Charlie Jane Anders

Charlie Jane Anders is an American writer specializing in speculative fiction, known for her contributions to science fiction and fantasy literature. Her novel "All the Birds in the Sky" was ranked No. 5 on Time magazine's list of the 10 best novels of the year and won the Nebula, Locus, and Crawford awards. Anders's first novel, "Choir Boy," won a Lambda Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Edmund White First Novel Award.

Anders was a founding editor of io9.com, a blog focused on science fiction and futurism, and later became its editor in chief. She also co-founded Other magazine, a publication covering pop culture and politics. After leaving io9 to focus on fiction, Anders published "The City in the Middle of the Night," which won the Locus Award for Best SF Novel and was named one of the year's best books by The Guardian, Den of Geek, Polygon, and Autostraddle. Her novels have received critical recognition and major literary awards, including the Nebula Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. All three novels in her young adult trilogy "Unstoppable" won the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book and were shortlisted for the Lodestar Award.

Anders's writing advice book, "Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories," won the Hugo Award for Best Related Work. She co-created the Marvel Comics character Shela Sexton, also known as Escapade, a trans mutant superhero who debuted in Marvel's Voices: Pride No. 1. Anders has written for IDW Comics, including the "Star Trek: Zero Point" comic series. Her adult novel, "Lessons in Magic and Disaster," explores the story of a young witch teaching her mother magic.

Anders's fiction has received numerous literary honors, including the Crawford Award, Hugo Award, Lambda Literary Award, Locus Award, Nebula Award, and Theodore Sturgeon Award. Her TED Talk, "Go Ahead, Dream About the Future," has been viewed more than three million times. With co-host Annalee Newitz, Anders launched the podcast "Our Opinions Are Correct," which examines the relevance of science fiction to real-life science and society; the podcast won the Hugo Award for Best Fancast multiple times. She also served as the monthly science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for the Washington Post.

As a trans woman and advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in literature, Anders has spoken about the importance of storytelling to her identity and experience. She emcees Writers with Drinks, a San Francisco-based monthly reading series featuring authors from diverse genres. Anders's work spans novels, comics, podcasts, and live events, contributing to ongoing conversations in speculative fiction, LGBTQ+ literature, and pop culture.