“I wanted to have very strong female characters. I just thought it was always the way the world should be.”—Elizabeth Hand

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Clik here to view.WisCon is coming! Known as the world’s foremost event for feminist science fiction, this year’s Wisconsin Science Fiction Convention will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, from May 24 to 27. In addition to its main themes of feminism and science fiction, focal points of the convention will include discussions of class, race, sexual orientation, and gender issues.

Although Mary Shelley, author of the canonical Frankenstein, is widely seen as a pioneer withinImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. the genre, historically, science fiction has largely been male-dominated. WisCon is an opportunity to celebrate early feminism pioneers in science fiction and new authors breaking down boundaries.

“In the early ’80s, female writers became active in the field and started winning a lot of awards. Since I’ve been in science fiction, I think more and more women are coming into the field.”—Ellen Datlow

At Open Road Media, we’re proud to publish authors who are strong feminist role models, not only within the realm of science fiction, but in all of our genres. We publish ebooks from science fiction and fantasy greats such as Barbara Hambly, Sarah Zettel, Ellen Datlow, Patricia C. Wrede, Elizabeth Hand, and Octavia E. Butler. Butler and Hambly have been guests of honor at previous meetings of WisCon.

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Clik here to view.“In a lot of ways I was a generation ahead of my generation; I had a working mother wheneveryone else’s mother was staying at home.” - Patricia C. Wrede

Watch our video of women in science fiction and celebrate WisCon with us this Memorial Day weekend.

“I'm going to go out on a limb here. I've thought a lot about this one, as a feminist, and as an author. How should traditional roles be portrayed? InImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. fantasy literature there is a school of thought that holds that women must be treated precisely like men. Only the traditional male sphere of power and means of wielding power count. If a woman is shown in a traditionally female role, then she must be being shown as inferior. After a lot of thought, and some real-life stabs at those traditional roles, I've come to firmly disagree with this idea. For an author to show that only traditional male power and place matter is to discount and belittle the hard and complex lives of our peers and our ancestresses.” - Sarah Zettel