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Sirens is a conference examining and celebrating the intersections of gender and fantasy literature. Any questions? We can help at https://t.co/9GFlymcHMt.
Oct 24, 2020 44 tweets 16 min read
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
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
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
Oct 23, 2020 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
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
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
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
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
Oct 23, 2020 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
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
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
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
TALES RETOLD

2012: Sirens interrogated retellings of myths, legends, and fairy tales from around the world, including what they have to say about our own real world. Here are 10 complex retold tales (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome 1. ASH by Malinda Lo: “Aisling’s mother died at midsummer. She had fallen sick so suddenly that some of the villagers wondered if the fairies had come and taken her, for she was still young and beautiful. She was buried three days later beneath the hawthorn tree...” #SirensAtHome
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
2011: Sirens deconstructed monsters and the monstrous feminine—and how frequently society deems both femininity and a refusal to conform to feminine “ideals” monstrous. Here are 10 magnificent monster books (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome 1. LIAR by Justine Larbalestier: “I was born with a light covering of fur. After three days it had all fallen off, but the damage was done. My mother stopped trusting my father because it was a family condition he had not told her about. One of many omissions...” #SirensAtHome
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
2010: Sirens analyzed faeries in both traditional and new texts, as well as the myriad roles that faery literature permits people of marginalized genders. Here are 10 thorny faery books (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome 1. A FACE LIKE GLASS by Frances Hardinge: “One dark season, Grandible became certain that there was something living in his domain within the cheese tunnels. To judge by the scuffles, it was larger than a rat and smaller than a horse.” #SirensAtHome
Oct 23, 2020 11 tweets 7 min read
2009: Sirens delved deep on what it means to be to a warrior, especially as that construct intersects with gender and gender expression. Here are 10 amazing warrior books (with more books/info here: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s…): 1/

#SirensAtHome 1. A BLADE SO BLACK by L.L. McKinney: “Alice couldn’t cry. She couldn’t scream. All she could do was run.” #SirensAtHome
Oct 23, 2020 33 tweets 11 min read
And now it's time for Here Be Dragons: Gender and Speculative Spaces!

@faye_bi introduces our guests -- @LyssaDee, @AAhairto, @reniwamoto, @ausmazehanat, @nilaffle, and @writersyndrome -- and asks "What does feminism mean to you?"

#SirensAtHome Collins and Hairston begin with a discussion of Black feminism and its importance. Hairston: being Black is inherently speculative.

#SirensAtHome
Oct 23, 2020 8 tweets 4 min read
It's time for #SirensAtHome!

@amytenbrink welcomes us all and tells us that over FIVE HUNDRED folk are joining us this weekend! Amy admits that the staff is a little nervous about translating the energy of Sirens online.

"In 2008, when we built Sirens, we were lucky, because we got to build something from scratch. ... We wanted to build a space FOR people of marginalized identities."

#SirensAtHome
Oct 22, 2020 18 tweets 9 min read
THREAD: Did you know we track the thousands of new books by women, nonbinary, and trans authors in the fantasy + speculative space? Here we highlight data for 1,600 of them, gathered from 2016-2020, with some thoughts and analysis on the patterns we’ve observed. #SirensAtHome We use this data to make our book lists, and of course, fill our magical, once-a-year pop-up bookstore. If we were gathering at Sirens in-person this year, this would be around the time we’d be opening our community room doors. 😭
Oct 22, 2020 12 tweets 8 min read
Even thought #SirensAtHome hasn’t even started yet, it’s never too soon to talk about #Sirens21. Because while you might be gearing up to pack your bags and fly to Denver for Sirens next fall, others might not be able to. So let’s talk scholarships. #SirensAtHome #Sirens21 To make our community representative of the full breadth of amazing work in this field and to make our conversations truly intersectional, we need to make it possible for people of diverse identities, experiences, and vocations to attend Sirens. #SirensAtHome #Sirens21
Oct 22, 2020 7 tweets 4 min read
Earlier this month, we published a series of essays from members of the Sirens community on what speculative fiction means to them. These pieces are eloquent, smart, and often heartbreaking. As we're preparing for #SirensAtHome to start tomorrow, check them out. 1/ Side Quests on Dying by A.J. Hackwith (@ajhackwith): sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/s… Image
Oct 22, 2020 7 tweets 4 min read
Usually, we'd introduce you to the Sirens planning team at the conference -- but since #SirensAtHome is taking place online, we thought we'd introduce you to them ahead of time. Check these hypercompetent, always creative, voraciously well-read rock stars out! 1/ First up: the Communications Team, tasked with creating year-round content and community, who writes all those posts and emails, crafts all that gorgeous art, and manages all our social media: sirensconference.org/news/2020/10/m… Image
Aug 21, 2020 21 tweets 8 min read
As we approach our sixth month of quarantine in the US, we’re all pretty restless. Maybe a book would help? A really long book? A really long, really immersive, SFF sort of book? By a woman, nonbinary, or trans author?

Here’s a long list…of long books…for long hauls. ❤️ 1/ THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon: Clocking in at 848 pages, PRIORY is a complex tale of competing worldviews—the world just happens to be magical and involve dragons. Lush prose, sapphic yearning, wild adventures, and rising forces of chaos!
Jun 7, 2020 52 tweets 29 min read
We hope you’ve already read LA Banks, Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison, and Gloria Naylor, indisputably luminous Black SFF writers. But we want to recommend another 50 brilliant Black women, nonbinary, and trans folks writing SFF works about Black people and Black communities. 1/ We hope you’ll support these Black authors. Read their words. Live in their worlds. Celebrate their power. And be sure to buy these and other books from bookstores owned by Black people: lithub.com/you-can-order-…