March 19th, 2021

Nora Keita Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, better known by her pen name N. K. Jemisin. The three books of her Broken Earth series made her the first author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in three consecutive years.

Her website describes her authorship this way:
Jemisin’s most frequent themes include resistance to oppression, the inseverability of the liminal, and the coolness of Stuff Blowing Up. She has been an advocate for the long tradition of science fiction and fantasy as political resistance, and previously championed the genre as a New York Times Book reviewer.

The historical pool of ‘acclaimed’ published SciFi authors has been very male and very white. The fact that she is breaking barriers in this genre is often brought up during interviews. She has this to say in response:

I understand why these questions are important. It is disheartening that people keep asking them, however, or some version of them. At this point, for me, these questions are a reflection of the larger problem – that for those of us who are Other, we are constantly called upon to explain our existence. Therefore I ask that interviewers stop doing it, and think of something more interesting to ask.

N. K. Jemisin writes with honesty, vulnerability and challenges the reader to step outside of what they once thought of as the norm. For me, these are the hallmarks of a truly great writer and artist.