Shawna McCarthy
Q-1.
Do you think a certain generation gap really exists, or, if not exactly a gap, do you feel some kind of distance between veterans who started their careers before 1960s and the younger generation Y in our genre, at least?
A-1.
I don't know if there's a personal gap--people do tend to hang around with people their own age, but as far as a writing gap, I don't see it. I see fiction from people at all stages in their careers and a good story is a good story, talent is talent, and I never knew anyone to consciously say, "I'm not reading anything by xxx--she's too old/he's too young."
Q-2.
Do you think the general atmosphere for the genre is less passionate now than, say, thirty years ago? I know there are fewer voters for the Hugo, and even those voters usually vote for their favorite works now, rather than the ones we can boast about as the representative masterpieces of the genre that particular year, as cornerstones of SF history.
A-2.
I definitely do--in the 80s, we still had hope that SF could "crossover" and become an important literary field, and much of what we wrote and published was aimed towards that end. We all took ourselves terribly seriously then. Certainly there are still writers who take the field seriously, but I think that "important" SF has become a niche genre, like indie films or music. OTOH, this may well be a function of age--since I hang out with people my own age, we've gotten jaded and embittered, and we tend to reinforce this in each other, I think. It's possible, and I hope, probable, that the newer generation has a much hope and dedication invested in the field as we did when we were their age.
Q-3.
Has fandom changed? Or is it writers who have changed? What are the things that concern them most? They used to be the moon, rockets, a-bombs, wars, urbanization, etc.
A-3.
I don't know if fandom has changed--I've never really been involved in that scene. I do think the writers and their topics have had to change--what passed as SF 20 years ago is daily life today, and in order to write something truly innovative and groundbreaking, SF writers have had to embark on ever more obscure and abstruse journeys, making their fiction less and less accessible to the average reader.
Q-4.
What do you think about the current state of SF? How do you like recent works by the newer generation of writers? Who is your favorite among them, or writers to watch? Can you recommend them to your personal friends who have never read our genre?
A-4.
I don't read a lot of SF for fun anymore--I have to read so much for my job and my magazine that for fun I tend to read mysteries. I've published almost all of the newer generation in my magazine (some of them made their first sales with me) so I watch their careers with pleasure. I will say that I'm very fond of Christopher Barzak, Jay Lake and Ken Scholes's work.
Q-5.
Which of your works would you like to be read by Japanese readers?
A-5.
n/a, though I'll give a shout out to my husband's novel, God's Demon, by Wayne Barlowe. That one should definitely be available in Japan!
Q-6.
What is your current work? Your next project?
A-6.
I'm pleased to say that Realms of Fantasy has been saved by a new publisher, Warren Lapine, and we plan to start publishing again with the July 2009 issue!
