And so we reach the end of our fifth Women in SFF!

It’s been another incredible month of celebrating and giving a platform to women in the SFF genres. We hope you’ve enjoyed this year, that you’ve added plenty of new books to your TBRs, and have hopefully found a new favourite author.

You can find all the books we featured this month in our Bookshop.org shop

We packed in a huge amount of content this year, so let’s recap everything in one handy place in case you missed anything…

Interviews

We tried something a little different this year with our interviews, mostly focusing on group interviews, and we hope this paid off!

• Gollancz Debut authors
• Interview with Julie Long and Sangu Mandanna
• Interview with Rebecca Thorne and Sarah Beth Durst
• Angry Robot Debut authors
• Light Academia roundtable with Heather Fawcett, Sylvie Cathrall and India Holton
• Interview with Elizabeth Helen
• Solaris Debut authors
• Interview with S. A. MacLean
• Interview with Melissa Caruso and Andrea Stewart
• Interview with Stark Holborn
• Romantasy roundtable with Analeigh Sbrana, Megan Scott, Elizabeth Helen and Thea Guanzon
• Horror roundtable with Sarah Langan, Delilah S. Dawson, Rachel Harrison and Hailey Piper
• Interview with Sarah Rees Brennan

Posts and Articles

As well as our usual team collaboration posts, we had some incredible guest articles this year, as well as exciting new excerpts, cover reveals, and a fun new feature where we asked authors to pick and choose between their characters…

Excerpts

• Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa
• King Street Run by V. R. Ling
• Interstellar MegaChef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
• Le Fay by Sophie Keetch

Cover reveals

Blood Price by Nicola Evans

Guest Posts

• Rise of Romantasy by K. A. Linde
• Writing Swedish Historical Fantasy – Gustavians Vs Vikings by Emma Sterner-Radley
• The Lasting Legacy of Tanith Lee, Daughter of the Night by LCW Allingham and River Eno
• My Take on Cosy Fantasy by Mariana Costa
• Five Things About Me by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
• A ROOM OF MY OWN or A post-colonial, millennial, South Asian woman writer’s reflections on reading women in SFFH through the ages by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
• Finding the Journey Within by G. T. Jones

Articles

• Ask the Author Part One: Which of your characters would you go on a road trip with?
• Ask the Author Part Two: If you have any, how did your family react when they read the spicy scenes in your book?
• Ask the Author Part Three: Which of your characters would you turn to for relationship advice?
• Trope Fridays:

Quests | Good Vs Evil | Romantasy | Found Families

Reviews

I think it’s safe to say we had our best year ever for reviews, with plenty of amazing titles to tempt you…

Beth’s reviews:

• Threadneedle by Cari Thomas:
  “a story to utterly lose yourself in. It’s the perfect blend of Practical Magic and The Craft, with deliberate nods to both”
• The Hedge Witch by Cari Thomas:
  “Thomas is a wonderful writer, and this story glows with heart; it’s perfect for anyone looking for a light, magical read.”
• Shadowstitch by Cari Thomas:
  “a powerful story that continued to sweep me along right to the very last page and left me suspended, desperate for more”
• Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch:
  “a very fun read, a very easy read, that will sweep you along the way all good stories will”

Buddy Read reviews:

• The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart (read by Beth and Nils):
  “you can depend on [Stewart] for utterly unique worlds and magic systems, and the most endearing characters”

Cat’s reviews:

• King Street Run by V. R. Ling:
  “The author’s voice is warm and inviting, with a wonderful streak of humour that regularly had me laughing aloud”

Jennifer’s reviews:

• The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean:
  “Kind of like a cozy fantasy meets zoological romance, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but I wasn’t disappointed”

Julia’s reviews:

• The Unfamiliared by J. E. Hannaford:
  “The plot itself is cute and fun, and I especially enjoyed the friendships, and how the whole town came together”

Kat’s reviews:

• The Sky On Fire by Jenn Lyons:
  “a fantastic standalone fantasy book and perfect for fans of stories like The Hobbit or Six of Crows, but who want a more adult story with an irreverent contemporary voice”
• Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales by Angela Carter:
  “Angela Carter is known for gothic eroticism and romanticised characters in her fairy tale retellings, so it’s no wonder she chose to compile a book of stories that show a darker and more mature side to the genre.”
• House of Frank by Kay Synclaire:
  “ a beautiful, whimsical, and heart-wrenching story about grief, trust, and found family”
• Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris:
  “I would highly recommend this story to anyone looking for sapphic or women-centred stories set in the Holmesian era that isn’t afraid to dabble in fantasy elements”
• The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan:
  “This is a story that celebrates the freedom and chaos of childhood with abandon, while frankly portraying the ingrained, hurtful and all too familiar ableist attitudes that our society still clings to”

Nils’ reviews:

• The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon:
  “There were many exciting events in this sequel, Shannon packs each chapter with tension, intrigue and towards the end, revelations”
• The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon:
  “With every book Shannon delivers excellent climaxes, she has the knack for always leaving me wanting more and I very much enjoyed the excitement of this ending”

Theo’s reviews:

• Ninth Life by Stark Holborn:
  “at the heart of Ninth Life, is the imperative that stories need to be told, witnesses need to be heard, legends must not be forgotten”

Photo Challenge

And last, but never least, our photo challenge. We stuck with last year’s revised plan of three prompts a week, as it worked so well and was much more manageable; and we had another incredible response this year!

I won’t be uploading all the responses here this year; instead, please do head over to our Instagram page where Nils has created a Highlight of this year’s Women in SFF, and where tomorrow she’ll be posting a reel to highlight all the lovely photos from everyone who contributed! Gird your TBRs!

And there you have it!

That is officially a wrap on Women in SFF for 2024!

As always, a huge thank you to all the authors, publicists, our contributors, and our readers and supporters – we couldn’t do this feature without you and you make it all worthwhile!

You can find all the books we featured this month in our Bookshop.org shop