Cat Rambo has curated another Feminist Futures Story Bundle. This one includes two Aqueduct Press books, Mindscape by Andrea Hairston and Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. Here's the scoop:
I always enjoy putting together StoryBundles, and
particularly Feminist Futures ones for Women's History Month. This bundle
brings together some terrific reading that is some of the best offered by
independent and small press publishing. It's my attempt to celebrate the
excellent work being written by today's female speculative fiction authors.
The first recorded writer is the Akkadian/Sumerian
poet and hymn writer Enheduanna (2285 BCE-2250 BCE), a woman whose work
influenced a group of others that includes the psalms and prayers of the Bible
and Greece's Homeric hymns. Women have always been part of science fiction,
whether it was Margaret Cavendish's beating Jules Verne and Edgar Rice
Burroughs to the center of the Earth in The Blazing World, Mary
Shelley's commentary on science, humanity, and the parent/child relationship in
Frankenstein, or Charlotte Perkins
Gilman writing an alternative — and often appealing — society in Herland.
But somehow women often — perhaps even usually — get
erased, overall. A few figures linger, perhaps because their impact is so
undeniable that they cannot be obliterated, or perhaps tolerated for some other
reason, but many of the female figures — Miriam DeFord, Zenna Henderson, Judith
Merrill, Katherine MacLean — fade away. Certainly it's not a phenomenon
restricted to one gender — and it's affected by race, sexuality, and similar
factors as well — but women seem especially prey to it and one facet of
feminism is finding, celebrating, and amplifying those voices so they survive
in order to inform and teach the world to come.
Another important facet of feminism — for me — is at
least in part about valuing and encouraging inclusivity by reaching out to
invite a wide range of voices. This is a nicely diverse bundle, including queer
and trans voices, and as such it presents interesting, thought-provoking
science fiction that talks about our future and how we'll remain human in it
from perspectives that are comic, dramatic, sometimes tragic, but always
engaging, imaginative, and compellingly told.
How do we preserve women writers in history? A lot of
it is making sure part of the public conversation includes discussion of their
work. If you enjoy these voices, let's talk about them! Let me know what you
thought, and please spread the word via your social media, so others can join
the conversation. I'll be doing some video interviews with authors about their
books - look for the hashtag #thefutureisfeminist on social media or subscribe
to my Youtube channel or newsletter to
make sure you get notified when they appear!
The Feminist Futures bundle runs for three weeks only
- pick up yours now! – Cat Rambo
For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to
pay. For $5 (or more, if you're feeling generous), you'll get the basic bundle
of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
•
Snapshots from a Black Hole and Other
Oddities by K.C. Ball
•
Sunspot
Jungle by Bill Campbell
•
Elysium by
Jennifer Marie Brissett
•
Queen of Roses by
Elizabeth McCoy
•
If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you
get all four of the regular books, plus SIX
more!
•
Albatross by
R.A. MacAvoy and Nancy L. Palmer
•
Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer
•
The Child Goddess by
Louise Marley
•
Exile by
Lisa M. Bradley
•
The Goodall Mutiny by Gretchen Rix
•
Mindscape by
Andrea Hairston
•
This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It
allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle
and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get
multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books!
It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with
StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send
someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and
timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will
get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits
StoryBundle provides.
•
Get quality reads: We've chosen works from excellent
authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
•
Pay what you want (minimum $5): You
decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a
little, that's fine! You'll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
•
Support authors who support DRM-free books:
StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for
the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting
authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will
show everyone there's nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
•
Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to
donate a portion of their proceeds to Girls
Write Now!
•
Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price,
you'll get the bonus books!
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