Announcing Track Changes: Selected Reviews by Abigail Nussbaum

I am thrilled to announce that my first collection of reviews, Track Changes, will be published by Briardene Books this summer. Track Changes collects nearly sixty reviews from nearly twenty years of writing, covering novels, short fiction, television, and film in the science fiction and fantasy genres. It is, as the title suggests, a chronicle of shifting tides in genre fiction, in world politics, and in my own understanding of both. I’ve been working on this book for nearly a year, selecting, evaluating, and re-editing my old material, and the result is something that I am very proud of. To quote from the publisher announcement:

Track Changes: Selected Reviews collects Abigail’s best writing about books, films, and TV with a new Introduction. It demonstrates how, in recent years, some of science fiction and fantasy’s core themes – from the exploration of space, to the invention of fantastic worlds, to our fluid understanding of what it means to be human – have been refreshed by a new generation of writers, and in so doing it provides an essential map of the interactions between the fantastic genres, politics, and culture.

Some advance praise:

“A tour de force, as good an account of the evolving world of twenty-first century science fiction and fantasy as I have read. Nussbaum is one of our very best critics: expert, engaged and illuminating. She’s also one of the most sane. These essays are full of insight, context, wisdom and judgement, all written with the ardour and panache of someone who really cares. Indispensable.”– Adam Roberts

“Thoughtful, intelligent, and perceptive, Abigail Nussbaum is one of the most interesting people talking about science fiction today, and Track Changes is essential reading for anyone interested in the field.”– Jonathan Strahan

Track Changes will be published in paperback (and those of you familiar with Briardene will know that it is going to be a handsome, substantial volume) and ebook versions. Both are available for preorder from the Briardene website, and the ebook will also be available from other vendors. The gorgeous cover design is by Tom Joyes.

Track Changes is scheduled for publication on August 8th. It will be launched at the 82nd Worldcon, which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, and will be available for purchase there. We will be holding a launch event at the convention, and will have more information on that to follow.

In the meantime, I will remind you that Briardene are also the publishers of Niall Harrison’s collection of reviews All These Worlds, which has been nominated for the BSFA award for best nonfiction. Tomorrow we will learn if it has also been nominated for a Hugo (fingers crossed!). This is a remarkable, essential work of modern science fiction criticism (see my review), and if you haven’t read it yet I strongly urge you to pick it up.