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women writers of science fiction & fantasy

A Speculative Fiction Resource Guide

Introduction

One of the great things about reading is the ability to escape from daily life for a little bit. And while some readers prefer seeing an idealized portrayal of the real world, others want to experience the fantastical and the impossible. For those readers, speculative fiction is the way to go. And while most genre fiction (or popular fiction) outside of romance is considered a boys club, there are countless women making a name in speculative fiction—including science fiction and fantasy writing. In this resource guide, you will learn about speculative fiction, the women who write it, and the popular works that are defining—even redefining—the category.

What Is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for genres such as:

The common thread among these genre types is the exploration of worlds/societies that operate under laws, rules, and norms different from ours.

Common Elements of Speculative Fiction

While speculative fiction includes all the same core components as literary or other genre fictions—character, setting, plot, and conflict—its approach to these aspects is what differentiates it.

Characters in Speculative Fiction

Standard characters such as protagonists and antagonists, as well as archetypes like the hero or star-crossed lovers, appear in most, if not all, speculative fiction. Typically, it’s otherworldly capabilities that separate speculative fiction characters from ones in literary fiction. Characters in speculative fiction can be magic wielders, vampires, aliens, psychics, and more.

A popular archetype of speculative fiction is the “Chosen One” These protagonists are the only ones who can solve a problem or fight off the primary antagonist in the narrative. While they may have accomplices, like sidekicks and mentors, the final blow must come from them. Tris Prior from Veronica Roth’s Divergent series and Katniss Everdeen in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series are two examples of the Chosen One archetype.

Settings in Speculative Fiction

Within the world of speculative fiction, setting is key because it can be a clear indicator of the fantastical aspect of the narrative. If a reader picks up a book and sees that it takes place on a fictional planet or in a world where magic is real, they will know it’s some manner of speculative fiction.

As such, worldbuilding is integral to speculative fiction genres. Because the stories are often set in fictional worlds that operate differently from our reality, writers need to flesh out the mechanics so readers can get a sense of this without feeling lost. Worldbuilding typically sets the science fiction and fantasy subgenres apart from horror and urban fantasy, which tend to insert the supernatural into the real world.

Plots and Conflicts in Speculative Fiction

True to its name, speculative fiction asks “What if?” Writers take elements of real life, such as political structures or technology, and build plots around imagining what might happen if something impossible or currently inconceivable took place instead. 

For example: 

  • Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein asks “What if scientists figured out a way to bring people back to life?” 
  • J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series asks “What if magic existed and children went to school to learn it?
  • The Vegetarian by Han Kang asks “What if a simple change in one woman’s diet causes life to spiral out of control for everyone in her orbit, including herself?”

As a result, conflict in speculative fiction is often some version of Man vs. the Supernatural. However, Man vs. Man or Man vs. Society are also extremely common, as these types of conflict are the most relatable—even if the characters have magic powers or are trying to overthrow a corrupt future government body.

A Brief History of Women Writing Speculative Fiction

For centuries, readers have associated women authors with genres such as literary fiction, romance, and contemporary literature. There is such a strong gender-genre association that some women use their initials instead of their full names to bypass prejudice. Gender bias is especially prevalent in speculative fiction. Though authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and others are often spoken of as the biggest names in the category, there are several women who are just as influential.

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley is considered by most to be the mother of science fiction. With her novel Frankenstein, which combines elements of Gothic fiction and romanticism, Shelley penned an incredibly influential work of speculative fiction that questions morality and humanity. And the legend goes that she wrote the book on a dare!

Shirley Jackson

Best known for works like “The Lottery,” The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Jackson is a prominent voice in the horror and mystery worlds. Her works often explore the idea of a lurking evil that’s present in everyday life, whether throughout ghost stories or psychological suspense.

Ursula K. Le Guin

A lauded name in the literary world, Le Guin dabbled in everything—science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, nonfiction, and even poetry. But what made her a household name for speculative fiction fans are her Earthsea and Hainish Cycle series. Intrigued by cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology, Le Guin wrote stories that examined morality, politics, and gender.

Margaret Atwood

Atwood is an incredibly prolific writer, with dozens of novels, short story collections, books of poetry, and even graphic novels to her name. She is best known for near-future dystopian stories like The Handmaid’s Tale and her post-apocalyptic MaddAddam trilogy. Atwood tackles themes of feminism, the ethics of technological advancement, and identity in her works.

Octavia E. Butler

In addition to being considered a man’s genre, speculative fiction is typically associated with white authors. But, there are many prominent BIPOC authors, especially women, who have succeeded despite that stereotype. Octavia Butler is one such notable author. A master of science fiction, Butler was the first author of this genre to win a MacArthur grant. Weaving Black identity into stories of time travel (Kindred), space colonization (Dawn), and dystopian societies (Parable of the Sower), Butler is a paragon of both speculative fiction and Black literature. Read more about Butler’s evolution as a writer in this article.

More Women Who Write Speculative Fiction

There are too many women to name when it comes to authors of speculative fiction. Check out these resources to find even more:

Book List: Speculative Fiction Recommendations

If you’re interested in reading some women-penned speculative fiction, consider these recommended texts:

Beloved by Toni Morrison

For a used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love.

Inspired by the real-life story of runaway slave Margaret Garner, who killed her own daughter to prevent her capture and enslavement, Beloved tells the story of Sethe, a runaway slave who finds herself haunted by the daughter she lost.

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

I drink water and set up my tent and begin to make lists. Every teacher beginning with preschool. Every job I’ve ever had. Every home I’ve ever lived in. Every person I’ve loved. Every person who probably loved me.

Her Body and Other Parties contains eight short stories that examine the psychology of women in contemporary society. The collection moves between the genres of fantasy, horror, and satire includes themes like oppression and dystopian life.

How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

It is an artist’s fate, an artist’s duty, to share all that they are and have been with the world.

A collection of 22 short stories created in the spirit of Afrofuturism, How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? transports readers to dozens of new worlds, characters, and possibilities. Often taking on important societal issues such as rape, pollution, and the fallout from capitalism, Jemisin’s characters will feel quite relatable to contemporary readers.

So Far from God by Ana Castillo

Maria, tarot card reader and pseudo-poet, herself would have said […] that even this existence of ours has no start and no finish but is the continuance of a journey on an endless, unpaved road.

Castillo’s novel follows the lives of Sofi and her four daughters Esperanza, Caridad, Fe, and La Loca. They live in the small town of Tome, New Mexico, and endure hardship after hardship—but also miracles, like resurrection and the power to heal.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate, and provoke study, and when you follow the lame, uncertain curves for a little distance, they suddenly [...] plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions.

This integral feminist short story witnesses its narrator’s mental decline as a result of postpartum depression and the fact that the men in her life won’t take her ailment seriously. Involuntarily confined in a room with the titular decor, the narrator begins to exhibit the chaos that she feels closing in around her.

Warcross by Marie Lu

It seems I’m becoming the weapon in disguise for more people than I’d like.

The first book in a duology, Warcross is set in the future, where bounty hunter Emika Chen participates in an international virtual reality game to track down her mark. This sci-fi work explores themes of risk-taking and loss.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

You can bring life, and when you get old, that ability becomes something else even greater, more dangerous and unstable!

Who Fears Death is a post-apocalyptic science fantasy novel set in a future Sudan where the light-skinned Nuru have enslaved the dark-skinned Okeke. Protagonist Onyesonwu (Onye) discovers that she has inherited great magical powers from her parents. The novel follows Onye as she discovers her powers and sets off on a journey to defeat her father (a Nuru), free the Okeke, and end the violence between the two tribes.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

You don’t get to choose the ghosts that attach themselves to you. Or the things they have with them.

In an alternate version of Johannesburg, South Africa, people who have committed serious crimes find themselves attached to animal familiars that grant them magical abilities—and mark their criminality for all to see. Zinzi December, the novel’s “animalled” narrator who uses magical powers to locate lost items, finds herself caught in a dangerous plot after accepting a job to find a missing person. 

More Science Fiction and Fantasy Books by Women

If you want to see even more selections, check out these resource links.

Places to Get Your Speculative Fiction Fix

You can find your sci-fi and fantasy community all over the web. To discover your kindred spirits and the latest reads, look into the following sites, podcasts, and social media.

Websites

  • Literary Hub, a site where “readers can rely on for smart, engaged, entertaining writing about all things books”
  • Book Riot, “the largest independent editorial book site in North America” that also boasts podcasts, newsletters, and original content dedicated to diverse readers and genres
  • Gizmodo’s io9, an entertainment vertical that covers anything and everything related to science fiction and fantasy

Social Accounts

Podcasts

  • Publishers Weekly’s LitCast features editors and authors in conversation.
  • The Skillset Podcast, a related Publishers Weekly project, dives into all kinds of literary topics, from the future of libraries to the widespread love for true crime narratives.
  • Literary magazine Strange Horizons has its own podcast, where editors read short stories and poetry from the magazine.