N. K. Jemisin

“There's a thriving field of self-published stuff in, particularly, black fiction. I don't know that other groups of people of color have that same recourse.”

“And Mother does not hate her; actually, she fears Damaya. Is there a difference? Maybe.”

“I am a linear thinker in a lot of ways.”

“I write for myself - but it is nice when other people like it, too!”

“Reactionary movements can't sustain themselves unless they find something new to catch and burn on.”

“In the 'Dreamblood' books, I'm focusing more on what I like about epic fantasy: the layering and depth of tension; the chance to really delve into the minutia of an alternate society and its politics; a large cast of characters to love and hate.”

“It's the way the human brain works: when enough events occur in a pattern, we stop thinking and go into macro mode.”

“It's hard out here for a fantasy writer, after all; there's all these 'rules' I'm supposed to follow, or the Fantasy Police might come and make me do hard labor in the Cold Iron Mines.”

“It takes practice to do anything unique within this field, period, in writing, practice doing anything unique in writing.”

“Readers seem to really like the fact that what I'm writing is not traditional fantasy.”

“I've been very happy with Orbit and am thrilled that they're giving me more chances to explore my creative visions.”

“To some degree, as I move outside of the exclusive genre audience, the exclusive genre issues don't bother me as much. Maybe that's just speculation.”

“A fantasy novel set in something other than medieval Europe, featuring an almost entirely black cast, is considered risky.”

“I think most fiction focuses on uncomfortable settings because that's interesting.”

“I think the people who believe that works can and always should be divorced from the context are people who have the privilege to do so.”

“With epic fantasy, there is a tendency for it to be quintessentially conservative in that its job is to restore what is perceived to be out of whack.”

“Fantasy is fantasy. It's fiction. It's not meant to be a textbook. I don't believe in letting research overwhelm the fiction. That's a danger of science fiction in particular, as opposed to fantasy. A lot of writers forget that what they're doing is supposed to be art.”

“It's human nature that we come in our own flavours, and it doesn't make any sense to write a monochromatic or monocultural story unless you're doing something extremely small - a locked room-style story.”

“I've always believed that as an artist, as a writer, you need a lot of contact with other people to make your art good.”

“I read a lot of history for fun.”