Galactic Suburbia

In which, the Hugo host debacle online conversation became a many-tentacled AI that wants to steal our souls, and ladies are cranky. Speaking of Cranky Ladies - check out Tansy and Tehani's crowdfunding campaign. News In Depth: The Hugos v. Jonathan Ross, Safe Spaces & Online Discussions  Foz Meadows laying out the original drama in her usual inimitable style. Cheryl on the arguments for & against Jonathan Ross as host as particularly on the importance of Intersectionality - how to be a good ally, and why you LISTEN to why people are upset, even if it's inconvenient to you or your community. The Chairs of LonCon apologise for the situation - weirdly, this graceful and thorough acknowledgement of their responsibility for how the chain of events went is often not being mentioned in coverage of the discussion.   UPDATE, PLEASE READ: The downside of recording several days ahead of broadcast is that sometimes the conversation we are contributing to moves on without us - in particular with the "Hugos and Jonathan Ross" conversation we recorded on Wednesday night there has been some serious reframing of the narrative, some of it highly gendered. We wanted to reference some of this further discussion rather than be seen to ignore such an important (and troubling) development. Some important posts calling attention to the reframing of the narrative to trivialise the concerns of women (and to hide the fact that many prominent men shared and vocalised those concerns):   Kameron Hurley on Power, Responsibility, Empathy and Privilege   Kari Spelling on how the conversation has changed from being about the unsuitability of Ross as a Hugo host to being about how women were "mean" on Twitter - and how those women are continuing to be unfairly targeted.   Natalie Luhrs on "Reframing and Punching Down" - with particular reference to how those posts calling for people to be nicer to each other, or how fandom is too hysterical to deserve nice things, aren't always as helpful as you think they are.    David Perry questions the mythical concept of Seanan Maguire's Angry Mob, calling particular attention to how Seanan and her tweets are now being reframed as central to Jonathan Ross's resignation, due to selective quoting, selective memories and gross misrepresentation of the actual timeline of events. This is important stuff, people. Our history just got rewritten while we were watching. [note: we deliberately didn't mention Seanan by name while discussing the issue in this episode of GS because we could see she was already being unduly blamed and centred in the discussion despite being only one participant - it's the exchange between Seanan and Jane Goldman mentioned in the Perry article that Alisa also refers to as a conversation that ends in mutual apologies and is later misrepresented by others long after it's concluded.]  Another important post by Kameron Hurley, Rage Doesn't Exist in a Vacuum. On why internet rage happens, why someone else might be more upset than you are about a thing, and why it's important to speak up about upsetting things even if it ruins someone else's happy party fun times.  Culture Consumed: Alisa: Game of Thrones S1, Fringe S3, Kaleidoscope ToC  Tansy: Ms Marvel #1 & She-Hulk #1 Fringe S3Alex: Midnight and Moonshine, Lisa L Hannett and Angela Slatter; A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar Pet subject: feedback Galactic Suburbia Award!! (last call for suggestions) for activism and/or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we get excited about awards, and sexism in SF. In other words, it's Galactic Suburbia!Aurealis Award ShortlistTiptree Award Winner Shortlist - first Australian Tiptree winner! Congrats to N.A. Sulway!Culture Consumed:Alex: All Harry Potter movies; Project Bond; SupurbiaTansy: Regency romance novels, Minister of ChanceAlisa: SupurbiaPet Subject: the not-SFWA "debate", the pervasive dismissal of women in SF Note: this episode was recorded several days before broadcast, before Sean Fodera made his apology to Mary Robinette Kowal, who accepted it gracefully. Please look at her post about why she accepted, and the role of apologies in general. Some other relevant articles we discuss or allude to, or which Alisa found after recording and wanted us to include - keep following the Galactic Suburbia Facebook Page as she's been updating it with interesting links daily:GENERAL BACKGROUND The Radish hosted early discussion on the Bulletin anti-censorship petition.The Daily Dot coverage of the petition responses in the community.Steven Gould on why the petition was based on a false premise.SL Huang writes Can We Please Not Rewrite History, Folks?, and worth checking in on SL's original Timeline of 2013 SFWA Controversies, now updated. [my apologies for stumbling over pronouns on the podcast]THE LATEST WAVE OF TURMOIL, DISSENT AND SEXISM Silvia Moreno-Garcia outlines the invective against Mary Robinette Kowal on SFF.net and the politics of "plunging necklines," "diaphanous white outfits" and ankles.Mary Robinette Kowal's post on Being a Representational ExampleScalzi presents the Insect Army t-shirt design courtesty of Ursula Vernon's awesome artwork.N.K. Jemisin makes her own comments on the current shenanigans.Some really important words here. Alex also mentions Nora's important tweet from 5 days ago: N. K. Jemisin @nkjemisin The loss of privilege is not oppression. The loss of privilege is not oppression. THE LOSS OF PRIVILEGE IS. NOT. OPPRESSION. The post we possibly discuss in most detail on the podcast today: Juliet McKenna's Why The SFWA Shoutback MattersA really important message from James Patrick Kelly on age, and generations, and making a difference.and don't forget the... Galactic Suburbia Award!! for activism and/or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction.There's still time to send us your suggestions - only work from 2013, please, but start saving the 2014 links to send us next year. Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which 2014 is officially a thing. Who saw that coming? We’re back! How did you spend your summer? (yes, we know some of you spent it having winter, but honestly, is that our fault?)  Galactic Suburbia returns for a fresh new year of culture consumed, awards commentary, feminist snark and adorable baby gurgles. Culture Consumed: Alex: On the Steel Breeze, Alastair Reynolds; Riddick; The Deep: Here be Dragons; Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales (ed Paula Guran) Alisa: Haven S1 and S2; Star Trek; Kaleidoscope submissions (PhD)Tansy: Terry Pratchett: The Witches (board game), The Hour Season 1, A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan; When we Wake; Courtney Milan romance novels. Pet subject: Gearing Up for Hugo Nominations - what we've read, what we recommend, and what we still plan to get to before the deadline. Alisa: Reading - Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black Alex: Saga; Ancillary Justice; Iron Man 3; still to watch Game of Thrones s3 Tansy: Still to read: Hild by Nicola Griffith, The Red by Linda Nagata, some novellas. Liz Bourke’s Sleeping with Monsters (Best Related Work or fan writer? Why doesn’t the Hugo have an Atheling?) Kirstyn McDermott’s Caution: Contains Small Parts. Supurbia (Graphic Story); The World’s End.  Galactic Suburbia Award!! for activism and/or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction  Send us your suggestions and thoughts on who we should be looking at for the year that was 2013: blog posts, podcasts, GOH speeches and other awesome people talking about feminist stuff in interesting ways. Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we get the band back together again, just before we go on our summer holidays! Culture Consumed:   Alisa: Doctor Who; The Fall; Orange is the New Black, Black Mirror Season 1   Tansy: Adventures in Space and Time; Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, Apex Issue 55    Alex: Snuff, Terry Pratchett; Thor: the Dark World; Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton Pet subject: The Year in Review   Alisa: PhD, Conflux, Nancy Kress’ After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Twelfth Planet Press (Trucksong, A Trifle Dead, Twelve Planets, Shirley Jackson/WFA), made a SF fan   Tansy: Hawkeye; The Almighty Johnsons; A Song of Ice & Fire; reading with Raeli (Edward Eager & Diana Wynne Jones); Doctor Who   Alex: Saga; Doctor Who; Naomi Novik’s Temeraire; re-reading; Lizzie Bennet Diaries. This is our last episode of the year, because we’re going on a summer hiatus… but we will back in 2014!  Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which Alisa has a baby, and Alex & Tansy put a bow on it. Not the baby. The podcast!Birth Announcement: Welcome to Mackenzie Charlotte & all our love and best wishes to the recovering and delighted new parents, Alisa and Chris. World Fantasy Awards British Fantasy Awards Culture Consumed: Alex: Feminist Frequency’s Tropes vs Women in Video Games; Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie; Menial: Skilled Labor in SF, Kelly Jennings and Shay Darrach Tansy: Nanowrimo! Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell; Horrible Histories; Wife in Space by Neil Perryman, The Time Machine (Destiny of the Doctor), 1963: Fanfare of the Common Men, The Space Race, The Assassination Games; Night of the Doctor INK BLACK MAGIC BY TANSY RAYNER ROBERTS available now from Fablecroft, Amazon & bookshops who order it in. GOODREADS GIVEAWAY FOR INK BLACK MAGIC Doctor Who Women on the Radio including Tansy  Pet subject: SFF for children (they cross genres more easily than adults, basically) Alex: Victor Kelleher (especially Taronga); Playing Beatie Bow, Ruth Park; Riddle of the Trumpalar, Judy Bernard-Waite; The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien  Tansy: Diana Wynne Jones; Robyn Klein (Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left); Which Witch, Eva Ibbotson; Margaret Mahy, Aliens in the Family and all her books about pirates; Ruth Chew; Five Children and It, E. Nesbit; Edward Eagar (Half Magic and Seven Day Magic - stories for kids who love to read and know how to manage a magical adventure!); comics like Gunnerkrigg Court, Zita the Space Girl, Betty & Veronica spin-offs. The Case of the Origami Yoda bridging fantasy and reality! Also Possum Magic, Magic Pudding, and other Australian picture-book classics! From England, Charlie and Lola by Lauren Child and various books such as Fairy Shopping by Sally Gardner are appreciated for their gorgeous collage art as much as the stories.  Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we present The Subgenre Report. Is the concept of subgenres meaningful to readers and writers, or just a marketing trick?  Which subgenres are OMG so hot right now, and which genre is doing subgenres better than spec fic?  In other news, Alisa hurls herself into crowdfunding with the baby clock ticking down to midnight... Grimdark as a Young Man's Genre? (do read the comments, seriously, that's where all the crunchy discussion/challenge is) The Rise and Fall of Grimpink Culture Consumed: Alisa: Continuum S1, crimeScene convention, plug for Kaleidoscope, Coode St Podcast ep 162 with Rachel Swirsky; Report from Planet Midnight, Nalo Hopkinson Tansy: BBC Radio Neverwhere; Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, The Almighty Johnsons Alex: Agents of SHIELD; Star Wars: The Paradise Snare, AC Crispin; Ragnarok, AS Byatt Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we recommend books to buy as presents, books we love, books we made, and basically BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS.Alisa's picks: 2012; Trucksong; A Trifle Dead; Rosaleen Love’s Twelve Planets collection; the entire Twelve Planets suite (get them while they look the same! especially Love Romanpunk)Alex's picks: Temeraire by Naomi Novik; Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman; Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal; Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin; House of Suns by Alistair Reynolds Tansy's picks: Glitter and Mayhem; Chicks Unravel Time; The Wife in Space; The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy; Creature Court trilogy (Power and Majesty)Culture Consumed: Alex: Reap the Wild Wind, Julie Czerneda; Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman Tansy: Flying Higher eds by Michael Damian Thomas Shira Lipkin [download free from Smashwords], Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time 1-4, Supurbia by Grace Randolph, Elizabeth Sladen the Autobiography, The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta Alisa: Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette KowalBLATANT PLUG: Songs For Europe, two short plays about Eurovision war by John Richards of Splendid Chaps Lee Zachariah of the Bazura Project on this week only as part of the Melbourne Fringe. Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which, Hugos. Tansy, Alisa and Alex gather only minutes after the Hugo ceremony to discuss the results! Hugo winners The Stats, Statbadgers! Tansy's Hugo PostThe Silent Producer apologises for the sound quality on this issue due to recording difficulties. Culture Consumed:Alex: The Adventures of Alyx, Joanna Russ; BSG rewatch yet again; The Memcordist, Lavie Tidhar; Firebugs, Nina Kiriki HoffmanAlisa: KickAss 2; Enchanted Glass, Diana Wynne Jones; Ugly, Robert Hoge Tansy: Fringe Season 1, Dorian Gray Season 2, Ugly, Robert HogePlugs: Splendid Chaps Nine/Women, featuring Tansy: September 15Glitter & Mayhem released and partying, glitter skate style. Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Galactic Suburbia Episode 87: Saga Spoilerific Book Club For the first time in years, all three hosts of Galactic Suburbia have read the same thing at the same time! So buckle up, it's time for another installment of the Spoilerific Book Club!  We're taking on the Eisner-award winning & Hugo-nominated comic Saga, written by Brian K Vaughan and drawn by Fiona Staples, published by Image Comics. For this episode we look at the 12 issues which have been collected as the first two trade editions of Saga and we spoil EVERYTHING, so don't listen unless you've a) read it or b) don't care about spoilers.  We discuss tree rockets in space, breastfeeding, childbirth, violence, men with TV screens for head, gay sex, straight sex, parents-in-law, mutilated bodies, fatherhood, brothel planets, child prostitutes, romance novels, the sexual anatomy of giants, Lying Cat, and character deaths. PLEASE NOTE THE EXPLICIT TAG. AND WE REALLY MEAN IT ABOUT THE SPOILERS. The issue that was (briefly) too racy for ComiXology, and why this was a double standard. Because it wasn't the issue with the child prostitutes.  Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we feed the feedback, unpack the Hugo packet, and put Jane Austen on a bank note. What Caught Our Eye: Twitter... the abuse of Caroline Criado-Perez Chief Commissioner - Have a look at yourself  Mary Beard Will Tell Your Mum How You Behave on Twitter Feedback! We appreciate every email sent to us, even if we very rarely do this thing we are doing, and read them out. But this time we did that thing!  Culture Consumed: Alex: Eternal Flame, Greg Egan; the rest of the Alanna books, Tamora Pierce; Pacific Rim Tansy: Hugo packet reading - short story, novelette, novella, also Splendid Chaps Seven/Religion , & new social justice pop culture Aussie blog No Award. Alisa: Hugo Packet including novels Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we talk about gender stuff in publishing and gaming, Alex votes in the Hugos and Alisa's thesis starts coming together. A good week!Caught Our EyeSexism in genre publishing: A Publisher’s PerspectiveJK Rowling and Robert Galbraith - An Open Letter to Writers & Would Be WritersThe Mary Sue & gaming culture: What we aren’t talking about when we talk about inclusion and representation, and what we are Culture Consumed: Alex: Hugo reading (novellas and novelettes) Alisa: Publishing and Reading as Dissent: Resistance, Literary Tourism and Arsenal Press, Casey Stepaniuk (The Word Hoard Vol 1, Issue 1) Tansy: Alanna the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, All-New X-Men: Yesterday’s X-Men, Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen; Red Sonja #1 by Gail Simone; Much Ado About Nothing!The Galactic Suburbia Road Trip - we have fun over at the SF Signal Mind Meld!Tansy's review of The Other Half of the Sky is up at the Cascadia Subduction Zone.Kaaron Warren won a Shirley Jackson for "Sky"! Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we ask the all-important question, what do David Bowie, Tolkien, Judith Merril, H.R. Giger and Joanna Russ have in common? Also harassment in SF, and the many shades of awesome that was Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager SFHall of Fame includes some familiar names.Elise Matthesen reports sexual harassment at Wiscon, kicking off a long conversation across various spots on the internet about harassment, procedures, and gender issues.Some of the related posts we discuss:Alisa: It's Not Just Them Over ThereTansy: Sexual Harassment at SF Conventions (links mostly)Genevieve Valentine on "Dealing with It"Elise Matthesen's post at Mary Robinette Kowal's blog (with commentary, and links to all the other hosts of the post)Jared Axelrod on "Ruining the Party" SFFragette: Moving SFF/F into the 21st CenturyCulture Consumed ALISA: Defiance and Voyager rewatch, and Why Voyager Is The Most Feminist (and Best) Star Trek TANSY: Captain Marvel: Down, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Dexter Soy & Emma Rios (artists); Xena Season 4; Ovid’s Heroines by Clare Pollard, Warehouse 13 Season 1 ALEX: Abaddon’s Gate, James SA Corey; The Lowest Heaven (anthology) Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we tamper with our format to discuss reconciliation in SF, and the disappearance of women in modern movies.Discussion NK Jemisin’s GoH speech about reconciliation in SF The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison on not turning a blind eye. At the movies, all the women are gone. Culture ConsumedALEX: The White Queen, Gwyneth Jones - abandoned; Mono no Aware, Ken Liu; After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress; Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed. (Also S2 of Game of Thrones)ALISA: PhD paper - Female bestsellers: A cross-national study of gender inequality and the popular–highbrow culture divide in fiction book production, 1960–2009 by Marc Verboord TANSY: Original Sin, by Andy Lane; The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we talk sexism in the industry, feminist space opera, childbirth and babies in comics, space cowboys, and the hidden value of translators. Also, Watson is a girl now! News and Links The SFWA Bulletin Discussion: Foz Meadows dissects the Malzberg/Resnick article causing most of the controversy and protest. Jim Hines curates a massive list of protest blogs/tweets on the issue (though as he himself makes clear this is not a comprehensive collection of links to the entire debate, or every post on it - just the ones protesting the sexist attitudes published in the Bulletin, as proof they were not anonymous). Ann Aguirre on her experiences of sexism in the SF industry. Alisa's Observations Part I & Part II Tansy on Why It’s Important (And Why We’re Still Talking About the SFWA Bulletin) Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who New Women vs Tropes in Video Games: Damsels In Distress, the trope so widespread that this is Part 2 of a 3 part series. Lambdas: the LBGTQ Literary Awards! Some speculative fiction representation there... Culture Consumed ALEX: Space Cowboys; Chase the Morning, Gates of Noon, and Cloud Castles - Michael Scott Rohan; Hawk and Dove, Karl Kesel and Barbara Kesel (5 issues, 1986); X-Men #1 ALISA: The Rook, Daniel O’Malley; Saga; Small Blue Planet Ep 4: Israel; Quick PhD update TANSY: The Other Half of the Sky, edited by Athena Andreadis & Kay Holt; Elementary Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

In which we chew over shortlists, awards winners, book covers and gender issues, all of which pales in comparison to the FIRST QUILT IN SPACE. Hugo Packet! What are YOU going to read? Would password protected freebie novels put you off reading them? Locus Award finalists Sturgeon finalists Campbell Memorial Award finalists Mythopoeic Award finalists Nebula winners Aurealis Awards winners Comments: Tansy on "winning too many awards" Keith Stevenson on why the awards are just fine and don't need to be 'sorted out'. To add some positivity (which more accurately reflects most people's experience of this awards night!) check out Sean's Storify of the AA's night and Tehani's post on attending at the last minute with lovely frockage pics. For even more gorgeous pictures, Cat Sparks' Flickr feed is the way to go! The coverflip experiment, started by Maureen Johnson's piece on Huffington Post. The artist behind the Georgette RR Martin cover discusses her imaginary brief. Hawkeye Initiative Coda - using humour art to get the gender point across in the workplace. THE FIRST QUILT IN SPACE! Frontier craft for the final frontier. Also, bye bye Commander Hadfield - thanks for bringing back the sense of wonder The most significant futurists of the past 50 years Tansy Melbourne public appearances to announce Sisters in Crime 14 June dinner "in conversation with Livia Day, Josephine Pennicott Poppy Gee" Splendid Chaps 15 June - details tba, keep an eye on the Splendid Chaps website for booking details after the 23rd May. Culture Consumed ALISA: Star Trek Into Darkness TANSY: Iron Man 3 FINISHED GAME OF THRONES BOOKS; Queers Dig Time Lords, 2 Minute Time Lord discussion with editors/contributors of QDTL ALEX: Alanna, Tamora Pierce; The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook and don't forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!