We're so happy to feature an interview with Becky Chambers! Her book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, is included in our Essential List of the 25 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far).
What appeals to you about writing science-fiction/fantasy?
Too many things to name, but the big one for me is being able to play with a blank canvas. Science fiction gives me the freedom to explore things we take for granted about society and culture without bringing in real-world baggage (inasmuch as that’s possible, anyway; all writers bring their own experiences and biases to the table, whether we want to or not). It is incredibly liberating to imagine worlds in which nothing is set in stone. I find SF/F especially powerful to engage with in the here and now, when so much about the world we live in seems inflexible and inevitable. Everything can change. Nothing is for certain. Taking time out of my day to remind myself of that is something I find vital.
Everything can change. Nothing is for certain. Taking time out of my day to remind myself of that is something I find vital.
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What was your favorite book as a child?
The Hobbit. My mom read it to me as a bedtime story when I was little, and I loved it. I still do. The edition she had included these gorgeous full-color illustrations on glossy paper, and I loved the tactile experience of turning those pages just as much as the story itself.
What does your writing workspace look like?
I have an office at home. It’s got a nice cushy easy-chair, where I write (and read, and nap), and a standing desk, where I edit and do everything job-related that
isn’t writing. The walls are chock-a-block with art, and there’s a shelf full of plants over my desk. I painted the closet doors with whiteboard paint a few years back, and I use those to scribble notes on. (Best to not talk about what the inside of the closet is like.) I’ve got a bookshelf for notebooks and research materials, as well as copies of my books I use for readings. Various keepsakes from travels and tours are tucked in among them. Creature comforts include an oil diffuser, a fountain pen, endless pots of tea, and a bouquet of Lego roses. There’s also a balcony outside, and redwoods beyond that. In the afternoons, sometimes the Steller’s jays that live out there visit the balcony and yell at me. I don’t know what they want.
How much and what types of research do you do while writing?
This depends heavily on the book. If I’m writing something like
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, which was very much grounded in real science, that’s something that takes a lot of research. The internet is my first stop, and then from there I go foraging wherever I need to. I read science books, I watch documentaries and educational videos, I reach out to people in relevant fields. Something like my
Monk and Robot novellas is a different sort of process, because those lean more into the fantastical side of things, and science isn’t as prominent on the page. For those, I did some light research in areas such as green tech and renewable building materials, and I gathered some reference images, too, but mostly, I was riffing off of things already in my head.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
One of my primary goals is to provide glimpses of futures that feel appealing and safe. Places you not only
want to inhabit, but that feel easy for you to slip into, just as you are. This is not to say that every setting I write is perfect, or a good fit for everybody. I write plenty of scary places, too. But broadly, I want you to come away with the feeling that a better world is possible, so long as we never stop working for it. Beyond that, I just hope that my readers find whatever it is they need to. If you just need an escape, cool. If you want to think about big chewy sci-fi ideas, they’re in there, too, but honestly, being able to provide someone with a nice afternoon is good enough for me.
I want you to come away with the feeling that a better world is possible, so long as we never stop working for it.
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What scares you the most as a writer?
Disappointing people. That’s a somewhat squishy thing to admit, but it’s true. I write for myself, first and foremost, but if I was
only writing for myself, then I’d just happily scribble in my own time and never bother with publishing. Writing for an audience is obviously performative, and I want to do that job as best as I can. I know I can’t please everybody, and that’s fine, but every time I sit down to write a new book, I worry all the way through that this is the one that’s going to miss the mark. I’ve just learned to accept that as a little monster that’s always there. It’s allowed to hang out with me, so long as it doesn’t get in my way.
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Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California, and is best known for her Hugo Award-winning
Wayfarers series. Her varied works have also been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her latest book is
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, the second of her
Monk and Robot novellas.
Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video games, tabletop RPGs, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.