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Sirens Conference

23 Oct, 11 tweets, 7 min read

2015: Sirens analyzed stories of rebels and revolutionaries—and cast a wide net, seeking both traditional fantasy uprisings and more revolutionary rebellions as well. Here are 10 world-shattering tales (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. ALIF THE UNSEEN by G. Willow Wilson: “The thing always appeared in the hour between sunset and full dark. When the light began to wane in the afternoon, casting shadows of gray and violet across the stable yard below the tower where he worked...” #SirensAtHome

2. AN ACCIDENT OF STARS by Foz Meadows: “Sarcasm is armour, Saffron thought, and imagined she was donning a suit of it, plate by gleaming, snark-laden plate...’” #SirensAtHome

3. AN UNKINDNESS OF GHOSTS by Rivers Solomon: “Aster removed two scalpels from her med-kit to soak in a solution of disinfectant. Her fingers trembled from the cold, and the tools slipped from her grasp, plopping ungracefully into the sanitizer.” #SirensAtHome

4. BITCH PLANET: EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro:
“‘Excuse me?’
‘Pardon me?’
‘I’m so very sorry!’
‘She’s not there?’
‘No, and she’s got 10 seconds to walk through that door before I read the damned thing myself. 10…9…8…’”
#SirensAtHome

5. CONSERVATION OF SHADOWS by Yoon Ha Lee: “It is not true that the dead cannot be folded. Square becomes kite becomes swan; history becomes rumor becomes song. Even the act of remembrance creases the truth.” #SirensAtHome

6. COURT OF FIVES by Kate Elliott: “We four sisters are sitting in the courtyard at dusk in what passes for peace in our house. Well‐brought‐up girls do not fidget nor fume nor ever betray the least impatience or boredom.” #SirensAtHome

7. THE GEEK FEMINIST REVOLUTION by Kameron Hurley: “‘Persistence.’ It was the answer to a question posed to science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson in an interview about what he thought a writer required most in order to succeed in the profession.” #SirensAtHome

8. THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson: “Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom. The Scriptura Sancta lies discarded, pages crumpled, on my bed. Bruises mark my knees from kneeling on the tiles, and the Godstone in my navel throbs.” #SirensAtHome

9. THE ORDER OF THE PURE MOON REFLECTED IN WATER by Zen Cho: “There was a brief lull in the general chatter when the bandit walked into the coffeehouse. This was not because of the knife at his hip or his dusty attire...” #SirensAtHome

10. WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE by Tehlor Kay Mejia: “Daniela Vargas woke at the first whisper of footsteps coming up the road. By the time the sound of shattering glass in the courtyard alerted the campus to the presence of intruders, she was dressed and ready.” #SirensAtHome

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More from @sirens_con

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

24 Oct

@amytenbrink

We're back again! @amytenbrink welcomes everyone and notes that we're in a liminal space in this very strange year of 2020, which falls between *our* years of discussing Heroes (2019) and Villains (2021).

#SirensAtHome

In 2020, we all feel like we're failing, not doing enough, not being enough -- "Like we've become the villains in our own stories."

But Amy thinks we're all heroes.

#SirensAtHome

In classic Amy style, she says "fuck that" to the traditional definition of heroism.

What we're doing for ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities -- that is heroic.

#SirensAtHome

Read 44 tweets

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

23 Oct

2021: Sirens will challenge what it means to be a villain—and especially of what it means for people of marginalized genders and other identities to so easily be cast as villainous. Here are 10 wicked works (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. A FEAST OF SORROWS by Angela Slatter: “My father did not know that my mother knew about his other wives, but she did. It didn’t seem to bother her, perhaps because, of them all, she had the greater independence and a measure of prosperity that was all her own.” #SirensAtHome

2. AMERICAN HIPPO by Sarah Gailey: “Winslow Remington Houndstooth was not a hero. There was nothing within him that cried out for justice or fame. He did not wear a white hat—he preferred his grey one, which didn’t show the bloodstains.” #SirensAtHome

Read 11 tweets

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

23 Oct

2019: Sirens considered heroes in all their forms, and explicitly rejected the hypermasculine notions of heroism—and discussed a pantheon of more revolutionary heroes. Here are 10 magnificent heroes works (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. A PALE LIGHT IN THE BLACK by K.B. Wagers: “Commander Rosa Martín Rivas pasted another smile onto her face as she wove through the crowds and headed for her ship at the far end of the hangar. She and the rest of the members of Zuma’s Ghost...” #SirensAtHome

2. A SONG BELOW WATER by Bethany C. Morrow: “It feels redundant to be at the pool on a rainy Saturday, even though it’s spring, and even though it’s Portland, but maybe I’m just more of a California snob than I want to be.” #SirensAtHome

Read 11 tweets

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

23 Oct

2017: Sirens deconstructed magic and those of marginalized genders who want it or wield it—and how magic is so often an analog for power. Here are 10 magical books of witches, sorcerers, enchanters and more (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab: “Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.” #SirensAtHome

2. LABYRINTH LOST by Zoraida Córdova: “The second time I saw my dead aunt Rosaria, she was dancing. Earlier that day, my mom had warned me, pressing a long, red fingernail on the tip of my nose, ‘Alejandra, don’t go downstairs when the Circle arrives.’” #SirensAtHome

Read 11 tweets

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

23 Oct

2016: Sirens examined lovers and representations of romantic and erotic ideas in speculative spaces, including the notion of taking those things—or not—on your terms. Here are 10 beautiful stories of love (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. ANCIENT, ANCIENT by Kiini Ibura Salaam: “Sené. Pregnant Sené. Sené of the tired skin. Sené whose face held a million wrinkles, each one etched deeply as if carved over the course of forty years. Sené whose blood was only twenty-four years young.” #SirensAtHome

2. EMPIRE OF SAND by Tasha Shuri: “Mehr woke up to a soft voice calling her name. Without thought, she reached a hand beneath her pillow and closed her fingers carefully around the hilt of her dagger. She could feel the smoothness of the large opal...” #SirensAtHome

Read 11 tweets

Sirens Conference

@sirens_con

23 Oct

2014: Sirens interrogated the history of hauntings books and what it means to be haunted—and the vital impact that hauntings stories have had on gender studies. Here are 10 ghostly tales (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome

1. A DASH OF TROUBLE by Anna Meriano: “Leo sprinted to the hallway bathroom, slammed the door, and locked herself in, just in time. An angry knock followed, ‘Hey, hurry up in there!’ Leo let out a cackle to match her Halloween witch costume.” #SirensAtHome

2. ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake: “The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway—no pun intended. So is the loose and faded leather coat, though not as much that as the sideburns. And the way he keeps nodding and flicking his Zippo open and closed...” #SirensAtHome

Read 11 tweets

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