Where's the next generation of women writers?

[Landru1000]

I've been reading Trek books since the '80s and it's interesting to see how the book line has shifted from being largely driven by women (Vonda McIntyre, A.C. Crispin, Diane Duane, Diane Carey, J.M. Dillard, Margaret Wander Bonanno, et al.) to being written almost exclusively by men (David R. George III, David Mack, Greg Cox, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, et al.) I know there are exceptions, like the Voyager novels and Una McCormack's work.

Don't get me wrong: I like the work the guys are doing these days. I'd just like to hear from some newer women writers as well. I'm a TOS fan in particular, and I wonder if the perception of that series has changed over time. In the '60s-'80s it had such a strong female fan base; maybe today that series seems too testosterone-laden for younger women writers to be interested in it. Any thoughts?

 

[Kilana2]

I'd like to read Star Trek novels by Britta Dennison and S.D. Perry again. Obviously there is no further Trek work planned, but I loved their DS9 novels and S.D.Perry's TOS - Inception. So I would appreciate another TOS novel written by a female writer.

 

[Paris]

^I'm with you. More S.D. Perry would be nice. Loved her DS9 work. I also liked Inception with Britta Dennison, but that was a few years ago at this point...

 

[Mysterion]

Would've really liked to have seen a DSN novel by Diane Duane. Guessing she might have had an interesting take on the setting, especially Bajoran religion/culture.

 

[Jarvisimo]

In addition to S.D. Perry, I also really liked Heather Jarman's Andor novella - I wish she too was still writing.

 

[Thrawn]

Yeah, Heather Jarman should be a fixture.

 

[bbailey861]

What a great thread and a very interesting question. I'd also love to see S.D. Perry write more Trek, too.

 

[zarkon]

Heather Jarman's andor novel started all that repro crisis guff didn't it? Would as soon as not have her back. Didn't think much of S. D. Perry's DS9 stuff either. If we're having someone return Diane Duane would be far preferable for me.

As for new female authors, bring it on.

 

[Idran]

Heather Jarman's andor novel started all that repro crisis guff didn't it?

No; I don't remember if it was mentioned before Mission Gamma, but it was definitely in that series long before it was in Paradigm.

 

[Jarvisimo]

Yeah the Reproduction crisis first comes up in Avatar, I think. But anyway the plotting also lay with Marco Palmieri, who was 'showrunner' if not writer in a way. Check out DRG's introduction to the omnibus on Googlebooks.

Enter Marco Palmieri. Some readers may be familiar with Marco because they've occasionally seen his name on the cover of a Star Trek book, or because they've read his posts on the Internet[...]. I suspect, though, that many readers may not know who Marco is or what he does. As an editor at Pocket Books, as part S&S, he shares the responsibility for managing the Trek publishing line. Marco hires writers, approves and edits stories, and helps mold the overall direction of the books.

 

[RoJoHen]

I had no idea S.D. Perry was a woman. I mean, "S" isn't really a name.

Isn't that the author that wrote "Sarek," aka the only Star Trek book that has ever made me cry?

 

[Stevil2001]

Hm, this is an interesting transformation. I feel like I need to make some graphs...

 

[zarkon]

Heather Jarman's andor novel started all that repro crisis guff didn't it?

No; I don't remember if it was mentioned before Mission Gamma, but it was definitely in that series long before it was in Paradigm.

Yeah the Reproduction crisis first comes up in Avatar, I think. But anyway the plotting also lay with Marco Palmieri, who was 'showrunner' if not writer in a way. Check out DRG's introduction to the omnibus on Googlebooks.

Enter Marco Palmieri. Some readers may be familiar with Marco because they've occasionally seen his name on the cover of a Star Trek book, or because they've read his posts on the Internet[...]. I suspect, though, that many readers may not know who Marco is or what he does. As an editor at Pocket Books, as part S&S, he shares the responsibility for managing the Trek publishing line. Marco hires writers, approves and edits stories, and helps mold the overall direction of the books.

Sorry, I meant "This Gray Spirit", I think that was the horrible one with the bond mates turning up and shar being guilted and all that?

But fair dues if I should be blaming Marco for the genesis of the thirteen year andor saga lol

I had no idea S.D. Perry was a woman. I mean, "S" isn't really a name.

Isn't that the author that wrote "Sarek," aka the only Star Trek book that has ever made me cry?

Nah, that was the late, great Ann C Crispin.

 

[Christopher]

I had no idea S.D. Perry was a woman. I mean, "S" isn't really a name.

There's a long tradition of female writers going by their initials (e.g. C. L. Moore, D.C. Fontana, A.C. Crispin, J. M. Dillard) as a defense against industry sexism, to conceal their gender in times when women struggled for equal opportunity. So when I see a writer using initials like that, I tend to assume it's a woman, even though, by now, the reasons for the practice should hopefully no longer exist.

 

[Greg Cox]

I had no idea S.D. Perry was a woman. I mean, "S" isn't really a name.

There's a long tradition of female writers going by their initials (e.g. C. L. Moore, D.C. Fontana, A.C. Crispin, J. M. Dillard) as a defense against industry sexism, to conceal their gender in times when women struggled for equal opportunity. So when I see a writer using initials like that, I tend to assume it's a woman, even though, by now, the reasons for the practice should hopefully no longer exist.

J.K. Rowling?

 

[Idran]

I had no idea S.D. Perry was a woman. I mean, "S" isn't really a name.

There's a long tradition of female writers going by their initials (e.g. C. L. Moore, D.C. Fontana, A.C. Crispin, J. M. Dillard) as a defense against industry sexism, to conceal their gender in times when women struggled for equal opportunity. So when I see a writer using initials like that, I tend to assume it's a woman, even though, by now, the reasons for the practice should hopefully no longer exist.

J.K. Rowling?

Yeah, definitely. That was even on special request by her publisher, since young boys tend not to read YA fiction by women in as high of numbers even when they're the target audience for the book.

 

[Kilana2]

Contrary to other people's opinion I liked all the Cristie Golden novels.

Vulcan's Heart and Vulcan's Forge by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz (hopefully not misspelled) were really a highlight, much better than their contribution to the Tales of the Dominion War.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, definitely. That was even on special request by her publisher, since young boys tend not to read YA fiction by women in as high of numbers even when they're the target audience for the book.

That's sad, that such attitudes still exist.

I have to wonder, though -- is that really the case, or is it just an artificial rule that marketers assume to be the case? In the toy industry, there's this long-standing prejudice that girls aren't interested in action toys and that boys won't buy female action figures, but if you talk to actual kids, you find it isn't true -- it's a myth that the marketers created and imposed on the industry, often to the frustration of the actual children who'd welcome more flexibility.

 

[Greg Cox]

Contrary to other people's opinion I liked all the Cristie Golden novels.

Vulcan's Heart and Vulcan's Forge by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz (hopefully not misspelled) were really a highlight, much better than their contribution to the Tales of the Dominion War.

No, you got Shwartz right. Congratulations. That gets misspelled a lot.

Back in the day, at Tor Books, I fought a never-ending battle to make sure certain authors' names were spelled right. Tony Daniel, not "Daniels," Susan Shwartz, not "Schwartz," Rosemary Edghill, not "Edgehill," etc.

It could be a struggle sometimes.

 

[Kilana2]

No, you got Shwartz right. Congratulations. That gets misspelled a lot.

Back in the day, at Tor Books, I fought a never-ending battle to make sure certain authors' names were spelled right. Tony Daniel, not "Daniels," Susan Shwartz, not "Shwartz," Rosemary Edghill, not "Edgehill," etc.

It could be a struggle sometimes.

You mean Schwartz or Shwarz or Schwarz instead of Shwartz, that's how I would misspell it as a German. Just to add to the confusion .

I could have looked it up, but was too lazy. I loved this novels and should know the author's names. Tony Daniel is the one I keep on looking up just in case to avoid the wrong additional s.