At first blush, it sounds like the same old story — a literary author writes a novel set in the post-apocalyptic future, and then complains when people describe it as science fiction. But actually, Emily St. John Mandel's debate with the Washington Post's Ron Charles represents a bit of progress.

The debate over "literary fiction" versus "commercial fiction" (with the latter category including speculative fiction) has gone on forever — but there's a new wrinkle. New York Times Book Review contributor Christopher Beha has a proposal for how the NYTBR can recognize really groundbreaking works of speculative…

Manuel Gonzales' bizarre, fantastical story collection The Miniature Wife is getting rave reviews from the likes of Charles Yu and Hannah Tinti. It was named one of last week's best books by Publisher's Weekly, which also gave it a starred review. And people are comparing Gonzales, executive director of the Austin Bat…

Joshua Cohen's previous book Witz, an epic about the last Jew on Earth, received a healthy amount of review coverage for such a large and difficult novel. (See my io9 review here.) One of the more penetrating observations about the book's encyclopedic nature was this one, from Dan Visel's review:

Pulp fiction is getting a shot in the arm — and some totally gorgeous art — from Chennai-based publishers Blaft. The brainchild of mathematician Rakesh Khanna, Blaft has already published The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction Vol. 1 & 2. And now they're putting out a new comics anthology series, The Obliterary…

The Brontë sisters are best known as the authors of literary gothic tales like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but in their childhood, they worked with their brother to invent the made-up realm of the Glass Town Federation.

Want to write something that's both weird and gorgeous? That pushes the boundaries of storytelling and includes moving, relatable characters? Then you should read the masters of this odd not-quite-genre.

Japanese literary darling Haruki Murakami and fantasy author China Mieville have a lot in common: their use of language, their thoughtful creation of a "secondary world," and more. So why don't people read both? Eric Rosenfield wants to know.

Prepare to be overcome with literary wackiness! Gary Shteyngart's near-future dystopian comedy novel, Super Sad True Love Story, came out the other day. Here's the celebrity-studded, tongue-in-cheek book trailer, and you can read a zany excerpt at the New Yorker.

The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by debut novelist Dexter Palmer, delivers musings on narrative and modernity, wrapped up in a suspenseful steampunky package and trimmed with fancy Shakespearean allusions.

What sort of speculative fiction content appeals to literary writers and editors? Clarkesworld's Ryan Britt talked to editors at lit-mags Conjunctions and Opium, and a few literary authors. The key? Taking the speculative elements seriously, without too much earnestness. [Clarkesworld]

The trend of literary authors veering into science fiction shows no sign of slowing down, as science fiction remains the best way to talk about our weird era. Ian McEwan and Rick Moody both have SF books in the pipeline.

Tachyon Publications has a new anthology out called The Secret History of Science Fiction. It centers around a subject that has sparked countless debates and rants among Science Fiction fans. And no, it's not River Tam vs. James T. Kirk.

In Toby Litt's Journey Into Space, a generation ship gives rise to two generations of idiots. It's not really about space travel, so much as people who forget history and are doomed to distort it.

Why is Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside not spoken of in the same breath as Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint, or John Updike's Rabbit Run?