dolorosa_12: (ship)
[personal profile] dolorosa_12
Various things could be considered the catalyst for this post, but the most recent was the first in a series of posts by Malinda Lo for Diversity in YA on perceptions of diversity in book reviews. In the post, Lo makes the disturbing point that a large number of reviews of diverse books criticise their diversity as 'contrived' or 'implausible'. It's clear that these reviewers need to change their default assumptions, but Lo's conclusions also speak to a wider problem: we need diverse reviews just as much as we need diverse books. Our understanding is enriched by exposure to a multiplicity of perspectives, and the work of marginalised reviewers is crucial in this.

This post, then, is intended to serve as a place for recommendations. A couple of things:

1. I'm not interested in identity-policing anyone. There's no need to argue in the comments as to whether anyone's identity is sufficiently marginalised to warrant inclusion, nor do you need to state exactly how the recommended reviewer is marginalised. Use your own judgement.

2. Self-recommendations are perfectly okay.

3. I am particularly keen to gather recommendations for reviewers writing in languages other than English, or writing in English about non-US/UK or non-Anglophone literatures. I have intermediate reading knowledge of several European languages but am essentially a monolingual English-speaker. These recs aren't for me! They're for people who are not used to seeing their languages and literatures represented in (English-language) lists of recommendations, or not used to seeing their literatures explored with any great nuance in the Anglophone world. (And this goes for any recs you might choose to post. They don't need to be accessible to me, just be important to you.)

4. No platform is too small. Feel free to recommend reviewers writing for well-known, influential sites or tiny personal blogs with small readerships. I'm attempting to gather recs that go beyond the usual suspects.

5. This is a cross-post at Livejournal and Dreamwidth, so feel free to comment at either place.

Date: 2015-02-23 11:57 am (UTC)
coalescent: (Default)
From: [personal profile] coalescent
Hi -- here via Lady Business. My recommendations:

* The Cascadia Subduction Zone as a venue. Their explicit focus is work by women, but they tend to be very diverse within that as well. An electronic (PDF) sub is $10/year, and back issues are posted on the site for free 6 months after first pub.

* CSZ reviews editor Nisi Shawl reviews for the Seattle Times, although there doesn't seem to be a good single archive page for ST contributors, so I resort to Google

* Sofia Samatar has a great blog here and contributes occasional reviews to Strange Horizons

* Aishwarya Subramanian blogs here, including mirroring her regular column from the Sunday Guardian, and is a reviews editor at SH (and occasionally reviews there as well)

* Mahvesh Murad contributes occasional reviews to Tor.com and has a great regular podcast there

* Abigail Nussbaum blogs at Asking the Wrong Questions (this post on Israeli fantasy and criticism thereof might interest you if you haven't seen it already)

* Bogi Takacs blogs here and does regular diverse story/diverse poem reviews on Twitter

* Nandini Ramachandran blogs here and publishes in various places, e.g. this SH discussion of Fire in the Unnameable Country

* Brit Mandelo reviews at Tor.com

* Also everyone in this discussion of inclusive reviewing that I haven't mentioned so far (and see this related essay by Nisi Shawl)

Date: 2015-02-23 05:24 pm (UTC)
coalescent: (Default)
From: [personal profile] coalescent
Note to self: be more obscure.

It is a great essay. I have (finally!) got hold of the issue of Paradoxa mentioned, so I can read that review of Afro SF for myself.

Date: 2015-02-23 10:05 pm (UTC)
dhampyresa: (Default)
From: [personal profile] dhampyresa
For what it's worth, I've got a tag for weekly book reviews and I identify as queer.

Edit: And the reason this post felt so familiar is tat I already commented on the LJ mirror. Sorry.
Edited Date: 2015-02-23 10:13 pm (UTC)

Date: 2015-02-25 08:43 pm (UTC)
dhampyresa: (Default)
From: [personal profile] dhampyresa
Thank you! And of course you can suscribe.

Date: 2015-02-13 03:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/
I'll put in a word for Singaporean writer Joyce Chg/J Damask. She writes Singapore-set Chinese Urban fantasy as J Damask (the Jan Xu series, which are now with Fox Spirit books in English) and YA sf as Joyce Chng.

Date: 2015-02-13 04:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dolorosa-12.livejournal.com
Thank you for your recommendation! Her books as Joyce Chng sound right up my alley.

Does she also write reviews? I think diverse books are important, but I think our experience of those books is enriched by a diverse range of responses to them, so I'm really keen to set up a space for review/reviewer recommendations.

Date: 2015-02-15 03:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dolorosa-12.livejournal.com
Well, in any case, thank you for the recommendation.

Date: 2015-02-13 04:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] helivoy.livejournal.com
My reviews tend to be non-standard (either discussing unknown/neglected/forgotten and/or non-Anglophone writers or taking a minority view). I've been doing less lately but here are links to an example from each category I just listed, so that people can decide for themselves:

Superficial Darkness and Luminous Ink (http://www.starshipreckless.com/blog/?p=7760) (Sabrina Vourvoulias and grimdark)

Space Operas and Gender Shoals (http://www.starshipreckless.com/blog/?p=8618) (works of Mixon/Locke, Slonczewski, Ross/Wheeler, Leckie)

The Unknown Archmage of Magic Realism
(http://sffportal.net/2011/08/evgenia-fakinou-the-unknown-archmage-of-magic-realism/#more-2612) (Evghenia Fakinou)
Edited Date: 2015-02-13 04:38 pm (UTC)

Date: 2015-02-13 04:51 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dolorosa-12.livejournal.com
Thank you for your reply. I've read several of your posts on women in science fiction ('Where are the wise crones...?', and the one about women in the Earthsea books), and also several giving your thoughts on non-Greek writers writing historical fiction or fantasy drawing on Greek history and mythology, and found them extraordinarily perceptive, as well as opening my eyes to perspectives I hadn't yet considered. In other words, your reviews are exactly the sort of thing I was looking for when I made this post!

Date: 2015-02-13 05:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] helivoy.livejournal.com
A lurker, eh? *smile*

More seriously, many thanks for your words and your effort!

Date: 2015-02-15 03:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dolorosa-12.livejournal.com
I might try and comment more now!

And you are very welcome. Thank you for continuing to speak, on this, and on other things.

Date: 2015-02-14 11:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dhampyresa.livejournal.com
If that counts, I do reviews of the books I read every Wednesday or thereabouts (under the tagreading wednesday (http://dhampyresa.livejournal.com/tag/reading%20wednesday)). I'm French and occasionally review French-language books.

Date: 2015-02-15 03:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dolorosa-12.livejournal.com
Excellent! Thank you for recommending your work. Reviews of non-Anglophone writing are exactly what I'm looking for here.

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