Tag: fantasy

December 28, 2023

An Interview of Jamieson Wolf

In this interview, Jamieson Wolf and I explore disability in SF, Queer identity, and how the two intertwine in the worlds Jamieson creates Jamieson Wolf has been writing since a young age when he realized he could be writing instead of paying attention in school. Since then, he has created many worlds in which to live his fantasies and live...

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December 15, 2023

An Interview with Mark Shainblum about Other Covenants

As part of Hanukkah this year, I was able to interview Mark Shainblum about the Other Covenants collection of Jewish alternative histories. Mark and I talk about the Jewish diaspora, imagining alternative histories, identity for Jewish Canadians, and a new upcoming project Mark is doing with Andrea Lobel as a Hanukkah surprise!! Mark Shainblum is an award-winning comics and science...

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December 9, 2023

An Interview with Chadwick Ginther About Shared World Fiction and Sword and Sorcery

I had a wonderful opportunity to revisit and chat with Chadwick Ginther about his recent work, especially focussing on his recent Sword and Sorcery Work, Lovecraftian horror, creating a shared world story, and creating magical geographies in his fiction. Chadwick Ginther is the author of two short story collections: Khyber: Sinister Tales of Sword and Sorcery in a Shared World...

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November 17, 2023

An Interview with Jen Desmarais

In this episode of Speculating Canada, I interview Jen Desmarais. Jen is the author of Crushing It, co-author of Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers, a crafter, and ghost writer. We discuss Queer writing, the interrelationship between craft-making and writing, writing with a community, and writing with a partner. Jen Desmarais is the creator of the sex education game Blush and co-author of...

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October 28, 2020

Living Through Fairy Tales

A review of Nathan Frechette’s “Cinderfella” in Whispers Between Fairies (Renaissance, 2020) Nathan Frechette’s “Cinderfella” is a biotext, a story of Frechette’s own body and transition told through fairy tales. Frechette explores the way that fairy tales have shaped his life, from providing a world away from a harsh outside world when he was young to providing a text of...

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June 21, 2020

On The MacGuffin and Exponential Growth Economies

By Derek Newman-Stille For folks who are unfamiliar with the term, a “MacGuffin” is an object, a device, an event, or a character used in fiction as a plot device to advance the story that is unfolding. We see MacGuffins regularly in speculative fiction, whether it be the Infinity Gauntlet, the Death Star, the One Ring, or the Ark of...

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May 11, 2020

Second Speculating Canada Writing Workshop: Writing Fairy Tales

Sign up  for the  second of Speculating Canada’s writing workshop series taught by Trent University instructor Derek Newman-Stille, MA, PhD ABD. Our workshop series allows us connect and write together and maybe to collapse some of the social distance by coming together online as a community. This workshop is free. Date: Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 PM EST Location: Online on...

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May 2, 2020

Authors in Quarantine – Karen Dudley

With this this series, I am hoping to capture how this cultural moment is affecting our speculative fiction authors and how our authors are surviving during the COVID-19 outbreak Spec Can: What have you been up to during the COVID-19 outbreak? Karen Dudley: The pandemic really hit at terrible time for me. My dad is quite unwell and I am...

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April 4, 2020

Interview with Marie Bilodeau and Kerri Elizabeth Gerow about Wishstamp

By Derek Newman-Stille Spec Can: What inspired you to begin Wishstamp? KEG: It was all her idea. MB: I stayed up too late one night and drafted a business plan for no reason except it sounded like fun! KEG: And then she realized she needed an artist. MB: She’s easy to win over with chocolate. Spec Can: Okay, wait, can...

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October 24, 2019

No More Magical Cures

No More Magical Cures A Review of Jamieson Wolf’s “The Descent” in Nothing Without Us edited by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson (Renaissance Press, 2019) By Derek Newman-Stille Jamieson Wolf’s “The Descent” explores a trope of disability that is often apparent in fantasy literature – the Magical Cure. Frequently, this trope is used because abled authors can’t imagine the...

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