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Sirens Conference

23 Oct, 11 tweets, 7 min read

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

3. ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME by Roshani Chokshi: “The problem with growing up around highly dangerous things is that after a while you just get used to them. For as long as she could remember, Aru had lived in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture.” #SirensAtHome

4. BORDERLINE by Mishell Baker: “It was midmorning on a Monday when magic walked into my life wearing a beige Ann Taylor suit and sensible flats. At the time I had more money than sense, and so I had been languishing at the Leishman Psychiatric Center...” #SirensAtHome

5. EVERY RIVER RUNS TO SALT by Rachael K. Jones: “I keep an ocean in a jar on my nightstand and a handful of coffee beans in my pocket. My roommate Imani once held the Pacific Ocean hostage in our living room, but that was before she died...” #SirensAtHome

6. STAR DAUGHTER by Shveta Thakrar: “Sometimes keeping secrets was the hardest thing in the world. Sheetal Mistry decided to make a break for it. Right past the mirrored walls that reflected one another until the swanky banquet hall expanded into infinity...” #SirensAtHome

7. THE BLOODPRINT by Ausma Zehanat Khan: “Seven. Eight. Six. Arian traced the numbers in the sand. She was crouched behind a dusty ridge, surveying the land ahead. The wide, flat plains extended in every direction, broken in places by sparse shrubs...” #SirensAtHome

8. THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME by Nafiza Azad: “The muezzin’s call pierces the thinning night air, extracting Fatima from dreams of fire and blood. Her eyes open to the darkness, and for a moment, she is caught in the dark space between sleep and wakefulness.” #SirensAtHome

9. THE LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD by London Shah: “Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.” #SirensAtHome

10. TRAIL OF LIGHTNING by Rebecca Roanhorse: “The monster has been here. I can smell him.” #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

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

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

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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