sister by Patty Dann
Nine Bar Blues by Sheree Renee Thomas
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

Episode 533: Ten Minutes with Paul Park Oct 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple award-nominated novelist Paul Park discusses reading the Book of Mormon in preparation for his new novel, the challenges of writing about a society with no recognition of gender (including the problem of pronouns), reading about the Dreyfuss affair, serializing a 14-part story on his Facebook page, and a possible new collection of short fiction.

Books mentioned include:

A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
All Those Vanished Engines by Paul Park
A City Made of Words by Paul Park
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
The Odyssey by Homer Emily Wilson (trans.)

Episode 532: Ten Minutes with S. Qiouyi Lu Oct 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan chats with S. Qiouyi Lu about being highly prolific during the pandemic, the pleasures of immersive reading, reading work in translation (especially in Chinese), the growth in diverse voices, how changing times impact on stories, the recently announced novella In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu (2021)
Inhalations: Collected Works Vol. 1 by S. Qiouyi Lu
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Episode 531: On reading and re-reading speculative fiction Oct 04, 2020

Jonathan and Gary are back with their usual laser-like focus on a single important topic--or maybe not. Starting at the recent release of the trailer for Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune, which has many of us looking back at Frank Herbert's classic novel, they touch upon re-reading old favourites, books that are genuinely sui generis and whether they have a lasting influence, other books that caused us to rethink the possibilities of SFF, "classics" or classic ideas that really don't hold up that well, and of course what they've been reading lately and might be thinking about for the Locus recommended reading list, which we'll both need to start working on in next month.

Episode 530: Ten Minutes with Julie Phillips Oct 01, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Award-winning critic and biographer Julie Phillips talks about listening to audiobooks while biking in Amsterdam, enjoying Martha Wells's Murderbot series, reviewing classic American books newly translated into Dutch, her own fondness for Willa Cather, and her current biographical work on women authors as mothers (including Doris Lessing) and her biography-in-progress of Ursula K. Le Guin.

Books mentioned include:

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Underground Railway by Colson Whitehead

Episode 529: Ten Minutes with Ruoxi Chen Sep 28, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan calls up Tordotcom Publishing editor Ruoxi Chen to chat about revisiting all-time favourites and how re-reading can help keep editors in touch with the readers they need to be, the therapeutic values of disaster nonfiction, dipping into audiobooks, the state of speculative fiction and why there’s a lot to be optimistic about, and a lot more.

Books mentioned include:

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (forthcoming, June 2021)
The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Episode 528: Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future Sep 27, 2020

Coode Street has a long history of talking to Kim Stanley Robinson about the world and his work, starting back in 2011, continuing in our 200th episode in London, and on the publication of 2312, Aurora, and New York 2140, so we couldn't pass up the chance to talk to him now.

In what is easily the longest episode of Coode Street for this strange pandemic year, Gary, Jonathan, and Stan discuss his brand new novel, The Ministry for the Future, the value and purpose of science fiction, Stan's important working relationship with editor Tim Holman, experimenting with form, what comes next, and more.

As always, we'd like to thank Stan for making the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 527: Ten Minutes with Madeleine E. Robins Sep 26, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Madeleine E. Robins, author of the Sarah Tolerance historical mysteries, SF and fantasy, and historical novels, talks about starting her career with Regency novels influenced by Georgette Heyer, how "fluffy bunny" reading doesn’t necessarily mean fluffy, making masks and researching mask laws from a century ago (and the “mask riots” in San Francisco then), and her own recent work and work-in-progress.

Books mentioned include:

Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins
"Omunculus" by Madeleine E. Robins
Whitehall by Liz Duffy Adams, Mary Robinette Kowal, Madeleine E. Robins, Barbara Samuel & Delia Sherman
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Lord Peter Wimsey Series by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
R.U.R. by Karel Čapek
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Episode 526: Ten Minutes with Linda Nagata Sep 25, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Nebula and Locus award-winning Linda Nagata talks about what life in Maui is like with almost no tourists, how audiobooks have improved in recent years, her experiences in running her own publishing company and establishing her own deadlines, and her timely forthcoming novel Pacific Storm.

Books mentioned include:

The Red Trilogy by Linda Nagata
Edges by Linda Nagata
Silver by Linda Nagata
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen

Episode 525: Ten Minutes with Benjamin Rosenbaum Sep 24, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple award-nominee Benjamin Rosenbaum discusses the pandemic as seen from Switzerland, learning to write in his garden when cafes are no longer available, designing board games with his son, the reboot of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, rereading classic SF, and his own recent stories and forthcoming genderless novel.

Books mentioned include:

The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum (forthcoming)
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull
A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
Dune by Frank Herbert
Startide Rising by David Brin
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

Episode 524: Ten Minutes with Delia Sherman Sep 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Award-winning author, editor, and scholar Delia Sherman talks about reading old French newspapers and memoirs; the rewards of research; listening to audiobooks during long walks (including a lot of Dickens!); the orderly appeal of good murder mysteries from Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and others; missing out on being a teenager; and how political themes are finding their way into her novel in progress.

Books mentioned include:

The Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman
The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman
A Quiet Life in the Country by T.E Kinsey
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Phryne Fisher Series by Kerry Greenwood

Episode 523: Ten Minutes with Mary Anne Mohanraj Sep 22, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Writer, professor, and Strange Horizons founder Mary Anne Mohanraj chats with Gary about launching a new cookbook just as everything got locked down, how virtual conventions seem to be improving—and are likely to change the way all cons are conducted in the future, keeping busy sewing masks, serving as a public library board member, and teaching online, why SF doesn’t have enough food in it, South Asian SFF writers, and even how the word serendipity came into the language.

Books mentioned include:

A Feast of Serendib by Mary Anne Mohanraj
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher
Best American Food Writing 2019 edited by Samin Nosrat
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee

Episode 522: Ten Minutes with Andrea Hairston Sep 21, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Playwright, professor, director, and Carl Brandon and Otherwise-award winning writer Andrea Hairston talks with Gary about the necessity of reading during hard times, the appeal of hefty nonfiction titles as well as epic fantasy, the odd satisfaction of a virtual book tour, Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurisms, and her new novel Master of Poisons.

Books mentioned include:

Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff
The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older
Nine Bar Blues by Sheree Renee Thomas
Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal

Episode 521: Ten Minutes with Lisa Goldstein Sep 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

American Book Award winner Lisa Goldstein talks with Gary about her recent novel Ivory Apples, surviving California’s smoky air and a pandemic, trying to read The Decameron, the British comedian Jack Whitehall, comfort to be had from Tana French mysteries and Kage Baker time travel stories, and wrangling the characters in her novel in progress.

Books mentioned include:

Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French
The Company Series by Kage Baker

Episode 520: Ten Minutes with Jeannette Ng Sep 19, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo, Astounding, and British Fantasy Award-winning Jeannette Ng joins Gary from northern England, discussing what it’s like to live near stands of ancient trees, learning to "read" the trees, the folklore and symbology of yew, hawthorn, and mistletoe, the advantages of reading manga on e-devices, and the rewards of reading Jasper Fforde and D&D-related manga.

Books mentioned include:

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History by Rian Thum
The Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
The Delicious in Dungeon series by Ryuko Kui

Episode 519: Ten Minutes with Stephanie Feldman Sep 18, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Crawford Award winner Stephanie Feldman joins Gary to talk about the unexpected complexities of virtual Kindergarten; writing about young adult characters and their attraction to the unknown; the appeal of short fiction by Daphne Du Maurier, Joan Aiken, and Angela Carter; the rewards of reading nonfiction; and her recent story "The Staircase" (published in the July 2020 issue of F&SF).

Books mentioned include:

The Angel of Losses by Stephanie Feldman
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Wolves Chronicles by Joan Aiken

Episode 518: Ten Minutes with Andrea Stewart Sep 17, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting with exciting debut novelist Andrea Stewart about living and working through the pandemic, the pleasures of reading, exciting new books by Kerstin Hall, Megan O'Keefe, and Lisbeth Campbell, and her own book, The Bone Shard Daughter.

Books mentioned include:

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
Inherit the Flame by Megan E. O'Keefe
The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell

Episode 517: Ten Minutes with Jane Routley Sep 16, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan is joined by Aurealis Award-winning writer Jane Routley and they chat about how Jane's coping with the Melbourne shutdown and with being an essential worker, enjoying and participating in the New Zealand Worldcon, reading the Hugo nominees, watching The Umbrella Academy, American Gods, Tales from the Loop, and lots more.

Books mentioned include:

Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and others
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge
A Memory of Empire by Arkady Martine
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Episode 516: Ten Minutes with Annalee Newitz Sep 15, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Science journalist, novelist and Hugo Award-winning podcaster Annalee Newitz joins Jonathan to chat about living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area during the pandemic, the joys of modern science fiction, their novel-in-progress The Terraformers, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Titles mentioned include:

Episode 515: Ten Minutes with Ellen Kushner Sep 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple award-winning author, editor, narrator, and radio personality Ellen Kushner chats with Gary about moving back to New York; ordering favorite children’s and YA books from independent bookstores; reading Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Joan Aiken; the brilliance of Frances Hardinge; group reading Shakespeare with friends online; the University of Glasgow’s new fantasy study center; and odd historical genres like “silver-fork novels.”

Books mentioned include:

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Night Birds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken
Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The True Queen by Zen Cho
Silk & Steel: An Adventure Anthology of Queer SF&F with High Femmes & Dashing Women edited by Janine A. Southard (forthcoming)

Episode 514: Alix E. Harrow and The Once and Future Witches Sep 13, 2020

For the first time since way back in March when they chatted with N.K. Jemisin, Jonathan and Gary are joined by a guest.

This time the wonderful Alix E. Harrow, author of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy nominated The Ten Thousand Doors of January and the forthcoming The Once and Future Witches joins Jonathan and Gary to chat about reinventing fairy tale materials for the modern age, the recent resurgence of novels about witches, the difference between secret histories (as in her earlier novel) and alternate histories (as in the new one), using fantasy to address social and historical issues such as women’s suffrage, and her short fiction including "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies".

As always, our thanks to Alix for making time to join us, and we hope you enjoy the episode. We'll be back tomorrow with another episode of "Ten Minutes with..." and will see you back here in two weeks with another special guest!

Books mentioned include:

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (due Oct 15)
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Episode 513: Ten Minutes with Candas Jane Dorsey Sep 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple award-winning author, poet, and educator Candas Jane Dorsey talks with Gary about teaching writing online, how her communications students seem to be better motivated in recent years, the appeal of detective stories (which John Gardner included among "moral fictions"), why middle-aged women read Jack Reacher novels, and her own forthcoming series of mystery novels and forthcoming YA novel.

Books mentioned include:

The Adventures of Isabel: An Epitome Apartments Mystery by Candas Jane Dorsey
Ice and Other Stories by Candas Jane Dorsey
Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey
A Paradigm of Earth by Candas Jane Dorsey
Crimes and Survivors by Sarah Smith
The Vanished Child by Sarah Smith
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsin Muir
On Moral Fiction by John Gardner
Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child

Episode 512: Ten Minutes with Micaiah Johnson Sep 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan chats with exciting debut novelist Micaiah Johnson about the strangeness of lockdown in Nashville, struggling to work in the early stages of quarantine, the pleasures of listening to creepy horror audiobooks, her early memories of reading genre fiction, and how she found her way to writing book that became The Space Between Worlds.

Books mentioned include:

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Episode 511: Ten Minutes with Cecelia Holland Sep 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Widely respected historical novelist (and very occasional SF or fantasy writer) Cecelia Holland talks with Gary about the smoky conditions in northern California, the joys of doing research, her own new novel about Mongol invasions in the Middle East, and the small comforts of reading favourite poets like W.H. Auden, Richard Howard, and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Books mentioned include:

Heart of the World by Cecelia Holland
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson
Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer
Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

Episode 510: Ten Minutes with Chaz Brenchley Sep 09, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype to talk to Chaz Brenchley about the strange challenges of these times, the comfort to be found reading crime and mystery novels, living and working a short walk from SETI and NASA in Silicon Valley, combining girls school novels and steampunk (and the accompanying Mrs Bailey's Recipes for Medium), taking control of his own publishing, his new short story collection and more.

Crater School

Chaz has been working on a series of English girls' boarding-school stories set on Mars. You can sample the Charter School on his website and read more on his Patreon.

Books mentioned include:

Everything in all the Wrong Order: The Best of Chaz Brenchley by Chaz Brenchley (forthcoming 2021)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe
Dr. Siri Paiboun Series by Colin Cotterill
Bangkok 8 by John Burdett
The Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Series by Laurie R. King
Slough House Series by Mick Herron

Episode 509: Ten Minutes with Lev Grossman (redux) Sep 08, 2020

A reissue, with apologies.

Episode 509: Ten Minutes with Lev Grossman Sep 08, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends some time chatting with Lev Grossman about living and working during the pandemic, spending more time than usual with your loved ones, focussing on work, writing for a different audience, and his brand new middle-grade novel, The Silver Arrow.

Books mentioned include:

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Episode 508: Ten Minutes with Terri Windling Sep 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple World Fantasy Award winner Terri Windling joins Gary to discuss life in a rural English village, her current reading on the connections between oral storytelling and literature, old favourites like Patricia A. McKillip, Robin McKinley, Ursula Le Guin, and Graham Joyce, a new Center for the Study of Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow, and the Modern Fairies Project supported by the Universities of Oxford and Sheffield.

Some of Terri's work can be found at her Patreon.

Books mentioned include:

The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
The Moon Wife by Terri Windling (forthcoming)
The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative by Thomas King
Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country: Traveling Through the Land of My Ancestors by Louise Erdrich
The Way of Imagination by Scott Russell Sanders
Comet Weather by Liz Williams
The Gift by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings

Episode 507: Ten Minutes with Sheree Renée Thomas Sep 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Award winner Sheree Renée Thomas talks with Gary about old horror movies like Burnt Offerings and Trilogy of Terror as comfort viewing, the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking Dark Matter anthology and how the SFF landscape has changed since then, the influence of Octavia E. Butler, and different kinds of music.

Books mentioned include:

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora by Sheree Renée Thomas ed.
Dark Matter: Reading the Bones by Sheree Renée Thomas ed.
Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future by Sheree Renée Thomas
Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement by Monica M. White
The Lark Ascending: The Music of the British Landscape by Richard King
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters by Eric Sackheim & Jonathan Shahn
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer eds.

Episode 506: Ten Minutes with CSE Cooney Sep 05, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Award winner C.S.E. Cooney joins Gary to talk about the joys of rediscovering reading during these strange times; reading Don Quixote aloud; enjoying Ellen Kushner’s forthcoming novel along with work by Sarah Monette / Katherine Addison, Martha Wells, and Sherry Thomas; finishing her first full-length novel; and collaborating with her husband on a screenplay.

Books mentioned include:

Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney
Don Quixote by Cervantes (trans. Edith Grossman)
Doctrine of Labyrinths Series by Sarah Monette
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
The Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry Thomas
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Imperial Radch Series by Ann Leckie

Episode 505: Ten Minutes with Mimi Mondal Sep 04, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Locus Award winner and Hugo and Nebula nominee Mimi Mondal and Gary K. Wolfe chat about gardening and cooking Indian food during the lockdown, researching the ancient history of India and Bangladesh (including the origins of Tibetan Buddhism), cultural references in the Avatar franchise, and, of course, what she’s been reading.

Books mentioned include:

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders
Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
A People’s Future of the United States by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams, eds.

Episode 504: Ten Minutes with Veronica Schanoes Sep 03, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer and scholar Veronica Schanoes joins Gary to talk about what lockdown is like with a 5-year-old in virtual pre-K, the appeal of classic detective stories in depicting a world in which rational solutions work, the portrayal of Jews in the English fairy tale tradition, the influence of Jane Yolen, and her forthcoming short story collection.

Books mentioned include:

Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor
The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
The Shortest Way to Hades and Hilary Tamar mysteries by Sarah Caudwell
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Episode 503: Ten Minutes with Suzy McKee Charnas Sep 02, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary talks with Hugo and Nebula Award winner Suzy McKee Charnas about the delights of a public library during lockdown, her own pioneering work in feminist SF and vampire fiction, a new novel about Bram Stoker, returning to the reliable work of Poul Anderson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Thomas A. Disch, and Joanna Russ, and her own forthcoming titles from Aqueduct Press.

Books mentioned include:

The Holdfast Chronicles by Suzy McKee Charnas
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor
Reluctant Voyagers by Elisabeth Vonarburg
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Comet's Tale: How the Dog I Rescued Saved My Life by Steven D. Wolf
Into Oblivion: An Icelandic Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason
Paper Sun by S.J. Rozan
Night of the Jaguar by Michael Gruber

Episode 502: Ten Minutes with Tim Pratt Sep 01, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo award-winning writer and longtime Locus editor Tim Pratt talks with Gary about serving on juries for two different awards in the same year (the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize and the Philip K. Dick Award), worrying about the fires that everyone in California worries about at this time of year, the appeal of mystery and crime fiction, and of fantasy novels that only imply a larger world rather than spelling it out in detail, and his own forthcoming alternate universe novel, Doors of Sleep.

Books mentioned include:

Doors of Sleep by Tim Pratt
The Marla Mason Series by Tim Pratt
The Axiom Series by Tim Pratt
The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg
Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

Episode 501: Ten Minutes with Chen Qiufan Aug 31, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

One of China’s most widely-honoured SF writers, Chen Qiufan (or Stanley Chan, for English speakers and as a tribute to Stanley Kubrick) joins Gary for a fascinating discussion of apocalyptic literature seen from a perspective of a culture that views the future as repeating itself rather than ending, the importance shifting patterns of growth to stress employment and sustainability, neuroscience as it might relate to meditation or Buddhism, and the uses of AI (including the language model GPT-2) in fiction as it develops its capacity for natural language.

Books mentioned include:

Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Wastelands by Stephen King
Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy by Evan Thompson
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee

Episode 500: Second verse... Aug 30, 2020

For their 500th episode (if you count the shorter “10 Minutes With” episodes they’ve been doing since March), Jonathan and Gary characteristically fail to achieve any sort of clear structure for the discussion but do return to some favourite themes. While we manage to avoid reopening the old canon of worms, we do talk about what science fiction cultural literacy might look like—not in terms of specific works, but in terms of concepts and techniques, and how they might change over time. Would a reader of Gardner Dozois’s first “year’s best” anthology feel any sense of familiarity with Jonathan’s volume from 2020? And as usual, we look at the year so far, some forthcoming books to look for, and the pleasures we’ve had in chatting with new and old friends in our shorter lockdown-era podcasts.

Episode 499: Ten Minutes with Vandana Singh Aug 29, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Only recently back from several months in India, Vandana Singh joins Gary to talk about what experiencing lockdown was like near Delhi and the hardships of day workers suddenly laid off and walking long distances back to their villages, the challenges to a speculative fiction writer of unexpectedly living in a 'bad science fiction novel' and some of the comforts of reading poetry, a novel set in remote Nagaland, 'magical realism' in the stories of Gogu Shyamala, and even Harry Potter.

Books mentioned include:

Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
When the River Sleeps by Easterine Kire
Father May Be an Elephant and Mother Only a Small Basket, But... by Gogu Shyamala

Episode 498: Ten Minutes with Elizabeth Knox Aug 28, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan gets to spend talking to one of New Zealand's finest writers, Elizabeth Knox, who joins the conversation from Wellington (home of the 2020 WorldCon) to talk about living, working and writing during the pandemic, the joys to be found in reading absolutely everything by Diana Wynne Jones and Patrick O'Brian, her new novel The Absolute Book (due in the US in 2021 in a revised edition), and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox
Nothing to See by Pip Adam
The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg

Episode 497: Ten Minutes with Karin Tidbeck Aug 27, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Gary is joined by Crawford Award-winning and World Fantasy Award- nominated Swedish author Karin Tidbeck, discussing her remarkable 2010 Clarion class (three Crawford winners!), the audio narrating skills of Robin Miles, listening to Sandman as an audio drama, the work of Garth Nix and Tove Janssen, a fascinating new novel still awaiting English publication, and her forthcoming The Memory Theatre.

Books mentioned include:

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck
Jagganath by Karin Tidbeck
The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck
The Sandman (audio) by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (narrated by Robin Miles)
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsin Muir
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
The Moomin books and others by Tove Jansson
Monsters In Therapy by Jenny Jägerfeld & Mats Strandberg

Episode 496: Ten Minutes with John Crowley Aug 26, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Life Achievement winner John Crowley chats with Gary about his oddly prescient horror story “Spring Break” (which he says is his only horror story), the evocative prose of Graham Greene’s thrillers, the terror of Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge, and his own recent collections of essays and stories.

Books mentioned include:

And Go Like This: Stories by John Crowley
Reading Backwards: Essays and Reviews 2005-2018 by John Crowley
This Gun for Hire (aka A Gun for Sale) by Graham Greene
The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene
The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene
Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O’Connor
The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn
The Invisible Valley by Su Wei (trans. by Austin Woerner)

Episode 495: Ten Minutes with Charles de Lint Aug 25, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Award Life Achievement recipient and WorldCon Guest of Honor Charles de Lint joins Jonathan to discuss living, working, and reading in these strange times, what he's been working on, the relationship between his work and contemporary urban fantasy, the rewards he's found in taking control of his own publishing, and a new series of urban fantasy novels set in Newford, starting with Juniper Wiles, which he is planning for later this year.

Books mentioned include:

The Wind in His Heart by Charles de Lint
Ballistic Kiss: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey
Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne
Melissa F. Olson is creating stories: A Patreon by Melissa F. Olson
Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge

Episode 494: Ten Minutes with Christopher Priest Aug 24, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

One of the UK's most distinguished novelists, Christopher Priest, joins Gary to discuss how from the beginning he strived for consistency in his body of work, how the lockdown seems to represent a historical discontinuity comparable to World War II, the war's effect on writers such as John Wyndham, H.E. Bates, and Rex Warner, his frustrating experiences with the film version of The Prestige, his recent retrospective story collection, and his forthcoming novel.

Books mentioned include:

The Prestige by Christopher Priest
An American Story by Christopher Priest
Episodes: A Collection by Christopher Priest
The Evidence by Christopher Priest (forthcoming October)
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
V for Victory by Lissa Evans (forthcoming 2021)
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Episode 493: Ten Minutes with Nina Allan Aug 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Award-winning novelist and critic Nina Allan talks with Gary about what the lockdown has been like on a Scottish island almost devoid of the usual seasonal tourists, the appeal of golden age crime novels, the fascinating exercise of seeing how contemporary SFF works sometimes map onto older or classic works, the reissue of her collection Stardust (with a new story added!), and her forthcoming novels.

Books mentioned include:

Ruby by Nina Allan
The Good Neighbors by Nina Allan (forthcoming 2021)
The Last Astronaut by David Wellington
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Engine Summer by John Crowley
Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh

Episode 492: Ten Minutes with Charles Vess Aug 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by multiple award-winning artist and illustrator Charles Vess, chatting about country living during the lockdown, working with authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Neil Gaiman (including a new collector’s edition of Stardust from Lyra's Books with new illustrations and handmade paper), and Charles’s own novel, The Queen of Summer’s Twilight, available on his Green Man Press website.

Books mentioned include:

Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess
Honeycomb (forthcoming 2021) by Joanne Harris (ill. Charles Vess)
The Queen of Summer’s Twilight by Charles Vess
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert McFarland
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The World that We Knew by Alice Hoffman
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Episode 491: Ten Minutes with Sarah Gailey Aug 21, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends a while chatting with Hugo Award winner Sarah Gailey about reading, writing, and getting through these strange times; the attractions of reading immersive texts (whether fiction or non-fiction); rediscovering The Hunger Games, reading the prequel, and her Medium article "Everything is The Hunger Games now"; her fabulous story from The Book of Dragons; writing YA and her upcoming novels, and more!

You can listen to an excerpt from Sarah's story, "We Don’t Talk About the Dragon", right now and if you live in the US and are over 18 you can enter our sweepstakes to win one of ten copies by following this link!

Books mentioned include:

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Episode 487: Ten Minutes with Maureen McHugh Aug 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo, Tiptree, and Shirley Jackson Award winner Maureen McHugh joins Gary to talk about online teaching during the lockdown, the benefits of Zoom work sessions with fellow writers, the reissue of her classic novel China Mountain Zhang, researching the 13th century, and completing a draft of her first novel in almost two decades(!)

Books mentioned include:

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
A Perfect Spy by John Le Carré

Episode 490: Ten Minutes with Amal El-Mohtar Aug 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and calls Hugo and Nebula award winning writer, poet, and critic Amal El-Mohtar, whose novella This Is How You Lose the Time War (co-written with Max Gladstone) has been sweeping all of the awards this year, to chat about reading, working and living during the pandemic, the pleasure of reading graphic novels, and some great new books. Amal's poem "A Final Knight to Her Love and Foe", appears in The Book of Dragons.

If you live in the US and are over 18 you can enter our sweepstakes to win one of ten copies by following this link!

Books mentioned include:

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Dance on Saturday by Elwin Cotman
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Die by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans
The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Episode 489: Ten Minutes with Daniel Abraham Aug 19, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Over the past decade Daniel Abraham has become famous as half of James S.A. Corey, creators of The Expanse, but in addition to creating incredible space opera and great television, Daniel has crafted some of the best science fiction and fantasy of the past decade. Today he talks to Jonathan about reading, writing, and working during the pandemic, working for television, the work of Tim Powers and Carmen Maria Machado, and much more.

You can listen to an excerpt from Daniel's story, "Yuli", right now and if you live in the US and are over 18 you can enter our sweepstakes to win one of ten copies by following this link!

Books mentioned include:

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Last Call by Tim Powers
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
The Plague by Albert Camus

Episode 488: Ten Minutes with Brooke Bolander Aug 18, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and calls sunny New York to talk to the fabulous Nebula Award-winning author of The Only Harmless Great Thing, Brooke Bolander, about reading, writing and living during the pandemic, the comfort of reading somewhat grim nonfiction, and her contribution to The Book of Dragons.

You can listen to an excerpt from Brooke's story, "Where the River Turns to Concrete", right now and if you live in the US and are over 18 you can enter our sweepstakes to win one of ten copies by following this link!

Books mentioned include:

The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner
Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro

Episode 486: Firing the canon Aug 16, 2020

Flying in the face of both good judgment and common sense, Jonathan and Gary return once again to the question of canons in science fiction and fantasy—a discussion which has widely re-emerged in recent weeks as a result of controversies over the Hugo Awards presentation at ConZealand. Are canons lists of books that people actually need to read, or are they ways of defining and celebrating your own reading communities? Are they useful at all? Are publishing programs such as the Gollancz Masterworks or the Tor Essentials trying to impose a particular idea of canon, or simply to make certain works widely available for those who might be interested? Are there multiple canons for multiple interest groups, or does each reader form their own canon? Would it even be possible to start thinking about works published since 2000 in terms of this discussion? As usual, we have strong opinions without really deciding anything much.

Episode 485: Ten Minutes with A.T. Greenblatt Aug 15, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary chats with A.T. Greenblatt -- this year’s short story Nebula winner for "Give the Family My Love" -- about the pleasures of escape reading even in normal times, listening to romances, mysteries, and memoirs, the graphic novels of Marjorie Liu and Neil Gaiman, the Murderbot stories of Martha Wells, and serious walking as an inspiration for fiction.

Books mentioned include:

Educated by Tara Westover
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz
Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman et al.

Episode 484: Ten Minutes with Cheryl Morgan Aug 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Legendary fan, publisher, and critic Cheryl Morgan talks with Gary about some favourite new and forthcoming books; the comfort in watching classic TV and movies; watching Doom Patrol and Black Panther; Sam Jordison and Galley Beggar Press; her own fanzine Salon Futura and Wizard’s Tower Press, and being a sensitivity reader for trans characters and issues.

Books mentioned include:

The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Mordew by Alex Pheby
The Green Man's Heir and The Green Man's Foe by Juliet E. McKenna
The Tales of Einarinn series by Juliet E. McKenna
The Aldabreshin Compass series by Juliet E. McKenna
untitled forthcoming collection by Aleksandar Žiljak

Episode 483: Ten Minutes with Alec Nevala-Lee Aug 13, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo-nominated biographer, Analog contributor, and novelist Alec Nevala-Lee talks with Gary about his current research for a biography of R. Buckminster Fuller, who was a good friend of Arthur C. Clarke but also once gave a lecture at a Hubbard organization in the early 1950s; Alec’s own fascination with the cultural history of the 1960s, the evolution of futures studies, and the comfort to be found in returning to Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales, and the metafictional “grand game” that has evolved from them. Alec’s first collection, Syndromes, is available now as an audiobook original from Recorded Books.

Books mentioned include:

Syndromes: Science Fiction Stories by Alec Nevala-Lee
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlen, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968 by Norman Mailer
The Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes by W.S. Baring-Gould
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Leslie S. Klinger

Episode 482: Ten Minutes with Arkady Martine Aug 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan calls up newly minted Hugo Award winner for Best Novel, Arkady Martine, to talk about reading, writing, and working during the pandemic, how influence on writers is often quite different from what a reader might expect, the current state of space opera, her next novel, and a new novella coming late next year from Subterranean Press.

Books mentioned include:

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Rose House by Arkady Martine (forthcoming)
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future by Gretchen Bakke
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City by Jonathan Mahler
Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer

Episode 481: Ten Minutes with Molly Gloss Aug 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Award nominee Molly Gloss joins Gary to chat about listening to fiction on her commute to the horses, taking some solace in novels with pastoral settings (including SF), the eerie feeling of reading Sarah Pinsker's A Song for a New Day at the very beginning of the lockdown, recent reprints of her classic novels by Saga Press, her long friendship with Ursula K. Le Guin, and her award-nominated retrospective collection Unforeseen.

Books mentioned include:

Unforeseen: Stories by Molly Gloss
The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
The Horseman by Tim Pears
This is Happiness by Niall Williams

Episode 480: Ten Minutes with K.M. Szpara Aug 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a regular series of short podcasts presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary kicks of the second series of Ten Minutes with by spending a few minutes with Hugo and Nebula-nominated K.M. Szpara discussing the appeal of audiobooks, young-adult mysteries and horror stories (and their value in learning about plotting), what it’s like to launch a novel at the very beginning of the lockdown, and his own forthcoming work.

Books mentioned include:

Docile by K.M. Szpara
First, Become Ashes by K.M. Szpara (forthcoming April 2021)
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
In the Hall with a Knife: A Clue Mystery by Diana Peterfreund
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas

Episode 479: What Comes Next? Aug 02, 2020

Well, without really planning it, we had a bit of a hiatus. It seems like recording over a hundred episodes in a row left us - or at least Jonathan - with the need for a little break, but we're back! We think.

With the Virtual ConZealand not quite over, Gary and Jonathan sit down to talk awards, congratulate the award-winners, talk about inclusiveness and the need for a fresher take on the genre, thank the ConZealand team and shout out to coming conventions, and more. Oh, and thank the World Fantasy Awards for a very unexpected nomination! Thank you!

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. We should be back soon with more!

Episode 478: Ten Minutes with Sarah Monette and Katherine Addison Jul 16, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting with Sarah Monette about living and writing during the pandemic, her alter ego Katherine Addison, the comforts of immersive reading and true crime, and the recurring attraction of the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the world of his famous detective.

Books mentioned include:

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (forthcoming)
The Anatomy Murders by Lisa Rosner
Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People by Tim Reiterman
The Baby Farmers: A Chilling Tale of Missing Babies, Shameful Secrets and Murder in 19th Century Australia by Annie Cossins

Episode 477: Ten Minutes with James P. Blaylock Jul 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so calling up Orange Country, California to talk to World Fantasy and Philip K. Dick Award winner James P. Blaylock about reading and writing during these strange times, the allure of crime novels, what's up with Langdon St Ives, his new novel-in-progress, and a lot more.

Books mentioned include:

The Gobblin' Society by James P. Blaylock
River's Edge by James P. Blaylock
Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand
Freddy's Book by John Gardner
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
The Easy Rawlins Novels by Walter Mosely
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
City of Fallen Angels by Paul Buchanan

Episode 476: Twenty One Minutes with Peter Watts Jul 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

With the Ten Minutes with... series complete as a daily thing, Jonathan fires up the computer and calls Hugo and Shirley Jackson award winner Peter Watts to discuss how this apocalypse is only a tiny taste of the real thing, how he's coping with working and reading right now, Jevon's Paradox, the value of depressive realism, and a lot more.

Books mentioned include:

Peter Watts is an Angry, Sentient Tumor by Peter Watts
"Incorruptible" by Peter Watts
Stealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder
Gamechanger by L.X. Beckett

Episode 475: Ten Minutes with M. John Harrison Jul 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

One of England’s finest novelists, M. John Harrison, talks with Gary about the paradoxical insights of the poet Charles Simic, the essays of Olivia Laing, the early John le Carré novels, and his own new novel and forthcoming story collection.

Books mentioned include:

The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
Settling the World: Selected Stories 1969-2019 by M. John Harrison
Things That Never Happen by M. John Harrison
The Monster Loves his Labyrinth: Notebooks by Charles Simic
Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing
The Early George Smiley novels by John le Carré

Episode 474: Ten Minutes with Jane Yolen Jul 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Legendary Grand Master Jane Yolen shares with Gary some delightful personal news, as well as her advice to aspiring authors on how the lockdown can be seen as a gift to writers, the pleasures of "munchie" writing like Cat Valente or Gregory Maguire, the short stories of Theodora Goss, and Linda Barnes's Carlotta Carlyle mysteries.

Books mentioned include:

The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen
The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen
The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire
Carlotta Carlyle series by Linda Barnes

Episode 473: Ten Minutes with Nancy Kress and Jack Skillingstead Jul 09, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary spends a few minutes with Jack Skillingstead and 2021 WorldCon Guest of Honor Nancy Kress talking about reading science; Jane Austen, Star Trek, and the comforts of an orderly world; the appeal of Hollywood biographies; and revisiting old favorites like Philip K. Dick, Robert Bloch, and Roger Zelazny.

Books mentioned include:

Sea Change by Nancy Kress
The Eleventh Gate by Nancy Kress
The Chaos Function by Jack Skillingstead
Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene
Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Mitford
The Ragman's Son by Kirk Douglas
Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand by William J. Mann

Episode 472: Ten Minutes with Kij Johnson Jul 08, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winner Kij Johnson joins Gary to talk about learning to keep focused during odd times, taking comfort in Defoe, Laurence Sterne, and horror stories, and the perks of doing historical research for a novel-in-progress set in the American Midwest in 1913, and how her "Apartment Dweller’s Guide" series of stories really needs to be a book.

Books mentioned include:

The River Bank by Kij Johnson
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
Short stories by Clark Ashton Smith
The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' by William Hope Hodgson
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

Episode 471: Ten Minutes with Alaya Dawn Johnson Jul 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today is Day 97 of ten minutes with ... and as the end approaches Jonathan is spending ten minutes or so talking with Nebula Award winner Alaya Dawn Johnson about reading and working during these strange times, moving to a new environment, the challenges in writing novels at all, and her powerful new novel, Trouble the Saints.

Books mentioned include:

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
The Wicked King by Holly Black
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Episode 470: Ten Minutes with Premee Mohamed Jul 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking to exciting debut novelist Premee Mohamed about reading, writing, and working during the pandemic; the work of Alan Moore, Umberto Eco, and Amitav Ghosh; the experience of publishing her debut novel in 2020; and how it was to effectively collaborate with her younger self on Beneath the Rising and writing A Broken Darkness.

Books mentioned include:

Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
Jerusalem by Alan Moore
Chronicles of a Liquid Society by Umberto Eco
Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh

Episode 469: SF, 2020, and the Anxiety of Influence Jul 05, 2020

Well, it's time to head back to the socially distanced Gershwin Rooms in the geographically distanced Coode Street Motels Six for Gary and Jonathan to spend an hour or so talking about science fiction and the world. Today conversation starts with a continuation of the idea that this is a Golden Age of science fiction, what characteristics might make up that age, whether you can identify great works of 21st Century SF, new work by M. John Harrison,Hugo voting opening online, and much more.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 468: Ten Minutes with Tad Williams Jul 04, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends twenty minutes with the bestselling creator of Osten Ard, Tad Williams, discussing living and working during the pandemic; researching archaeology, science, and neolithic England; the work of Hilary Mantel and the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall, and his own forthcoming work, including a new Osten Ard short novel.

Books mentioned include:

The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams
Empire of Grass by Tad Williams
The Navigator's Children by Tad Williams (forthcoming)
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

Episode 467: Ten Minutes with Stefen Brazulaitis and Tim Thomas Jul 03, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

And now for something completely different. During the Ten Minutes with ... series we've talked to writers, editors, artists, agents and publishers. Today a conversation -- with apologies for a little patchy audio -- with two booksellers who bring a similar attitude to what appear to be different sides of the bookselling game. Stefen Brazulaitis is an award-winning bookseller and owner/proprietor of the respected independent Perth bookstore, Stefen's Books, while Tim Thomas is the owner/franchisee of Dymock's Books in Subiaco. Both love books, both are genuinely passionate about selling books, both have wonderful but different bookstores, and both have different stories to tell.

Episode 466: Ten Minutes with Ursula Vernon Jul 02, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo and Nebula Winning author and artist Ursula Vernon, along with her alter ego for adult readers T. Kingfisher, chats with Gary about the comfort of reading historical romances and horror fiction that doesn’t seem too close to home, the classic fantasy of Robin McKinley and Terri Windling, and the sometimes arbitrary distinctions between adult and kids’ literature, especially given the occasional disconnect between who buys the latter and who reads it.

Books mentioned include:

The Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (forthcoming)
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Swordheart by Ursula Vernon
The Damar Series by Robin McKinley
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Episode 465: Ten Minutes with Walter Jon Williams Jul 01, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Nebula winner and recent Worldcon Guest of Honor Walter Jon Williams talks with Gary about hiding from COVID and the sun in rural New Mexico, a rare science fiction novel that deals with elder care, the appeal of E.R. Eddison and other pre-Tolkien fantasies, the hardboiled fiction of David Goodis, researching on Wikipedia, and the next book in his Praxis space opera series.

Books mentioned include:

Quillifer the Knight by Walter Jon Williams
The Accidental War by Walter Jon Williams
Fleet Elements by Walter Jon Williams
Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Mistress of Mistresses by E.R. Eddison
Five Noir Novels of the 1940s and 50s by David Goodis

Episode 464: Ten Minutes with Derek Künsken Jun 30, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting with Derek Künsken about how he's been dealing with these strange and difficult times, what he's been reading and would recommend, the fiction of R. Scott Bakker and Isaac Asimov, an enormous X-Men re-read, some terrific recent comics, and more.

Books mentioned include:

The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken
The Quantum Garden by Künsken
The House of Styx by Derek Künsken
The Prince of Nothing Series by R. Scott Bakker
The Robot Series by Isaac Asimov
House of X by Jonathan Hickman
Immortal Hulk by Bennett Ewing

Episode 463: Ten Minutes with Sam J. Miller Jun 29, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Multiple award winner Sam J. Miller joins Gary to discuss judging this year’s Neukom Award (with its intimidating list of finalists), catching up with some favourite writers of colour, finally getting around to a classic, the remarkable narrative skills of William Gibson, and Sam’s own forthcoming ghost story novel, The Blade Between.

Books mentioned include:

The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller Jr
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Ulysses by James Joyce
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
The Novels of William Gibson

Episode 462: Ten Minutes with Catherynne M. Valente Jun 28, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with bestselling, multiple award-winning author of Space Opera, Catherynne M. Valente, who joins him from an island of the northeastern coast of America, to talk about reading, writing and working during these strange times and trying to do so with an infant in the house, the work of Hank Green and Jenny Slate, her love of Dune, her upcoming short fiction, the return of Tetley Abdnego, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
A Perfect Host by Catherynne M. Valente
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
Station Eleven by Hilary St. John Mandel
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes

Episode 461: Ten Minutes with G. Willow Wilson Jun 27, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning G. Willow Wilson chats with Gary about what living in Seattle has felt like during the plague time and the city’s characteristically progressive politics, the fascination of listening to Proust on Audible, the remarkably prescient writing of James Baldwin and the literary innovations of William Makepeace Thackeray, and what it’s like to write in the Sandman universe after having been enthralled by it when younger.

Books mentioned include:

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
The Dreaming: Waking Hours by G. Willow Wilson & Nick Robles
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A Rap on Race by James Baldwin & Margaret Mead
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Episode 460: Ten Minutes with F. Brett Cox Jun 26, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary talks with writer, professor, critic, editor, and Shirley Jackson Awards board member F. Brett Cox about the Jackson Awards, the early days of punk, Andy Duncan, Elizabeth Hand, the mysterious Jack Parsons, Anthony Boucher, Daniel Defoe, the Strugatsky brothers, Octavia Butler, and Brett’s own short fiction (including new story "Bend in the Air" in Patricia Bray & S.C. Butler's Portals).

Books mentioned include:

The End of All Our Exploring and Other Stories by F. Brett Cox
Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture by Grace Elizabeth Hale
Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons by John Carter
The Last Days of New Paris by China Mieville
Rocket to the Morgue by Anthony Boucher
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler

Episode 459 Ten Minutes with P. Djèlí Clark Jun 25, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends about ten minutes or so talking to Nebula Award-winning writer P. Djèlí Clark about reading, writing, and working during these strange and difficult times, what he's been reading and what you might read, his novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (and accompanying story "A Dead Djinn in Cairo"), his upcoming novel, and much, much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler by Lynell George

Episode 458: Ten Minutes with Raymond E. Feist Jun 24, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking to international bestselling writer and creator of the Riftwar Cycle, Raymond E. Feist, about Shakespeare; reading, writing, and working during this strange and difficult time and; briefly, that time he saw The Beatles.

Books mentioned include:

King of Ashes by Raymond E. Feist
Queen of Storms by Raymond E. Feist
Master of Furies by Raymond E. Feist (forthcoming in 2021)
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

Episode 457: Ten Minutes with Sean Williams Jun 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and calls Adelaide to chat to one of Australia's best and most adept writers of speculative fiction, Sean Williams, about reading, writing and working during the pandemic, what he's reading, what he'd recommend, what he's working on, and his terrific new middle grade novel, Her Perilous Mansion.

Books mentioned include:

Her Perilous Mansion by Sean Williams
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Songs for Dark Seasons by Lisa L. Hannett

Episode 456: Ten Minutes with Isobelle Carmody Jun 22, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes calling farthest Brisbane to talk to national treasure and author of the Obernewtyn Chronicles, Isobelle Carmody, about reading and writing during the pandemic, the creative challenges of writing, what she's been reading, and much, much more.

Books mentioned include:

Evermore by Isobelle Carmody
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
Raising the Stones by Sheri S. Tepper
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins
The Jack Reacher Series by Lee Child
The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin

Episode 455: Almost Outta Gas, But We Can See The Golden Age... Jun 21, 2020

Left once again to their own devices, Jonathan and Gary turn to the question of what was science fiction’s real golden age—not in terms of overall literary history or the old cliché that “the golden age of science fiction is twelve,” but rather what seemed like a golden age in terms of reading habits: when you fell in love with SF, how the genre continued to be rewarding during that time, and what was especially important about it. For Jonathan, that looked more like the 1980s, while for Gary it was basically the 1950s. Both agreed, however, that the current era might itself be seen as a golden age, for many reasons.

Episode 454: Ten Minutes with Adam Roberts Jun 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or more (somewhat more) talking to Adam Roberts about the joys and challenges of reading every single H. G. Wells book ever written (there were a lot!), being a judge for the World Fantasy Awards, reading and writing during these strange and difficult times (even when you usually stay in a bit), and much more.

Books mentioned include:

H G Wells: A Literary Life by Adam Roberts
Purgatory Mount by Adam Roberts (forthcoming in 2021)
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow‎
Ghost Species by James Bradley
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
The Devil's Blade by Mark Alder
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
Paradise Lost by John Milton

Episode 453: Ten Minutes with Gregory Norman Bossert Jun 19, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by award-winning author and ILM filmmaker Gregory Norman Bossert to talk about how the changes facing the movie industry may actually help new voices and new forms, the appeal of not-quite-classifiable stories of the New Weird and other contemporary movements, a new anthology in support of the nonprofit RAICES, podcasts and movies, and his own new short fiction.

Short fiction mentioned includes:

"The Night Soil Salvagers" by Gregory Norman Bossert (Tor.com, July)
"Dear Boy" by Gregory Norman Bossert (Weird Fiction Review #10)
"The Hearts of All" by Gregory Norman Bossert (Black Static #73)
"Zima Blue" by Alastair Reynolds (and its TV adaptation on Love, Death, and Robots)

Books mentioned include:

The Unnamed Country by Jeffrey Thomas
The Punktown series by Jeffrey Thomas
The Troika by Stepan Chapman
Vermilion Sands by J.G. Ballard
Made to Order: Robots and Revolution by Jonathan Strahan, ed.,
Rambunctious by Rick Wilber
Smoke Paper Mirrors by Anna Tambour
The Finest Ass in the Universe by Anna Tambour
The Well-Built City trilogy by Jeffrey Ford

Episode 452: Ten Minutes with Usman T. Malik Jun 18, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and calls Stoker and British Fantasy Award winner Usman T. Malik to discuss living in Lahore during the current times, how it impacts reading, writing and the ability to work, classic horror, the tales of your culture, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. Malik
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights (in 3 vols) translated by Malcolm Lyons
The Merman and the Book of Power: A Qissa by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Episode 451: Ten Minutes with Aliette de Bodard Jun 17, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking with multiple award winner Aliette de Bodard about reading and writing during these difficult and distracting times, the joys of reading romance novels, pirates and the South China Sea, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The House of Sundering Flames by Aliette de Bodard
Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard
Like Froth Floating on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China by J. Antony Robert
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson

Episode 450: Ten Minutes with Zen Cho Jun 16, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan takes ten minutes or so to talk with Hugo and British Fantasy Award winner Zen Cho about reading and writing during the time of the pandemic, the comforts of British wartime children's stories, Murderbot, the perennial attraction of Jane Austen, and her upcoming novella, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water.

Books mentioned include:

The Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The True Queen by Zen Cho
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The Novels of Jane Austen

Episode 449: Ten Minutes with Tobias S. Buckell Jun 15, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy Award winner Tobias S. Buckell talks with Gary about life in a small town during the lockdown, the terrific South Korean TV series The Kingdom, the advantages of audiobooks and graphic novels, new stories coming up in Escape Pod ("The Machine That Would Rewild Humanity"), Slate ("Scar Tissue"), and Motherboard ("Zombie Capitalism"), and the problems of dealing with wild boar.

Books mentioned include:

The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi & Tobias S. Buckell
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Aeneid by Vergil
The Gentleman Bastard Series by Scott Lynch

Episode 448: Ten Minutes with Dave Hutchinson Jun 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends about thirty minutes talking to Dave Hutchinson about reading and writing during the Great and Terrible Pause, the novels of Len Deighton, an unexpected follow-up to The Fractured Europe Sequence, a brand new Fractured Europe novelette "Nightingale Floors" (from Ian Whates's forthcoming anthology London Centric: Future Tales of London), and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man by Dave Hutchinson
The Fractured Europe Sequence by Dave Hutchinson
The Thomas Cromwell Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Bernard Samson Series by Len Deighton

Episode 447: Ten Minutes with Kathleen Jennings Jun 13, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so with Hugo and World Fantasy Award-nominated writer and artist Kathleen Jennings to discuss reading and working in the time of the pandemic, the comfort of regency romances, illustrating The Tallow Wife, watching Hamish Macbeth, her new short novel Flyaway, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
Chalk by Paul Cornell
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Witchmark by C. L. Polk
Alternate Routes by Tim Powers

Episode 446: Ten Minutes with Ellen Datlow Jun 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Ellen Datlow joins Gary to discuss her 40-year career, the longevity of earlier editors, her reasons for doing best-of-the-year anthologies and year-in-review essays, favorite writers like William Gibson and Jonathan Carroll, the recent Shirley Jackson biography, and the appeal of dark fiction.

Books mentioned include:

Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow
Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles edited by Ellen Datlow
Edited By edited by Ellen Datlow
Bathing the Lion by Jonathan Carroll
Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
Flicker by Theodore Roszak
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
Worse Angels by Laird Barron
The Deep by Alma Katsu
The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Episode 445: Ten Minutes with Saad Z. Hossain Jun 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and call Dhaka in Bangladesh so he can talk to Saad Z. Hossain, the wonderful author of Escape from Baghad, Djinn City, and Locus Award nominee The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday about living and working in Dhaka at a time like this, the state of genre fiction, what he's been reading, his upcoming new novella Kundo Wakes Up and more.

Books mentioned include:

Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas
One Piece, Volume 1: Romance Dawn by Eiichiro Oda
Miles Cameron series
The Novels of Jane Austen
The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks

Episode 444: Ten Minutes with DongWon Song Jun 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends a bit more than ten minutes talking to literary agent and editor DongWon Song of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency -- whose newsletter Publishing is Hard is essential reading -- about publishing during the pandemic, coping with being an involuntary voluntary shut-in, what he's reading and working on, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Sin in the Steel by Ryan Van Loan
Savage Legion by Matt Wallace
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit

Episode 443: Ten Minutes with Indrapramit Das Jun 09, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan fires up Skype and points it towards Kolkata to talk to Lambda Award winner and Crawford, Otherwise, and Shirley Jackson nominee Indrapramit Das about getting through the Great and Terrible Pause, what books he is reading and recommends, and his new story, "Incarnate", which appears in Ann VanderMeer's Avatars Inc. anthology.

Books mentioned include:

The Devourers by Indrapramit Das
Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow
"The Mist" by Stephen King
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernández

Episode 442: Ten Minutes with Nicola Griffith Jun 08, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Gary is joined by multiple award-winning author Nicola Griffith and they discuss the less-than-satisfactory challenges of the virtual cocktail party, the more satisfactory challenges of researching historical fiction and of reading Patrick O’Brian and others, the advantages of using genre as a set of tools rather than a container, her own So Lucky, her forthcoming sequel to Hild, and an exciting new as-yet-untitled book.

Books mentioned include:

Nicola Griffith, So Lucky
Nicola Griffith, Hild
Nicola Griffith, The Aud Torvingen mysteries
Sigrid Undset, Olav Audunssøn: The Vow, translated by Tiina Nunnally
Maggie Brookes, The Prisoner’s Wife
Octavia Butler, Kindred
Patrick O’Brian, The Aubrey/Maturin novels
Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave
Rosemary Sutcliffe, Sword at Sunset
Mary Renault, Fire from Heaven
Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet
Ellen Galford, Moll Cutpurse: Her True History

Episode 441: Ten Minutes with Lisa L. Hannett Jun 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan sits down to chat with Aurealis and Ditmar Award-winning writer Lisa L. Hannett about reading, writing and life during lock-in, the joy and challenges of suddenly being home all the time, her brand new book, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Songs for Dark Seasons by Lisa L. Hannett
Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan
Her Perilous Mansion by Sean Williams
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
The Ruth Galloway Novels by Elly Griffiths
Galore by Michael Crummey

Episode 440: Ten Minutes with Terry Bisson Jun 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary joins Hugo and Nebula-winning author Terry Bisson to talk about historical fiction, R.A. Lafferty’s most important novel, James Salter, reading Shakespeare’s history plays, the Globe Theater, Cecelia Holland, The Blair Witch Project, Terry’s own classic short stories "Bears Discover Fire" and "They’re Made of Meat," and his brilliant but overlooked novel of the 1960s, Any Day Now.

Books mentioned include:

Any Day Now by Terry Bisson
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Okla Hannali by R.A. Lafferty
Last Night: Stories by James Salter

Episode 439: Ten Minutes with Daryl Gregory Jun 05, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award-winner Daryl Gregory comes on board for a discussion with Gary about how distracting the news can be from real work, reading manuscripts for blurbs or for friends, the new Lavie Tidhar novel, Island of Dr. Moreau movies, the virtues of Iain M. Banks, the occasional pleasures of locked-room murder mysteries, and Daryl’s own forthcoming but not yet titled novel.

Books mentioned include:

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Culture novels by Iain M. Banks
The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr

Episode 438: Ten Minutes with Adrienne Martini Jun 04, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by fellow Locus reviewer and author Adrienne Martini, whose recent book on participating in local politics has gained sterling reviews and even a shout-out from Hillary Clinton. They discuss the importance of local politics, the fate of the famous explorer ship Erebus, and the appeal of Mary Robinette Kowal and Robert A. Heinlein.

Books mentioned include:

Somebody's Gotta Do It: Why Cursing at the News Won't Save the Nation, But Your Name on a Local Ballot Can by Adrienne Martini
Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin
The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
Friday and the Lazarus Long novels by Robert A. Heinlein

Books mentioned include:

Episode 437: Ten Minutes with Karen Lord Jun 03, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

All the way from Barbados, multiple award-winning author Karen Lord chats with Gary about how the lockdown is affecting life there, how the whole worldwide experience is liking moving into a new country where you don’t quite know all the rules, what reading to return to in such times, and her own new story "The Plague Doctors” (and discussion of the story) from the free anthology, Take Us to a Better Place: Stories.

Books mentioned include:

Unravelling by Karen Lord
The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
The City Watch, Witches, and Tiffany Aching novels by Terry Pratchett
Take Us to a Better Place: Stories

Episode 436: Ten Minutes with Simon Ings Jun 02, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

If his recent conversation with John Berlyne saw Jonathan embrace the fact that Coode Street's ten minutes was at a best theoretical, then today's conversation blows that out of the water extending beyond 35 minutes, and still only being just barely long enough. Today Jonathan talks to writer and editor Simon Ings about art, despots, fabulous books, and unexpected experiences. Utterly essential listening. It's the most fun you'll have with earphones in for ages!

Books mentioned include:

We Robots edited by Simon Ings
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Episode 435: Ten Minutes with Claire McKenna (corrected audio) Jun 01, 2020

ETA: Due to an technical error, only one track on the audio was released earlier. We apologise for that and are providing an updated/corrected podcast now.

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Jonathan spends ten minutes talking with Claire McKenna about working, reading, and writing during difficult times, pirate utopias, the joys of old bestsellers, and her debut novel, Monstrous Heart.

Books mentioned include:

Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna
Monsoon by Wilbur Smith
Gondar by Nicholas Luard

Episode 435: Ten Minutes with Claire McKenna Jun 01, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Jonathan spends ten minutes talking with Claire McKenna about working, reading, and writing during difficult times, pirate utopias, the joys of old bestsellers, and her debut novel, Monstrous Heart.

Books mentioned include:

Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna
Monsoon by Wilbur Smith
Gondar by Nicholas Luard

Episode 434: Occasionally Enlightening - Three Stars May 31, 2020

Jonathan and Gary are back with a socially-distanced full-hour podcast. Since last time, Jonathan actually went and read the reviews for the podcast on the iTunes Podcast app where one listener described the Coode Street as being occasionally enlightening, saying when:

"the two hosts are left to their own devices (which is most of the time) they testily chew over a handful of pet topics, usually debating who should win each year's awards and then whether or not awards mean anything".

and rated the podcast Three stars.

Perfectly fair. Today's episode was recorded during the Nebula Awards presentation and days after the announcement of the Locus Awards shortlists. Both feature briefly, but our main topic was not awards. Rather we turned to more fundamental questions involving reasons to be optimistic about science fiction, the role of entertainment in reading SFF, what each of us values most in what we read, and, almost accidentally, some brief previews of exciting novels coming up later this year.

Hopefully the sound on today's episode is a bit better, the testiness is toned down, and you all enjoy!

Episode 433: Ten Minutes with Jack Dann May 30, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking with the Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning 'Hermit of Binghampton", Jack Dann, who checks in from his home in coastal Victoria to talk about life, art, books, and more.

Books mentioned include:

Shadows in the Stone by Jack Dann
Pluche or the Love of Art by Jean Dutourd
The Best of R.A. Lafferty by R.A. Lafferty
Masters of Science Fiction: Kate Wilhelm (2 vols.) by Kate Wilhelm
Marque of Caine by Charles E. Gannon
The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Episode 432: Ten Minutes with John Berlyne May 29, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This is the point where, at least for Jonathan, it all went off the rails and the 'ten minutes with" became a purely aspirational thing, losing any connection with chronological reality. In a fascinating, sprawling conversation Jonathan spends half an hour or so talking to agent, editor, bibliographer, and reluctant shut-in, John Berlyne of the Zeno Literary Agency, about reading, books, agenting and how to get an agent, how the current situation may affect publishing, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Mr Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
Railsea by China Miéville
Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
The Constant Rabbit by Jasper FForde
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry (audio)
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer (audio)

Episode 431: Ten Minutes with Cat Sparks May 28, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Scholar, photographer, editor, artist, author, and winner of many Ditmar and Aurealis Awards Cat Sparks joins Gary to discuss the comparative experience of Australia vs the US in the current crisis, her own doctoral research in SF and climate fiction, missing out on ICFA this year, the attractions of comfort-reading mysteries, the virtues of Paul J. McAuley, and her forthcoming collection of stories.

Books mentioned include:

Dark Harvest by Cat Sparks
The Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths
The Quantum Magician by Derek Kunsken
War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna
Repo Virtual by Corey J. White
The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French

Photography mentioned:

Episode 430: Ten Minutes with Karen Burnham May 27, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This time out, Gary talks with fellow Locus reviewer Karen Burnham, author of Greg Egan in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series, and occasional pieces for The Cascadia Subduction Zone. We touch upon having kids at home during the lockdown, finding time to do our own reading in between reading for reviews, and favorite literary comfort foods such as Terry Pratchett and Gail Carriger.

Books mentioned include:

Greg Egan by Karen Burnham
The Revenger Series by Alastair Reynolds
Horizon by Barry Lopez
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
The Lives of a Cell and the Medusa and the Snail by Lewis Thomas
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew

Episode 429: Ten Minutes with Fonda Lee May 26, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan is joined by the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga, the Exo series, and Zeroboxer, Fonda Lee, to chat about life in strange times, adapting how you work in a home suddenly full of family, the joys of reading and writing, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Jade City by Fonda Lee
Jade War by Fonda Lee
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
Black Bolt by Saladin Ahmed
The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Riby

Episode 428: Ten Minutes with Corey J. White May 25, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Aurealis Award-nominated debut novelist Corey J. White to discuss moving to Melbourne, reading Ralph Ellison, the Voidwitch Saga, optimism, cyberpunk and the future, and his recently released debut, Repo Virtual.

Books mentioned include:

Repo Virtual by Corey J. White
The Voidwitch Saga by Corey J. White
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Human People by Timothy Morton
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander

Episode 427: Ten Minutes with Lois McMaster Bujold May 24, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking with one of the most beloved writers in the history of science fiction and fantasy, Lois McMaster Bujold, about working and writing in these strange times, her semi-retirement and how she came to write and publish the Penric and Desdemona series, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

The Physicians of Vilnoc (Penric and Desdemona #8) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric's Progress by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric's Travels by Lois McMaster Bujold
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Episode 426: Ten Minutes with Ann VanderMeer May 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan takes ten minutes to talk to the bestselling, critically-acclaimed, and award-winning editor and anthologist Ann VanderMeer about working and reading in these difficult times, the joys of connecting with friends and family through distanced technology, and her own projects, Avatars.Inc and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy.

Books mentioned include:

Avatars Inc edited by Ann VanderMeer
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff VanderMeer
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston

Episode 425: Ten Minutes with Jeremy Szal May 22, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan sits down to chat with debut novelist Jeremy Szal to talk about reading, writing, his admiration for Netflix's Tiger King, the fiction of Scott Lynch and Ian M. Banks, his debut novel Stormblood, and more.

Books mentioned include:

Stormblood by Jeremy Szal
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie (audiobook)

Episode 424: Ten Minutes with Eileen Gunn May 21, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Nebula-winning author, editor, teacher, and workshop leader Eileen Gunn talks with Gary about the pleasures of researching old myths, legends, epics, and folktales, the skill of Julius Lester in retelling stories in a new voice originally popularized by Joel Chandler Harris, and how the lockdown can actually help to enhance your social life.

Books mentioned include:

Questionable Practices: Stories by Eileen Gunn
A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales by Julius Lester
The Mahābhārata
The Golden Bough by James Fraser

Episode 423: Ten Minutes with Theodora Goss May 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Gary is joined by novelist, poet, scholar, and teacher Theodora Goss, whose trilogy The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, one of the more delightful fantasy series of the past few years, concluded last fall with The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl. We touch upon the story behind her narrative poem in The Book of Dragons, narrative poetry in general, the literature of monsters, relearning Hungarian, and the appeal of detective stories, Daphne Du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, Veronica Mars, and nature nonfiction.

Books mentioned include:

The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club by Theodora Goss
Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora Goss
Medusa's Daughters: Magic and Monstrosity from Women Writers of the Fin-de-Siécle edited by Theodora Goss
Abigail by Magda Szabo
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Monster Theory Reader edited by Jeffrey Weinstock
On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma

Episode 422: Ten Minutes with Robert Shearman May 19, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan sits down to talk with World Fantasy Award-winning writer, poet, and playwright Robert Shearman about the joys and surprises of reading all one hundred and nineteen chapters of The Count of Monte Christo (including the bits with the opera and copious drug-taking); reading Peanuts and especially enjoying the bits before Snoopy becomes a total jerk; dealing with tragedy and grief through fiction; his incredible, quixotic and brilliant new book; and actually surviving in this Great and Terrible Pause.

Books mentioned include:

We All Hear Stories in the Dark by Robert Shearman
The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas
The Complete Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann
The Complete Saki

Episode 421: Ten Minutes with David Thomas Moore May 18, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting about living, working, and reading during this Great and Terrible Pause with Rebellion/Solaris Commissioning Editor David Thomas Moore (and a special guest who popped into the room for a little while) and they touch on some wonderful books and the challenges of the time.

Books mentioned include:

Beyond the Empire by K.B. Wagers
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
Beneath The Rising by Premee Mohamed
Weave the Lightning by Cory L. Lee
Made to Order edited by Jonathan Strahan

Special Guest's Bonus Recommendation

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Episode 420: Not Locked Down, Locked Up May 17, 2020

It’s been two weeks since Jonathan and Gary sat down to chat for the podcast. In the interests of social distancing, they’ve had a replica of the Gershwin Room built a socially responsible distance away from the original so they can talk safely. This time out they chat about science fiction, what they're reading, a theoretical fictional clade that encompasses the work of Philip Jose Farmer, Jack Chalker and Lavie Tidhar, and more.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode and would encourage you to consider donating to Locus or supporting Fran Myman's Patreon.

Episode 419: Ten Minutes with Kelly Robson May 16, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes talking to the spectacular Kelly Robson who is in the very centre of the centre of the universe in Toronto and they talk about reading and working during these strange times, finding favourites like Octavia Butler a little too intense for the moment, and how the sequel to Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach might be turning into a novel.

Books mentioned include:

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
Monkey Work" by Kelly Robson
"La Vitesse" by Kelly Robson (in The Book of Dragons)
Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything by Robert M Hazen
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

Episode 418: Ten Minutes with Joe Monti May 15, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan chats with Saga Press editorial director Joe Monti who has worked with some of the best writers and artists in science fiction and fantasy and has worked as a literary agent and as a book buyer for a major book chain. In a serious mood, they talk about the impact of the Great and Terrible Pause on book publishing, what Joe has been reading, and what he's publishing.

Books mentioned include:

The Vlad Taltos Series by Steven Brust
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
The Down Days by Ilze Hugo
The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Machine by Elizabeth Bear
The Residence by Andrew Piper
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Episode 417: Ten Minutes with Alyx Dellamonica May 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan sits down with Alyx Dellamonica to talk about writing Dealbreaker - the sequel to their L.X Beckett novel Gamechanger - how living through the pandemic sometimes feels like being stuck in Brendan Fraser's 1999 movie Blast from the Past, the wonders of science, and the comfort of fine crime novels.

Books mentioned include:

Gamechanger by LX Beckett
Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner
The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French
The Aud Series (The Blue Place, Stay, & Always) by Nicola Griffith

Episode 416: Ten Minutes with Brian Evenson May 13, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

The distinguished "literary horror" icon Brian Evenson chats with Gary about his relationship to genre, whether or not it’s a good idea to read catastrophe fiction in a time of catastrophe, the rewards of reading Gene Wolfe and rereading Algernon Blackwood, and his own forthcoming story collection, The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell.

Books mentioned include:

Last Days by Brian Evenson
Catastrophe and Other Stories by Dino Buzzati
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolfe
A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe
Incredible Adventures by Algernon Blackwood
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

Episode 415: Ten Minutes with Rick Wilber May 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by science fiction's dean of baseball stories Rick Wilber, whose most recent collection is Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination, to discuss the virtues of Kim Stanley Robinson, the appeal of Korean baseball or the minor leagues, and why baseball has such a strong appeal for mainstream literary novelists and writers from the United States.

Books mentioned include:

Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination by Rick Wilber
Three Californias by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Resisters by Gish Jen
Enemy Rising: The Cursed Chronicles by C.J. Fisher
The Night Soldiers novels by Alan Furst

Episode 414: Ten Minutes with Elizabeth Hand May 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

The multi-talented Elizabeth Hand joins Gary for a discussion of writing in different genres and the good fortune of having readers who follow you from one to the other, the pleasures of returning to Tolkien or to classic ghost stories, the delights of the TV series The Detectorists, and her upcoming noir crime novel, The Book of Lamps and Banners.

Books mentioned include:

The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand
"The Owl Count", in Conjunctions 74: Grendel’s Kin
Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
"The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" by Stephen King

Episode 413: Ten Minutes with Joe Abercrombie May 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

As the great and terrible pause grinds on Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking to Joe Abercrombie about reading for research, Shelby Foote, westerns, some books he's reading, and his own new books, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace.

Books mentioned include:

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
Lionheart by Ben Kane
Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy by John Julius Norwich
The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote
Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Episode 412: Ten Minutes with Michael Swanwick May 09, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Another quiet afternoon, so Gary spends ten minutes with multiple Hugo-winning Michael Swanwick about Karl Schroeder, Roger Zelazny, Duke Ellington, collaborating with Gardner Dozois, and Michael’s own remarkable trilogy of genre-mixing stand-alone novels.

Books mentioned include:

The Iron Dragon’s Mother by Michael Swanwick
The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus by Michael Swanwick
City Under the Stars by Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick
Stealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder
Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny

Episode 411: Ten Minutes with E Lily Yu May 08, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by the wonderful Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy-nominated E. Lily Yu who chats about staying curious and involved during stressful times, being kind to yourself, her forthcoming novel On Fragile Waves, and, incidentally, setting blenders on fire and reading cookbooks as condensed narratives.

Books mentioned include:

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu (forthcoming in December)
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World: The Definitive Guide to Adapting and Succeeding in High-Performance Careers by Neil Irwin
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Rambunctious by Rick Wilber

Episode 410: Ten Minutes with Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch May 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Is ten minutes enough? Not when you're talking to multiple award-winning, bestselling, and widely loved duo Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch who join Jonathan to discuss reading during The Great and Terrible Pause, the importance of supporting creators who are not assholes, the many adaptations of The Taking of Pelham 123, and more!

Books mentioned include:

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
Machine by Elizabeth Bear
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Force by Don Winslow
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey
Agency by William Gibson

Episode 409: Ten Minutes with Kelly Barnhill May 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Jonathan is joined by Newbery Medal and World Fantasy Award-winning author Kelly Barnhill to discuss the joys of listening to audiobooks, the importance of reading gently, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill
The Ogress at the Far End of Town by Kelly Barnhill (coming next year)
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
The Changeling by Joy Williams
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Terry Pratchett audiobooks
LeVar Burton reads... (podcast )
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (read by Levar Burton)

Episode 408: Ten Minutes with David Pomerico May 05, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting with David Pomerico, the Editorial Director at HarperVoyager in the US, who talks about the pleasure of audiobooks, the importance of following your heart when choosing what you're going to read, and mentions some of the exciting new books he has coming out in 2021 and beyond.

Books mentioned include:

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Weather by Jenny Offill

Episode 407: Thirty Minutes with Nnedi Okorafor May 04, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

The terrific Nnedi Okorafor joins Gary for an epic thirty-minute discussion on the challenges and rewards of having a lot of deadlines, comfort reading during the lockdown, what it’s like to discover that your daughter actually likes your novels, what Africanfuturism means, and various and exciting media projects, some of which must remain unannounced for the time being.

Books mentioned include:

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor (forthcoming)
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (forthcoming)
Noor by Nnedi Okorafor (in progress)
Tales From Moominvalley by Tove Jansson
The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Episode 406: On the Ten Minutes With Experience and more [REPOST] May 03, 2020

This week, returning to our customary format of rambling aimlessly for an hour or so, Jonathan and Gary share observations on what we are learning from our series of Ten Minutes With... podcasts, how the current crisis may or may not be reflected in tomorrow’s SF, the increasing relevance of Kim Stanley Robinson and others who have addressed global issues in the Before Times, the question of whether SF serves more as a mirror or a lamp (to borrow and cheerfully misuse a phrase from M.H. Abrams’s classic study of Romantic literary theory), and. of course, what we’ve been reading and hoping to read in the next few months.

Episode 406: On the Ten Minutes With Experience and more May 03, 2020

This week, returning to our customary format of rambling aimlessly for an hour or so, Jonathan and Gary share observations on what we are learning from our series of Ten Minutes With... podcasts, how the current crisis may or may not be reflected in tomorrow’s SF, the increasing relevance of Kim Stanley Robinson and others who have addressed global issues in the Before Times, the question of whether SF serves more as a mirror or a lamp (to borrow and cheerfully misuse a phrase from M.H. Abrams’s classic study of Romantic literary theory), and. of course, what we’ve been reading and hoping to read in the next few months.

Episode 405: Ten Minutes with James Patrick Kelly May 03, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary spends ten minutes or so with Hugo and Nebula-winning James Patrick Kelly, touching upon the challenges of reading during lockdown, the temptation to argue with the page while reading, the appeal of Raymond Chandler, and the virtues of listening to audiobooks and stories, including his own recent King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats (also available as an audiobook from his website).

Books mentioned include:

King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats by James Patrick Kelly
Mother Go by James Patrick Kelly
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The True Queen by Zen Cho
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black (John Banville)
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler

Episode 404: Ten Minutes with Nalo Hopkinson May 02, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary is joined by the wonderful Nalo Hopkinson, who took a few minutes away from a busy semester of suddenly teaching online to chat about the pleasures of hydroponic gardening, catching up on TV shows like Supernatural and The Murdoch Mysteries, her own work on The New Decameron and DC Comics Sandman story House of Whispers, and Sharon Lewis’s film Brown Girl Begins, inspired by Nalo’s novel Brown Girl in the Ring.

Books mentioned include:

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
House of Whispers (#s 1-22) by Nalo Hopkinson & Dominike Stanton
How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
A New Decameron: Stories for a Plague Year edited by Jo Walton, Maya Chhabra, & Lauren Schiller
Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy, & John Jennings

Episode 403: Ten Minutes with Kim Stanley Robinson May 01, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today one of our most important novelists, Kim Stanley Robinson, joins Gary for a chat that touches upon the challenges of maintaining a consistent narrative voice in longer works, Daniel Defoe and the origins of the historical novel, Stan’s own new monthly column for Bloomberg Green, and his forthcoming novel, The Ministry for the Future.

Books mentioned include:

Three Californias by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Daniel Defoe: His Life by Paul R. Backscheider
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

]

Episode 402: Ten Minutes with Kate Elliott Apr 30, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes chatting with Kate Elliott, who calls in from her home high on a hillside overlooking the Pacific to talk about her love of reading history, Alexander the Great, the naval history of the Second World War, the importance of reading what works for you at a time like this, and her forthcoming novel, Unconquerable Sun.

Books mentioned include:

Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great by A. B. Bosworth
Æthelstan: The First King of England by Sarah Foot
Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire by Anne F. Broadbridge
Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal by James D. Hornfischer
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Episode 401: Ten Minutes with M. Rickert Apr 29, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary chats with World Fantasy Award-winner Mary Rickert on being cautious during the lockdown, reading Dracula for the first time, the rewards of contemplating individual words and their etymologies, revisiting Ray Bradbury, and Mary’s own forthcoming work.

Books mentioned include:

You Have Never Been Here: New and Selected Stories by M. Rickert
The Shipbuilder of Bellfairie by M. Rickert (forthcoming)
Dracula by Bram Stoker
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury
Thin Places by Kay Chronister

Episode 400: In which we turn 400... Apr 28, 2020

Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it? After kicking off the Coode Street Podcast in May 2010 with no plans, no skills, and no technical knowledge, Gary and Jonathan race towards their 10th anniversary with no real plans, no skills, and pretty much no technical knowledge at all.

And yet, despite being invited to desist on several occasions, they persist. Four hundred episodes. Enough rambling to get you across England and back again! Probably across Australia and back again. And along the way over 150 wonderful guests, some new friends made and old ones lost, a dubious proposition or two taken about the state of the science fiction and fantasy, seven Hugo Award nominations, and enough incredible memories to fill at least an hour of rambling and possibly a couple of lifetimes. Someone should write a book.

So, with no fanfare but a lot of thanks, a guest-free 400th episode recorded in the time of Pandemic, with some thoughts on what might happen next, a short discussion of books being read, coming to you, as always, from the socially-distanced Gershwin Room, high above a temporarily shuttered Motel Six, with thanks to each and every one of you.

Episode 399: Ten Minutes with Karen Joy Fowler Apr 27, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This time out, Gary talks with PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author Karen Joy Fowler, about the challenges of concentrating in times of stress, but also the value of collective co-operation and respect for scientific evidence and the question of whether the current situation might encourage us to think more broadly about our responsibilities as co-inhabitants of this planet.

Books mentioned include:

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Eye of the Whale by Douglas Carlton Abrams
The Widowed Warlock by Helen Sanders
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes (short story at Tor.com)
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy

Episode 398: Ten Minutes with Paul McAuley Apr 26, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Gary chats for ten minutes (okay, more like 17 minutes) with Paul McAuley, author of some of the most engaging and provocative series of the past few decades, including the Confluence, Quiet War, and "Jackaroo novels and stories, and whose newest novel is the epic War of the Maps, which combines hard-SF ideas with a classic quest narrative.

Books mentioned include:

War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
Bone Silence by Alastair Reynolds
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
I Have Waited, and You Have Come by Martine McDonagh
The Long Drop by Denise Mina
The Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown
The Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly
Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis by George Monbiot
An Ecotopian Lexicon edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson & Brent Ryan Bellamy

And not mentioned, but advised: If you can, try to find the time and space to read a little poetry every day.

Episode 397: Ten Minutes with Joe Haldeman Apr 25, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today it's ten minutes with SF Grandmaster and Hall of Fame inductee Joe Haldeman, who chatted with Gary from his Florida home, discussing what it’s like to be an official Grand Master, the value of reading SF print magazines, the different kinds of trilogies, and the appeal of graphic novels.

Books mentioned include:

The Worlds trilogy, Joe Haldeman
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell

Episode 396: Ten Minutes with Gillian Redfearn and Joe Hill Apr 24, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Gollancz Publishing Director Gillian Redfearn and bestselling writer Joe Hill, who join the conversation live from their secret volcano base on the northeast coast of the United States to discuss the importance of stepping outside every day and just being in the world, the pleasures of reading Joe Abercrombie, Claire North, and others, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North
The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
Preludes and Nocturnes: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman et al.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Goldsboro Books Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fellowship

Things to watch mentioned include:

Tiger King
Peaky Blinders
NOS4A2 (Season 2)

Episode 395: Ten Minutes with Christopher Rowe Apr 23, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominee Christopher Rowe to discuss the great agricultural SF novel, the pleasures of Kim Stanley Robinson’s one comic novel, Garth Nix's fabulous Angel Mage, and much, more more. Christopher's new story "The Parable of the Tares" has just been released by Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination as part of its Us in Flux series. CSI has also released a Conversation with Michael Bell about the inspiration for the story.

Books mentioned include:

"The Parable of the Tares" by Christopher Rowe
Us in Flux: Conversations by Christopher Rowe & Michael Bell
Telling the Map by Christopher Rowe
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Escape from Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson

Episode 394: Ten Minutes with Sofia Samatar Apr 22, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Gary chats with World Fantasy Award-winning Sofia Samatar about the great German writer W.G. Sebald, returning to formative books in times of stress, the literary prehistory of robots as explored in her wonderful story "Fairy Tales for Robots", and her upcoming story "The New Book of the Dead" in Philosophy Through Science Fiction Stories.

Books mentioned include:

Tender by Sofia Samatar
The Rings of Saturn, Austerlitz, and Vertigo by W.G. Sebald,
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Silver Road: Maps, Essays and Calligraphies by Ali Kazim

Episode 393: Ten Minutes with Charles Stross Apr 21, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Charles Stross, bestselling author of the Hugo award-winning Laundry Files series and the critically acclaimed Accelerando, to discuss working in the time of pandemic, whether authors are the people to turn to for reading recommendations, his upcoming work and return to space opera, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Dead Lies Dreaming by Charles Stross
Invisible Sun by Charles Stross
The Unspoken Name by Alison Larkwood
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Episode 392: Ten Minutes with Cory Doctorow Apr 20, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Cory Doctorow talking about reading and writing in the time of pandemic, what a practical utopia might actually be, the utopian novel he's working on right now, what books he has coming out in the coming year, and the pleasures to be had from listening to Terry Pratchett books.

Books mentioned include:

Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow
Poesy the Monster Slayer by Cory Doctorow (art by Matt Rockefeller)
Little Brother & Homeland by Cory Doctorow
Afterland by Lauren Beukes
Or What You Will by Jo Walton
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
King Rat by James Clavell
Terry Pratchett audiobooks

Episode 391: Ten Minutes with Martha Wells Apr 19, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This time Jonathan spends ten minutes with the fabulous Martha Wells, whose Murderbot Diaries first appeared in 2017 and quickly went on to become one of the most popular and beloved series of recent times, winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards along the way. Martha discusses working in time of lockdown, upcoming work (including a new short story, "The Salt Lick" coming from Uncanny), and the joys of reading.

Books mentioned include:

Network Effect by Martha Wells
Echo in Amethyst by Sharon Shinn
Finna by Nino Cipri
Stormsong by C L Polk
Jade War by Fonda Lee
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
The City We Became by N K Jemisin
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
Null Set by SL Huang
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott

Episode 390: Ten Minutes with Alastair Reynolds Apr 18, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Today Alastair Reynolds spends ten minutes talking with Jonathan about unexpectedly sunny weather in Wales, the challenges of focussing on reading and work at the moment, the immersive pleasures of diving into an enormous book by Neal Stephenson, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Bone Silence by Alastair Reynolds
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
The Best of Gene Wolfe by Gene Wolfe
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Made to Order by Jonathan Strahan
Comet Weather by Liz Williams

Episode 389: Ten Minutes with Gwyneth Jones Apr 17, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

In this episode, Gary spends ten minutes with the brilliant writer and critic Gwyneth Jones, whose study of the work of Joanna Russ is nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Related Work category. We touch upon a classic case or two in psychoanalysis, the early life of novelist George Sand, the reissue of the 'Bold as Love' books in Gollancz's Masterworks series, and of course Joanna Russ and the formative days of feminist SF.

Books mentioned include:

Joanna Russ by Gwyneth Jones
Bold as Love by Gwyneth Jones
What Is Madness by Darian Leader
Story of My Life: The Autobiography of George Sand by George Sand

Episode 388: Ten Minutes with Ian McDonald Apr 16, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This time out, Jonathan calls up long-time friend of Coode Street, Ian McDonald, to talk about how current events are impacting reading and working, piracy at sea, research, romance, and his long-awaited (by Jonathan) next novel, Hopeland. There might even have been a moment of congratulations for Ian's recent Hugo nomination for the Luna series!

Books mentioned include:

Luna: Moon Rising by Ian McDonald
The Menace from Farside by Ian McDonald
The Book of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin (art by Charles Vess)
The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina
Magical Women edited by Sukanya Venkatraghavan
Edge of Heaven by RB Kelly

Episode 387: Ten Minutes with Fran Wilde Apr 15, 2020

Ten minutes with... sees Coode Street presenters Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe talk to readers and book lovers from around the world about what they're reading and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today Gary talks to Fran Wilde, fresh off her nominations for a Hugo Award for her story "A Catalog of Storms" and a Lodestar Award for her novel Riverland. We talk a little about Riverland, what’s she’s currently reading (or re-reading, in some cases for her MFA classes at Western Colorado University), the value of poetry in times of stress, and her own forthcoming work.

Books mentioned include:

Riverland by Fran Wilde
Machina (Season 1) and Ninth Step Station (Season 2) by Fran Wilde & others
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Ballad of Black Tomby Victor LaValle
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp
Goldilocks by Lara Lam
Agency by William Gibson
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
The Sin in the Steel by Ryan Van Loan
Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton
The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck

Episode 386: Ten Minutes with Tade Thompson Apr 14, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

For this episode, Tade Thompson takes time out from his much-appreciated and crucial hospital work to chat with Gary about his recent Hugo nomination for The Wormwood Trilogy, the current situation, what he’s reading and recommending, and a bit on what we can look forward to.

Books mentioned include:

The Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson
Making Wolf by Tade Thompson
The Molly Southbourne series by Tade Thompson
Springtime in a Broken Mirror by Mario Benedetti
Mort Cinder by Héctor Oesterheld
El Eternauta by Héctor Oesterheld
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Episode 385: Ten Minutes with Liz Williams Apr 13, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

This time out, Gary spends ten minutes with Liz Williams. Her new novel, Comet Weather, isone of his favourite novels of this spring. They touch upon the traditions of British magical fiction dating back to Arthur Machen and discuss the work of Robert Holdstock and Graham Joyce, while Liz makes the very good point that no one should be corona-shamed into spending their time reading Proust unless they really want to read Proust.

Books mentioned include:

Comet Weather by Liz Williams
Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country by Edward Parnell
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
Miracles of Our Own Making: A History of Paganism by Liz Williams

Episode 384: Ten Minutes with Lavie Tidhar Apr 12, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today, Gary spends ten minutes with Lavie Tidhar, the World Fantasy Award-winning author, discussing his current reading, what he’s looking forward to, and his own rather wonderful reinvention of Arthurian legends,By Force Alone, which was published in the UK last month and is due out this summer in the US (given the ongoing revisions of publishing schedules).

Books mentioned include

Metropolis (and earlier Bernie Gunther mysteries) by Philip Kerr
Assorted novels by Iain M. Banks
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar
The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase (recommended but not mentioned)

Episode 383: Ten Minutes with Angela Slatter Apr 11, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

This time Jonathan spends ten minutes with World Fantasy Award-winning author and editor Angela Slatter discussing challenging vs comfort reads in times of stress, graphic novels, John Connolly, and her brand new short story collection The Heart is a Mirror For Sinners & Other Stories.

Books mentioned include:

The Heart is a Mirror For Sinners & Other Stories by Angela Slatter
BPD: Hell on Earth by Mike Mignola
Desire Lines by Felicity Volk
The World of Lore: Dreadful Places by Aaron Mahnke
The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals by Aaron Mahnke
The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
Cursed: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane
The Dirty South by John Connolly

Episode 382: Ten Minutes with Alex Irvine Apr 10, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Alex Irvine, award-winning author of A Scattering of Jades, One King, One Soldier, The Narrows, and Buyout and they discuss the pleasure of re-reading the crime novels of Elmore Leonard and Tristram Shandy, a biography of Blake, Salman Rushdie’s take on Quixote, and Alex's new short novel, Anthropocene Rag.

Books mentioned include:

Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine
The crime novels of Elmore Leonard
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
Blake by Peter Ackroyd
Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
There There by Tommy Orange

Episode 381: Ten Minutes with Tamsyn Muir Apr 09, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Jonathan spends time with Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Shirley Jackson Award nominee Tamsyn Muir to discuss the comfort of reading mystery novels, the pleasures of early Georgette Heyer, the delay to Harrow the Ninth and Tamsyn even sneaks in some information on new projects.

Books mentioned include:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Simon the Coldheart by Georgette Heyer
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Beyond the Aquila Rift by Alastair Reynolds

Episode 380: Ten Minutes with Andy Duncan Apr 08, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today Gary spends ten minutes with multiple award winner Andy Duncan, touching upon vintage stand-up comedy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, classic UFO lore, Sarah Pinsker's prescient yet hopeful novel Song for a New Day, and his own forthcoming story, "The All Go Hungry Hash House".

Books mentioned include:

An Agent of Utopia by Andy Duncan
How to Talk Dirty and Influence People by Lenny Bruce
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
"The All Go Hungry Hash House" by Andy Duncan in Galactic Stew.

Episode 379: Ten Minutes with Ellen Klages Apr 07, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today Gary spends ten minutes with World Fantasy and Nebula Award-winning author Ellen Klages, who most recently added the New York Historical Society Children's Book Prize and the Ohioana Book Award for Out of Left Field to her resume. It turns out that Jonathan persuaded her to try the first volume of Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series—the same ones he and James Bradley discussed on an earlier episode of Ten Minutes with... She’s also been getting into locked-room murder mysteries.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages
The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty
While the Clock Ticked (The Hardy Boys) by Franklin W. Dixon
The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen
The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries by Otto Penzler, ed.
The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan, ed.
Chopped, a TV reality/cooking/game show

Episode 378: Ten Minutes with Garth Nix Apr 06, 2020

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time.

Today Jonathan spends Ten Minutes with Garth Nix, who talked about Hilary Mantel, Oliver Cromwell, and more. Garth's Angel Mage is out now and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is due soon (though not soon enough for one unnamed Coode Streeter).

Books mentioned include:

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Thomas Cromwell by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan

Episode 377: Books in the Time of Coronavirus Apr 05, 2020

This week, Jonathan and Gary are back together (with no guests) for the first time in several weeks, and we discuss the inevitable: the current pandemic, and the various ways in which it was and was not anticipated by past science fiction narratives—not only of worldwide plagues but of alien invasion stories and tales of isolation. But we also find time to touch upon the reading we’ve both been up to, including Gene Wolfe’s final novel, Lavie Tidhar’s reinvention of the Arthurian tales By Force Alone and some recent titles edited by Jonathan himself, including Zen Cho’s The Order of the Full Moon Reflected in Water and Alex Irvine’s Anthropocene Rag. We also encourage listeners to check out our newly launched series of short "Ten Minutes With . . ." podcasts, and to support not only their local bookstores, but independent publishers, including our beloved Locus magazine, who like so many people are facing unprecedented stresses in the current economic environment.

Episode 376: Ten Minutes with Naomi Kritzer Apr 05, 2020

Today Gary spends Ten Minutes with Naomi Kritzer, whose wonderful YA novel Catfishing on CatNet is a finalist for this year’s Andre Norton, Edgar, and Minnesota Book Awards, and whose Tor.com story “Little Free Library” is available on April 8.

Books mentioned include:

The Years that Matter Most How College Makes or Breaks Us by Paul Tough
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
World of the Five Gods series by Lois McMaster Bujold
"So Much Cooking," by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld)
"Little Free Library," by Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com)
A New Decameron: Stories for a Plague Year by Jo Walton ed. (Patreon.com)

Episode 375: Ten Minutes with Jeffrey Ford Apr 04, 2020

And we're doing it! One episode every day, without apology (almost) Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with the incredible Jeffrey Ford who, despite somewhat terrible audio at his end, is wonderful company as he talks about what he's reading to get through the apocalypse and what you might.

What are you reading right now (and what do you think of it:

What would you recommend people read if they’re shut in (and why)

What do you have out in the world right now or coming soon you’d like to mention (optional)

The Best of Jeffrey Ford (PS Publishing)
Out of Body, Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com)

Episode 374: Ten Minutes with Tochi Onyebuchi Apr 03, 2020

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes talking to the fabulous Tochi Onyebuchi about reading for pleasure, writing in a time of crisis, what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, and what he's been writing. As always, our sincere thanks to Tochi for being part of this crazy project.

Books mentioned include:

Episode 373: Ten Minutes with Alix E. Harrow Apr 02, 2020

Last year saw the publication of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, the enchanting debut novel from Alix E. Harrow. Today, in our continuing "Ten Minutes with..." series of short podcasts, Jonathan sits down with Alix to talk about the inordinate good fortune of being a writer asked to blurb the most awesome of books, what to read if you're looking for something to challenge you in these dark times, and what to read if you're just looking for a little bit of respite.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Episode 372: Ten Minutes with James Bradley Apr 01, 2020

And now for something a little different. Jonathan spends ten minutes with James Bradley, author of the fabulous new novel Ghost Species to discuss Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series of crime novels which starts with The Cold, Cold Ground; Lily King's Writers & Lovers, and much more.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Some more things James has read recently that he highly recommends:

Bridge 108 by Anne Charnock
Greenwood by Michael Christie
Agency by William Gibson
Zero Bomb by MT Hill
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Gathering Evidence by Martin MacInnes
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Weather by Jenny Offill

Some books James is looking forward to a lot:

Mammoth by Chris Flynn
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
War of the Maps by Paul McAuley
The Trespassers by Meg Mundell
Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer

Episode 371: Ten Minutes with Nisi Shawl Mar 31, 2020

Today Gary Wolfe spends ten minutes with Nisi Shawl, who is currently preparing her introduction to the Library of America edition of Octavia Butler's work. They briefly touch upon Cory Doctorow as well as Nisi’s recent mini-collection from PM Press, Talk Like a Man, and the forthcoming sequel to her Nebula-nominated novel Everfair.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Episode 370: Ten Minutes with Ian Mond Mar 30, 2020

In the second of our all-new "Ten Minutes with..." series, Jonathan spends ten minutes (well, nearly twenty) with critic and reviewer Ian Mond talking about the book he's reading right now and the books he recommends for those with a little time on their hands (some of which he's reviewing for Locus).

Books mentioned in this episode include:

Episode 369: Ten Minutes with Sarah Pinsker Mar 29, 2020

And now for something a little different. With all of us staying indoors, the team at Coode Street thought it might be fun to get in touch with some of our favourite people - writers, artists, and just folk we like to hang out with - and ask them what they're reading at the moment, what they recommend to read if you're currently hanging around indoors a lot, and maybe to let us know what they've been doing to.

For the very first of this "Ten Minutes with..." series, Gary calls up Sarah Pinsker to chat with her about her insanely prescient novel, A Song for a New Day, and what she's been reading.

Books discussed in this episode include:

Episode 368: NK Jemisin and The City We Became Mar 22, 2020

This week Jonathan and Gary have a lively discussion with the wonderful N.K. Jemisin, mostly about her new novel The City We Became (you can read the short story that inspired the novel at Tor.com), but with fascinating side discussions about living in New York and trying to capture and celebrate it in fiction; the vices and virtues of H.P. Lovecraft and his difficulties in dealing with Brooklyn; the comparative challenges of world-building in an invented versus a recognizable world; how her work as a psychologist has informed her fiction; and a couple of side trips about the short stories in her recent short story collection How Long Til Black Future Month?

With most book tours cancelled (including hers), this is a good way to spend some time with one of our most interesting and innovative writers. As always, our thanks to Nora for making time to join us, and we hope you enjoy the episode. See you in two weeks (and stay safe and well!)

Episode 367: Ken Liu and the Power of Good Story Mar 07, 2020

This week Gary and Jonathan are joined by a long time friend of the podcast, Ken Liu, to discuss his new short story collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, approaching the end of his epic silkpunk fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, and how having good stories is more important to a society than having good institutions. Along the way, we talk about history, life, evolving art, and much, more more.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is out now and The Veiled Throne is out early next year.

As always, we'd like to thank Ken for making time to join us and hope that you all enjoy the episode. See you in two weeks with more!

Episode 366: Apocalypse, awards, and others Feb 23, 2020

As usual on this week’s Coode Street, Jonathan and Gary discuss what they’ve been reading lately, with a particular focus on how apocalyptic fiction has evolved over the decades, and how writers like Kim Stanley Robinson have found ways of finding some sort of hope even in the face of what increasingly seems inevitable.

This being the start of awards season, they also spend some time discussing the finalists for the Nebula, Stoker, and Spectrum awards, as well as the new Ray Bradbury Prize from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.

Mostly, though, they focus on the Nebulas, and the interesting question of whether Nebula nominees which had a lot of buzz years or decades ago still have impact today. We stop short of guessing which of this year’s nominees will have readers in another decade or so.

Among current and forthcoming books, Gary sounds pretty enthusiastic about the new Liz Williams novel Comet Season and James Bradley's forthcoming novel, Ghost Species.

Episode 365: On talking about SF (or chatting under the influence) Feb 09, 2020

In the second (or maybe third) episode in our new bi-weekly schedule, Jonathan and Gary eventually get around to the question of what books to recommend to someone new to science fiction and fantasy or someone who’s been away from the field for years or even decades.

The standard answer to this a generation ago—Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke—hardly provides an intro to modern SF, and while names like Le Guin and Butler still seem helpful, the question remains what current authors are good entry points. Along the way, we touch upon N.K. Jemisin’s forthcoming The City We Became, which Octavia Butler novel might be the best to start with, Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels, including the recent reissue of his California trilogy along with Maureen McHugh’s China Mountain Zhang.

But first, Gary complains about the overused shorthand of describing a new novel in terms of other novels (“think Novel X meets Novel Y”), and the habit of publicists and even reviewers of describing novels as “for both literary and genre readers.

Episode 364: On being a fan Jan 27, 2020

This week, after more or less inadvertently falling into a discussion of Simon Jimenez’s new novel The Vanished Birds (Del Rey) and whether it will successfully gain attention from both SF and mainstream literary readers, Jonathan and Gary mention a few other forthcoming books and eventually circle in on a discussion of fandom—what it means to be a fan, different kinds of fandom, and questions of what happens when you stop being a fan of a particular series or author, what major works you may have missed or over-looked despite considering yourself a fan of the author, and why some fans drift away in the face of too much sameness, while others remain fans because of that sameness. Characteristically, we fail to adequately answer any of these questions, but at least we raise them.

Next episode

We are officially moving from a weekly schedule to a two-weekly schedule, so look for the next episode on the weekend of Febuary 8th, wherever good podcasts are sold.

Episode 363: Books We're Looking Forward to in 2020 Jan 19, 2020

After last week’s episode where Jonathan and Gary discussed their favourite books from 2019, this time they talk about books they're looking forward to in 2020 (a few of which, in fairness, they’ve already seen or in Jonathan’s case even edited).

It’s a pretty varied list, and probably incomplete, so feel free to suggest more titles that we might not have known about. Overall, though, 2020 is starting off as a pretty promising year.

Gary's list

Susanna Clarke, Piranesi
William Gibson, Agency
M. John Harrison, The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again
N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became
Hao Jingfang, Vagabonds
Nancy Kress, Eleventh Gate and Sea Change
Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant
Ken Liu, The Veiled Throne
Paul J. McCauley, War of the Maps
Tamsin Muir, Harrow the Ninth
Tochi Onyebuchi, Riot Baby
K.M. Szpara, Docile
Lavie Tidhar, By Force Alone
Jo Walton, Or What You Will
Gene Wolfe, Interlibrary Loan
Alexander Irvine, Anthropocene Rag
Greg Egan, Dispersion
Jeffrey Ford, Out of Body
The Best of Elizabeth Bear
Ken Liu, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories
The Best of Jeffrey Ford
Jonathan Strahan (ed.), Made to Order: Robots and Revolution
Jonathan Strahan (ed.), The Book of Dragons

Jonathan's list

Agency, William Gibson (Viking)
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, Deepa Anappara (Chatto & Windus)
The City We Became, NK Jemisin (Orbit)
Burn, Patrick Ness (Walker)
Utopia Avenue, David Mitchell (Sceptre)
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
By Force Alone, Lavie Tidhar (Head of Zeus/Tor)
Vagabonds, Hao Jingfang (Saga)
The Angel of the Crows, Katherine Addison (Tor)
Unconquerable Sun, Kate Elliott (Orbit)
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again, M. John Harrison (Gollancz)
Or What You Will, Jo Walton (Tor)
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin/Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins)
Ghost Species, James Bradley (Penguin)
Comet Weather, Liz Williams (Newcon)

Episode 362: The Year in Review 2019 Jan 12, 2020

It's been a long time! Jonathan and Gary are together again for the first new episode of Coode Street since October!

There's a lot to catch up on, ranging from the current climate apocalypse in Australia—and the question of whether SF has done much to prepare us for this sort of thing—to major events of 2019, such as the renaming of major awards, the dramatic growth in awareness of world SF (from Asia in particular, with important recent anthologies of Chinese, Korean, and South Asian fiction), the explosion in the market for novellas and the question of whether short fiction can be similarly profitable for writers after years of getting it for free on the web, and our own lists of major books and likely award nominees from 2019.

Our expectation and hope is that the Coode Street Podcast will return to a more or less regular schedule during the coming year, complete with brilliant guests and our own half-baked ideas and theories.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 361: Jack Zipes at WFC 2019 Nov 14, 2019

It's been quiet here at Coode Street, of late. Jonathan has been working on books and recommended reading lists, and Gary has been travelling. Just two weeks ago Gary travelled to sunny Los Angeles, California to attend the 2019 World Fantasy Convention.

During the weekend Gary was busy, interviewing guest of honour Margo Lanagan, doing some panels, and seeing friends. He did take a moment to sit down with newly minted World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement recipient Jack Zipes to discuss fantasy, fairy tales, and more.

As always, our thanks to Jack for taking the time to join us and my thanks to Gary for this special shorter episode of Coode Street.

Episode 360: Margo Lanagan, Ellen Klages and Eileen Gunn at WFC 2019 Nov 14, 2019

It's been quiet here at Coode Street, of late. Jonathan has been working on books and recommended reading lists, and Gary has been travelling. Just two weeks ago Gary travelled to sunny Los Angeles, California to attend the 2019 World Fantasy Convention.

During the weekend Gary was busy, interviewing guest of honour Margo Lanagan, doing some panels, and seeing friends. He did take a moment to sit down with Margo Lanagan, Eileen Gunn, and Ellen Klages - all long-time friends of the podcast - to discuss fantasy, fairy tales, and more.

As always, our thanks to Margo, Eileen and Ellen for taking the time to join us and my thanks to Gary for this special shorter episode of Coode Street.

Episode 359: That Old Literary Divide Oct 20, 2019

We're on a roll! Two episodes in two weeks. Surely it can't last! Gary has been reading Margaret Atwood's Booker Prize-winning novel The Testaments and it's sparked off all sorts of thoughts on that old chestnut: science fiction vs. literary fiction. What are literary writers doing when they write SF? Can SF writers cross-over to the mainstream? Is this purely a generational perspective and does it just not matter any more? All these questions are at least touched on, if not settled (they're not settled), as well as mentions of Lethem, Le Guin, Chabon and others, and a brief discussion of robots and AI in SF. They even discuss some very interesting comments on the Atwood novel by Nina Allan over on her blog.

All in all, a typical rambly shambles. As always, we hope you enjoy!

Episode 358: Science fiction, open borders, and porous boundaries Oct 13, 2019

This week, with Jonathan hard at work compiling his year’s best anthology, we revisit one of the oldest questions about science fiction—namely, what is it and how do you decide what to include or exclude from an anthology clearly labelled as science fiction?

Rather than trying to offer our own definitions, we discuss the problem of definition in general. Gary argues that the many definitions of SF could be classed as the functional (or purely practical, like Damon Knight’s famous “what I point to”), the rhetorical (definitions designed to promote the importance of the genre), and the theoretical (lit-crit stuff). We agreed that such definitions tend to change over time.

That leads us into a discussion of the current state of space opera, and the question of whether the space setting is a defining feature, even when, as with Aliette de Bodard’s The Tea Master and the Detective, the plot is borrowed from mysteries.

Finally, we talk about some of our current reading. Gary mentions Rivers Solomon’s The Deep, which he sees as representing a fascinating collaboration between music and fiction since the central idea began with the techno-electronic duo Drexciya, became a Hugo-nominated rap by Clipping and is now Solomon’s novel. Jonathan mentioned Leah Bardugo's bestselling new fantasy, Ninth House, which is out now and which he recommends.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We'll be back soon!

Episode 357: Library of America and the year's end... Sep 29, 2019

As we approach the October Country, Jonathan and Gary start this week’s podcast discussing Gary’s new two-volume set from the Library of America, American Science Fiction: Eight Classic Novels of the 1960s (which you can order right now) and end with discussing the challenges of editing Jonathan’s new best science fiction of the year anthology series from Saga Press.

It’s not all shameless self-promotion, though, since in between we talk about how SF changed from the 1950s to the 1960s, whether there is more high-quality SF published now than ever before, and how new writers face different challenges from those of earlier generations in establishing a career and a distinctive profile in today’s complicated markets.

All in all, a pretty full hour. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode and we'll back soon (next week!) with another episode!

Coode Street Roundtable 2.1: Annalee Newitz’s The Future of Another Timeline Sep 22, 2019

Welcome to the first episode of the second season of The Coode Street Roundtable, a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panellists James Bradley, Ian Mond, Gary K. Wolfe, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Annalee Newitz’s The Future of Another Timeline

This month James, Ian, Gary and Jonathan discuss the latest book from Annalee Newitz. It’s described by publisher Tor Books as follows:

1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend’s abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets Beth and her friends on a path of escalating violence and vengeance as they realize many other young women in the world need protecting too.

2022: Determined to use time travel to create a safer future, Tess has dedicated her life to visiting key moments in history and fighting for change. But rewriting the timeline isn’t as simple as editing one person or event. And just when Tess believes she’s found a way to make an edit that actually sticks, she encounters a group of dangerous travelers bent on stopping her at any cost.

Tess and Beth’s lives intertwine as war breaks out across the timeline—a war that threatens to destroy time travel and leave only a small group of elites with the power to shape the past, present, and future. Against the vast and intricate forces of history and humanity, is it possible for a single person’s actions to echo throughout the timeline?

If you’re keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode (serious spoilers start around the ten-minute mark).

If you don’t already have a copy, The Future of Another Timeline can be ordered from:

• North American booksellers
• UK booksellers
• amazon.com.au

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Books mentioned this episode

James mentioned:

Russell Hoban, Riddley Walker
Paul Kingsnorth, The Wake
Alastair Reynolds, Permafrost
Michelle Tea, Black Wave
Connie Willis, Doomsday Book

Gary mentioned:

Elizabeth Hand, Curious Toys

Ian mentioned:

Claire North, The Pursuit of William Abbey
Meghan Elison, The Road to Nowhere Trilogy

Jonathan mentioned:

Kelly Robson, Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach

Next month

The Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of October with a discussion of Alix E. Harrow's The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Episode 356: Space opera, WorldCon, Campbell, and other unicorns Aug 31, 2019

After acknowledging that we failed to record a single podcast during the Dublin Worldcon, Jonathan and Gary compare notes about the con and the general wonderfulness of being in Ireland, than discussed perhaps the most debated bit of news emerging from Dublin: the renaming of the John W. Campbell award following the passionate acceptance speech by Jeanette Ng. This raised the issue of whether it’s a good idea to name an award in honour of any past figure in the field, given the shifting historical and literary influences of modern writers, and the problems that might arise concerning such figures.

Then we spent a bit of time talking about a new kind of "new space opera” such as Max Gladstone’s Empress of Forever, and how space opera, like time travel, seems to survive and get reinvented in each new generation of writers.

Finally, we recommend a couple of forthcoming books we’ve both been reading, Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January and Dominic Parisien and Navah Wolfe’s anthology The Mythic Dream.

Episode 355: A short one Aug 25, 2019

Just before Gary K Wolfe and I went to Dublin for the WorldCon we recorded a short episode. We've been too busy to publish until now. And we do have new plans for new episodes. We will be back!!!

Episode 354: Influence, impact, the sense of wonder, and other critical missions Jul 10, 2019

This week marks the publication of Jonathan’s new hard-SF anthology Mission Critical, the title of which reminded Gary of the first SF serial he read, Hal Clement’s Close to Critical. This lead, by our usual process of carefully structured random free association, to a discussion of Clement as an example of an author whose fiction is not widely read anymore, but whose influence nevertheless shows up even in writers who may not have read him. In Clement’s case, it was carefully extrapolated SF environments and creatures, but Jack Vance and Clifford Simak are also mentioned as writers whose influence has long outlived their popularity.

This somehow led to a discussion of SF’s oldest saw, the sense of wonder, how it can be achieved by current writers, and whether the SFnal sense of wonder can really be achieved in fantasy or horror. After rambling through a few other topics, including our favourite dragons, we mentioned a few new and upcoming books we're looking forward to (see the links below). And then we noted that this week represents the 10th anniversary of the death of our old friend, Charles N. Brown, who in many ways was the inspiration for this podcast.

Links for the episode

Remembering Charles N Brown (1937-2009)
Close to Critical, Hal Clement
The Gurka and the Lord of Tuesday, Saad Z Hossain
The Menace from Farside, Ian McDonald
Mission Critical, Jonathan Strahan ed.
Selected Stories, Theodore Sturgeon

Episode 353: New projects and old books Jun 17, 2019

This week Jonathan and Gary are back, fitting another episode in between travel, work, and family commitments. Gary opens up with a thoroughly reasonable discussion about writers from the 1990s and 2000s who may have published major works but have fallen from sight in recent years, while Jonathan attempts to get Gary interested in a new segment. Along the way there's discussion of the history of anthologies and whether genre fiction is more likely to be the home of theme anthologies, a new Gwyneth Jones book on the work of Joanna Russ, the state of various Library of America projects, and more.

All in all, a typical ramble. In coming weeks Gary will be in Seattle for the 2019 Locus Awards weekend, Jonathan will be in Seattle for Clarion West, and both of them will be in Dublin for WorldCon 2019. Hopefully more podcast episodes will be recorded before then.

Episode 352: A Surplus of Us May 18, 2019

With the Nebula Award winners about to be announced, we took a look this week at the question of whether science fiction has demonstrated much continuity of theme and style since the 1969 Nebulas, or whether the field has essentially reinvented itself in the last few decades.

But before we even get around to that, we note the death of bestselling author Herman Wouk, whose only science fiction work was the relatively undistinguished The "Lomokome” Papers, which raised the issue of mainstream writers who attempted SF with limited success vs. those who approached the material with respect.

Then we spent some time talking about the different generations of science fiction writers, the role of nostalgia in science fiction, the value of differing perspectives even on familiar themes, and somehow touched upon the New Wave somewhere in there as well.

As usual, we started with interesting ideas and ended up with a farrago.

Episode 351: A Quick One May 12, 2019

After a much longer than expected hiatus, we're back (sort of)! Gary's been working and travelling and Jonathan's been working and planning to travel and it's made it very difficult to squeeze recording time in. Or even to plan recording time.

Still, for a moment, early on Mother's Day in Australia and late in the evening in Chicago, Gary and Jonathan stop to discuss the books they've been reading, the movies they've been watching, the stuff they've been working on, awards and ballots, and Joanna Russ. There are mentions of fiction in translation, Chen Qiufan's Waste Tide (and Liz Bourke's Tor.com review of it), Avenger's Endgame, and much more.

I don't think either of our hosts is sure the conversation is coherent or intelligible but here it is, along with a promise to try to do better in the coming months.

Episode 350: Hey, well how about that? Mar 31, 2019

For our 350th(!) episode, Jonathan and Gary basically just ramble on. We begin with the question of how long to stick with a novel which seems to be going off the rails, and comment a bit on what different kinds of readers expect from long novels.

Later we move on to questions about anthologies, and what to expect from recent anthologies of Chinese, Korean, South Asian, and Israeli science fiction: should they try to represent an entire national tradition, or simply focus on excellent stories? And can readers not from those cultures ever fully appreciate the full nuances of such fiction?

That, in turn, leads us to discuss anthologies that have been historically important, although not always widely recognized, such as Vonda McIntyre and Susan Anderson’s Aurora: Beyond Equality from 1976, and anthologies widely celebrated, like Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions. On a personal note, anthologies that shaped our own reading included (for Gary) Judith Merril’s horribly titled England Swings SF and (for Jonathan) Michael Bishop’s Light Years and Dark. And we end briefly discussing an issue, raised by Fonda Lee, about writers gaining shelf space in bookstores amid all the perennial classics and bestsellers.

Episode 349: Sarah Pinsker on the road Mar 09, 2019

This week, we are joined by Nebula Award-winning Sarah Pinsker, whose first story collection Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea has just been published, and whose first novel, A Song for a New Day, will appear from Berkley Books in September.

We talk about the challenges of a dual career as writer and songwriter/performer—and the differences in audience interactions between the two—as well as her early reading and writing in the field, her creative writing classes in college and later attendance at the Sycamore Hill workshops, and the varied relationships between SF, fantasy, dystopia, the classic road novel, and mainstream “literary fiction.”

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea is available from Small Beer Press and her novel is available for preorder.

Episode 348: Nebulas, Hugos, ereading and more Feb 24, 2019

As usual at this time of year, Jonathan and Gary sit down to discuss the beginning of the awards season, and in particular the recently announced Nebula finalists and the fact that the Hugo nominations remain open for another couple of weeks.

Needless to say, this leads off in various directions about whether there is really more first-rate short fiction these days, or merely a broader range of venues, a more diverse pool of editors, or perhaps even more specialized readerships. We also touch upon the comparative virtues and disadvantages of text files vs PDFs vs Kindle, and the sometimes challenging logistics of convention attendance. We also strongly urge everyone to seek out not only online venues, but print magazines before finalizing their Hugo votes.

Links

SFWA 2018 Nebula Awards finalists
2018 Hugo awards nominations close 15 March
S. Qiouyi Li's "Mother Tongue" from Asimov's.
WorldCon DC in 2021 Pre-Support (just $150)

Episode 347: Charlie Jane Anders and The City in the Middle of the Night Feb 03, 2019

Charlie Jane Anders joins Jonathan and Gary to discuss her second novel, The City in the Middle of the Night, which will be in shops during the coming week. Her powerful and engaging new novel follows her award-winning debut, All the Birds in the Sky, and we chat about following that novel, her hopes for the new book, and much more.

As always, our thanks to Charlie Jane for taking the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode and the shorter format. We'll have a new episode out soon.

Coode Street for February 3rd

Episode 345: Liza Trombi, Locus, and the Year in Review
Episode 346: Neil Clarke and the State of Short Fiction in 2018
Episode 347: Charlie Jane Anders and The City in the Middle of the Night

Episode 346: Neil Clarke and the State of Short Fiction in 2018 Feb 03, 2019

This week, as part of Coode Street's experimental trio of shorter episodes, Clarkesworld publisher Neil Clarke joins Jonathan and Gary to discuss the state of short fiction in 2018. How is the field doing artistically? How is to doing in publishing terms? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic? We take half an hour to talk about all this, trends in the field and more. The fourth volume of Neil's The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of Year will be out in July.

As always, our thanks to Neil for taking the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode and the shorter format.

Coode Street for February 3rd

Episode 345: Liza Trombi, Locus, and the Year in Review
Episode 346: Neil Clarke and the State of Short Fiction in 2018
Episode 347: Charlie Jane Anders and The City in the Middle of the Night

Episode 345: Liza Trombi, Locus, and the Year in Review Feb 03, 2019

This episode is our more-or-less annual discussion with Locus magazine’s editor-in-chief Liza Groen Trombi, with whom we chat about the Recommended Reading List which appears each February in the magazine’s Year In Review issue. How is the list compiled, who contributes to it, and perhaps most important of all, what’s it for? How does it differ from other "best of the year" lists? What does it tell us about the current state of the field, and where it’s going? We touch upon not only the major novels in SFF, but also about first novels, YA, collections, nonfiction, and the various categories of short fiction. Plus, we corner Liza to talk a bit about her own favourites from the year.

You can buy a copy of the February issue of Locus, check out the Recommended Reading List, and vote in the Locus Awards. Our thanks to Liza for making time to talk to us. As always we hope you enjoy the episode.

Coode Street for February 3rd

Episode 345: Liza Trombi, Locus, and the Year in Review
Episode 346: Neil Clarke and the State of Short Fiction in 2018
Episode 347: Charlie Jane Anders and The City in the Middle of the Night

Episode 344: Time, Cities and Moving to the Poles Jan 27, 2019

And we're back with our 344th episode, which one of us incorrectly thought was our 343rd because we counted 342 twice. Ugh. Apologies for the confusion! This week:

The rise and rise of the time travel story

Dr Who has been telling time travel stories for fifty years. Robert A. Heinlein made his name with a time travel story. Kids grow up watching Back to the Future. Time travel is a well-established theme and story device, and it seems to be enjoying prominence at the moment. Kelly Robson used it in Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach. Ian McDonald used it in Time Was. What makes time travel an attractive idea? Have we changed how we're treating it as a trope in fiction?

How urbanisation is impacting how we’re looking at the city in SF

7.5 billion people live on Earth, up from 1.5 billion in 1900. Likely to increase to 10 billion by 2050. Levels of urbanisation - people living in cities - are increasing, especially in Africa, China, and India. The largest cities in the world are in those places. How does this growing urbanisation appear in SFF? Has our vision of cities in SF changed from James Blish and Isaac Asimov when you now look at Paolo Bacigalupi and Sam Miller?

Why are looking to move to the Arctic?

Antarctica, Black Fish City, Austral, The Yiddish Policeman's Union. Climate change is heating up the world and we're heading to the poles. Read Charlie Jane talking about climate change.

Epilogue: You don't need to read . . . The Drowned World, J G Ballard

Readers don’t need to read Ballard's novel if you think it ’s an early climate change warning novel, because it isn’t. If you want to understand Ballard’s ideas about “inner space” or psychic spaces, it’s a pioneering work, but it’s in no way a serious precursor of "cli-fi."

Episode 343: Grand Masters and other Awards... Jan 13, 2019

Every episode starts with a blank slate, even when perhaps it should not. This week we start with the recent announcement that William Gibson has been named as this year’s Damon Knight Grand Master by SFWA, which is well-deserved. Gibson's most famous novel, Neuromancer, won the Philip K. Dick Award back in 1985 (along with a slew of other awards).

This, in turn, takes us to the just-announced nominees for the 2019 Philip K. Dick Award:

Time Was, Ian McDonald (Tor.com Publishing)
The Body Library, Jeff Noon (Angry Robot)
84K, Claire North (Orbit)
Alien Virus Love Disaster: Stories, Abbey Mei Otis (Small Beer Press)
Theory of Bastards, Audrey Schulman (Europa Editions)
Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories, Vandana Singh (Small Beer Press)

and this leads into a discussion of the history of the award and of the evolving role of original paperbacks in science fiction. We then venture on to the hoary old question of whether our field has too many awards, and what actually constitutes progress or excellence in a field with so many familiar themes and ideas.

We’re not sure where we ended up but did manage to mention some exciting books that we’re reading right now.

Episode 342: The Books of 2019 Jan 05, 2019

At the beginning of the new year, Jonathan and Gary compare lists of books they’re looking forward to in the new year, beginning with some novels appearing within the next few weeks (Charlie Jane Anders’s The City in the Middle of the Night, Marlon James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Alastair Reynolds’s Shadow Captain), and venturing further into the year with debut novels, sophomore novels sequels, fantasy, SF, collections, anthologies, and whatever else comes to mind, including some of our own forthcoming efforts.

We cover a lot of titles, but no doubt missed some and probably gave too little attention to others. We’d be glad to hear about what we might have missed.

Here's a partial list of some of the books mentioned during the episode:

ALASTAIR REYNOLDS • Shadow Captain • Orion/Gollancz, Jan 2019 (eb, hc)
ALIETTE DE BODARD • The House of Sundering Flames • Orion/Gollancz, Jul 2019 (eb, tp)
ALIX E. HARROW • The Ten Thousand Doors of January •
AMAL EL-MOHTAR & MAX GLADSTONE • This Is How You Lose the Time War • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Jul 2019 (hc, eb)
ANN LECKIE • The Raven Tower • Orbit US, Feb 2019 (hc, eb)
ANNALEE NEWITZ • The Future of Another Timeline • Tor, Sep 2019 (hc, eb)
ARKADY MARTINE • A Memory Called Empire • Tor, Mar 2019 (hc, eb)
CHARLIE JANE ANDERS • The City in the Middle of the Night • Titan, Feb 2019 (tp)
CHEN QUIFAN • Waste Tide • Tor, Apr 2019 (hc, eb)
DAVE HUTCHINSON • Return of the Exploding Man • Rebellion/Solaris US, Sep 2019 (tp, eb)
ELIZABETH BEAR • Ancestral Night • Orion/Gollancz, Mar 2019 (tp)
FONDA LEE • Jade War • Orbit US, Jul 2019 (hc, eb)
G. WILLOW WILSON • The Bird King • Grove Atlantic/Grove, Mar 2019 (hc, eb)
GUY GAVRIEL KAY • A Brightness Long Ago • Penguin Random House/Berkley, May 2019 (hc, eb)
JO WALTON • Lent • Tor, May 2019 (f, hc, eb)
KAMERON HURLEY • Meet Me in the Future • Tachyon Publications, Jul 2019 (c, tp, eb)
KAREN LORD • Unravelling • DAW, Jun 2019 (hc, eb)
MAHVESH MURAD, ED. • The Outcast Hours (with Jared Shurin) • Rebellion/Solaris, Feb 2019 (tp)
MARLON JAMES • Black Leopard, Red Wolf • Penguin Random House/Riverhead, Feb 2019 (hc, eb)
N.K. JEMISIN • The City We Became • Little, Brown UK/Orbit, Sep 2019 (hc)
NEAL STEPHENSON • Fall, Or Dodge in Hell • HarperCollins/Morrow, Jun 2019 (hc, eb)
NINA ALLAN • The Silver Wind • Titan US, Sep 2019 (tp)
RIVERS SOLOMON • The Deep • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Jun 2019 (hc, eb)
SAM J. MILLER • Destroy All Monsters
SARAH GAILEY • Magic for Liars • Tor, Jun 2019 (hc, eb)
SARAH PINSKER • A Song for a New Day • Ace, Sep 2019 (tp, eb)
SARAH PINSKER • Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea • Small Beer Press, Mar 2019 (c, tp, eb)
SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA • Gods of Jade and Shadow • Del Rey, Aug 2019 (hc, eb)
T. KINGFISHER • The Twisted Ones • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Sep 2019 (h, tp, hc, eb)
TADE THOMPSON • The Rosewater Insurrection • Orbit US, Mar 2019 (tp, eb)
TAMSYN MUIR • GIDEON THE NINTH • Tor, Oct 2019 (hc, eb)
THEODORA GOSS • The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Sep 2019 (hc, eb)
VICTOR LAVALLE & JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, EDS. • A People’s Future of the United States • Penguin Random House/One World, Feb 2019 (oa, tp, eb)
WILLIAM GIBSON • Agency • Penguin Random House/Berkley, Apr 2019 (hc, eb)
YOON HA LEE • Dragon Pearl • Disney/Hyperion, Jan 2019 (ya, hc, eb)
YOON HA LEE • Hexarchate Stories • Rebellion/Solaris, Jun 2019 (c, tp)
ZEN CHO • The True Queen • Ace, Mar 2019 (tp, eb)

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast and that you consider pre-ordering any of the books listed above, or any that you're looking forward to.

Episode 341: 2018 Year in Review Jan 01, 2019

After another long hiatus, Jonathan and Gary return with a ramble saying farewell to 2018 (actually recorded when it was still 2018 in Chicago and already 2019 in Perth).

This time we look back on some of our favourite novels, novellas, collections, anthologies, and nonfiction from the past year, agreeing enthusiastically about Sam J. Miller’s Blackfish City, Kelly Robson’s Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Gardner Dozois’s The Book of Magic, Alec Nevala-Lee’s Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction (diverting into a side discussion of whether “golden ages” actually mean anything), and several other books and stories which one or both of us liked. We also name Blackfish City as our official Coode Street Book of Year!

Did we draw any insightful conclusions about the overall health of the field last year, or what the field seems to be becoming? Of course not, but we have our opinions, and we had some fun. And who knows? We should be back sooner than you'd think.

Episode 340: Andy Duncan and the Road to Utopia Nov 11, 2018

The 2018 World Fantasy Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland over the first weekend of November. People from all over the globe gathered, including Gary and Jonathan, to engage in discussion, appreciate art, and generally share their love of the fantasy genre.

Somewhere in there, Gary and Jonathan found time to sit down with Andy Duncan to discuss his brand new short story collection, Agent of Utopia. The book is a fine one and the conversation was wonderful. As always, we'd like to thank Andy for making the time to talk to the podcast, and we'd like to thank you for listening.

REPOST - Episode 339 - The Road to Baltimore Oct 14, 2018

A partial copy of this went out yesterday. Here's a full repost. Apologies to anyone downloading this one twice.

Episode 339: The Road to Baltimore Oct 13, 2018

With the 2018 World Fantasy Convention just weeks away, Gary and Jonathan sit down to discuss the upcoming convention, the life achievement recipients, nominees and much more.

This episode is a bit of ramble and includes digressions on questions like whether this really is an outstanding year for story collections (with new collections from N.K. Jemisin, Michael Bishop, and others) or if great collections coming out regularly is the new norm and whether we should devote any time at all on the podcast to such things as movies and TV (hint: Jonathan is sceptical).

We hope to see many of you in Baltimore. Until then, though, we hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 338: Alec Nevala-Lee, Andy Duncan, and the Astounding Legacy Sep 29, 2018

Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California this past August was a busy time. Thousands of science fiction and fantasy writers, readers, artists, publishers, and fans of every stripe travelled across the country and, in some cases, around the world to celebrate the best in SF.

We (Gary and Jonathan) had a wonderful time while we were there and managed to record four special episodes. Our final conversation is one of our favourites. Alec Nevala-Lee's Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction is a fascinating and probably definitive examination of Astounding, John W. Campbell and the writers who made up that time. Andy Duncan, a long-time friend of the podcast, also just published "New Frontiers of the Mind", his first story for Analog (successor to Astounding) which examines the connection between Campbell and Rhine. Both Alec and Andy sat down with us in San Jose to discuss Campbell, Astounding, and their own work.

As always, we'd like to thank Alec and Andy for making time to talk to us and we hope you enjoy the conversation!

Episode 337: Rich Larson and the Future of Science Fiction (sort of) Sep 20, 2018

Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California this past August was a busy time. Thousands of science fiction and fantasy writers, readers, artists, publishers, and fans of every stripe travelled across the country and, in some cases, around the world to celebrate the best in SF.

We (Gary and Jonathan) had a wonderful time while we were there and managed to record four special episodes. This third episode sees us sit down with exciting new writer Rich Larson to discuss his love of short fiction, his forthcoming collection Tomorrow Factory, and his debut novel Annex.

As always, we'd like to thank Rich for making the time to record the podcast, and we hope you all enjoy the episode!

Episode 336: 2018 Novels to Read... Sep 15, 2018

Readers talk to other readers. They share information about the books and stories they love. They recommend. It's as natural as breathing. Those recommendations lead to a broader commentary, to lists and canons and all sorts of other things. This week Jonathan and Gary discuss the way we talk about books, the nature of recommending, and much more.

As promised, this episode contains recommendations for books published during 2018 that Jonathan and Gary thought were of interest and might make for rewarding reads for Coode Streeters. As always, these are personal recommendations and not a whole lot more. There's some fine reading on the lists below, which we both hope you'll seek out. Also, let us know what we missed in the comments!

JONATHAN’S LIST

Frankenstein in Baghdad, Saadawi Ahmed
Europe at Dawn, Dave Hutchinson
Pride and Prometheus, John Kessel
Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee
Blackfish City, Sam Miller
Summerland, Hannu Rajaniemi
Elysium Fire, Alastair Reynolds
Space Opera, Catherynne Valente
The Accidental War, Walter Jon Williams

GARY’S LIST

Red Moon, Kim Stanley Robinson
Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman
Ahab's Return, Jeffrey Ford
Annex, Rich Larson
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, Theodora Goss
Summerland, Hannu Rajaniemi
The Smoke, Simon Ings
Space Opera, Catherynne M. Valente
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller
Pride and Prometheus, John Kessel
Unholy Land, Lavie Tidhar

REISSUE - Episode 335: Karen Joy Fowler, James Patrick Kelly, and the Workshop Experience Sep 12, 2018

A re-release of episode 335. This should be 53 minutes long.

--------------------------------------------

Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California this past August was a busy time. Thousands of science fiction and fantasy writers, readers, artists, publishers, and fans of every stripe travelled across the country and, in some cases, around the world to celebrate the best in SF.

We had a fine time while we were there and managed to record four special episodes. This second one sees us sit down with award-winning writers and long-time friends of Coode Street, Karen Joy Fowler and James Patrick Kelly, to discuss Clarion, Clarion West, and what it was like to be a student and an instructor at one of the most important writing workshops in the SF/F field.

As always, our thanks to Karen and Jim, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 335: Karen Joy Fowler, James Patrick Kelly, and the Workshop Experience Sep 09, 2018

Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California this past August was a busy time. Thousands of science fiction and fantasy writers, readers, artists, publishers, and fans of every stripe travelled across the country and, in some cases, around the world to celebrate the best in SF.

We had a fine time while we were there and managed to record four special episodes. This second one sees us sit down with award-winning writers and long-time friends of Coode Street, Karen Joy Fowler and James Patrick Kelly, to discuss Clarion, Clarion West, and what it was like to be a student and an instructor at one of the most important writing workshops in the SF/F field.

As always, our thanks to Karen and Jim, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 334: After San Jose Sep 02, 2018

We (Gary and Jonathan) went to WorldCon 76 in San Jose a week or so ago, or at least we were around while the convention was on and engaged in activities that overlapped with the convention. It seemed like a great convention. We had a great time. All the people we know who were there had a great time.

We'd like to thank all of the organisers, the programmers, and the people who ran a great Hugo Awards. Our congratulations to all of the winners and especially to the team at Ditch Diggers who picked up the Best Fancast award. A shout out too to the people who came to our Kaffee Klatch, which went surprisingly well.

This week a quick-ish episode, our first back together in a month or two. We talk Hugo winners, cannon, and other stuff. If you love a ramble, this ones for you. And we will work on that list for you. Promise!

Episode 333: Jo Walton Goes to the Hugos Aug 24, 2018

We've been away for a long time. A very long time. We're sorry and we'll try not to do that again. While we were away, we went to San Jose, California for the 76th World Science Fiction Convention. During the convention, we recorded four new episodes that we will be sending out over the coming weeks.

The first is a discussion with Hugo Award winner and friend of the podcast, Jo Walton. Jo has a new book out, An Informal History of the Hugo Awards, which expands on a series of posts on Tor.com looking at the Hugos from 1953-2000. The book is wonderful and the conversation is interesting. As always, our thanks to Jo and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Oh, we recorded this in Jonathan's hotel room in San Jose. Every effort has been made to filter out the damned airconditioning unit that was rumbling away outside.

Episode 332: Frankly, this one's a grab bag Jun 17, 2018

With our customary meticulous planning, we manage this week to veer from the topic of what causes you to bounce off a particular book—or to keep reading—to the Clarke Awards, which will be announced in a few weeks (Gary volunteered to be on the Shadow Jury this year), to the question of how mainstream writers handle science fiction or fantasy elements in their fiction, and then to the issue of why many excellent British or Australian writers have either failed to gain much traction in the U.S., or in some cases seem to have lost the traction they once enjoyed. In other words, we had no idea where we were going until we got there.

Episode 331: On missing Gardner Dozois Jun 10, 2018

This week Gary and Jonathan spend some time discussing the work and legacy of Gardner Dozois (1947-2018), who died recently. A friend and colleague, Gardner was also a brilliant writer, a perceptive critic, a skilled story doctor and possibly the most influential editor in the history of science fiction. His three novels, several short story collections, and well over a hundred anthologies will stand the test of time, with the 35 volume The Year's Best Science Fiction and his nearly 20 years as editor of Asimov's Science Fiction standing at the heart of his legacy. He was also kind, supportive, and enormously good fun. He'll be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.

Episode 330: Books, reading and wolves... May 06, 2018

This week’s episode ranges from a discussion about the growing importance of novellas and their advantages both for readers and writers, the difficult question of which story you might pick to introduce a new reader to a favourite author, the importance of distinctive voices in both short fictions and novels, the upcoming 87th birthday of the great Gene Wolfe, and James Cameron's new TV documentary on SF, which features appearance from several SF writers and critics, including Gary.

Then Jonathan springs on Gary the question of what his favourite book is, so Gary tossed it right back to Jonathan. We both came up with answers that date back to our respective childhoods. In addition to Gene Wolfe, some of the authors mentioned include R.A. Lafferty, Ted Chiang, Margo Lanagan, Kelly Link, Robert A. Heinlein, T.H. White, Sam J. Miller, Kate Wilhelm, Ursula Le Guin, Andy Duncan, Howard Waldrop, Catherynne Valente, Jeffrey Ford, Lavie Tidhar, John Varley, James Patrick Kelly, Alec Nevala-Lee, and Joseph Heller. In other words, another ramble.

Episode 329: Sam Miller and the Art of Living in the World Apr 22, 2018

This week, the always bustling Coode Street Motel battles technical difficulties, sound dropouts, and other gremlins of the Skypesphere to welcome Sam J. Miller, whose Blackfish City is just out, and whose young adult novel The Art of Starving received great notices last year.

We discuss balancing his day job as a community organizer with his fiction, the genesis of his new novel in a couple of earlier short stories, the writers who made him want to become one, the arbitrary nature of classifying stories as SF, horror, fantasy, YA, etc., and even the choice of pronouns in describing particular characters.

As always, our thanks to Sam and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 328: Re-reading, reprinting and the classics Apr 07, 2018

Gary was looking through the books that seem to tumble endlessly through his front door for review and came across a new edition of David R. Bunch's classic story collection, Moderan, which is set to be re-released by New York Review Books this coming August with an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer.

It led to a conversation about to whether there's an art to re-reading books, how you should go about republishing classic books, and much more. We also snuck in an apology or two at the very end of the episode. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week (in all of our lo-fi glory).

Episode 327: Awards, climate fiction and more Apr 02, 2018

This week, Jonathan and Gary discuss the parameters of climate-influenced SF, the usefulness or not of the term 'cli-fi' (with increasing numbers of SF works set all or partly in the Arctic or Antarctic) and, inevitably, the beginning of the awards season, with the Aurealis and Ditmar awards, the BSFA awards, and the nominees announced this past weekend for the 2018 Hugos. Who is being celebrated on the ballot, and which works were we surprised to see omitted?

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Correction and apology

During this episode we use the incorrect gender pronouns for Yoon Ha Lee. We used she/her when we should have used he/him. We apologise unreservedly for this, and will be sure to correct it in future episodes.

Episode 326: After ICFA Mar 25, 2018

Gary is back from the International Conference on the Fantastic in Orlando, where he chatted quite a bit with guests of honour John Kessel and Nike Sulway while managing to not attend some very interesting talks and panels. We touch upon the problems of identifying an SF audience in today’s fluid environment, and the feeling of some older writers that their books may be no longer part of the overall discussion. But is there an overall discussion anymore? Has the SF readership atomized into so many different readerships, some more vertical than horizontal, that even when senior writers are still being read widely, it’s difficult to find out who those readers are. Have we gotten to the point of “everyone their own canon,” where only a handful of books each year make it into the general discussion of where SF is headed?

Episode 325: World Fantasy Awards, Kate Wilhelm and more Mar 11, 2018

With nominations for the 2018 Hugo Awards closing shortly, Jonathan and Gary headed to the Gershwin Room to discuss nominating for the Hugos, the recent proposal to change the name of the young adult (not a Hugo) award and to discuss at length their respective nominees for the 2018 World Fantasy Awards.

Towards the end of the podcast, Jonathan and Gary became aware of the sad news that Kate Wilhelm had died, and spend some time remembering one of the most important SF and mystery writers of the 20th century.

We don't usually get to this, but in a rare moment of organisation, we're providing a combined copy of Jonathan and Gary's draft World Fantasy ballots below. These will change (they're drafts) but it may serve as a useful pointer to some good reading etc.

As always we hope you enjoy the episode. More next week!

World Fantasy Awards 2018

Life Achievement

Gardner Dozois
Howard Waldrop

Novel

Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr, John Crowley (Saga)
Wintertide, Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss (Saga)
A Skinful of Shadows, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan; Amulet)
The River Bank, Kij Johnson (Small Beer)
The Night Ocean, Paul La Farge (Penguin)
The Changeling, Victor LaValle (Spiegel and Grau)
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, Philip Pullman (Knopf; Fickling UK)

Long Fiction

The Twilight Pariah, Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com Publishing)
Mapping the Interior, Stephen Graham Jones (Tor.com Publishing)
Agents of Dreamland, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tor.com Publishing)
Passing Strange, Ellen Klages (Tor.com Publishing)
Mightier than the Sword, K.J. Parker (Subterranean)
The Process is a Process (All its Own), Peter Straub (Subterranean)

Short Fiction

“Probably Still the Chosen One“, Kelly Barnhill (Lightspeed 2/17)
"This is Our Town", John Crowley (Totalitopia)
“Come See the Living Dryad“, Theodora Goss (Tor.com 3/9/17)
“The Faerie Tree“, Kathleen Kayembe (Lightspeed 11/17)
“The Smoke of Gold Is Glory“, Scott Lynch (The Book of Swords)
"The Resident", Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties)
"Sidewalks", Maureen F. McHugh (Omni)
“Carnival Nine“, Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/11/17)
"The Lamentation of Their Women", Kai Ashante Wllson (Tor.com)

Anthology

The New Voices of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle & Jacob Weisman eds (Tachyon)
Black Feathers, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Pegasus)
Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Ellen Datlow ed. (Tor)
The Book of Swords, Gardner Dozois, ed. (Bantam; HarperCollins UK)
The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories, Mahvesh Murad & Jared Shurin, eds. (Solaris US; Solaris UK)

Collection

You Should Come With Me Now, M. John Harrison (Comma)
Dear Sweet Filthy World, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
Wicked Wonders, Ellen Klages (Tachyon)
Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado (Graywolf)
Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers, Tim Powers (Baen)
Tender: Stories, Sofia Samata (Small Beer)
The Emerald Circus and Other Stories, Jane Yolen (Tachyon)

Artist

Rovina Cai
Kathleen Jennings
Gregory Manchess
Victo Ngai
Omar Rayyan

Special Award, Professional

Irene Gallo, for Tor.com Publishing
Joe Monti and Navah Wolfe for editing Saga Press
Jonathan Oliver for editing at Solaris
The Locus Publications editorial team for Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fields

Special Award, Non-professional

Scott H. Andrews for Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Episode 324: Carmen Maria Machado Feb 25, 2018

When Carmen Maria Machado's debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, was shortlisted for the National Book Award it went to the top of everybody's "to read" piles. A smart, sensitive and thoughtful look at issues to do with sex, gender, violence and horror, it proved to be one of the very best books of 2017, and one that's sure to hold everyone's attention through 2018.

This week Carmen was kind enough to join Gary and Jonathan on the podcast to discuss her work, her reading and writing life, and much more. Our thanks to Carmen for making the time to talk to us. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 323: Awards season begins...Hugo time! Feb 18, 2018

Every year Gary and Jonathan sit down and start talking about "awards season", a short period in the science fiction year that runs from February to November where we take time out to recognise all of the excellent work published in the preceding year. This year they're getting to the job late, having already missed the announcement of the Crawford, the BSFA, and the Stoker ballots. Still, just in the nick of time, they take a moment to discuss possible 2018 Hugo Awards nominees, or at least possible fiction nominees, along with some encouragement for listeners to read, watch, and listen widely, and then nominate what they loved.

Episode 322: Theodora Goss, John Kessel and Monstrous Stories Jan 27, 2018

This week, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we are joined by two authors whose own recent works celebrate that classic work.

John Kessel’s Pride and Prometheus will be published in February, combining characters from Shelley’s classic and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, while Theodora Goss’s The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, featuring a number of classic characters from 19th century fantastic fiction—including Frankenstein’s “daughter”--will be joined by its sequel European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman in July; both are part of her series "The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club.”

We touch upon Shelley’s work, the problems of writing narratives that exist within the spaces of earlier novels, whether or not Frankenstein was really the first science fiction novel, and—briefly—on the debt we all own to Ursula K. Le Guin after her passing earlier in the week.

As always, our thanks to our guests, Dora and John. We hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week!

REPOST: Episode 71: Live with Gary K. Wolfe and Ursula K. Le Guin! Jan 24, 2018

Six years ago Gary Wolfe and I were privileged enough to get to chat with Ursula K. Le Guin about science fiction. The reason for the discussion was Margaret Atwood's book of essays, In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination, which discusses her thoughts on science fiction in some detail. It is a marvellous discussion and one we thought we'd repost, given the sad news of Ursula's death today.

Episode 321: Fairy tales, peaches, and so on... Jan 21, 2018

Normal service resumes with a rambly episode after last week's chat with Jane Yolen. Having decided what they were going to discuss beforehand, Gary and Jonathan immediately head off and start discussing something else altogether! It's a ramble, it's a chat, it's very much business as usual.

Topics discussed this week include novellas, Kelly Robson's "Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach", the persistence of fairy tales in modern fantasy, and the new anthology Robots v. Fairies. The frankly dodgy Western Australian internet connection didn't quite hold out until the end, so the chat ends a little short, though complete.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. Next week: John Kessel and Theodora Goss are scheduled to discuss their new novels and the fascination with Frankenstein.

Episode 320: Jane Yolen and a Life in Story Jan 14, 2018

The Coode Street Podcast returns for 2018 with a very special opening episode. Today Gary and Jonathan sat down to talk with SFWA Grand Master, World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement recipient, and Nebula Award winner Jane Yolen to talk to her about her life as a storyteller, her new collection The Emerald Circus, her forthcoming Holocaust novel Mapping the Bones, and what it means to have multiple careers as an author of children’s picture books, young adult novels, historical fiction, SF and fantasy, and poetry.

As always, we would like to thank Jane for taking the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode. We'll be back next week with more!

Episode 319: The Books of 2018 Dec 29, 2017

In the brief hiatus between Christmas and New Year, a final episode for 2018. Jonathan and Gary take a moment to sit down in the Gershwin Room and discuss the books they're looking forward to in 2018, a range of novels, novellas, collections, and anthologies that should interest any genre reader. Of course, to find out what they recommend you'll need to listen to the episode!

Normal service will resume in the second week of January, but until then sincere thanks to everyone who has appeared on the Coode Street Podcast, contributed to it in any way, and special thanks to everyone who has listened in, either live in Helsinki or to any of our regular episodes. May the rest of the holidays treat you well, and may 2018 be a safe, happy, and healthy year for you and yours.

Episode 318: The End of the Year Dec 17, 2017

After our longest break ever, the Coode Street Podcast returns to regular programming with a discussion of the year in review. Gary and Jonathan discuss their favourite novels, collections, anthologies, novellas, and nonfiction books of 2017, and end up sounding pretty optimistic about the year.

As always, we hope you enjoy today's episode. We'll see you next week!

Episode 317: Irene Gallo and the Art of Science Fiction Oct 29, 2017

This week we are joined by Chesley and World Fantasy Award-winning designer, art director, editor and publisher Irene Gallo to discuss how she came to join Tor Books back in the 1990s, her career as an art director, her role in helping to establish Tor.com, and her work as Associate Publisher at Tor.com Publishing.

As always, we'd like to thank Irene for taking the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode. See you in while!

Episode 316: Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Warrior, Binti, and Beyond Sep 30, 2017

This week we’re joined by the fabulous Nnedi Okorafor, whose Akata Warrior (sequel to Akata Witch) will be published next week, and whose Binti: The Night Masquerade (concluding her award-winning Binti trilogy of novellas) is due in January. We discuss not only these books, but the ongoing excitement about the possible TV adaptation of Who Fears Death?, the forthcoming novel Remote Control, the growing awareness of African and Naijamerican SF and fantasy, her work in comics and graphic novels, her Star Wars short story, and the problems of juggling academic work with writing. Nnedi is one of the busiest writers in the field these days, and her insights, as always, are fascinating.

Episode 315: Liz Bourke, Niall Harrison and Debut Novels of 2017 Sep 24, 2017

This week, we are joined by distinguished critics Niall Harrison, late of Strange Horizons, and Liz Bourke, whose latest collection of reviews and essays is Sleeping With Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Aqueduct), to discuss the debut novels of 2017 that we’re all excited or curious about. Here are some of the titles that come up in the discussion:

Annalee Newitz, Autonomous
Theodora Goss, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter
Karin Tidbeck, Amatka
Robyn Bennis, The Guns Above
Lara Elena Donnelly, Amberlough
Ruthanna Emrys, Winter Tide
Cat Sparks, Lotus Blue
Nicky Drayden, The Prey of Gods
Marek Sindelka, Aberrant
Prayaag Akbar, Leila
Rivers Solomon, An Unkindness of Ghosts
Megan Hunter, The End We Start From
Mohsin Hamid, Exit West
Christopher Brown, Tropic of Kansas
Sam Miller, The Art of Starving
N.J. Campbell, Found Audio

There's a long list of debuts with links to reviews and ordering here.

Here are specific recommendations and shout-outs from Liz and Niall:

Liz Bourke

The Guns Above, Robyn Bennis (Tor)
Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor)
The Prey of Gods, Nicky Drayden (HarperVoyager)
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss (Saga)
Lotus Blue, Cat Sparks (Talos)
Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw (Orbit US)
Gods & Monsters: Food of the Gods, Cassandra Khaw (Rebellion/Abaddon US)
The Tiger’s Daughter, K Arsenault Rivera (Tor)
Barbary Station, R. E. Stearns (Saga)
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz (Tor)

Niall Harrison

Books that I have read and recommend:

Leila by Prayaag Akbar (Simon & Schuster India)
Spaceman of Bohemia, Jaroslav Kalfar (Sceptre)
Aberrant, Marek Šindelka (Twisted Spoon Press)
Amatka, Karin Tidbeck (Vintage)

Books that I am particularly keen to read that other people did not
mention (i.e. excluding Goss, Newitz, Brown):

An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon (Akashic Books)
American War, Omar Al Akkad (Picador)
An Excess Male, Maggie Shen King (Harper Voyager)

A first fantastic novel rather than first novel, but excellent:

Exit West, Mohsin Hamid (Penguin)

Not a novel at all, but a notable debut:

Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado (Graywolf Press)

As always, our thanks to Liz and Niall.

Episode 314: Annalee Newitz and Telling Stories About the Future Sep 16, 2017

Annalee Newitz, who writes on the cultural impact of science and technology for Ars Technica and who founded and edited io9.com, delivers her debut novel Autonomous this month.

Annalee joined Gary and Jonathan in Helsinki, Finland where they were all attending WorldCon 75, to discuss Autonomous, science fiction, and the power of being able to tell stories about how science influences the world.

As always,Gary and Jonathan would like to thank Annalee for joining us, and hope you enjoy the podcast.

Episode 313: Jeffrey Ford and The Twilight Pariah Sep 10, 2017

This week Gary and Jonathan are joined by long-time friend of the podcast, Jeffrey Ford. Jeff is the winner of the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Shirley Jackson awards and has published eight novels, six short story collections and more than 130 short stories. His most recent book is Shirley Jackon Award winner A Natural History of Hell. Just out is new short novel, The Twilight Pariah. He joins us to discuss his writing, genre and his first new novel in ten years, Ahab's Return, or The Last Voyage.

As always we'd like to thank Jeff for making the time to join us. We'd also like to apologise, this time out, for some technical issues which affect the sound quality of this episode, especially in the first half. We think it's worth persevering with, though. Next week: Annalee Newitz discusses Autonomous.

Episode 312: Fantasy 101, Helsinki and more Sep 02, 2017

After a long and mostly unplanned hiatus, we're back! We travelled to Helsinki, Finland to attend WorldCon75, and then spent time travelling and not thinking about podcasting very much at all. Still, all holidays must come to an end, and so we headed back up to the Gershwin Room one more time to discuss WorldCon, the Hugo Awards, and the merits of developing a list of books for a Fantasy 101 type course (inspired by a question from Theodora Goss).

As you can imagine, we talk, we disagree, there's rambling and Coode St is pretty much as it always is. We hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week!

Episode 311: Walter Jon Williams, Kelly Robson and Helsinki! Sep 02, 2017

And now for something special! During the recent WorldCon, held in Helsinki, Finland, Gary and Jonathan took to the stage to talk to WorldCon guest of honor Walter Jon Williams and Campbell Award nominee Kelly Robson to discuss Walter's career and his new novel, Quillifer.

During recording we were fortunate enough to be able to give away copies of Quillifer to lucky convention attendees thanks to the generosity of Saga Press. We were a little limited by time (panels lasted exactly 45 minutes in Helsinki) but the conversation flowed and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Our special thanks to Walter Jon, to Kelly, and to the tech team at WorldCon 75 for making this possible.

Episode 310: The Years Best Books So Far, the XPrize and more Jul 01, 2017

We were away! We came back! We missed you! After an unexpected four week hiatus, and with another four week hiatus coming up, Gary and Jonathan took some time to catch up with one another, discuss what they'd both been reading lately, consider the XPrize fiction projection Seat 14C, and have a chat about the best books of the year they've read so far. A lot for a chat a little under an hour, but rambling will get them there.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. We will be back next week with more!

Episode 309: Epic fantasy, Campbell Awards and more Jun 05, 2017

Gary and Jonathan are back with a rambling conversation that touches on epic fantasy and its relationship to privilege, the recently announced Campbell Award ballot, Gary's theory on perspective, recent books they've read and more. They also discuss hiatuses, missed episodes and how to subscribe to the podcast.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Subscribe

If you would like to subscribe to the podcast, use this link for iTunes.

Episode 308: Paul Kincaid, Ken Macleod, and the works of Iain (M) Banks May 21, 2017

Any time the Coode Street Podcast connects with the United Kingdom it's a special occasion. Jonathan stays up until the dead of night (often with a whisky in hand), while Gary is driven out of bed and into the arms of coffee. This week, in the face of puzzling technical difficulties, Jonathan and Gary are joined on the podcast by noted critic Paul Kincaid and award-winning writer Ken Macleod to discuss Paul's new book on the work of Iain Banks, science fiction, writing in Scotland, and much more.

The aforementioned technical difficulties do mean there's echo on the line from Scotland, for which we apologise. We've tried to minimise it as much as possible, and think the conversation is worth persevering with, but are sorry the overall quality isn't a bit better. We hope you'll enjoy the episode and, as always, we should be back next week.

Episode 307: Theodora Goss and the Alchemist's Daughter May 07, 2017

This week we talk with the multi-talented Theodora Goss, whose forthcoming novel, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, draws not only from her own doctoral research in late Victorian Gothic fiction, but from her earlier story "The Mad Scientist’s Daughter."

By focusing on a group of women characters drawn from classic tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells, and Mary Shelley—and bearing the familiar names of Jekyll, Hyde, Moreau, Rappaccini, and Frankenstein—Goss gives a voice to the largely invisible figures from classic works of terror.

We also touch upon her recent story, “Come See the Living Dryad”—is it fantasy or not?-- as well as the reasons behind the appeal of monsters and the monstrous, and the delights of playing with genre.

As always, we'd like thank Dora for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Note: We experienced some technical difficulties with this episode. There were issues with the audio (Dora drops out occasionally). We think the episode is interesting enough to release, but do apologise for the problems and hope you'll persevere.

Episode 306: Geoff Ryman and 100 African Writers of SFF Apr 29, 2017

This week we are joined by Nebula, Clarke, Tiptree, Campbell, and World Fantasy Award winner Geoff Ryman to discuss his important new project, 100 African Writers of SF/F, which sees Ryman traversing the African continent meeting new creators of science fiction and fantasy to discuss their careers, their work and the places they find themselves working.

We also discuss the recently announced 2017 nominations for the African Speculative Fiction Society's Nommo Award, which will be presented later this year, and a diverse range of other work. Toward's the end of our discussion Geoff mentions Adofe Atogun's novel, Taduno's Song which we promised to list here so listeners could find it.

As always, we'd like to thank Geoff for making the time to join us, and hope you enjoy the podcast. If you'd like to do some further reading in African SFF some resources are listed below. We'd also strongly recommend checking out the voters packet for the Nommo Awards, which will be released shortly.

Some online resources:

Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine
Jalada - A pan-African writers' collective
AfroSF Facebook Group
DADA Books - delightful reading
Chimurenga - A pan African publication of writing, art and politics
African Fantasy Reading Group

Episode 305: Kim Stanley Robinson and the Drowning of New York Apr 17, 2017

This week we're joined by the delightful and provocative Kim Stanley Robinson, to discuss his new novel New York 2140, his “comedy of coping” about dealing with catastrophic climate change in the next century, as well as how his previous novel Aurora challenged one of the cherished ideas in science fiction, the literary and artistic function of exposition in fiction, the relationship of science fiction writers to “futurists” or to MFA programs in creative writing, and his own distinguished career in the context of both science fiction and contemporary environmental literature.

As always, our thanks to Stan for making the time to tallk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode and will be back next week!

Episode 304: A New Theory of Science Fiction Apr 02, 2017

That sounds a bit grandiose, doesn't it? We're back rambling, and this week we discuss some of our recent reading (Jonathan finished reading his second novel of the year!!), Gary's convention, the history of the Crawford Award, voting, and Gary's new History of Science Fiction. There's rambling, diversions, and parts of the conversation that just trrail off into the ether, as you might expect.

As always, our thanks to everyone and we hope you enjoy the podast. More next week.

Episode 303: John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly at ICFA Mar 24, 2017

This week Gary is in Orlanda, Florida for the International Conference on the Fantastic Arts. Despite being thousands of miles away, across aligator-infested waters, he took the time to sit down with long-time friends of the podcast John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly to discuss John's new novel The Moon and the Other (Saga Press, April) and Jim's new novel, Mother Go, which will be out from Audible later this year. As always happens on Coode Street, the conversation started on new books, new publishers, and publishing methods, and wandered far and wide.

As always, our sincere thanks to John and Jim for making the time to join us. We hope you enjoy the episode and will be back with more next week!

Episode 302: The State of Short Fiction Mar 19, 2017

This week we welcome a record number of guests for a lively discussion of the state of short fiction. We discuss whether or not we’re currently in a “golden age” of short fiction; the welcome growth of multicultural voices; the economic realities of the short fiction market; and how authors can build careers in such a diverse and complex publishing environment.

Our guests are:

Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld;
Charles Coleman Finlay of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction;
Irene Gallo of Tor.com; and
Sheila Williams of Asimov's Science Fiction.

We encourage you to support each of their fine publications. We'd also like to thank Charlie, Irene, Neil and Sheila for making the time to be part of the podcast.

Episode 301: On Literary fiction and genre, the moon and more Mar 12, 2017

This week, after an unintended break because of deadlines and workload, Gary and Jonathan return to the Gershwin Room to discuss the burning question of literary fiction vs genre fiction, what exactly literary science fiction might be, recent books they've read, awards nominations, when is a writer a new writer, and so on.

Books mentioned during the podcast include:

The Moon and the Other, John Kessel
Luna: Wolfe Moon, Ian McDonald
New York 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson
Agents of Dreamland, Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Book of Swords, Gardner Dozois
The Girl Who Drank Down the Moon, Kelly Barnhill.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. We hope to be back next week with #302.

Episode 300: Kij Johnson Exploring Old Worlds Feb 26, 2017

This week Gary and Jonathan are joined by Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winning writer Kij Johnson to discuss her Nebula Award nominated novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe and her forthcoming novel The River Bank, how it's possible to re-imagine the worlds of classic fiction in bold and useful ways, recording audiobooks and how reading aloud changes what you write, and much more.

As always, we'd like to thank Kij for making the time to join us, and hope you enjoy the episode. We'd also note that this is our 300th episode. So our sincere thanks to you, our listeners, for sticking with us!

REPOST: Coode Street Roundtable 4: Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere Feb 19, 2017

Repost

With awards season upon us, we thought it might be worthwhile to re-release our spoiler heavy roundtable discussions for last year. The fourth 2017 awards-eligible book we discussed was Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere.

Welcome to the fourth episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere

This month Coode Street co-host Gary Wolfe joins us to discuss Into Everwhere, the latest novel from Paul McAuley. It’s smart, engaging hard SF adventure described by its publisher as follows:

The Jackaroo, those enigmatic aliens who claim to have come to help, gave humanity access to worlds littered with ruins and scraps of technology left by long-dead client races. But although people have found new uses for alien technology, that technology may have found its own uses for people.

The dissolute scion of a powerful merchant family, and a woman living in seclusion with only her dog and her demons for company, have become infected by a copies of a powerful chunk of alien code. Driven to discover what it wants from them, they become caught up in a conflict between a policeman allied to the Jackaroo and the laminated brain of a scientific wizard, and a mystery that spans light years and centuries. Humanity is about to discover why the Jackaroo came to help us, and how that help is shaping the end of human history.

If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Into Everywhere can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Correction

During the podcast Jonathan incorrectly says Paul McAuley's next novel, Austral, is due in late 2016. It's actually due in late 2017. Our apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

REPOST: Coode Street Roundtable 3: Patricia A. McKillip's Kingfisher Feb 14, 2017

Repost

With awards season upon us, we thought it might be worthwhile to re-release our spoiler heavy roundtable discussions for last year. The first 2017 awards-eligible book we discussed was Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds in the Sky.

Welcome to the third episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Patricia A. McKillip’s Kingfisher

This month Tiptree Award winning writer Nike Sulway and Coode Street co-host Gary K. Wolfe join Jonathan and Ian to discuss Kingfisher, the latest novel from World Fantasy Award and Mythopoeic Award winner Patricia A. McKillip. It’s a lyrical, funny, and sometimes challenging novel about family and destiny described by its publisher as follows:

In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic.

Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. “Look for us,” they tell Pierce, “if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”

Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden’s court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father’s destructive love for King Arden’s queen, and Heloise’s decision to raise her younger son alone.

As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce’s heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce’s; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father’s kingdom.

Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it...

If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Kingfisher can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Next month

The Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of April with a discussion of Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere (his second Jackaroo novel).

REPOST: Episode 299: Liza Groen Trombi and the Locus Year in Review Feb 13, 2017

For our 299th episode, we are joined once again by Locus editor-in-chief Liza Groen Trombi for our annual discussion of the Locus Magazine recommended reading list, covering the history of how the list evolved, who participates in compiling it, what its purpose is, and what our own thoughts are about the titles included this year in the book categories of the list(included the newly reinstated Horror Novel category). We also pay a brief tribute to our old friend and former Locus columnist Ed Bryant, who passed away earlier this week.

Links for this episode:

Locus Recommended Reading List
Locus Poll and Survey (vote here!)

Our thanks for Liza for making the time to join us. As always we hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week!

Episode 299: Liza Groen Trombi and the Locus Year in Review Feb 12, 2017

For our 299th episode, we are joined once again by Locus editor-in-chief Liza Groen Trombi for our annual discussion of the Locus Magazine recommended reading list, covering the history of how the list evolved, who participates in compiling it, what its purpose is, and what our own thoughts are about the titles included this year in the book categories of the list(included the newly reinstated Horror Novel category). We also pay a brief tribute to our old friend and former Locus columnist Ed Bryant, who passed away earlier this week.

Links for this episode:

Locus Recommended Reading List
Locus Poll and Survey (vote here!)

Our thanks for Liza for making the time to join us. As always we hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week!

REPOST: Coode Street Roundtable 2: Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds in the Sky Feb 09, 2017

Repost

With awards season upon us, we thought it might be worthwhile to re-release our spoiler heavy roundtable discussions for last year. The first 2017 awards-eligible book we discussed was Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds in the Sky.

*

Welcome to the second episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds in the Sky

This month Coode Street co-host Gary Wolfe joins us to discuss All the Birds in the Sky, the second novel from Hugo Award winning author Charlie Jane Anders. It's a warm, humane, funny, and genuinely engaging novel described by its publisher as follows:

From the editor-in-chief of io9.com, a stunning novel about the end of the world--and the beginning of our future...

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families.

But now they're both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who's working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world's magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world's every-growing ailments. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together--to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.

A deeply magical, darkly funny examination of life, love, and the apocalypse.

We discuss the novel in detail, including how the story develops and ends. If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, All the Birds in the Sky can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Next month The Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of March with a discussion of a book to be announced shortly.

Episode 298: Lisa Yaszek, Kathleen Ann Goonan and Sisters of Tomorrow Feb 04, 2017

This week we are joined in our luxurious Coode Street studio by Lisa Yaszek, co-editor (with Patrick B. Sharp) of Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction, and our old friend Kathleen Ann Goonan, whose essay “Challenging the Narrative, Or, Women Take Back Science Fiction” serves as a provocative afterword to the anthology.

We discuss how and why women were largely written out of early histories of science fiction, their contributions as writers, editors, journalists, poets, and artists during the pulp era, and how the situation has evolved from the pulp era to the present, and how American women SF writers might be represented in Lisa’s forthcoming Library of America anthology.

As always, our thanks to our guests for making the time to join us. And see you next week!

Episode 297: Politics and science fiction Jan 29, 2017

This week we return to the Gershwin Room to discuss what we’ve been reading lately, what we’re anticipating, what do you when you encounter a story by an idol or a good friend which isn’t quite up to standard, and what the state of political science fiction is, with both Orwell’s 1984 and Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here returning to the U.S. bestseller lists for the first time in decades. We also discuss political action within the science fiction field towards the end of the podcast, and touch on Norman Spinrad's new novel.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 296: A Return to Normal Programming Jan 21, 2017

It's a brand new day. A dark, scary depressing day, maybe, but a brand new one. With the 45th president of the United States of America sworn in, Gary and Jonathan turned their attention to more typical things in the first rambling chat of the year.

This week they start by chatting about recent trends in science fiction, most notably science fiction influenced by man-made climate change like Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 and Cat Sparks' Lotus Blue, before talking at length about the upcoming World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, nominating for the Hugo awards (with some nomination suggestions), and finishing up talking about the recently released ballot for the Philip K. Dick Award.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. And if you do, please consider mentioning it to a friend!

Episode 295a: Ellen Klages reads from Passing Strange Jan 17, 2017

As promised, the wonderful Ellen Klages reads from her forthcoming book Passing Strange. The short reading starts about halfway into a story about two women living in San Francisco in 1940 and what happens to them. Our sincere thanks to Ellen for taking the time to record the reading. Passing Strange is due out on January 24.

Episode 295: Ellen Klages and Passing Strange Jan 15, 2017

And we're back! The bar has been re-stocked, the carpets have been steam cleaned, and we're ready to go. For the first podcast of 2017, long time friend of the podcast Ellen Klages joins us to discuss her wonderful new book, Passing Strange.

Described by the publisher like this:

San Francisco in 1940 is a haven for the unconventional. Tourists flock to the cities within the city: the Magic City of the World’s Fair on an island created of artifice and illusion; the forbidden city of Chinatown, a separate, alien world of exotic food and nightclubs that offer “authentic” experiences, straight from the pages of the pulps; and the twilight world of forbidden love, where outcasts from conventional society can meet.

Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where magic, science, and art intersect.

Inspired by the pulps, film noir, and screwball comedy, Passing Strange is a story as unusual and complex as San Francisco itself from World Fantasy Award winning author Ellen Klages.

Passing Strange is due out January 24, but you can pre-order it now.

As always, we'd like to thank Ellen Klages for joining us and hope you enjoy the episode. We should be back next week with new episode, and regularly through till Worldcon in August.

Episode 294: Just a Song Before We Go (on hiatus) Dec 11, 2016

The end of the year is upon us, and plans are subject to change. Our intention to do a bunch of end-of-the year episodes has been set aside because of deadlines and other commitments. Instead here’s a conversation about the history of the podcast, about our most disappointing and surprising books of 2016, and much more.

During the episode we discuss the hiatus, and whether we’ll be returning in 2017 or not. The jury remains out on that, but there’ll be at least one more episode in January. Who knows beyond that? We’ll have to wait and see. Our sincere thanks to everyone who’s been a part of Coode Street this year and in previous years, and our sincerest holiday good wishes to one and all!

Episode 293: James Bradley, Ian Mond and Coode Street's Year in Review Dec 04, 2016

It’s the end of the year and time to talk about how it went, what’s worth reading, what could end up on your holiday gift lists, and what could be avoided. To kick off Coode Street’s end of year coverage, this week Roundtablers James Bradley and Ian Mond join Gary and Jonathan to discuss books they’ve loved during the year and would recommend to you, if you’re looking for some great reading.

To help you chase down the books, our lists are below:

James’s List

The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Hold, Kirsten Tranter
Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay
Vision, Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Mike de Mundo
Barkskins, Annie Proulx
Goldenhand, Garth Nix
Into Everywhere, Paul McAuley
Company Town, Madeleine Ashby
Children of the New World, Alexander Weinstein
Version Control, Dexter Palmer
Europe in Winter, Dave Hutchinson

Ian’s List

Underground Airlines, Ben H. Winters
The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Claire North
Lovecraft Country, Matt Ruff
Vigil, Angela Slatter
I Am Providence, Nick Mamatas
My Best Friend's Exorcism, Grady Hendrix
What is Not Yours is Not Yours, Helen Oyeyemi
Martin John, Anakana Schofield
Solar Bones, Mike McCormack
The Obelisk Gate, N K Jemisin

Jonathan’s List

Revenger, Alastair Reynolds
Goldenhand, Garth Nix
Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay
Bloom County XII: A New Hope, Berkeley Breathed
Lovecraft Country, Matt Ruff

Gary’s List

The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Revenger, Alastair Reynolds
Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay
Central Station, Lavie Tidhar
The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe, Kij Johnson
The Gradual, Christoper Priest
The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle

As always, our thanks to James and Ian, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 292: Short fiction, defining fantasy and more Nov 20, 2016

This week we find ourselves talking about the resurgence of the novella in fantasy and SF, the possible reasons behind it, the changes in recent print magazines Asimov’s and Analog, the question of why short fiction seems to be moving in a digital direction whereas the novel not so much--and then we segue unconvincingly into questions of what gets reviewed and by whom, finally ending up with the problems in trying to find a workable definition of fantasy as compared to science fiction or horror.

As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 291: Radio Free America Nov 13, 2016

After a week off, we return to discuss just how science fictional the recent American elections are, whether political science fiction has ever had much impact on social attitudes or public policy, what if anything SF has to offer to the disenfranchised, and the representation of women and minorities as characters as well as contributors in recent anthologies like Jonathan’s Bridging Infinity. We also offer some thoughts on the recent World Fantasy Convention, the difficulties World Fantasy seems to be facing in terms of both awards and convention attendance, and whether there are really any professional conventions left in the SF field.

Episode 290: David Levine and Fran Wilde Oct 30, 2016

This week, from the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio, Gary is joined by Hugo-winning David Levine (Arabella of Mars) and Andre Norton-winning Fran Wilde (Updraft, Cloudbound) to discuss various matters from Regency interplanetary adventures to bone cities to where SF titles come from,and balances between SF, fantasy, pulp traditions, and YA elements in SF’s emerging new eclecticism.

As always, our thanks to David and Fran for making the time to talk to Gary. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 289: Baseball, Bob and more Oct 23, 2016

The Coode Street Podcast stumbles towards its three hundredth episode with another discursive chat between co-hosts Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe. Topics this week include Bob Dylan, the Nobel and accepting awards; baseball in science fiction; and other stuff which, if we were honest, we might admit we don’t remember.

Nonetheless, time was spent and we hope you enjoy the episode. Next week, World Fantasy, Columbus, Ohio, and more!

Episode 288: Kai Ashante Wilson and A Taste of Honey Oct 16, 2016

This week we sit down with Crawford Award winning author Kai Ashante Wilson to discuss his fiction, his career and the pros and cons of being a late starter. We focus on his multiple-award nominated novella "The Devil in America", Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, and his new book, the just-released and highly recommended A Taste of Honey.

As always, our thanks to Kai for making the time to join us. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 287: The Series Hugo and more Oct 08, 2016

After last week's experiments with audio ended up in a lost recording, this week we turned to more traditional methods to make sure we'd be bringing you a new episode this week.
For about an hour, Gary and I discuss the new Best Series category for the Hugo Awards (in great and possible inaccurate detail(, trends in alternate history, and some new books that we've been reading. We also mention our next guest.
As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. See you next week!

Episode 286: Eugene Fischer and Jo Walton Sep 24, 2016

In the final of our conversations recorded during MidAmericon 2, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, in Kansas City, we sit down with Hugo and Nebula winner Jo Walton and Tiptree Award winner Eugene Fischer for a wide-ranging and insightful discussion that touches not only upon their own fiction, but of the kind of reading that helped shape it, from Victorian literature to the SF of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

We’d like to the Jo and Eugene for making time to talk to us. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 285: Connie Willis and Crosstalk Sep 16, 2016

This week we are joined by Hugo and Nebula Award winning author Connie Willis to discuss her new novel, Crosstalk, which is just out in the UK from Gollancz and will be out in the US early next month.

The publisher describes Crosstalk like this:

Briddey is about to get exactly what she thinks she wants...

Briddey is a high-powered exec in the mobile phone industry, overseeing new products from concept ('anything to beat the new apple phone') to delivery. And she works with her wonderful partner, Trent. They've been together for six magical weeks, in a whirlwind of flowers, dinners, laughter and now comes the icing on the cake: not a weekend away or a proposal but something even better. An EDD. A procedure which will let them sense each other's feelings. Trent doesn't just want to tell her how much he loves her - he wants her to feel it.

Everything is perfect.

The trouble is, Briddey can't breathe a word of it to anyone (difficult, when the whole office is guessing) until she's had two minutes to call her family. And they're hounding her about the latest family drama, but when they find out about the EDD - which they will - they'll drop everything to interrogate her. And it might just be easier to have the procedure now and explain later.

The race is on: not just for new, cutting-edge technology, but also for a shred of privacy in a public world and - for Briddey - a chance for love at the heart of it all.

This is a brilliant, heart-warming romantic comedy from one of the wittiest and wisest of our authors. Written with a light touch and a smile, we're swept up in Briddey's romance - and into the difficulties of a world just one technological step away from our own, as technology and social media blur (or indeed remove) the line between personal and public.

In a spirited and entertaining discussion in a rather noisy hotel room in Kansas City, we discussed the novel, comedy, social media, science fiction, and much more. As always, we'd like to thank Connie for making the time to talk to us, and hope you enjoy the show.

Episode 284: Alastair Reynolds, Revenger and the Far, Far Future Sep 10, 2016

This week we are joined by the estimable Alastair Reynolds, celebrating the publication of his new space-pirate adventure tale Revenger and his collaboration with Stephen Baxter, The Medusa Chronicles.
We also discuss the attraction many SF readers and writers have for maritime adventures, the influence and heritage of Arthur C. Clarke (as well as Asimov and Heinlein), the impact of cyberpunk on space opera and other later SF, and the question of whether the solar system is enormous enough on its own to be the setting for space operas involving thousands of worlds and habitats—as it seems to be in Revenger.
As always, we'd like to thank Al for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 283: Kelly Robson and the Waters of Versailles Sep 03, 2016

When Gary and I were in Kansas City for MidAmericon 2, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention last month, we were fortunate enough to sit down with a handful of really interesting people.

One of the highlights was getting to chat with the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Sturgeon award nomination author of “Waters of Versailles”, Kelly Robson. In what was a really enjoyable conversation, we discussed Kelly’s work, starting a writing career a little later in life, and a lot more.

We’d like to thank Kelly for making time to join us and, as always, hope you enjoy the episode!

Coode Street Roundtable 7: Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station Aug 28, 2016

Welcome to the seventh episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel. With James busy with housemoving and such, we're joined by award-winning critic Gary K Wolfe.

Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station

This month we discussCentral Station, the latest book from Lavie Tidhar. It’s described by publisher Tachyon as follows:

A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. The city is literally a weed, its growth left unchecked. Life is cheap, and data is cheaper.

When Boris Chong returns to Tel Aviv from Mars, much has changed. Boris’s ex-lover is raising a strangely familiar child who can tap into the datastream of a mind with the touch of a finger. His cousin is infatuated with a robotnik—a damaged cyborg soldier who might as well be begging for parts. His father is terminally-ill with a multigenerational mind-plague. And a hunted data-vampire has followed Boris to where she is forbidden to return.

Rising above them is Central Station, the interplanetary hub between all things: the constantly shifting Tel Aviv; a powerful virtual arena, and the space colonies where humanity has gone to escape the ravages of poverty and war. Everything is connected by the Others, powerful alien entities who, through the Conversation—a shifting, flowing stream of consciousness—are just the beginning of irrevocable change.

At Central Station, humans and machines continue to adapt, thrive...and even evolve.

If you’re keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don’t already have a copy, Central Station can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Next monthThe Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of June with a discussion of Claire North’s The Sudden Appearance of Hope.

PS: During the recording Jonathan incorrectly states this is the sixth Roundtable. It is the seventh. Apologies for any confusion.

Episode 282: Michael Swanwick, Kij Johnson and the Craft of Short Fiction Aug 25, 2016

Over the past several years we've been fortunate to record episodes of the Coode Street Podcast in front of a live audience. One of the highlights of MidAmericon 2, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention was when we got to sit down with convention Guest of Honor Michael Swanwick and award-winning author Kij Johnson to discuss the craft of short fiction. Our discussion focusses entirely on the writing of James Tiptree Jr's classic novelette "The Women Men Don't See". We think, modestly, that it's one of our very best episodes yet. We hope you agree.

The episode was recorded live on Friday 29 August 2016 in front of a terrific audience and was recorded by Kathi Overton and the MidAmericon 2 team. We'd like to sincerely thank Michael and Kij for their time and the effort that went into making this a success, Kathi and her team for their hard work, and everyone at MidAmericon 2 for making this possible. We would love to do more episodes on the craft of short fiction like this one, and are seriously considering it. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Photo by Kate Savage. Used with permission.

Episode 281: Liza Trombi, books we're looking forward to, and more Aug 03, 2016

This week, in a quick episode recorded between hiatuses, we are joined by Locus Editor-in Chief Liza Groen Trombi to discuss the upcoming WorldCon, how Locus approaches covering the event, and books we've read recently and liked, and books we're looking forward to.
As always, our thanks to Liza for making the time to be on the podcast and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 280: The Project of SF Jul 24, 2016

After our longest hiatus so far, Jonathan is back from Italy and Gary is back from Readercon, and we ramble on about such questions as whether modern SF can be characterized as optimistic or pessimistic, how some stories survive as influences despite their obvious flaws, whether modern SF holds on to some of its cherished myths even when they no longer seem feasible, what we’re reading these days, and our own forthcoming public podcast at MidAmericon next month. As usual, any topic that you might find uninteresting will soon turn into another topic entirely.

Coode Street Roundtable 6: Madeline Ashby's Company Town Jun 26, 2016

Welcome to the sixth episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Madeline Ashby’s Company Town

This month we discuss Company Town, the fourth novel from Madeline Ashby. It’s a gripping near future thriller described by its publisher as follows:

New Arcadia is a city-sized oil rig off the coast of the Canadian Maritimes, now owned by one very wealthy, powerful, byzantine family: Lynch Ltd.

Hwa is of the few people in her community (which constitutes the whole rig) to forgo bio-engineered enhancements. As such, she's the last truly organic person left on the rig--making her doubly an outsider, as well as a neglected daughter and bodyguard extraordinaire. Still, her expertise in the arts of self-defense and her record as a fighter mean that her services are yet in high demand. When the youngest Lynch needs training and protection, the family turns to Hwa. But can even she protect against increasingly intense death threats seemingly coming from another timeline?

Meanwhile, a series of interconnected murders threatens the city's stability and heightens the unease of a rig turning over. All signs point to a nearly invisible serial killer, but all of the murders seem to lead right back to Hwa's front door. Company Town has never been the safest place to be--but now, the danger is personal.

A brilliant, twisted mystery, as one woman must evaluate saving the people of a town that can't be saved, or saving herself.

If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Company Town can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Next month

The Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of July with a discussion of Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station.

Episode 279: Tom Reamy, posterity and the death of the midlist Jun 19, 2016

Before Coode Street goes on hiatus for a few weeks when each of us travel to various exotic realms, we address a question which Jonathan raised about new editions of work by Clifford Simak and Tom Reamy—namely, what happens to the work of older writers in a world in which the midlist has all but disappeared? How do writers “read back” in the genre—or do they need to at all? How do writers as diverse as Joe Abercrombie and Neil Gaiman come across the work of Fritz Leiber, for example, or how do writers like Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Kij Johnson encounter Lovecraft? And for readers and writers who came of age in the 1990s or later, does “reading back” mean the same thing it did for earlier generations?

Then we chat a bit about our plans for Coode Street at MidAmericon in August, what we’re reading now, and what we’re looking forward to reading on the break. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode, and hope you don't miss the podcast too much! See you in late July!

Episode 278: Life achievement and such Jun 13, 2016

This weekend Gary and Jonathan found time amongst their growing commitments to grab an hour or so and sit down over a microphone and discuss the World Fantasy Awards life achievement award, its rules, its recipients, and some people they feel might be considered for the award.
We also have announced that we will be taking an intermittent hiatus during July and August. There will be an episode this coming weekend, then a break of a month. It's possible there may be an episode during this time, but honestly, recording podcasts while on holidays in Tuscany just doesn't seem likely, does it?
As always, though, we hope you enjoy this episode. More next week!

Coode Street Roundtable 5: Guy Gavriel Kay’s Children of Earth and Sky Jun 04, 2016

Welcome to the fifth episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Guy Gavriel Kay’s Children of Earth and Sky

This month we discuss Children of Earth and Sky, the latest novel from Guy Gavriel Kay. It’s a rich, powerful historical fantasy described by its publisher as follows:

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist travelling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request--and possibly to do more--and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor's wife, but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he's been born to live. And further east, a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif--to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates--and those of many others -- will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world...

If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Children of Earth and Sky can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Next monthThe Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of June with a discussion of Madeline Ashby's Company Town.

Episode 277: Books we're looking forward to... May 29, 2016

We nearly did it. We nearly stayed on topic…
This week, we reminisce briefly about six years of the Coode Street Podcast (an anniversary we overlooked a few weeks ago), and then segue, after a few brief diversionary rambles, into a discussion of the books we are both looking forward to in the next six months or so, touching upon new books by Angela Slatter, John Crowley, Peter Beagle, Jeffrey Ford, Kameron Hurley, Alastair Reynolds, Ursula K. Le Guin, Christopher Priest, Yoon Ha Lee, Connie Willis, Ken MacLeod, Nisi Shawl, China Mieville, Michael Swanwick and others, along the way touching upon colonialism and culture, the role of the stand-alone novella, how contemporary writers are dealing with Lovecraft, and what anthologies to look out for.
As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. Next week, a new episode of the Coode Street Roundtable and a new episode of the main show.

Episode 218: Harlan Ellison, Bill Schafer and the Volcano May 28, 2016

We don't often do this, but in recognition of Harlan Ellison's 82nd birthday we thought we'd republish the episode from 2015 where Gary and Bill Shafer talked to Harlan about The Top of the Volcano: The Award-Winning Stories of Harlan Ellison.

Although Jonathan wasn’t able to join us on this one,they got into some fascinating stories about Thomas Pynchon, Octavia Butler, Harlan’s famous house (including the “grotto”), the role of small-press publishers in the history of the field, and what it all looks like from the perspective of a legendary writer in his 81st year.

Note: There's a break at the 42min mark when Gary's cat stepped on his laptop and paused the recording. A few minutes were missed, but conversation continued!!

Episode 276: Storms, outages and awards May 22, 2016

Winter is coming. Well, in Perth. An early storm huffed and puffed and knocked the power out part way through a ramble on awards and longevity (or something). We persevered. The power came back up and we rambled on. This is an old-style episode about nothing much. If that's your thing, then have at it!
As always, we do hope you enjoy it. And we're planning for MidAmericon!

Episode 275: Jack Dann and PS Australia May 07, 2016

This week writer, editor and now publisher Jack Dann, a long-time friend of the podcast, joins Jonathan and Gary to discuss his role in launching new small press publishing imprint PS Australia and his forthcoming anthology, Dreaming in the Dark.

In a wide-ranging discussion, we touch on the plans for the new imprint, the state of the market for short fiction, the state of the Australian genre marketplace, and the historical role of the 'Dreaming' series of anthologies.

As always, we'd like to thank Jack for being a guest on the podcast, and hope you all enjoy the episode!

Coode Street Roundtable 4: Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere May 01, 2016

Welcome to the fourth episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.

Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere

This month Coode Street co-host Gary Wolfe joins us to discuss Into Everwhere, the latest novel from Paul McAuley. It’s smart, engaging hard SF adventure described by its publisher as follows:

The Jackaroo, those enigmatic aliens who claim to have come to help, gave humanity access to worlds littered with ruins and scraps of technology left by long-dead client races. But although people have found new uses for alien technology, that technology may have found its own uses for people.

The dissolute scion of a powerful merchant family, and a woman living in seclusion with only her dog and her demons for company, have become infected by a copies of a powerful chunk of alien code. Driven to discover what it wants from them, they become caught up in a conflict between a policeman allied to the Jackaroo and the laminated brain of a scientific wizard, and a mystery that spans light years and centuries. Humanity is about to discover why the Jackaroo came to help us, and how that help is shaping the end of human history.

If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Into Everywhere can be ordered from:

We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Correction

During the podcast Jonathan incorrectly says Paul McAuley's next novel, Austral, is due in late 2016. It's actually due in late 2017. Our apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Next month

The Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of May with a discussion of Guy Gavriel Kay's Children of Earth and Sky.

Episode 274: A step to the left... Apr 25, 2016

As we head into our third straight week without a guest on the podcast, we confront our lack of organisation with a smile and a nod. We actually sat down and planned what we'd discuss on this episode, then Gary brought up something else entirely immediately after the intro and off we went.
Following the sad news that Prince had died, we spent some time discussing science fiction and popular music, then revisited my (Jonathan's) comments on people reading SF criticism, had a few comments on The Big Book of SF (which Jonathan's reading right now), noted the Hugo nominations are due in a few days, and wound up talking about what we are reading at the moment.
All in all, a pretty typical episode. As always, we hope you enjoy it. We'll be back next week with more.

Episode 273: Here we go again Apr 18, 2016

This week’s ramble touches upon a bunch of issues, from Hugo nominations and awards (of course) to what it takes to be called a major science fiction writer, the need for more translations of non-English language science fiction, the advantages and disadvantages of “fix-ups,” “story suites,” and collections of linked stories, and whether SF has developed a kind of informal hierarchy favoring American and British SF, followed by Australian and Canadian writers, and leaving most other world science fiction as a kind of niche interest (which we dearly hope is beginning to change).
As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Episode 272: Awards, anthologies and all the usual stuff Apr 11, 2016

Following last week's announcement of DragonCon's new Dragon Awards, we once again return to the topic of awards proliferation; begin our discussion of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's massive new Big Book of Science Fiction (we hope to talk to them about the book closer to its release); look at how anthologies might have changed over the past fifty years; touch on the recent trend toward revisiting and revisioning Lovecraft that can be seen in the work of Matt Ruff, Victor LaValle, and Kij Johnson; and debate whether academic criticism of SF is widely enough read to have an impact on science fiction as a whole.

As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. More next week!

Episode 271: Lavie Tidhar and pushing at boundaries Apr 03, 2016

This week we are delighted to be joined by Lavie Tidhar, whose Jerwood Fiction Underwood Prize Award winning novel A Man Lies Dreaming has just appeared in the U.S., and whose fix-up science fiction novel Central Station is set to appear in May, with the reissue of the Bookman novels and nonfiction book Art and War scheduled as well this year.
We discussed his sometimes controversial approach to alternate history, the question of borrowing tropes from pulp fiction in portraying serious events such as the Holocaust and terrorism, the importance of American SF writers like Cordwainer Smith, his own experiences growing up in a kibbutz and what he read there, and the never-ending question of genre literature vs “literary” fiction.
As always, our thanks to Lavie for making the time to join us on the podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Coode Street Roundtable 3: Patricia A. McKillip's Kingfisher Mar 27, 2016