Speculative fiction

A story set in a world that is different from the one we live in.

Insight

To have a clear, deep, understanding of a complicated problem or situation.

speculative insight

A journal that explores the breadth and depth of the themes, ideas, and issues of science fiction and fantasy.

things to know

Speculative Insight is a feminist journal, although not every essay will be explicitly feminist in analysis. We are anti racism, transphobia, queerphobia, and ableism. Speculative Insight welcomes essays that present non-dominant perspectives and particularly encourages submissions from people from any and all marginalised groups. We will not publish harmful content; articles may include thoughtful discussion that may cause disagreement. We will not publish content created by LLM (“AI”). We do pay our authors.

about the editor

Speculative Insight is edited and published by Alexandra Pierce. As a lifelong lover of science fiction and fantasy, as well as being passionate about history and science, creating a space for SFF-related nonfiction just made sense. Alexandra co-edited the award-winning anthologies Letters to Tiptree and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler (both for Twelfth Planet Press). She was a co-host of the podcast Galactic Suburbia with Alisa Krasnostein and Tansy Rayner Roberts; it ran for a decade and won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Fancast.

Massive thanks to bedrock supporters:

Tehani Croft * Jaunita Landéesse * Amelia Brown * Katharine (thiefofcamorr) * Crystal Huff * Kirsten Campbell * Nike Sulway * Kathryn MacKinnon * Calen Bender * Alison Proietto * Damien Warman & Juliette Woods * Adeline Teoh * Tansy Rayner Roberts * Chris McLaren * Cat Sparks * Micole Sudberg * Alisa Krasnostein * Nina Niskanen * Jemma Pollari * Devin Jeyathurai * Emily D.E. Bell * Spike * Van Ikin * Marian Foster * Scott Kirton * Derek Sweetman * Natalie Haigh * Juliet Marillier * Simone Vukotic * Antoine Sébert * D Franklin * Eric de Roulet * Mark Nelson *

Awards

2024: the January-December 2024 collection wins the Convenors’ Award for Excellence (part of the Aurealis Awards)

Joanne Anderton’s essay “‘Nice Safe Emotions’: How Murderbot copes with the real world through the fictional, and so do we” (January 2024) wins the William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review