Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine have both written novels that focus on empires, imperialism, and colonialism, and how people react to and work within those structures. I asked them to chat with me, and each other, about their decisions and thought-processes.

You have both written work that explicitly deals with (some of) the consequences of imperialism, on a galactic scale. What is it about the concept of empire that made you want to explore it in fiction? 

Ann: Honestly, I didn't start out wanting to write about empire. I started out wanting to write a space opera.