Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre

Latest Episodes:

V. E. Schwab / Lina Rather / Oliver Darkshire Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

This week, we travel to the Big Smoke! It's London across time and relative dimensions in space, with magic and monsters and the mystery of antiquarian book-selling.

ITINERARY:

V.E. Schwab (The Fragile Threads of Power) talks about the joy of revisiting old friends on the page, the complicated ethics of power, and why it is that London calls to her.
Lina Rather (A Season of Monstrous Conceptions) takes us back to the days after the Great Fire with deep research on midwifery and Sir Christopher Wren, and what it means to wander (literally or literarily) a city of such immense history as London.
Oliver Darkshire (Once Upon a Tome) shares a bit of insight into the life of an antiquarian bookseller, a bookshop's life in a city like London, and why it is important that we hold onto and celebrate the things we love.

For a full episode transcript, click here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S. L. Huang / Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

It's time to break out your best 1960s-Batman graphics -- because it's an action-packed episode about ACTION!

ITINERARY:

S. L. Huang (The Water Outlaws) explains the historical roots of Water Margin, muses on what being a stunt performer brings to writing, interrogates the ethical questions humanity has grappled with for centuries, and lets us all in on a little secret about the book...
Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle (Ebony Gate) talk about how they came to write together, why they wanted to root their series on the West Coast, and the joys of writing fun action sequences.
No third interview! Because we don't cross picket lines! But Drew does muse briefly on why this current joint strike is existentially important for all creative industries.

For a full episode transcript, click here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S.L. Coney / Ruthanna Emrys / Alexis Pauline Gumbs Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

This week, we're getting our hands dirty -- it's a nature ep! Sort of! Featuring eldritch coming-of-age stories, first contact tales, and how we might re-envision ourselves as a part of this planet's ecosystem instead of somehow outside of it.

ITINERARY:

S.L. Coney (Wild Spaces) talks about the present-tense of their novella, the power of writing about nature and a good good dog, and what we learn as we grow up.
Ruthanna Emrys (A Half-Built Garden) explains what she means by 'diaperpunk,' how she created her alien species, why it is important to add children to adventure narratives, and the possibilities we can find in genre.
Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Undrowned) offers reflective wisdom on how to put humanity back in sync with the natural world, of which we are (no matter how hard we try) a part.

For a full episode transcript, click here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Tesh / Vajra Chandrasekera / Sophie Strand Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Our voyage this week takes us into the waters of fundamentalism, from a space station with the last(?) vestiges of humanity to a city in a world much like ours except for the cults and the anti-gods floating around before coming back around to our world and the mystery cult around a guy called Jesus.

ITINERARY:

Emily Tesh (Some Desperate Glory) on preventing radicalization, lessons from history about authoritarianism, and the pleasures of in-universe non-fiction.
Vajra Chandrasekera (The Saint of Bright Doors) on *not* making a secondary world, performing some anthropology of the present day, and upending expectations in order to make his book his way.
Sophie Strand (The Madonna Secret) on interrogating the motives behind the canonical Gospels and why collective storytelling is both humanity's past and its future.

For a full episode transcript, click here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J.R. Dawson / Chuck Tingle / Durreen Shahnaz Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Looks like Team Genre is blasting off again!

This season kicks off with an examination of hope, from a magical circus between the World Wars to a conversion camp in Montana to a globe-trotting optimist. No matter how down you might feel about the world these days, this episode will give you a little more pep in your step.

ITINERARY:

J.R. Dawson (The First Bright Thing) talks writing about performance, the root of her Sparks, and having hope even in the face of a move out of a beloved home.
Chuck Tingle (Camp Damascus) discusses the Trinity of Maligned Genres, what he means when he says 'love is real', and rooting demons in reality.
Durreen Shahnaz (The Defiant Optimist) explains what it means to be a 'defiant optimist' and how we can take oppressive systems and make them instead work for the good of us all.

For a full episode transcript, click here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Strange Transmission... Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

What's that sound back there, in the back of your mind? Could it be... YES!Voyage into Genre is back for another trip!

Episodes air every other week beginning Weds Aug 9 -- and this season's line-up is better than ever. Maybe you can even hear a couple of guests in the static...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regina Kanyu Wang / Sheree Renée Thomas & Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

For the last episode of this season, it's time to think about collections -- story collections! Even more specifically, multi-author anthologies of new (or new-to-the-readership) work! So let's take a trip to China, to Africa, and to Pasedena, CA for some thoughts on collection and curation.

ITINERARY:

Regina Kanyu Wang (The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories) talks about the collaborative process of editing The Way Spring Arrives, considering non-dualistic ways of being, and the hope that springs from speculative fiction.
Sheree Renée Thomas and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Africa Risen) talk about their mutual appreciation, why it was time for a collection like Africa Risen, and just what it means when they say that Africa isn't just rising but that it has risen.
Melinda McCurdy (Curator, British Art at the Huntington Library) explains how she views her role as curator and the unique opportunities presented by the change-up of a famous Huntington acquisition, and how curation can change an audience's context and understanding.

Full episode transcript available here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neon Yang / Tamsyn Muir Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

It's time to go long and think about epics! But actually, we're thinking about the people who make up those epics. It's the best of both worlds really: you get the big space battles and also the interpersonal conflicts, the questions of morality and justice alongside mistakes and goofs. How like life!

ITINERARY:

Neon Yang (The Genesis of Misery) talks wanting to write a historical epic and writing a space epic instead, about finding truth in storytelling, and about how trying to make sense of Q-Anon helped frame some of Misery’s world.
Tamsyn Muir (Nona the Ninth) talks about the delightful(?) surprise that is Nona, taking cues from Greek drama, going against the rules, and writing books like they’re everything-burritos. Also, what is simping? (Seriously, can someone help explain to both of us?)
Justice McCray (City Councilmember, Beacon NY) talks about moving from activism to running for office and what it means to reimagine things like safety and community.

Read the full episode transcript here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sunyi Dean / Olivie Blake Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

It's time to go back to school, which means we're reading to figure out who we are! Let's get thinking about the books -- and the people -- that shape us and teach us and define us.

ITINERARY:

Sunyi Dean (The Book Eaters) talks about whether its possible to be a good person, letting go of perfection, and her book-devouring vampires. (Recorded live at the 2022 Jericho Writers Summer Festival of Writing)
Olivie Blake (The Atlas Series) talks about being a reformed pantser, writing from a place of fandom, and the appeal of teaching through fiction.
Valerie Broussard (Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter) talks about the importance of genre in her own education and how it might help serve the education of others.

Read the full episode transcript here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foz Meadows / Alexandra Rowland Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Today is a true journey into the unknown, for me anyway: romance fiction. In the space of two books, I go from not thinking it was for me to absolutely adoring what Alexandra Rowland dubs “fealty and feelings” novels — so let’s go, let’s get into it, let’s get our hearts messy! And we’ll think a bit about the politics of romance, too…

CW: some discussion of sexual assault and depression/anxiety

ITINERARY:

Foz Meadows (A Strange and Stubborn Endurance) talks about finding romance through the classics and fan-fiction, learning through points of view, the fun of language and translation, and writing about sexual assault.
Alexandra Rowland (A Taste of Gold and Iron) talks about their discovery of romance as a genre, writing anxiety, and why they always want to include economics in their books.
adrienne maree brown (Fables and Spells) muses on the balance of love and power in the speculative fiction she reads — and writes — and how we might find that balance in our world as well.

Read the full episode transcript here.

Tor Presents: Voyage into Genre is a co-production with Lit Hub Radio

Hosted by Drew Broussard

Audio engineering + production by Stardust House Creative

Music by Dani Lencioni of Evelyn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices