Good morning, all! Ana here writing from Brazil just before I have to leave to go back to the UK leaving my heart back here in the hands of a tiny creature named Lara (my niece/goddaughter). In times like these, I am moved to question my life choices but decide to keep going on because they ARE the choices I have made and I stand by those even through all this sadness.
Speaking of choices, a few days ago I chose. I chose not to be silent when asked to be. I chose to confront those asking for silence about things that matter the most to me, and those asking for me to question my own understanding of words and thoughts, and to check my tone. A post went up during the Women in SF&F Month over at Fantasy Cafe – an event that we talked about and strongly supported here, at Kirkus, on Twitter. That post questioned the existence of sexism in SFF and because in my mind, said post undermined the very event it was part of as well as the other posts that went up during the month (including our own), I felt I had to comment on it. I did, the results were not pretty. And because I did that in a space belonging to a friend and ally, for a few hours afterwards I was regretful and felt guilty about engaging.
But thankfully other awesome people like Foz Meadows and Lady Business’ Renay reminded us all of the importance of speaking out.
With that off my chest, on to business.
Giveaway Winners:
The first winner of ONE POSTER and ONE FINAL COPY of The Resurrectionist is:
Jeffry Bahammundi
(Remember, we are hosting 3 sets of reveals and giveaways – so if you didn’t win this time around you still have two more chances! Head HERE to enter again.
The winner of a copy of Unraveling is
The winner of a copy of Grail of the Summer Stars is
Congratulations to the winners! You know the drill – send an email to us (contact at thebooksmugglers dot com) with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible!
This Week on The Book Smugglers:
On Monday, we host a Q&A with Brandon Sanderson on the release of his SciFi YA novel The Rithmatist, followed by Thea’s review of the book.
On Tuesday, we are hosting a giveaway of Nebula Awards Showcase 2013 edited by Catherine Asaro. Then Ana reviews Nation by Terry Pratchet.
For this week’s Old School Wednesdays, Thea reviews The Guardian of Isis by Monica Hughes, sequel to Keeper of the Isis Light (a new favourite series and author).
On Thursday, Ana reviews Holly Black’s new Middle Grade Horror novel Doll Bones.
Then, on Friday, Thea reviews The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth, with a last chance to win a copy of the book. Over at Kirkus, Ana reviews A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar.
That’s all from us today! See you tomorrow!
Lady Monsters by Eva Cabrera
~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers
5 Comments
Women in SF&F Month: Final Thoughts | Fantasy Cafe | Reviews of Fantasy and Science Fiction Books
May 12, 2013 at 3:18 pm[…] Their perspectives vary, but Sarah’s post in particular seems to have set off an energetic response. I would point out two things on that post. First, it is part of a spectrum of experiences and […]
Linda W
May 12, 2013 at 8:24 pmI just bought Doll Bones, so I’ll be eager for your review!
Congrats to the winners.
Michelle
May 12, 2013 at 9:43 pmWell that was a bit of a train wreck. Too bad to end on a sour note. Kind of ironic to claim people were trying to “silence” the guest blogger. Good for you for standing up and speaking out. Often it is easier to look the other way.
Ashleigh Paige
May 12, 2013 at 10:06 pmThank you for standing up and saying something in that post, Ana. I read it fully before I moved on to see what you had to say in the comments and the post baffled me. It’s sad her position fell so easily into line with the problems facing women in SF&F right now. Even though it caused you some grief, you did what was right. Your comments make me love you a little bit more than I already do. <3
I'd forgotten Brandon Sanderson had a YA novel coming out. About half my friends love his adult novels and are anxious to see if The Rithmatist is just as good. I've never tried his novels (let's just say I got the gut feeling they weren't my thing), but I hope it goes well for y'all and my friends. I also LOVE the cover for Doll Bones. Most dolls creep me out, but this one is the right kind of creepy.
Bibliotropic
May 14, 2013 at 8:53 amI’m looking forward to seeing what you thought of “Nation.” It was among the first books that I reviewed on my blog, and I think it’s rather underappreciated, myself.