Silvia Moreno-Garcia

First, my books are called YA. CERTAIN DARK THINGS is about Mexican vampires. Of 5 POV characters, *one* is 17.

Now it wouldn't matter if ppl called it YA if that sold more, right? But I see following often "oh, a vampire book. Must be YA. Don't want."

So I'm automatically classified as something and then the assumption is it's somehow inferior.

Furthermore, look how people judge books: spines and names. A spine and a name alone in that Tweet above generates a quality assessment.

These books can't "compete" with the male authors who are deemed the "real" authors.

I don't intend this thread to be a post shitting on that single person who Tweeted. She is just one data point of many convos I've seen.

So what to do about it? STOP TALKING SHIT ABOUT YA OR ROMANCE. Do not say things like "it's romance but it's good" or "it's YA but whateva"

Look at your bookshelves. Are they only filled with men? You can't name more than 2 women fantasy writers and they were from 1985? Update!

You call yourself a fan. You are obsessive about every bit of SFF, but you are not aware of the field as it is? People!

Finally, stop using language that covertly values 'manly' books. "Oh, Sheryl books are good, if only she didn't have that 'love' plot."

I'm sorry, Dune has a major love story going on. Paul Atreides is not single and unattached. He has a love plot and you didn't flinch.

U didn't flinch when manly books had love interests (Game of Thrones, ppl. There are love stories in it!). But if it's a woman. Bleargh.

So quit it. Next time you are writing a review and you feel the need to type "it's YA but it's good" or "there is a love interest but it--

doesn't suck." Stop. Nip it in the bud. And do read something published in the past decade before you think women don't write X. Bye.

I also love this person acting like the be all, end all sci-fi buff apparently not having any LeGuin or Butler on their shelf

Like not to say you can't be one and not have anything by them but they came in like they're the ultimate voice on "quality" sci-fi

Not to mention I do appreciate Rowling but... come on she is not the best female sff writer of the last 20 years. She's good! 1/2

But just off the top of my head, N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, and C.S. Friedman all blow her out of the water.

Without even needing to compare who's better I think it's safe to say that she's not on some exclusive pedestal