September Fantasy Roundup: Did You Miss This?
Terri Windling, Tanith Lee, Tolkien's maps, and the war against AI.
Hello! I spent much of last week in Washington, D.C., attending a job-related conference, and much of this week so far recovering from that trip.1 Because of that, I haven’t gotten around to finishing up the letter/essay/post/whatdoyoucallthese that I planned on publishing this week.
However! I decided this was a great opportunity to share with you this collection of fantasy-related content I have enjoyed and/or learned from in the past month. Unlike the Forest of Distraction posts, which are about fantasy inspiration, these are mostly about fantasy criticism and the publishing business, and I plan to bring a similar roundup to you the first week of every month.
Did I miss something? Please share in the comments!
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez took home the Best Novel award at the 2023 British Fantasy Awards. “The novel contains a frame story about a grandchild listening to stories of the Old Country; it also tells the story of two men who journey across the Old Country with a dying goddess.” (Wikipedia).
Thanks to Amazon screwing around with things, Fantasy magazine is officially closed.
Star Wars has always been more fantasy than science fiction, but Ahsoka is not afraid to make that clear.
WATCH: Ursula K. Le Guin on Creating the World of Earthsea.
Is Mordor Based on the Himalayas? “…like so many other things these days, Tolkien’s fantasy realm too is in dire need of mental decolonisation.”
Why Do Fantasy Novels Have So Much Food? “Songs appeal to the ear, frontispiece maps appeal to the eye, and descriptions of food appeal to readers’ stomachs.”
The Movie Date That Solidified J.R.R. Tolkien’s Dislike of Walt Disney. Is it just me, or does anyone else want to see a short film that depicts Tolkien and Lewis going to see Snow White together?
Night of the Witch Shows What Happens When Publishing Insists on Catering YA Lit to Adult Audiences. “The problem arises when publishers prioritize feedback and requests from these adult readers. These adult readers usually mean no harm and are simply making suggestions based on their favorite genres or what content they want to see more of in books that they enjoy. However, they may not realize they hold so much sway with publishers because the average adult has far more buying power than the average teenager or middle schooler.”
Where to Start With the Work of Tanith Lee. “September 19th would have been Tanith Lee’s seventy-sixth birthday. Between her first sale in 1968 and her death in 2015, Lee published over ninety books and 200 short stories.”
George R.R. Martin, Victor LaValle, and Many More Join Authors Guild in Lawsuit Against OpenAI. “The suit comes after the Authors Guild released an open letter in July 2023 calling on AI companies to protect writers from having their work be used to train AI without their consent and without compensation.”
The older you get, the longer it takes.