Penguin/Willis/Williams/Rusch/LoA : Later Women's Anths


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Here are several anthologies of fantasy and science fiction by women that follow Pamela Sargent's landmark books of the 1970s.

Penguin produced several large anthologies in the 1980s and '90s on subjects including vampires, ghosts, witches, and "classic fantasy" (i.e. from the 19th and early 20th centuries) by women. (Penguin never did a science fiction volume.) The "modern fantasy" volume here includes stories from 1940 to the 1990s, and has an introduction by Joanna Russ. A note from the editors declares their purview a broad one, limiting their inclusion of fantasy stories only to those first written in English. There are no story introductions. The book ends with biographical notes on the authors.

The Willis/Williams volume is explicitly feminist, where the other books here are not, consisting of stories from Asimov's and Analog magazines. Willis' introduction compares "Women's Lib" with the idea of women in science fiction, and science fiction as a genre of liberations.

The recent Kristine Kathryn Rusch volume seeks to remedy the historical invisibility of women in science fiction, by anthologists and critics and journalists (she cites oversight of her own editorship of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, from 1991 to 1997, as an example). A long introduction is followed by stories from 1933 to 1986.

The even more recent Library of America volume is just the second anthology, after Peter Straub's American Fantastic Tales set in 2009, of SF/F/H stories from this publisher. It compiles 25 stories by (American) women, first published from 1928 to 1969. (As with Rusch's volume, perhaps a follow-up volumes for more recent work is being contemplated.) As with other LoA books, this one includes textual notes on the stories, as well as extensive biographical notes.

A related volume is Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology, compiled on the VanderMeers page.

Four stories, by Le Guin, Norton, Tiptree, and Wilhelm, appear in two of these four books. Most reprinted authors: Ursula K. Le Guin (4), then Leigh Brackett, Zenna Henderson, Anne McCaffrey, and James Tiptree, Jr., with 3 each.

  • The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women, A. Susan Williams & Richard Glen Jones, eds. (Viking, 1995) [isfdb]
  • A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women, Connie Willis & Sheila Williams, eds. (Warner Aspect, 2001) [isfdb]
  • Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, ed. (Baen, 2016) [isfdb]
  • The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin, Lisa Yaszek, ed. (Library Of America, 2018) [isfdb]



Combined Contents by Author and Title


Joan Aiken
  • Marmalade Wine (Suspense (UK) Sep 1958) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Margaret Atwood
  • When it Happens (Chatelaine 1975) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Hilary Bailey
  • The Fall of Frenchy Steiner (New Worlds Jul/Aug 1964) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Elizabeth Mann Borgese
  • For Sale, Reasonable (F&SF Jul 1959) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Elizabeth Bowen
  • The Demon Lover (The Listener 1941) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Leigh Brackett
  • All the Colors of the Rainbow (Venture Nov 1957) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Lake of the Gone Forever (Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct 1949) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • The Last Days of Shandakor (Startling Stories Apr 1952) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • Another Rib (by MZB & John Jay Wells) (F&SF Jun 1963) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Christine Brooke-Rose
  • The Foot (Unlikely Ghosts, 1967) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Rosel George Brown
  • Car Pool (If Jul 1959) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Doris Pitkin Buck
  • Birth of a Gardener (F&SF Jun 1961) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Lois McMaster Bujold
  • Aftermaths (Far Frontiers Vol. V, 1986) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Octavia E. Butler
  • The Evening and the Morning and the Night (Omni May 1987) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Speech Sounds (IASFM mid-Dec 1983) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Pat Cadigan
  • Angel (IASFM May 1987) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Leonora Carrington
  • My Flannel Knickers (The Seventh Horse, 1989) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Angela Carter
  • Peter and the Wolf (Black Venus, 1985) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Suzy McKee Charnas
  • Boobs (Skin of the Soul, 1990) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • C. J. Cherryh
  • Cassandra (F&SF Oct 1978) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Mildred Clingerman
  • Mr. Sakrison's Halt (F&SF Jan 1956) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Sonya Dorman
  • When I Was Miss Dow (Galaxy Jun 1966) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Candas Jane Dorsey
  • (Learning About) Machine Sex (Machine Sex and Other Stories, 1988) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Daphne du Maurier
  • The Old Man (The Apple Tree, 1952) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • S. N. Dyer
  • The July Ward (IASFM Apr 1991) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Carol Emshwiller
  • If the Word was to the Wise (The Start of the End of it All and Other Stories, 1990) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Pelt (F&SF Nov 1958) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Zoe Fairbairns
  • Relics (Despatches from the Frontiers of the Female Mind, 1985) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Janet Frame
  • Two Sheep (You Are Now Entering the Human Heart, 1983) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Mary Gentle
  • The Pits Beneath the World (Peter Davison's Book of Alien Planets, 1983) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Alice Glaser
  • The Tunnel Ahead (F&SF Nov 1961) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Clare Winger Harris
  • The Miracle of the Lily (Amazing Apr 1928) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Zenna Henderson
  • The Anything Box (F&SF Oct 1956) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Ararat (F&SF Oct 1952) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Indelible Kind (F&SF Dec 1968) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Shirley Jackson
  • The Tooth (New Yorker 1948) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • P. D. James
  • Murder, 1986 (EQMM Oct 1970) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Alice Eleanor Jones
  • Created He Them (F&SF Jun 1955) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Anna Kavan
  • A Bright Green Field (A Bright Green Field, 1958) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Nancy Kress
  • Inertia (Analog Jan 1990) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Out of All Them Bright Stars (F&SF Mar 1985) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Nine Lives (Playboy Nov 1969) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Sur (New Yorker Feb 1 1982) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
          -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • A Woman's Liberation (Asimov's Jul 1995) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Tanith Lee
  • Red as Blood (F&SF Jul 1979) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Katherine MacLean
  • Contagion (Galaxy Oct 1950) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Kidnapping of Baroness 5 (Analog Jan 1995) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Anne McCaffrey
  • The Ship Who Mourned (Analog Mar 1966) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • The Ship Who Sang (F&SF Apr 1961) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • The Smallest Dragonboy (Science Fiction Tales, 1973) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Vonda N. McIntyre
  • Fireflood (F&SF Nov 1979) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand (Analog Oct 1973) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Judith Merril
  • That Only a Mother (Astounding Jun 1948) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • C. L. Moore
  • The Black God's Kiss (Weird Tales Oct 1934) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Shambleau (Weird Tales Nov 1933) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Pat Murphy
  • Rachel in Love (IASFM Apr 1987) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Suniti Namjoshi
  • Prodigal Pudding (The Blue Donkey Fables, 1988) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Andre Norton
  • All Cats Are Gray (Fantastic Universe Aug/Sep 1953) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
          -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Joyce Carol Oates
  • Night-Side (Night-Side, 1977) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Leslie Perri
  • Space Episode (Future Dec 1941) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Kit Reed
  • Cynosure (F&SF Jun 1964) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • The New You (F&SF Sep 1962) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Joanna Russ
  • The Barbarian (Orbit 3, 1968) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Second Inquisition (Orbit 6, 1970) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Josephine Saxton
  • The Wall (Science-Fantasy #78 1965) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Wilmar H. Shiras
  • In Hiding (Astounding Nov 1948) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Muriel Spark
  • Miss Pinkerton's Apocalypse (The Go-Away Bird and Other Stories, 1958) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Margaret St. Clair
  • The Inhabited Men (Planet Stories Sep 1951) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Leslie F. Stone
  • The Conquest of Gola (Wonder Stories Apr 1931) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Lucy Sussex
  • Kay & Phil (Alien Shores, 1994) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • James Tiptree, Jr.
  • The Last Flight of Dr. Ain (Galaxy Mar 1969) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
          -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Milk of Paradise (Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Lisa Tuttle
  • Wives (F&SF Dec 1979) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • Fay Weldon
  • Angel, All Innocence (The Thirteenth Ghost Book, 1977) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
  • John Jay Wells
  • Another Rib (by Marion Zimmer Bradley & JJW) (F&SF Jun 1963) -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Kate Wilhelm
  • Baby, You Were Great (Orbit 2, 1967) -- The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
          -- The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Connie Willis
  • Even the Queen (IASFM Apr 1992) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women
  • Fire Watch (IASFM Feb 15 1982) -- Women of Futures Past: Classic Stories
  • Sarah Zettel
  • Fool's Errand (Analog May 1993) -- A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women

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