As we get towards day 12 and the halfway mark of the Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls up Canada and talks to the always fabulous Kelly Robson about what she's been reading, what she'd recommend, what she's working on, and her latest book, lesbian stoner comedy High Times in the Low Parliament , a book that you never knew you needed, but you do.
As always, our thanks to Kelly and we hope you're enjoying the Coode Street Advent Calendar!

Episode 602: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Kelly Robson

Discussion and digression on science fiction and fantasy with Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan.

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

This week Jonathan and Gary start out with something resembling a topic: the proliferation of subgenres, movements, and marketing categories in SF and fantasy: from the evolution of space opera in SF to the rise of epic fantasy (and Ballantine’s earlier term “adult fantasy”), as well as consciously developed movements such as the New Wave, cyberpunk, or Africanfuturism and new market categories such as “romantasy".
After a wide-ranging discussion of the various ways of slicing up genres, we spend some time musing about the hot market for collectible, special, limited, and subscriber editions from publishers such as the Folio Society or Subterranean Press.

Episode 648: Genre, marketing, and more

Once again with no guest to give us focus, Jonathan and Gary return to rambling mode, spurred on by the observation that voting for the 2024 Hugo Awards is now open.
This leads to our ongoing discussion of what the Hugo Awards do and do not represent, why voting for your favorite works is important even if you haven’t read all the nominees, what makes a genuine SFF classic, and how the Hugo procedures and categories differ from those of the World Fantasy Awards—which are also accepting nominations from members of the 2022, 2023, and 2024 conventions.
We suggest you take a look at Jo Walton's An Informal History of the Hugos if you're interested in a history of the Hugos, and point out that nominations for the 2024 World Fantasy Awards are now open too.

Episode 647: Oh no, not us again...

Peter S. Beagle joins Gary and Jonathan to discuss his new novel, I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons.

Episode 646: Peter S. Beagle and a Life Filled With Story

Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe talked to award winning writer and editor Jack Dann about his anthology Wandering Stars and Jewish science fiction and fantasy on the fiftieth anniversary of the book’s publication.

Episode 645: Jack Dann and Fifty Years of Wandering Stars

This time out, Jonathan and Gary consider the meaning of "cozy" (or "cosy") SF and fantasy, and whether cozy horror is even a thing. We trace the term back to cozy mystery novels and Brian W. Aldiss’s characterization of certain British writers of the 1950s—especially John Wyndham—as "cozy catastrophes".
Not surprisingly, this doesn’t lead to any meaningful conclusions, but we do touch upon whether the notion of cozy has to do with the fiction itself, or just the reader's experience of it. Authors mentioned include Travis Baldree, Becky Chambers, Peter S. Beagle, Martha Wells, and Terry Pratchett.
Then, with our usual lack of grace, we transition awkwardly into a discussion of the new Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, how well Ellison’s fiction holds up, and some brief previews of forthcoming episodes.

Episode 602: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Kelly Robson

Download our free app to listen on your phone