Sci-Fi and Fantasy Have Infiltrated the Literary Mainstream

[hermetic]

At Long Last...

Science fiction and fantasy writing has long been disparaged within the literary world. While older works like Frankenstein and 1984 have gained classic status, many critics deride contemporary sci-fi and fantasy—typically without actually reading it. The prestigious anthology series The Best American Short Stories tends to eschew science fiction and fantasy, except at the behest of unusually sympathetic guest editors like Michael Chabon or Stephen King.

But things are changing fast. The genre took a major step toward respectability this year with the release of the first-ever Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by John Joseph Adams. Adams feels the book is long overdue. “I and other science fiction fans believe that the best science fiction and fantasy is on par with or better than any other genre,” he says in Episode 177 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “My goal with The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy was to prove that.”

Horror author Joe Hill served as this year’s guest editor. His job was to select the final 20 stories—from the 80 chosen by Adams—to be included in the book. In recent years he’s seen a shift in the way that people view the genre. “The instruments of science fiction and fantasy—the tools in that genre toolbox—have been out there in the literary world and being explored for at least a decade now, in work by people like Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Margaret Atwood, and Cormac McCarthy,” he says. “Science fiction and fantasy is part of the literary mainstream, and has been for a while now.”

Adams hopes The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy will prove that readers don’t have to choose between wild concepts and literary quality. Good sci-fi and fantasy deliver both, which is what makes them so hard to write.

Read more:
https://www.wired.com/2015/11/geeks-guide-sci-fi-fantasy-mainstream/?mbid=social_twitter_onsiteshare

(cross-posted in Fantasy Group)

[Glorfindel]

1. I have been a fan of fantasy and science fiction since I discovered Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov

long ago, when I was about 12 years old. It's good to see that they're coming into their own.

[hermetic]

3. Totally agree

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Those of us who have been reading s-f from an early

age have long noticed how mainstream has appropriated s-f when it wants to. And usually it gets it wrong.

[hermetic]

4. For sure

SciFi and Fantasy were my favorite things as a kid, and you and I are the same age. I am so excited to find out who will be in this first anthology.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Oh yes!

I attend several s-f things, and have had the grand privilege to not only meet some of the greats in the field, but to have become actual friends with some of them. We need a glyph here to show me staggering around in wonder and awe.

I actually got to see the eclipse with one of the big names in the field. I will only say that she's a recent Grand Master and is the most down to earth person I've ever known. I'd already met this person at several s-f cons, and when the discussion of viewing the eclipse came up, and I learned where she'd be, I was able to say, Oh, my, I'll be there. And I was. I'm trying to be discrete here, because the s-f person I watched the eclipse with really is a big deal in the field, and I don't want to be cashing in on this. I will also say that this person is totally not involved, and does not ever cash in on her celebrity. That said, I got to see the eclipse with her and a couple of members of her family. While I (and lots of other s-f fans) recognize and revere her, she has no sense of self importance. We watched the eclipse in Nebraska, at a small park in a small town on the line of totality. She wandered around talking to lots of people, and it was clear to me that no one recognized her. OMFG!

The very first time I saw her at an s-f con, I of course recognized her, as I'd seen her author photo many times. I was star-struck. She was herself, an ordinary person who happened to write s-f.

During the two days we spent together for the eclipse, I asked her if she was often recognized. She said, No. Not outside of the cons. And she liked it that way. She got to be a normal person, as I saw during the eclipse, when she went around, chatting with many people. none of whom had a clue who she was.

And yes, I'm being deliberately vague here.

[hermetic]

6. Sure got my curiosity aroused

and my deductive skills fired up...

I first thought of the 2 most obvious, but one lives in Portland and would have had closer viewing there and the other is in Canada and is, I think, totally recognizable to everyone. So, then we have one who lives in Ohio and she seemed more likely.

Aww, c'mon, gimme another clue. I'll trade ya a "I once saw Neil Gaiman give a talk in a book store and got him to sign a copy of Good Omens. He is a super nice guy, really delightful to listen to. But we didn't really have any personal time together, sad to say.

(Sorry to be so long replying. I will be getting a new roof installed tomorrow and I had ever so much to get done in preparation.)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I thought Grandmaster was the best clue.

None of them live in Portland, that I know of and definitely none in Canada.

Here's another clue: if you've ever seen her speak you know that she could nearly have a career in stand-up. She can be quite witty, and is absolutely wonderful at cons because she's so funny.

She always attends Mile Hi in Denver, and almost always goes to Bubonicon in Albuquerque. Likewise she almost always attends COSine, a very small con in Colorado Springs, and the Jack Willaimson Lectureship (actually I don't think she's missed one of those in many years) in Portales, NM, another very small and almost totally unknown s-f event. I discovered it about three years ago and have been twice. Love it. I live in Santa Fe, and it's still quite out of the way to get to, but it's giant fun.

[getting old in mke]

8. Did the dog come see the eclipse too?

Or sheep?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. Nope. Just the humans.

Although several people brought their dogs to the park we went to where we watched the eclipse.

[getting old in mke]

10. Man, you know those times you think better of a reply the minute after?

I'd go edit it, but then your comment might not make sense.

I should have had:

Reply title: Did the sheep come to the eclipse?

Body: To say nothing of the dog.

I'm guessing your reply means its not that author. And she's not really recent GM at this point. I've read the later ones, but have never been at a con with them, so don't know how they speak or present comedically.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I thought that your dog comment was exactly that reference.

And had you said:To say nothing of the dog, well not sure how to reply since they didn't bring the dog.

Or maybe I could have said something about the Blackout of the eclipse, and the All Clear after totality.

But yes, that's the author.

[getting old in mke]

12. In any event

a flat out wonderful author.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. Wonderful writer, wonderful human being.

She's such a star in the field that, even though I've been seeing her at cons for nearly a decade now, I was afraid I was being terribly presumptuous to ask if I could watch the eclipse with her and her family. She was delighted to do so. We spent most of two days together and I got an extremely warm hug from all when we parted company.

[electric_blue68]

14. All Clear was the book I took out along w DVD's...

just as our NYC lockdown went into place.
Still have all the stuff because they only opened up he libraries for pick up/ drop off.
As long as I return them before 12-31-20 I don't have pay any fines.
I should browse through it again before I return it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. I will say, that her recent book about telepathy was not, in my opinion,

as good as most of her stuff.

I believe her book on Roswell will be coming out soon. She did a reading from it at the virtual version of one con.

I really, really love my connection to the science fiction world. I love it that in recent years I've gotten to meet any number of name authors, all of whom are wonderful.

What's so great about attending the cons is that the writers are there because they want to be there. They are more than happy to meet their fans and do the con stuff that they do. The only one who isn't totally wonderful is a certain writer whose popular and best selling book series has also been turned into a TV series and has been on one of the cable channels. The video version was completed before the print series has been completed, if that helps. He is pretty much the ONLY s-f writer who is recognized everywhere, so he has the problem of being a recognizable celebrity and has to deal with the loss of privacy that goes with that. I understand.

Here's my own story about him. I've seen him at various cons, as well as at the theater he owns here in Santa Fe, and while I don't expect him to know exactly who I am, I sort of expected he'd at least look at me and know he'd seen me before. More than once he's demonstrated he has no recollection of ever seeing me before. A while back I attended an event at his theater at which the other author I've been talking about, the one I saw the eclipse with, was the highlight of the evening. I walked into the small event room, and that author took one look at me, came over and gave me a bit hug. The theater owner, celebrity s-f writer, looked at me with a "Who the fuck is she?" look on his face. I don't think he will ever learn to recognize me.

And heck, I'm an award-winning s-f writer in my own right. A former Writer of the Future. So there!