Nora K. Jemisin Quotes

As a black woman, I have no particular interest in maintaining the status quo. Why would I? The status quo is harmful; the status quo is significantly racist and sexist and a whole bunch of other things that I think need to change.

Fantasy is fantasy. It's fiction. It's not meant to be a textbook. I don't believe in letting research overwhelm the fiction. That's a danger of science fiction in particular, as opposed to fantasy. A lot of writers forget that what they're doing is supposed to be art.

It's human nature that we come in our own flavours, and it doesn't make any sense to write a monochromatic or monocultural story unless you're doing something extremely small – a locked room-style story.

There's a tendency in American thought – maybe elsewhere, but that's the culture I know best – to default to social Darwinism, even though even Darwin noted that's a misapplication of his ideas.

In the 'Dreamblood' books, I'm focusing more on what I like about epic fantasy: the layering and depth of tension; the chance to really delve into the minutia of an alternate society and its politics; a large cast of characters to love and hate.

Any writer kind of who knows what they're doing goes forth and grabs a copy of an issue of something that they want to be published in, or they skim it online. They read what that market has been doing. They see a particular flavor of fiction.

I write what feels real. I write things that are informed both by my own experience and by actual history.

Reactionary movements can't sustain themselves unless they find something new to catch and burn on.

I would love to just write and not have everything I say or do turn into a political battle.

Knowing about authors' beliefs helps you understand how those beliefs influence their writing, and things you thought meant one thing, once you've got enough information about that writer, you suddenly realize mean an entirely different thing. That makes a difference.

Readers seem to really like the fact that what I'm writing is not traditional fantasy.

Quotes of the Hour

The record business is dangerous to the health of bands and individuals, which is something I'm just now learning. But it's not dangerous in any of the ways people think; it's not that they try to make you compromise your art. That's not the problem.

'A Pirate Looks at 40,' we had to do that song. I've been covering that forever.

We're no longer in the Cold War. Eavesdropping on friends is unacceptable.

I was raised to be very wary of the police. I was raised to stay away from them unless you absolutely have to. Because they're dangerous.

I've seen a study in the last year that digital sound actually induces stress in the listener.

Nora K. Jemisin Quotes

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