Charlie Jane Anders is an American author and blogger. Her science-fiction stories have been published by Tor.com, Strange Horizons and Flurb, among others.
Her 2011 novelette Six Months, Three Days won the 2012 Hugo and was nominated for the Nebula and Theodore Sturgeon Awards. Her YA novel Choir Boy won a Lambda Literary Award in 2005 and was a finalist for the Edmund White Award. Shes also the co-editor of Shes Such A Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology And Other Nerdy Stuff.
She published the indy mag other magazine and organizes the award-winning Writers With Drinks reading series.
Her writing has appeared in McSweeneys.net, Pindeldyboz, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Paraspheres: New Wave Fabulist Fiction, Strange Horizons, ZYZZYVA, Space & Time, and other publications.
She lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where she is the managing editor of the science fiction website io9. Her partner Annalee Newitz is the editor-in-chief of io9.
She self-identifies as a trans woman and genderqueer and co-organized the Cross-Gender Caravan, a national transgender and genderqueer author tour.
The Mimicking of Known Successes (2023) (Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti, book 1) Malka Older "Every once in a while, a book comes along that is both a comfort read and a rousing, fist-pumping adventure, and The Mimicking of Known Successes absolutely is both of those things. An utter triumph."
The Dog of the North (2023) Elizabeth McKenzie "Elizabeth McKenzie has a unique gift for turning the messiness of families and their unfinished business into poignant comedy. You will fall in love with this extended clan of misfits, even after they break your heart."
Night Shift (2022) (Outspoken Authors, book 29) Eileen Gunn "Plenty of science fiction and fantasy authors do 'thought experiments' but few of them disregard experimental safety protocols with quit as much gleeful abandon as Eileen Gunn."
The Bruising of Qilwa (2022) Naseem Jamnia "I loved this gorgeous book about blood magic, chosen family and refugees in a hostile city. Naseem Jamnia has created a rich, complex world."
Wrath Goddess Sing (2022) Maya Deane "This is a beautiful, bloody, glorious, revelation of a book... the mold-breaking trans epic I didn't even know I was craving."
Dead Collections (2022) Isaac Fellman "This book kept delighting and astonishing me with little insights and conversations that felt like I was eavesdropping on people I desperately wanted to be friends with. Utterly refreshing and thrilling. Dead Collections is a marvel that left me feeling as if miracles might lurk behind every doorway and inside every old box of papers."
The House of Rust (2021) Khadija Abdalla Bajaber "The House of Rust is a gorgeous coming-of-age story, and I'm going to be obsessing about it for quite some time. . . . I wanted to lose myself forever in the dark spaces of Khadija Abdalla Bajaber's prose."
Destroyer of Light (2021) Jennifer Marie Brissett "An intricate family saga an edge-of-your seat thriller, and an incredible story of transformation...Mind-blowing."
Light From Uncommon Stars (2021) Ryka Aoki "A beautiful story of friendship and love . . . incredibly soothing and kind and sweet and delightful. I fell in love with these characters and did not even realize how desperately I needed this story right now."
Monkey Around (2021) Jadie Jang "I can't help being obsessed with the beautifully complex world of shapeshifters and magic that Jadie Jang has created. Monkey Around thrilled me and kept me turning pages, but also left me convinced that if I just looked carefully enough, I would see ancient secrets lurking around every corner in the city. Most books are lucky to have either a fascinating world or unforgettable characters, but Monkey Around has both, in spades."
Sorrowland (2021) Rivers Solomon "Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon contains so much wisdom and insight, wrapped in an abundance of passion and fury and tenderness. This is the first book I've read in ages that I'm certain I will come back to again and again, because there are rich gorgeous passages that I already know will mean more to me on subsequent readings. There is so much going on in this book, too: the spectre of what happens when rebellion is co-opted, our longstanding practice of using Black bodies for cruel and unethical experiments, the audacity of queer love. The arc of this book takes Vern and her babies away from civilization and then back to it - but they return changed, and they change everyone else, and this book restored my faith in our potential to transform just when I needed it most."
The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea (2020) (Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, book 1) Maggie Tokuda-Hall "The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea will take you on the journey of a lifetime. Maggie Tokuda-Hall has created characters I've never seen before, then put them in an adventure that feels more real than real life and twice as unpredictable. I wanted to live in the world of this book forever, and I can't stop obsessing about the rich tapestry of pirates, mermaids, witches, and conniving nobles who inhabit it. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea might just remind you of why you fell in love with adventure in the first place and change how you think about the genre forever. I envy anyone who's getting to experience this incredible book for the first time."
Chosen Ones (2020) (Chosen Ones , book 1) Veronica Roth "Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth is the cure for all those humdrum 'one true savior' narratives. This dark, complex novel rocked my heart and left me with a renewed sense that saving the world is a job that never ends. Roth's version of magic is as flawed and fascinating as her characters, and her story keeps you guessing until the wild conclusion. You'll never look at fantasy heroes the same way again."
A Song for a New Day (2019) Sarah Pinsker "You'd better keep a copy of A Song for a New Day with you at all times, because this book will help you survive the future. Sarah Pinsker has written a wonderful epic about music, community, and rediscovering the things that make us human. Pinsker has an amazing ear for dialogue, a brilliant knack for describing music, and most importantly a profound awareness of silence, in both its positive and negative aspects. A Song for a New Day restored some of my faith in community, and I didn't even realize how much I needed this book right now."
Waste Tide (2019) Chen Qiufan "Startlingly new... the futuristic vision that everybody needs right now."
Other Words for Smoke (2019) Sarah Maria Griffin "A fascinating coming-of-age story...Griffin has a keen eye for the beautiful agony of adolescence, and that’s what makes this book such a compelling read."
Miranda in Milan (2019) Katharine Duckett "Miranda in Milan is a wondrous tale that turns Shakepeare's world sideways, to reveal everything he left out -- and to show us that the greatest magic comes from claiming your freedom."
A Memory Called Empire (2019) (Teixcalaan, book 1) Arkady Martine "In A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine smuggles you into her interstellar diplomatic pouch, and takes you on the most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love: identity crises, unlikely romance, complicated politics, and cunning adventurers. Super-fun, and ultra-fascinating."
Worlds Seen in Passing (2018) Irene Gallo "A fresh new story going up at Tor.com is always an Event."
Annex (2018) (Violet Wars, book 1) Rich Larson "Rich Larson has an amazing knack for capturing the lonesomeness of growing up, and how much random cruelty and steadfast companionship there is in childhood. Not to mention, just how alien and scary families can be."
The Merry Spinster (2018) Daniel M Lavery and Mallory Ortberg "Mallory Ortberg has a voracious appetite for poison apples, and a genius for finding the places in fairyland where all the bodies are buried. The Merry Spinster will ruin your most-loved fables, in the best possible way."
Girls Burn Brighter (2018) Shobha Rao "Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao blew my heart up. Heart-shards everywhere. I am in awe of the warmth and humanity in this book, even as it explores some incredibly dark places. I'm going to be thinking about Girls Burn Brighter for a while, and you're going to be hearing a lot about it."
Taste of Marrow (2017) (River of Teeth, book 2) Sarah Gailey "This hippopotamus epic is just as preposterously fun as you could possibly have hoped -- but it's also a brave, clever alternate history."
Spoonbenders (2017) Daryl Gregory "A joyfully weird book about psychics and con artists, and the marvels that result from the intermarriage of the two."
The Goblin Crown (2016) (Billy Smith and the Goblins, book 1) Robert Hewitt Wolfe "The Goblin Crown is the smart, morally complex version of the heroic coming-of-age story that you've been waiting for."
A Taste of Honey (2016) (Sorcerer of the Wildeeps) Kai Ashante Wilson "It's great to see a new story that shows that fantasy still has some really fascinating places to go."
vN (2012) (Machine Dynasty, book 1) Madeline Ashby "If you have been missing the kind of thought-provoking-yet-exciting stories about artificial creatures that only come along once in a while, vN is well worth grabbing. It's disturbing and sometimes upsetting — but the ending is a giant insane weird thrill that makes the whole thing pay off."
