Speculative fiction writer Charlie Jane Anders knows how to send readers’ minds soaring into orbit.
The San Francisco author’s newest book, “The City in the Middle of the Night,” deposits us on the rather unforgiving planet of January, where Earthlings are struggling to coexist. Magic squares off against science in her Nebula award-winning science-fantasy novel, “All the Birds in the Sky.”
Anders, a former founding editor of the science-infused io9 blog, also spearheads Writers With Drinks, a frisky monthly literary gathering, and Bookstore & Chocolate Crawls, which finds bibliophiles hopscotching to indie bookstores with stops for chocolate. Upcoming chocolate crawls dip into Berkeley on May 19 and San Francisco’s North Beach this summer.
Naturally, we had questions — about planets, bookstores and what Anders thinks we should read this summer.
What do you think accounts for the recent boom in speculative fiction?
There’s been a trend over the last 20 years of “mainstream” literary authors dipping into speculative fiction — Margaret Atwood, John Updike. (But) we’re living in a time where everything is a little more science fictional. Technology has transformed lives in a short time, things like smartphones, medical technologies. A third thing is that speculative fiction is finally opening out and including authors who had previously been kept out of the genre: people of color, women, queer people, transgendered people, disabled people. That, I think, leads to an explosion of creativity and a ton of really interesting stories.
Which planet in our solar system would you most want to visit?
I’m pretty fascinated by Mars, obviously. It’s close, and there’s been so much great stuff written about it. I would love to actually find out the truth about whether there’s still water beneath the surface and what kind of conditions really exist on Mars. To be one of the first people to visit Mars would be an amazing trip.
Do you believe in magic along with science?
I don’t NOT believe in magic.
What’s your favorite independent bookstore here on Earth — in the Bay Area?
It’s like trying to ask which one of my friends is my best friend. I love all of the Bay Area bookstores so much. I have a special place in my heart for Borderlands Books (866 Valencia St., S.F.) because they’re one of the last remaining science fiction speciality stores in the country. (The owners) are some of the coolest people I know.
Part of the reason we do the Bookstore & Chocolate Crawl is because we’re trying to make people aware that the Bay Area is so lucky to have so many independent bookstores. This place would be a wasteland without them.
5 BOOK PICKS FROM ANDERS:
“The Gilded Wolves” by Roshani Chokshi: (This YA pick is) a super fun, action-packed heist novel in the gilded age – 19th-century Paris. The characters are amazing.
“The Calculating Stars” by Mary Robinette Kowal: Set in an alternate version of the 1950s, it’s kind of a feminist story of recovering from a horrible disaster, exploring space, and heroic astronauts. It’s just amazing.
“The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein” by Kiersten White: It’s a retelling of Frankenstein from the viewpoint of Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s friend. It’s definitely a little bit darker, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s another feminist retelling of a story that’s often told without the women being at the center of it, even though it was originally written by a woman.
“Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell: It’s basically about a girl who goes away to college. She’s a well-known writer of fan fiction, but nobody knows her at this college. It’s about having this community that you’re connected to online but doesn’t give you a connection in the real world.
“Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World)” by Rebecca Roanhorse: It’s about Native American people living on a reservation — the only thing that survived the apocalypse that has happened in the rest of the United States — and all these creatures from folklore have come back. I love it.
