Tag Archives: speculative fiction

Podcast

Ray Nayler, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA & Victor Navasky Remembered

We talk with Ray Nayler about his novel of speculative fiction, The Mountain In The Sea. It was named by Slate Book Review as one of the Best Books of 2022.

Then, we remember Victor Navasky, the long time editor of the Nation magazine. He died January 24 at the age of 90. We listen back to my 2006 interview with him about his memoir, A Matter of Opinion.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Podcast

Rowing For The Gold Against Hitler & Shakespeare From The Female POV

Daniel James Brown talks about his bestseller, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then, a re-telling of the story of Romeo and Juliet — from the POV of Juliet’s nurse. We talk with historian-turned-novelist Lois Leveen about JULIET’S NURSE.

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Podcast

Naomi Oreskes, THE COLLAPSE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION & Dr. James Hansen, STORMS OF MY GRANDCHILDREN

Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes
Dr. James Hansen
Dr. James Hansen

Naomi Oreskes talks about the speculative novel she co-wrote with Erik Conway, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future. Then, as the world prepares for climate talks and the People’s climate march in New York City, we hear our 2010 interview with climatologist Dr. James Hansen.

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Podcast

Katherine Bagley, BLOOMBERG’S HIDDEN LEGACY, plus Ten Best Shows of 2013

Katherine Bagley
Katherine Bagley
Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki

We talk with Inside Climate News reporter Katherine Bagley about Mayor Bloomberg’s record on climate resilience for New York City. She co-wrote BLOOMBERG’S HIDDEN LEGACY with Maria Galucci. Also we hear excerpts from WV’S “Best of 2013” episodes, featuring clips from interviews with Rilla Eskew, Carla Kaplan, Marisa Silver, Ruth Ozeki and Richard Heinberg. Continue reading

Podcast

Ursula K. Le Guin, THE UNREAL AND THE REAL & Archer Mayor, PARADISE CITY

Ursula K. Le Guin
Archer Mayor

Science fiction master Ursula K. Le Guin talks about her two-volume short story retrospective, just out from Small Beer Press: THE UNREAL AND THE REAL. And murder mystery writer Archer Mayor talks about writing police procedurals and his latest in the Joe Gunther series, PARADISE CITY. Continue reading

Podcast

Karen Thompson Walker, AGE OF MIRACLES & Kij Johnson, AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER OF BEES

Karen Thompson Walker
Kij Johnson

WV talks with two women writers of speculative fiction: Karen Thompson Walker talks about her acclaimed debut novel, AGE OF MIRACLES. It’s about what happens to one young girl, her family and her world when the Earth’s rotation slows down. And Kij Johnson discusses her new short story collection AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER OF BEES.
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Podcast

The Art of Songwriting: Cowboy Junkies & Winterpills

Philip Price-Flora Reed
Michael Timmins

Philip Price and Flora Reed of Winterpills talk about songwriting and their new album, ALL MY LOVELY GONERS. Also Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies talks about the band’s new album, THE WILDERNESS. And Writers Voice Associate Producer Drew Adamek reviews J.G. Ballard’s KINGDOM COME and THE CYCLIST CONSPIRACY by Svestlav Basara. Continue reading

Blog

Dystopians and Iconoclasts: J.G. Ballard’s Kingdom Come and Svetislav Basara’s The Cyclist Conspiracy

by Drew Adamek

Drew Adamek

The future is bleak for the human spirit. Conspiracies abound. The systems we’ve built to save us from savagery and solipsism have led us to ruin and collective dementia. Insanity rampages; mankind’s only escape is a descent into further madness. Reality is an inescapable nightmare of boredom, madness and oppression. Such are the dystopian and esoteric worlds of J.G. Ballard’s Kingdom Come and Svetislav Basara’s The Cyclist Conspiracy, both international works of speculative fiction published this month for the first time in the United States. Continue reading

Podcast

John Kessel, BAUM PLAN FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

John Kessel
John Kessel

Host Francesca Rheannon speaks first with speculative fiction writer John Kessel, who makes thought experiments about real issues by placing them in imaginary contexts.

His latest collection, [amazon-product text=”THE BAUM PLAN FOR FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND OTHER STORIES” type=”text”]193152050X[/amazon-product], brings fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism to bear on the relations between the sexes, the conundrums of time travel, the windfalls of fortune, terrorism, and democracy.

[amazon-product align=”right”]193152050X[/amazon-product]

Kessel is the author of numerous stories, novels, and a play. He’s a frequent contributor to the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and he won the Nebula Award for his novella, Another Orphan. “Stories for Men”, which appears in his latest collection, won the 2002 James Tiptree Jr. Award. Kessel teaches writing at North Carolina State University.

You can download a copy of the book from Small Beer Press here.

Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout

Also, we talk with Elizabeth Strout about her latest novel, OLIVE KITTREDGE (archived interview).

Listen to Strout read from the book here.