V. S. Holmes

Activism and An Excerpt with the Scribbler

4/27/2021

The South Branch Scribbler was kind enough to host me this week, to discuss the upcoming book, Heretics, in my sci-fi series, my work in activism, and the incredible process of getting a book on the Moon!
Plus a never-before-seen excerpt of Heretics!

Read Now!

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Queer Enough

9/15/2020

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I joined Jae, from UNAFRAID and Kiri and Jessie to discuss our complicated relationships with gender expression and identity and what the word queer means to us--plus, we delve into the idea of what it means to be "queer enough."
Watch on YouTube

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Making Fantasy Worlds Accessible with Top Shelf Magazine

8/18/2020

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I joined Top Shelf Magazine to share my article "You Can't Miss the Library," an examination of disabled characters in science fiction and fantasy worlds. I'm grateful they provided the space to untangle these thoughts and hope you'll take a look, especially if you're a fellow author!

Stark land sweeps from the buildings atop the hill. I’d liken farm fields to skirts. This vista is too sharp for that. These are nature’s tassets. Narrow stone paths and hard-packed trails wind between sod roofs. This is a place with the brutality of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The latter was filmed here, and I can see why: I’d gladly immerse myself in this landscape. But it, like many places I’ve visited in the past year, has barriers.

Fantasy is known for austere settings, twisting streets, and remote cities. Even outside of the grimdark subgenre there’s a mercilessness. I settle against a wall across from the broad stairs, knuckles white on the handle of my cane. Pain tunnels my brain to the duality of dissociation and immediacy...read more

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Moral Disability: How Villainy Looks When You’re the Monster

7/5/2020

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I had the honor to write this essay for the Sirens Conference on how the conflation of villainy and disability impacts the disabled communities in our real world.

"Our depiction of disfigurement and disability in villains—those in speculative works, particularly—taints our perception of disabled people in our own world with a dangerous morality. All of us know the ache of being unable to find yourself in a book and the annoyance when a character is just the lovechild of stereotypes and bigotry. So much of Sirens focuses on the importance and beauty in seeing ourselves—our strengths, our flaws, our lives—in speculative fiction. But when I search for a character like me, I find Captain Hook’s missing hand. I find Viren’s magical staff. I find villains..." read more

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Indigenous Rights and Teenage Activism with Alexa Blyan

3/25/2020

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I had the privilege of speaking with activist Alexa Blyan on her activism for her indigenous community, her future, and the divide between community-based and global change.
Be sure to follow her amazing journey and start your own path of allyship!

Listen Now

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Activism and An Excerpt with the Scribbler

Queer Enough

Making Fantasy Worlds Accessible with Top Shelf Magazine

Moral Disability: How Villainy Looks When You’re the Monster

Indigenous Rights and Teenage Activism with Alexa Blyan

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Activism and An Excerpt with the Scribbler

Queer Enough

Making Fantasy Worlds Accessible with Top Shelf Magazine

Moral Disability: How Villainy Looks When You’re the Monster

Indigenous Rights and Teenage Activism with Alexa Blyan

ContactEVENTSmedia​NewsletterSOCIALS

Archives

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Contact
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media
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