10 sci-fi books written by women of color to add to your reading list.
Female science fiction writers just swept the Hugo Awards.
Obviously, science fiction books by and about women of color exist.
But all too often, we don't get to see them. Awards for literature overwhelmingly go to male authors who write about men or boys. Female writers of color face additional barriers in the literary world, especially in sci-fi, which tends to be dominated by male authors.
But at a ceremony earlier this week, something cool happened: The winners of the Hugo Awards, some of the most prestigious awards in science fiction, were announced, and the top four fiction awards were awarded to four women. Three of those winners were female writers of color.
In honor of these women, here are 10 recommendations for books about science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction by women of color:
Image via Tango7174/Wikimedia Commons.
1. "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin
We'll start with the recent Hugo Award winners. If you like stories about collapsing civilizations and the apocalypse, you'll enjoy "The Fifth Season," which won the Hugo for best novel. (Fun fact: N.K. Jemisin is the cousin of comedian W. Kamau Bell!)
2. "Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor
The Hugo for best novella went to this story about a 16-year-old on a harrowing journey to get an education. It's only 96 pages, so you can knock this one out on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
3. "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang
The Hugo for best novelette goes to a story between 7,500 and 17,500 words. This year's award went to Hao Jingfang, a Chinese writer, and her translator Ken Liu, for a story set in the Beijing of the future, where the city folds in on itself every day. "Folding Beijing" is also a commentary on the divisions between social classes. You can read the full novelette online.
Hao Jingfang and Ken Liu. Image via Charles Tan/YouTube.
4. "The Winged Histories" by Sofia Samatar
This novel by a Somali American author is about four women caught up in a rebellion. It's riveting fantasy, especially if you like solid character development.
5. "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler
OK, it's not really fair to only put one Octavia Butler book on here because really you should read everything she's ever written. But this book, the first volume of the "Earthseed" series, is a really good place to start.
Octavia Butler. Nikolas Coukouma/Wikimedia Commons.
6. "Ink" by Sabrina Vourvoulias
If you think our immigration system sometimes feels like a dystopia, you'll want to read "Ink." This speculative novel takes place in the U.S., and four central characters tell the story.
7. "The Island of Eternal Love" by Daína Chaviano
Chaviano takes the reader on a journey through time with this novel. Several complex plots thread through the book, which is the most translated Cuban novel in history.
8. "The Grass Dancer" by Susan Power
This novel, which centers on a Sioux reservation, weaves together mythicism and magical realism so skillfully that it's hard to believe it was Susan Power's first novel. But believe it — she won the PEN Award for Best First Fiction after its publication in 1994.
9. "Love Is the Drug" by Alaya Dawn Johnson
This one's for all the young-adult fiction lovers out there. The book won the Nebula Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2015.
10. "Legend" by Marjorie Lu
If you like young-adult dystopian series like "The Hunger Games," pick up "Legend" at the library. Once you're hooked, you'll be happy to know that CBS Films has acquired the film rights for the novel.
Listen, I could keep going — there's a whole universe (multiverse?) of science fiction written by women of color.
But if you're still reading my words and not checking out these books, get out of here. Go read!






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Resurfaced video of French skier's groin incident has people giving the announcer a gold medal
"The boys took a beating on that one."
Downhill skiing is a sport rife with injuries, but not usually this kind.
A good commentator can make all the difference when watching sports, even when an event goes smoothly. But it's when something goes wrong that great announcers rise to the top. There's no better example of a great announcer in a surprise moment than when French skier Yannick Bertrand took a gate to the groin in a 2007 super-G race.
Competitive skiers fly down runs at incredible speeds, often exceeding 60 mph. Hitting something hard at that speed would definitely hurt, but hitting something hard with a particularly sensitive part of your body would be excruciating. So when Bertrand slammed right into a gate family-jewels-first, his high-pitched scream was unsurprising. What was surprising was the perfect commentary that immediately followed.
This is a clip you really just have to see and hear to fully appreciate:
- YouTube youtu.be
It's unclear who the announcer is, even after multiple Google inquiries, which is unfortunate because that gentleman deserves a medal. The commentary gets better with each repeated viewing, with highlights like:
"The gate the groin for Yannick Bertrand, and you could hear it. And if you're a man, you could feel it."
"Oh, the Frenchman. Oh-ho, monsieurrrrrr."
"The boys took a beating on that one."
"That guy needs a hug."
"Those are the moments that change your life if you're a man, I tell you what."
"When you crash through a gate, when you do it at high rate of speed, it's gonna hurt and it's going to leave a mark in most cases. And in this particular case, not the area where you want to leave a mark."
Imagine watching a man take a hit to the privates at 60 mph and having to make impromptu commentary straddling the line between professionalism and acknowledging the universal reality of what just happened. There are certain things you can't say on network television that you might feel compelled to say. There's a visceral element to this scenario that could easily be taken too far in the commentary, and the inherent humor element could be seen as insensitive and offensive if not handled just right.
The announcer nailed it. 10/10. No notes.
The clip frequently resurfaces during the Winter Olympic Games, though the incident didn't happen during an Olympic event. Yannick Bertrand was competing at the FIS World Cup super-G race in Kvitfjell, Norway in 2007, when the unfortunate accident occurred. Bertrand had competed at the Turin Olympics the year before, however, coming in 24th in the downhill and super-G events.
As painful as the gate to the groin clearly as, Bertrand did not appear to suffer any damage that kept him from the sport. In fact, he continued competing in international downhill and super-G races until 2014.
According to a 2018 study, Alpine skiing is a notoriously dangerous sport with a reported injury rate of 36.7 per 100 World Cup athletes per season. Of course, it's the knees and not the coin purse that are the most common casualty of ski racing, which we saw clearly in U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's harrowing experiences at the 2026 Olympics. Vonn was competing with a torn ACL and ended up being helicoptered off of the mountain after an ugly crash that did additional damage to her legs, requiring multiple surgeries (though what caused the crash was reportedly unrelated to her ACL tear). Still, she says she has no regrets.
As Bertrand's return to the slopes shows, the risk of injury doesn't stop those who live for the thrill of victory, even when the agony of defeat hits them right in the rocks.