Celebrating the female gaze

Fantastic output

Women writing genre fiction often end up being doubly marginalized. However, such attitudes are changing, says writer of young-adult fiction Jordan Rivet, known for the fantasy series Empire of Talents and The Lost Clone sci-fi trilogy. She will be leading a workshop for writers aged 13 and above on world-building, which is the backbone of sci-fi and fantasy (March 9).

Rivet's sci-fi saga follows Jane, an abandoned clone on a mission to uncover her origins, first as a surrogate best mate for a rich kid and finally as a murder target.

Co-authored by Steve Willis and Jan Lee, Fairhaven — A Novel of Climate Optimism follows Malaysia-born Grace Chan, a veteran of climate-change impact, as she combats our common environmental dilemma. The book's hopeful ending makes it something of an outlier. "It is possible to be optimistic that things will change for the better, even about topics that currently appear dire, like today's climate crisis," says Jan Lee, who draws inspiration from sci-fi great Ursula K. Le Guin, who once said, "The exercise of imagination has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent."

"In the book, we pose the question: Do you want a Mad-Max future or do you want a Fairhaven future? And we show what a Fairhaven future looks like," Jan Lee says.