In conversation with Award-winning SFF author Fran Wilde about representation of disability in fiction.
Award-winning author Fran Wilde takes us through a journey of her works and inspiration. We discuss themes of representation in speculative fiction, and Fran comments on the inclusion of disability in her stories. The episode ends with a contemplation on the scope of SFF and acknowledgement of discriminatory troupes in depiction of disabled characters in fiction.
About the Guest:
Fran Wilde's acclaimed short stories have appeared in Asimov's, Nature, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Aside from her writing career, she has worked as a science and engineering writer, as a programmer and game developer, as a sailing assistant, and as a jeweler's assistant. Her first novel, the high-flying fantasy Updraft, was published by Tor in 2015, and won a Nebula and Compton Crook Award. Cloudbound and Horizon—the companion novels to Updraft—completed the trilogy in 2017. All are set in the Bone Universe. Her debut Middle Grade novel, Riverland, won the 2019 Nebula, was named an NPR Best Book of 2019.
Her novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, three Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. Her latest The Ship of Stolen Words was published in June 2021.
This series is hosted by Yoshita Srivastava, literature collective associate at Belongg. She believes inclusive representation is essential for a better future — empathy being key in dismantling prejudice. She is interested in exploring intersections of gender, sexuality, identity and culture studies, and has previously worked at media and social sector organizations.