Banned Books Week 2019: announcing guest editor Julia Rios!
Cast of Wonders is thrilled to welcome Julia Rios as this year’s Banned Books Week guest editor! Julia is a multiple-Hugo award winning editor, writer, podcaster and narrator. She co-edited one of our favorite anthologies, the excellent Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our stage!
Julia is a queer, Latinx writer, editor, podcaster, and narrator whose fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Goblin Fruit, among other places. Currently a Hugo Finalist in three categories, Julia won the Hugo award in 2017 and 2018 as Poetry and Reprint editor for Uncanny Magazine, as well as being a previous Hugo Finalist as a Senior Fiction Editor for Strange Horizons.
Julia is a co-host of The Skiffy and Fanty Show, a general SF discussion podcast, and an Escape Artists Storyteller, having narrated for all four podcasts.
2019 Banned Books Week Theme
Oppression wants to cover our lives in a blanket of darkness, but each small act of resistance, each defiant moment of hope, brings light to our shared spaces.
September 22 to September 28 is Banned Books Week, an annual international event celebrating the freedom to read and raising awareness of the immense social value of free and open access to information.
Our 2019 theme is Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Turn the Light On! Cast of Wonders is continuing its tradition of holding a specific submission call for YA fiction to air that week. Please bring us your light!
What We’re Looking For
Sunshine is the best disinfectant, as the saying goes, and stories are like sunshine for the soul.
We want to see stories of hope and warmth, but we’re also open to stories that might not have happy endings. Sometimes the light of day is harsh, and sometimes we need that harshness to better see the truth. We’re looking for clarity, hope, light, resistance, and love. Religious and political themes are welcome, though we’re not looking for anything preachy or dogmatic. We’re open as far as genre and tone go. Just give us your truth.
You can find detailed submission guidelines, timeline, and previous year’s stories on our Banned Books Week page. Submissions will be accepted from May 19th to June 1st, through our Submittable portal.
