Critical Friends Episode 17: On Imagining Hopefully

Celebrating 25 Years with The Strange Horizons Editorial CollectiveIn this special episode of Strange Horizons at 25, Senior Podcast Editor Kat Kourbeti and Editor Michael Ireland welcome current members of the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective for a series of interviews to give you a glimpse behind the curtain of each department and to celebrate 25 years of this pioneering speculative fiction magazine.Read the full transcript on our website.A big thank you to Arturo Serrano, Proofreader; Dan Hartland and Aisha Subramanian, Senior Reviews Editors and hosts of Critical Friends; Hebe Stanton, Senior Fiction Editor; Romie Stott, Administrative Editor and Senior Poetry Editor; and Gautam Bhatia, Co-Ordinating Editor and Senior Articles Editor, for joining us for these interviews. Happy 25 years, one and all, and here's to many more!

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Dan Hartland is joined by the outgoing editor of Foundation, Paul March-Russell, and the founding editor of the Harare Review of Books, Jacqueline Nyathi. They discuss speculative fiction’s approach to hope and optimism. Where has it gone? How do writers express it? And what are its pitfalls?⁠Paul's review of When There Are Wolves Again by E. J. Swift⁠⁠Jacqui's review of The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed⁠⁠Jacqui's essay, "Collective Dreaming: The Schrödinger's Cat Approach to Framing Futures"⁠

In this special episode of Writing While Disabled's second season, hosts Kristy Anne Cox and Kate Johnston speculate about the impact of a space army made up of various species of dinosaurs, and make connections to disability and accommodations as they relate to the real life of disabled people.If you prefer, you can watch the full episode with close-caption subtitles here, or read the transcript here.Show notes:This episode was produced and hosted by Kristy Anne Cox and Kate Johnston, and edited, mixed, and transcribed by Kat Kourbeti.The theme song, "Funky - Upbeat Loop" by ispeakwaves, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.Want to send us a question? You can do so here!

In this episode of Strange Horizons at 25, Tim Melody Pratt walks Podcast Editor Kat Kourbeti through their extensive oeuvre in the SH archives, recounts meeting their life partner through the magazine, and explains how it all intertwined together into a life and career bursting with magic.Links and things:Want to leave us a happy birthday message? Click ⁠here to record an audio message⁠, and ⁠here for video⁠.Join our ⁠Patreon⁠ for early episode access, or donate through any other way to hear your name and message in our next episodes.Want to meet the team? Podcast editors Kat and Michael will be at World Fantasy Con, alongside Poetry Editor Vanessa Jae and Fiction/Articles Editor Joyce Ch'ng! Come to the first Strange Horizons Tea Party in years on Sunday at 11am, and celebrate our 25th anniversary with us.Episode show notes:Read Tim Pratt's work in our archives.Visit their website, follow them on Bluesky, and check out their Patreon to read their monthly short stories.Buy Tim's latest book, Starfinder: Era of the Eclipse, or the one before that, The Knife and the Serpent.Find further links to Tim's work and other things mentioned throughout the transcript on our website.

In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, editor Michael Ireland presents Diana Dima's 'City Grown From Seed' read by Emmie Christie.You can read the full text of the story, and more about Diana Dima ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠Content Warning: Domestic violence / domestic abuse

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Dan Hartland is joined by the novelist and critic Redfern Jon Barrett and the reader and reviewer Nileena Sunil. They discuss those novels that feel too short or not long enough: what's behind that feeling we have that a text is lacking something, or that it's overstretched? And how can we meet works of fiction on their own ground?Redfern's review of If the Stars Are Lit by Sara K. EllisNileean's review of Orphan Planet by Madeehah Reza

In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, Michael Ireland presents Malda Marlys' 'Of Flowing Stone, of Liquid Gold, of Justice, Ash, and Battle' read by Emmie Christie.You can read the full text of the story, and more about Malda Marlys ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Subscribe to the Strange Horizons podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠Content Warning: Disregard for personal autonomyBloodBody transformationDeath/dyingDysphoriaMurderViolence/combat

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Dan Hartland is joined by the literary reviewer Sneha Pathak and the host of the Going Rogue podcast, Tansy Gardam. They discuss the kinds of text which many don’t find worthy of criticism at all: books or movies or TikTok reels that might be termed popular, populist, or popcorn. What are we doing when we spend time with a text which—perhaps only at first—exhibits few pretensions?Sneha Pathak's review of The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction, edited by Rakesh Khanna, translated by Vishwambhari S. ParmarTansy Gardam's review of Jurassic World: Rebirth

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Dan Hartland speaks with writers and critics Octavia Cade and M. L. Clark about writing in hard times. How and why is speculative friction written in contexts of defeat, despair, or decay? They discuss climate change and artificial intelligence, systems political, biological, and economic—and how SF might be, and yet sometimes isn't, a key tool in opening up new modes of understanding during a time that Octavia suggests might best be termed the Necrocene.M. L. Clark's review of Ray Nayler's Where The Axe is Buried.Octavia Cade's review of Vanessa Saunders's The Flat Woman.

In this episode of Strange Horizons at 25, editor Kat Kourbeti chats to author Debbie Urbanski about her 2018 Strange Horizons publication and the 13 years of submissions it took to get accepted, writing in the gray areas between genres, and what it means to be artistically honest in your work.Links and things:Want to leave us a happy birthday message? Click ⁠here to record an audio message⁠, and ⁠here for video⁠.Join our ⁠Patreon⁠ for early episode access, or donate through any other way to hear your name and message in our next episodes.Want to meet the team? Podcast editors Kat and Michael will be at Seattle Worldcon! Come to our Table Talk on Wednesday morning, or to our live episode recording on Friday evening, grab a ribbon, and tell us about your favourite Strange Horizons stories, poems, or special issues.Episode show notes:Read Debbie Urbanski's story, Some Personal Arguments in Support of the BetterYou (Based on Early Interactions)Visit her website, or follow her on Instagram and SubstackBuy her book, After World, or her short story collection PortalmaniaRead Andy Sawyer's Strange Horizons review of After WorldFind more links to her work and other things mentioned throughout the transcript page on our website.