Welcome back to our annual round-up of some of our favorite essays and articles from the past year! Today, we’ll be highlighting pieces focused on reading, writing, storytelling, and all things book-related—very soon, we’ll be publishing a separate list of articles discussing TV, movies, and other media, so keep an eye out for that…
In addition to these standalone essays, we’re also incredibly proud of our lineup of regular columns, along with the amazing array of fiction recommendations and discussion provided by our many wonderful contributors. This year we reached the end of Sam Reader’s Dissecting The Dark Descent series, which explored a classic anthology of horror fiction, and launched two new columns: Horror Highlights, in which Emily Hughes shines a spotlight on exciting new horror fiction each month, and Romantasy Report, Natalie Zutter’s rundown of new and upcoming romantasy titles. We’ve also been excited to launch Ruthanna Emrys’ brilliant biweekly Seeds of Story column, in which she explores works of non-fiction and how they might inspire speculative ideas and potential stories—you can read some highlights from that column below! Also featured below are the first four installments of our new Hidden Gems Book Club, which sees guest authors advocating for speculative works that deserve to be discussed and appreciated by a wider audience.
We hope that you enjoy the articles we’ve included below, but of course, we can’t possibly include all of our favorites in just one list, so please chime in and tell us about the articles, columns, and discussions that have stuck with you this year…
Examining Trends in Contemporary SFF
The Necessary Sex Scene: Intimacy as Craft in N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season
by Tiffany Fritz
June 25, 2025
Tiffany Fritz on the “plot relevance” of sex scenes in contemporary SFF: “because the sordid details of the sex scenes in The Fifth Season do not directly impact its plot, Jemisin’s celebrated novel provides a master-class in how explicit sex scenes can benefit SFF stories.”
The Problem With Trad Pub Fanfic
by Jenny Hamilton
September 23, 2025
Jenny Hamilton looks closer at three recent fanfics-turned-novels: “It turns out that when you extract fanfic from the spaces and communities that made it special, it stops being special.”
Everyone’s in Love, but Nobody’s Horny
by C.L. Clark
September 30, 2025
C.L. Clark discusses writing sex, desire, and queerness in Nicola Griffith’s Ammonite: “When you introduce desire, you introduce something that may be thwarted—or something that you will have to work for, strive for, maybe even change for.”
Medieval Revival, Romance, and Resistance
by Maddie Martinez
October 20, 2025
Maddie Martinez discusses the growing trend of Lady Knights and Golems: “Knights and Golems are both painted as protectors, but feared as weapons. They are loyal to a cause—and to a fault—and have become mythologizations that we still share stories of today.”
Tender Is the Flesh-Eating: The Literary Cannibal as Exploitation and Desire
by Wen-yi Lee
November 11, 2025
It’s chic, it’s tasteful, and it’s dominating the literary landscape. Readers are hungry, so let’s examine cannibalism’s relationship to revenge, exploitation, and desire…
Author Insights
How Chronic Pain Made Me a Better Writer
by Nicole Jarvis
May 6, 2025
“When each sentence was part of an hourglass that trickled away my endurance, I learned to work deliberately and thoroughly.”
Seventeen Authors, Two Big Questions: What Is Your Favorite SFF Trope, and What Trope Needs To Be Reimagined?
by Christina Orlando
August 12, 2025
Some of the biggest names in SFF weigh in on the genre tropes we love (and love to hate).
Chuck Tingle Chats About Bi-Erasure, Andy Kaufman, and His New Novel
by Leah Schnelbach
August 14, 2025
A free-wheeling conversation with author Chuck Tingle, as he discusses his unique approach to writing horror: “In horror, you’re tapping into such brutal things. You’re proving love through some really dark stuff.”
Asking Questions and Finding New Perspectives on SFF
Exploring the Consequences of Magic in Modern Fantasy
by Kristen Patterson
February 19, 2025
What happens when magic is misused, or has unintended repercussions? Kristen Patterson explores the different ways contemporary fantasy authors not only define their magic systems, but the consequences of its very existence.
How Does Science Fiction Help Us Prepare for the Future?
by Ruthanna Emrys
April 8, 2025
Let’s talk about preparing, not predicting — and grappling with uncertainty.
Teatime in Space: Culture and Colonialism in SFF
by Olivia Waite
April 22, 2025
“Tea is a history, a context, an experience as well as a beverage. Tea means things. ” Olivia Waite examines two very different corners of the science fiction universe, linked by a love of tea…
To New Beginnings: Growing Past Percy Jackson
by AM Gelberg
On aging past our childhood heroes, and leaving room for the next generation of fans.
Revisting Classic Works
What I Can Learn From Rand al’Thor’s Mental Health Journey
by Sylas K. Barrett
June 10, 2025
Accepting you cannot control every outcome of your choices is hard — for Rand, and for everyone…
An Anti-Hero Predicts the Future in Graham Greene’s Classic Brighton Rock
by Zack Budryk
June 17, 2025
Heaven was a word — Hell was something he could trust.
The Ambiguous Realism of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Lost Trilogy
by Peter Milne Greiner
July 16, 2025
It’s time to reconsider one of Le Guin’s most vitally important works.
Exploring Gender and Trans Identity in the Worlds of C.J. Cherryh
by Gwen C. Katz
September 16, 2025
The Chanur series poses key questions about gender roles, expression, and identity.
Stanislaw Lem’s Greatest Character: An Introduction to Ijon Tichy
by Alex Przybyla
October 2, 2025
A lovable, honest bumbler, Tichy’s not your typical hero…
Revisiting Patricia McKillip’s Timely, Timeless Fantasy
by Alex Dueben
November 5, 2025
A short tribute to the work of one of SFF’s greatest writers and storytellers.
Selections from Ruthanna Emrys’ Seeds of Story Column
Underground Brains and Talking Trees: Exploring the Mysteries of Fungi in Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life
August 12, 2025
A fascinating, mind-altering journey into the world of mushrooms and mycology.
The Perils of Learning Alien Languages: The Sapir-Whorf Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
September 9, 2025
Thinking about how language shapes the way we think, from Newspeak to texting and the Internet.
Radioactive Wastelands and Also Legal Wrangling: Kelly and Zach Weinersmith’s A City on Mars
October 7, 2025
Real talk about how we can settle space — and if it’s really a good idea.
There Is No “Now”: Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time
November 18, 2025
Are you ready to rethink everything you know about time?
Selections from Molly Templeton’s Mark as Read Column
Trying and Failing to Figure Out “Escapism” in Books
January 9, 2025
What is escapist lit? Every answer I’ve read is incomplete, because it’s not one thing. It’s not a kind of book, I think, but a kind of reading…
Tell Me a Differently Shaped Story: SFF That Plays With Form
March 13, 2025
I love a novel that plays with form. And I’ve come to think that maybe form is one of the keys that can unlock a reading slump…
It’s Okay to Know Where the Story Is Going
May 8, 2025
It’s a cliche and a truth to say that the journey matters more than the destination…
(It’s Not) The Death of Criticism (Again)
September 11, 2025
Every old argument is new again — but it is sometimes necessary to reconsider the hows and whys of criticism.
Selections from the Hidden Gems Book Club
The Merry Spinster and the Art of Falling Between Two Stools
by Isaac Fellman
June 4, 2025
Revisiting Daniel M. Lavery’s surreal take on fairy tales: “These stories center on prosaic fears—being lied to about your own motivations, being the only one in the room who’s missing the obvious, failing as a partner, being surveilled—which blend with supernatural events. They wrong-foot the reader by simply being alarming in a realist way when you expect the fantastical, or vice versa.”
Rediscovering a Radical Piece of Early Science Fiction
by Ilana Masad
September 25, 2025
Ilana Masad explores a feminist, queer, trans, anti-colonial work of sci-fi from 1929: “Out of the Void is arguably one of the most radical pieces of early sci-fi in existence, including as it does a gender transition, a successful uprising of enslaved people, and a reclamation of colonized land.”
Style as Storytelling in Jackie Ryan’s Burger Force
by Kathleen Jennings
September 29, 2025
Kathleen Jennings on the gleeful aesthetic and storytelling style of Ryan’s comic series: “Bold style can get you 90% of the way through a story. Take a wild story voice, an overwhelming aesthetic, a visual composition reminiscent of an aria, or an incredible musical motif…”
Mary Doria Russell’s Children of God Is a Perfect Sequel
by Cadwell Turnbull
November 12, 2025
Cadwell Turnbull on the triumph and tragedy of Mary Doria Russell’s first contact novel and its remarkable sequel: “If The Sparrow shows the tragedy, Children of God inspects it from every angle, showing how each character, and each world respond to this tragedy.”
That’s all for now, but be sure to keep an eye out for the second half of our 2025 highlights, where we’ll be talking all about old and new movies, TV series, and various other aspects of pop culture and media. In the meantime, if you’re feeling nostalgic, you can always check out our “Some of the Best…” article round-ups from previous years. Happy reading!
