Often across the blogosphere, there is stuff happening that deserves to be highlighted. One of my favorite bloggers is Kristen of Fantasy Book Café. In the month of April she had come up with this incredible idea about Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy and has dedicated this month to all their wonderful contributions. Here’s what she had to say about it to kick this event off on her blog:

“After all the discussion recently about review coverage of women writing science fiction and fantasy and the female bloggers writing about these genres, I decided to dedicate the month of April to the women of science fiction and fantasy. Though I’m interested in the discussion overall, instead of talking about it more I’m choosing to make my contribution to addressing the issue by highlighting the women who are writing and reading SF&F. Throughout the month I’ll have authors, book bloggers, and other commentators making guest posts. While some of my guests will be discussing the subject itself, it’s not required to participate; the goal is just to get some interesting people, thoughts, and books all in one place.

A few years ago, I noticed that most of the fantasy and science fiction books being talked about on many blogs and forums were written by men and started questioning whether or not there was a significant number of women writing these genres. Since then, I’ve of course found that there are many female authors of fantasy and science fiction books and it’s become very important to me to make sure their work is recognized and discussed. Usually I just do this quietly by reading and reviewing a lot of books written by women, but after the topic came up again I decided I wanted to do more to showcase the many women who are writing and reviewing all kinds of different types of fantasy and science fiction.”

Kristen has since then come up a bevy of posts from many authors and bloggers who have conveyed their thoughts quite eloquently. So here’s a list of the female authors that have appeared on her blog to speak about various topics:

1] Nancy Kress
2] Carol Berg
3] Elizabeth Bear
4] Martha Wells
5] Stina Leicht
6] Moira J. Moore

Amidst the female bloggers, here’s the list of people who have contributed to this event:

1] Jessica from Read React Review
2] Kristin from My Bookish Ways
3] Janice from Janicu’s Book Blog
4] Jessica from Sci-Fi Fan Letter
5] Lisa from Starmetal Oak Reviews

For this week there are many more interesting authors and bloggers scheduled to make an appearance:
- Lynn Flewelling
- N. K. Jemisin
- M. J. Locke
- Lisa Shearin
- Sarah from Bookworm Blues
- Shara from Calico Reaction (LiveJournal, WordPress)

I for one, am absolutely thrilled that Kristen has taken this initiative and is doing such a great job with the help of all the wonderful ladies who have contributed and will be contributing in the forthcoming weeks. So please take a few moments and give these posts a read and don’t be shy to drop in a comment or two…

Note: Both pictures are courtesy of Fantasy Book Cafe.