Jen Albert, Editor
What I’m looking for . . .
I’m ECW’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror specialist, and I love speculative fiction of all kinds, from epic and political fantasy, like C.L. Clark’s Magic of the Lost series and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy; to engaging science fiction, like Project Hail Mary and the work of Becky Chambers; to striking speculative horror, like Iain Reid’s Foe and Daniel Kraus’s Angel Down; to literary speculative books, like the work of Emily St. John Mandel, André Alexis, and Premee Mohamed. I’m drawn to fiction that overturns genre boundaries, books that stun with strong voice and striking imagery, that explore the human experience with nuance and aplomb. I’m especially taken by fiction that is both complex and fundamentally good-hearted, like Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor and Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, two of my favourite-ever novels.
On the nonfiction side, I am interested in trade books in the popular science category, as well as work that crosses over into politics, economics, technology, philosophy, and history. Prior to my work as an editor, I worked as an entomologist, and I have a master’s in molecular biology, so I am interested in science-forward and research-based books in these categories. I am an excellent fit for progressive, anti-colonial, and/or anti-capitalist books that contextualize and examine past and present economic, political, and social systems with firm academic grounding and an eye towards an inclusive future, as well as science and philosophy books that seek to understand human behaviour. Examples include the work of David Graeber, Robert Sapolsky, Naomi Klein, Cory Doctorow, and Grace Blakeley. I am not a good fit for business or economics books that do not look beyond the current system, health or nutrition books not grounded in strong research, or for most genres of self-help and memoir.
What I read (and loved) recently . . .
Less Is More by Jason Hickel and Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakely — both unskippable economic nonfiction. The whole Quincunx Cycle by André Alexis — some of the greatest-ever Canadian literary fiction. I’m obsessed. Angel Down by Daniel Kraus, just a marvel of a book.
What I do outside of work . . .
I spend much of my spare time working in and with the SFF community. I’ve retired from it now, but for years I co-edited the fantasy fiction podcast/magazine PodCastle, which has been nominated for major awards such as the Hugo and the World Fantasy Awards, and I still participate in many SFF podcasts and programs, conferences, and other events. In my spare time, I enjoy running, reading, playing video games, and dancing — mostly ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop.
