The Feminist Futures Story Bundle

Rosemary

Last month, much to my surprise, I discovered an email in my inbox from Cat Rambo, the current president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (aka SFWA), of which I am a member.

Oh, says I.  Look at that. Whatever can this mean?  SFWA business?  In arrears on my dues?  Zombie apocolypse? (Because, when that happens, you know we’ll be the first to know.)

Nope.  It turned out to be a request to participate in the Feminist Futures Story Bundle, curated by none other than Cat herself.   I replied, as quickly as possible: “Yes, please.”

Do you not know what a story bundle is?  Here’s how it works.

They take a selection of ebooks, often with a common theme, package them together, and offer them for sale… with these interesting differences:

  • You pay as much as you like (above the minimum of $5) and get four titles.
  • If you decide to pay $15 or more, you get an extra six titles.
  • You, the buyer, decide what proportion of your payment goes to the authors, and what proportion goes to keep StoryBundle.com alive.
  • You can choose to give some of the proceeds to charities that encourage young writers.
  • All the ebooks are DRM-free.

Cat pulled this collection together just in time for Woman’s History Month — and I think it rather neat to celebrate history by looking at the future — as written by women.   All these books are by women, and all of them feature women in the starring roles.

Here’s what you get for a mere $5:

That’s $1.25 apeice, folks…

And if you decide to pay $15 or more, you also get these:

I am a bonus.

Personally, I’m especially looking forward to reading Vonda McIntyre’s Starfarer’s Quartet Omnibus which, I must point out, is actually four books in one.  So really, for $15 you’d get the equivalent of thirteen books.

And you can, if you wish, pay more than $15… which does mean more for the authors.  At a proportion that you choose yourself.

Really, it’s a neat concept.

Here’s what Cat Rambo herself has to say about the bundle.

And yes, you probably already have The Steerswoman.  Possibly in more than one format.  I suspect this, because you’re here!  You must have read something by me.

But here’s a chance to try some new books, new female authors, some of whom you may come to love.

Nervous about taking a chance?  Fortunately, you can check out excerpts from each of these.  Just go to the StoryBundle website. click on any cover, and read the sample.

I think this is amazing fun, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.   You should check it out. The Feminist Futures StoryBundle is only available until March 29th.

(StoryBundle is also currently running a bundle of Sorcery & Steam ebooks, curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch,  and a variety pack of Young Adult novels, curated by Nick Harlow. Those are ending sooner — March 14, I believe.)

And that’s what I’ve been doing for the last week  — because although I heard about it last month, it wasn’t until last Tuesday that I learned exactly what I had to provide (epub version, mobi version, both with covers attached, a separate cover image, blurbs, exerpts, etc) and I had to hand it all in by the Friday.  Much dashing about ensued.

That done, I shall go back to what I was doing: cooling off from the heated production of the paperback steerswoman books, updating my website links (all out of date, now that the paperbacks exist), cogitating deeply, and writing.

Also, playing some guitar.  Just because.


9 Responses to “The Feminist Futures Story Bundle”

  • Lindig Says:

    Wow! This sounds fantastic! If only I did e-books. Wait, I’ll go find out if I can get this downloaded to my iTunes in some fashion. If so, I’ll definitely get this bundle. And congrats on being chosen (but of course you were).

    • Rosemary Says:

      You should be able to look at it on any computer. If you have iTunes, and you’re on a Mac or iPad, you probably have (or can get for free) iBooks, or even the Kindle app for Mac. If you want to do Windows, you can download a free Kindle app for Windows from Amazon.

  • David Tate Says:

    As it happens, I just re-read the Kristine Smith “Jani Kilian” books recently. Every bit as good as I remembered.

    I know it’s unfair of me, but are there any others of the Bundle that you are especially fond of, or wish to recommend?

    • Rosemary Kirstein Says:

      David — Alas, I can’t specifically recommend, because I’ve only actually read one of these books: To Shape the Dark, edited by Athena Andreadis. This is actually a collection of stories by persons other than Athena herself. Some of them I quite liked, some didn’t grab me at all…

      But the one I’m most looking forward to reading is Vonda McIntyre’s Starfarers. McIntyre is a multiple award winner (Dreamsnake is her best known work), and the Starfarers series got this cool review: “With this third novel, Starfarers clearly becomes the most important series in science fiction. The rich cast of characters and their fascinating psychological interplay, the fast dramatic pace, the wit and brilliance of both scientific and social imagination, and the sheer beauty of the invention — wait till you meet the squidmoth! — make Metaphase the most exciting and satisfying science fiction I have read this year.”
      – Ursula K. Le Guin

      Hey, it’s LeGuin! Worth a shot.

    • Ben Says:

      Same one for me. Don’t really remember it being particularly feminist either.

      Seems more like a “female-written-female-lead” collection to me. Which, fair enough, isn’t such a catchy name. But still …

      • Rosemary Kirstein Says:

        Ben —

        Ah, you must be younger than I… because for a long time, merely being a woman writing science fiction was itself a feminist act. And having a protagonist who is female, without the story being all about loooove? Wow — even more feminist!

  • Rosemary Kirstein Says:

    Also, don’t forget that the Storybundle website lets you read samples of each book, by clicking on the image: https://storybundle.com/scifi

  • Athena Andreadis Says:

    Rosemary, thank you for highlighting To Shape the Dark! As to people who think “it’s not particularly feminist”: having as protagonists women scientists focused on their science for fundmental intrinsic reasons, rather than as a frustrated motherhood substitute, and doing so while remaining fully functioning social beings, is still (unfortunately) radical in SF.

  • Athena Andreadis Says:

    P. S. To Shape the Dark also highlights old(er) women who are powerful, respected and heeded, another gaping hole in science fiction. More on this & related matters in genre and beyond at http://www.starshipreckless.com/blog/?p=8714