I don’t want the future to be female. I want it to be for everyone. Lisa Yaszek In a fascinating episode that covers everything from telepathic matriarchies to lesbian vampire fiction, academic Lisa Yaszek chats to us about the history of women writers in science fiction. Why are so few remembered? What did they write? […] The post Women write Science Fiction – with Lisa Yaszek first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
In our last episode, we had author Aliette de Bodard on to discuss the absence of mothers in speculative fiction. One explanation put forward was the focus of chosen one narratives – these stories rely on the protagonist achieving something great, against all odds, and usually alone (or supported by a small group, rarely, if […] The post The problem with the chosen one first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
We were inspired to speak to Aliette about representations of motherhood in speculative fiction after reading her excellent essay ‘On Motherhood and Erasure‘. There’s no denying that mothers are demonstrably absent from most speculative fiction. Whether they died ‘off-screen’ or simply have no tangible presence in the narrative, there is a gaping hole in our […] The post Representations of motherhood with Aliette de Bodard first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
With a new film adaptation of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, and the upcoming 60th anniversary of the publication of The Haunting of Hill House, we thought it was high time we turned our attention to the wonderful Shirley Jackson. To help us on our journey of […] The post The enduring legacy of Shirley Jackson – with Catriona Ward first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Here at Breaking the Glass Slipper, we love the 1987 film The Princess Bride. I mean, who doesn’t? It is endlessly quotable, tongue-in-cheek, and full of great characters. Unfortunately, only a couple of those characters are female and the way they’re represented…well, let’s just say our inner feminists are wincing. Is it ok to still […] The post The Princess Bride first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Sometimes it is fun to call the shots on this show – and this week (while Lucy was away on holiday!), I decided to indulge a personal favourite subject of mine: time travel. My love of time travelling tales has been life-long, from Back to the Future (obvs) to Kindred, there’s so much scope for […] The post Time travel with Kameron Hurley first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
We like to think that fantasy is a limitless exploration of our imaginations, but in reality, fantasy fiction is limited by the cultural experiences of the author. As a result, what most of us are exposed to are a very narrow set of ideas about fantasy and magic – those from a Judeo-Christian tradition. When […] The post Cultural Traditions of Magic – with Zen Cho first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
The representation of transgender people within genre is a subject we’ve wanted to explore for a while now on this podcast. All too often, trans and non binary people are absent from speculative fiction, or if not absent then poorly represented. Why is this and what can be done to improve the situation? Cheryl Morgan […] The post Transgender representation in SFF with Cheryl Morgan first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
In this episode, we discuss all things reproduction. That’s right: sex, pregnancy, birth – the whole shebang around creating new life and what it means to a woman’s position, as represented in genre fiction. We (supposedly) have a biological drive to propagate our species… as a result, it’s natural that a certain preoccupation with procreation […] The post Sex! Pregnancy! Birth! Representations of reproduction first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Women aren’t the only minority to suffer from poor as well as a lack of representation in genre fiction. Among other minorities struggling to have their voices heard are people of colour, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQI community. In this episode, we spoke to prolific science fiction and fantasy author Marissa Lingen, whose credits […] The post Representations of disability with Marissa Lingen first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
While we were all winding down from Christmas, Charlie Brooker and the Black Mirror gang were getting ready to mess with our minds yet again. December 28th saw the release of the one-off interactive Netflix special ‘Bandersnatch’ to mixed reviews. But no one can deny it was an interesting experiment, combining elements of video games, […] The post Choose your own Bandersnatch first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
The holiday season comes with all kinds of traditions. From special desserts to the annual family bust-up. Whether you like a feel-good story at this time of year or something a little more spine-tingling, there’s magic enough for everyone. In this episode, Charlotte and Megan explore their Christmas fears, the sexiest muppets, and the depths […] The post Seasonal scares first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
I had the undeniable pleasure of chatting to UK comics writer Leah Moore. From growing up with comics royalty to a career spanning two decades, Leah has written for existing franchises, adapted novels to comics, and created original new properties. And perhaps most importantly, Leah has written many well-rounded, interesting female characters, something we need […] The post Writing comics with Leah Moore first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
What is speculative fiction and what can it offer the world? Aliya Whiteley’s work has been described as “stark, poetic and forthright”, and certainly not easily classified. We talk to her about how established ideas of gender can be challenged, the questions she explores in her fiction, the relationship her books have to the natural […] The post Layers and landscapes with Aliya Whiteley first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Alternate episode title: Magic goat sword (it will make sense if you listen!) If you’re planning a murder, always have a koala with you! Works of fiction are rarely confined to a single genre, especially when it comes to speculative fiction. There are sci-fi westerns, historical fantasies, and comedy horrors. Many science fiction, fantasy, and […] The post Unravelling mysteries (Live from FantasyCon 2018) first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
We spend a lot of time on this podcast talking about how authors are subverting or downright overturning classic SFF tropes. But there are still merits of entrenched tropes, after all, tropes became such because they were enjoyable and worked, so people reused them. It’s often said that grimdark is popular because it rejects good […] The post John Gwynne on traditional fantasy tropes first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Writing better female characters is covered in a lot of writing advice. Many of these pieces will preface their comments with sarcastic comments like ‘Women are people too, duh’. This sort of statement, I think, should make the topic a moot point – not how to write better female characters but how to write better […] The post Writing (female) characters first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Redshirts. No sooner are they introduced than they are killed. The tension rises, there are beads of sweat on Kirk’s brow… now the audience knows the peril is real. These stock, disposable characters exist in a story solely for the purpose of being disposed of – kidnapped or killed, etc, to push the protagonist into […] The post Disposable characters first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Award-winning horror writer Catriona Ward joins us to discuss this most exciting and compelling of genres. Why are we so moved by horror? Why do we willingly throw ourselves into the twisted worlds it conjures? We don’t have to look far to find it: horror surrounds us every day and our own bloody history is […] The post Catriona Ward & ‘the liminal space between certainties’ first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Lucy and Charlotte talk to horror writer Catriona Ward about the art of the horror novel and her books Rawblood and Little Eve. For full episode notes, visit www.breakingtheglassslipper.com The post S03, E18: Catriona Ward & ‘the liminal space between certainties’ first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
A Lucy and Charlotte Special! After the success of our Labyrinth episode, we thought we’d have a bit of fun and take another look at one of our favourite films: The Dark Crystal. If you haven’t seen this cult Henson classic, The Dark Crystal tells the story of Jen, the last – or so he […] The post Revisiting The Dark Crystal first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
A Charlotte and Lucy special! After the success of our Labyrinth episode, we thought we’d have a bit of fun and take another look at one of our favourite films: The Dark Crystal. How does it hold up after 36 years? The post S03, E17: Revisiting The Dark Crystal first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .
Today, the blunt reality of inequality and unequal distribution of wealth is more prevalent than ever. Our society is split into the haves and the have nots – the 1% and the 99%. A few individuals tend whole orchards of magic money trees; their extreme wealth is itself a form of magic. In her Dark […] The post Magic, Wealth and Power with Vic James first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Social inequality and the unequal distribution of wealth is more prevalent than ever and it’s a subject that sits at the heart of Dr Vic James’ fantasy trilogy. We talk to her about power plays and politics, female ambition, naughty aristocrats, class division, reclaiming the bitch and our fascination with family drama. Full episode notes […] The post S03, E16: Magic, Wealth and Power with Vic James first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
While Charlotte and Megan geeked out about Star Trek (sparing poor Lucy who puts up with enough of that) when discussing women’s jobs in science fiction, in this episode, all three of us shine a light on female careers in fantasy. We have found that few women in fantasy novels have professions before the story begins. Instead, […] The post Women’s jobs in fantasy first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Having already looked at women’s jobs in science fiction, we decided to turn our critical gaze to fantasy. Fantasy fiction tends to mimic the world that we know, whether historical or contemporary, but alters it in ways that can either be subtle or all-consuming. If you can believe that dragons exist in an alternative world, […] The post S03, E15: Women’s jobs in fantasy first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
Sometimes the sheer number of sub-genres and niche areas within the SFF world can feel completely overwhelming. What do they all mean? Where does one thing become another? One of the most confusing – and most commonly talked about – sub-genres is Grimdark. Other than it being grim and dark, what defines it as a […] The post Grimdark with Anna Smith Spark first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
We spoke with author Anna Smith Spark, Queen of Grimdark, to try and get to the bottom of what exactly Grimdark is. “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” Full episode notes, including texts mentioned in the episode, can be found at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com The post S03, E14: Grimdark with Anna Smith Spark first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
With equality of pay and the drive to get more women in top executive jobs reaching the headlines in our current era, does the world of the future have women in the same roles they occupy now, or do they have them in traditionally male-dominated jobs? #SorryNotSorry for the ten minutes plus of Star Trek talk. This […] The post Women’s jobs in science fiction first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper ....
