Breaking the Glass Slipper

Coming of age stories have long been a staple within speculative fiction genres, but in the last decade, we have seen an explosion of popularity in what publishers and booksellers refer to as YA – young adult – literature. And within that bracket, nothing is more popular than dystopian YA. We live in an increasingly […] The post Power and agency in dystopian YA with Melissa Welliver first ap...

Recently, a number of prominent television and film creators, as well as authors, have either been outed for bad behaviour or made hateful public statements. Anyone who is a regular listener will know that we often refer to Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And they are not the only texts we mention that […] The post Reconciling our love of works by problematic creators first appear...

The history of humanity is arguably the history of us trying to explain everything around us. Both science and religion have developed as divergent threads of this goal, inextricably linked but often at odds with one another. Science fiction and cosmic horror also like to explore similar issues, so it feels natural that we are […] The post The mash-up: science fiction and cosmic horror with...

We talk about unequal societies a lot on this show, about privilege and power and who is in a position to use it. We wanted to take a critical look at a subgenre that maybe best reflects the democratic, bureaucratic society that many of us experience every day. Some of our favourite books fall under […] The post Political fantasy with Katherine Addison first appeared on Breaking the Glass Sl...

Technological advances are incredible. Just think, the phone in your pocket is infinitely more powerful than the computers that sent the first spaceships to the moon! Technology has given us basic things we take for granted like running water and electricity, to more modern inventions such as the internet, surgical robots, and automated vacuum cleaners. […] The post Technology and the fear o...

Love can raise us up. Love can tear us down. It can be our strength, our weakness, and everything in between. And inevitably, love makes fools of us all. While we all enjoy reading a good romance, a love story is rarely just a love story. It has so many other uses within a narrative. […] The post The power of love with Tasha Suri first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .

95 years after it was first published, the copyright on The Great Gatsby has expired. This great American novel has sold over 25 million copies since it was first published, despite initially disappointing sales. It is hard to believe now, with its cultural pervasiveness, that F Scott Fitzgerald died thinking he was a failure, that his works […] The post Tackling the classics – with Nghi Vo...

We actually recorded this episode WAY back in January, just after Biden’s inauguration in the US. So, naturally, there is a bit of politics in this one given how wrapped up we all were in what was going on… you’ve been warned! An eye for an eye. You hurt me, I’ll hurt you right back. Not […] The post Revenge with Marjorie Liu first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slippe...

The frontier. The edge of civilisation. So far from the central government that laws are more like ‘guidelines’. Where the sheriffs are crooked and the criminals ruthless; trains rarely go un-sacked and the cattle drive never goes to plan. Oh, and don’t forget the drought. Life on the frontier is never easy. But what about […] The post Moving the frontier – with Stark Holbo...

Our identity is who we are. But for such a seemingly simple concept, our identities are extremely complex. We aren’t the only ones who decide our identities. Society places labels on us that we often don’t feel represents who we are, or worse, forces us into very narrow roles from which we feel we are […] The post Chosen Identities – with Charlie Jane Anders first appeared on Breaking...

The basic principles of writing a book are simple – come up with an idea, write it. Of course, it isn’t really that simple, it is a lot of hard work, but that’s about the size of it, right? Well, not always. What happens if you are asked to write for a hugely popular franchise? […] The post Franchise writing with Una McCormack first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .

Why do we need monsters in our fiction? Why do we want to be frightened? When they pick up a book, do readers enter into a pact with a writer, as Catriona Ward describes: a pact that says I share your fear, let’s face it together? We asked Catriona about the nature of fear, whether […] The post Making the ordinary monstrous with Catriona Ward first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slippe...

When you look, communities are everywhere. They can be the people where you live, the people who share the same interest as you, the people you volunteer with. They can be as small as a household or as big as a city. Communities, societies, political and religious beliefs all intertwine so that sometimes it’s impossible […] The post Communities with Caroline Hardaker and Gabriela Houston fir...

Spirituality exists in every work of fiction in some form or other, but most often manifests as divinity. Gods and goddesses never seem to go out of fashion. Why do authors turn to a god or pantheon of gods to articulate this spiritual urge? And out of all the pantheons, the Norse gods in particular […] The post Exploring Ragnarok – with H.M. Long & Genevieve Gornichec first appeared on Brea...

Being a parent is not glamorous. It’s hard work and it often goes unappreciated – in life and in fiction.  When we do see parents represented in our fiction, we tend to see a very limited kind of representation. Rarely are parents the centre of the story – the prevailing social narrative is that parents […] The post Parenthood with Julia Fine first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .

The world as we know it has historically been ruled by men. But when it comes to fiction, writers can choose what power structures they create and how they are depicted. Despite the free rein this allows authors, most simply replicate the patriarchy. When authors do step outside the familiar societal structures and present us with matriarchies, […] The post Matriarchies – with Alie...

Space. The final frontier. An empty, endless expanse of nothing? Or teeming with life? But do we really need to look beyond the confines of our world to find loneliness? We are currently fighting a pandemic, and in its wake, a loneliness epidemic. Despite our constant striving for companionship, it could be said that to be […] The post Loneliness in science fiction with Aliya Whiteley first...

History is written by the winners. By men. Early editors of science fiction anthologies chose to exclude works by women, and in doing so, made many believe that women did not write science fiction in the genre’s earliest years. This is just a single example and by no means exhaustive. Mallory O’Meara, self-confessed monster lover […] The post Hollywood Monsters – with Mallory O’M...

In last year’s episode on magical realism, we talked about this genre’s ability to take a recognisable setting and tilt it a few degrees, creating something familiar and yet not quite what we’re used to. Alternate history can do this too – by revisiting a moment in time and fitting a different lens to the […] The post Magical inequality with Nicole Glover first appeared on Breaking the Glass...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the staples of Christmas. As well as the original book, it’s possible to watch adaptations involving among others Bill Murray, Jim Carey, Patrick Stewart, and (mine and Megan’s favourite) Michael Caine. It has even been used for specials like Doctor Who. This iconic story has been […] The post Scrooge reimagined first appeared on Breaking the Gl...

We constantly discuss themes, stereotypes and assumptions in popular culture, but we don’t often stop to look more closely at the way those issues are expressed. I’m talking about language, and its ability to explore ideas in a highly nuanced way. Phrases like “bad language”, “common parlance” – even “trigger warning” – all carry social […] The post Langua...

Or ‘Extraneous Fangirling’ as I subtitled this episode while editing it. And in truth there is a fair bit of fangirling, but there’s also a lot of critical reflection to go with it. Because when we looked back at the books and shows we enjoyed as kids, we found some unsettling similarities. We remembered female […] The post Childhood Heroines first appeared on Breaking the...

Just in time for Halloween, we spoke to author Vivian Shaw about everyone’s favourite “monster” – the vampire! Immortal vampires have occupied the human imagination for centuries. Whether you prefer the Twilight, Buffy or Bram Stoker type, don’t expect them to turn to dust any time soon. We talked to Vivian about her Greta Helsing […] The post Reclaiming the vam...

Women have always played important roles throughout history, yet too often they are written out of official histories. We have touched on this before on our podcast, referencing essays like Kameron Hurley’s ‘We Have Always Fought’.  This cultural pattern has effectively made women invisible – we have been silenced and marginalised. V.E. Schwab’s new novel, The […] The p...

There are some genre tropes that are ubiquitous in fantasy, from the ensemble quest to overthrowing a dark lord. Magical schools are yet another trope we have come to know and love. Whether you are a fan of early narratives like Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea or appreciate the darker elements of more contemporary entries […] The post A magical education with Naomi Novik first appeared on Break...