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Anthology of stories, essays, poems, and illustrations by the women of early science fiction

For nearly half a century, feminist scholars, writers, and fans have successfully challenged the notion that science fiction is all about "boys and their toys," pointing to authors such as Mary Shelley, Clare Winger Harris, and Judith Merril as proof that women have always been part of the genre. Continuing this tradition, Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction offers readers a comprehensive selection of works by genre luminaries, including author C. L. Moore, artist Margaret Brundage, and others who were well known in their day, including poet Julia Boynton Green, science journalist L. Taylor Hansen, and editor Mary Gnaedinger.

Providing insightful commentary and context, this anthology documents how women in the early twentieth century contributed to the pulp-magazine community and showcases the content they produced, including short stories, editorial work, illustrations, poetry, and science journalism. Yaszek and Sharp's critical annotation and author biographies link women's work in the early science fiction community to larger patterns of feminine literary and cultural production in turn-of-the-twentieth-century America. In a concluding essay, the award-winning author Kathleen Ann Goonan considers such work in relation to the history of women in science and engineering and to the contemporary science fiction community itself.

Table of Contents:

• List of Plates
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: New Work for New Women

AUTHORS

• Clare Winger Harris, "The Evolutionary Monstrosity" (1929)
• Leslie F. Stone, "Out of the Void" (1929)
• Lilith Lorraine, "Into the 28th Century" (1930)
• L. Taylor Hansen, "The Man from Space" (1930)
• C. L. Moore, "Shambleau" (1933)
• Dorothy Gertrude Quick, "Strange Orchids" (1937)
• Amelia Reynolds Long, "Reverse Phylogeny" (1937)
• Leslie Perri, "Space Episode" (1941)
• Dorothy Louise Les Tina, "When You Think That... Smile!" (1943)

POETS

• Julia Boynton Green, "The Night Express" (1931)
• Julia Boynton Green, "Evolution" (1931)
• Julia Boynton Green, "Radio Revelations" (1932)
• Virginia Kidd, "Untitled" (1933)
• Leah Bodine Drake, "They Run Again" (1939)
• Leah Bodine Drake, "The Wood-Wife" (1942)
• Leah Bodine Drake, "Sea-Shell" (1943)
• Tigrina, "Defiance" (1945)
• Tigrina, "Affinity" (1945)
• Lilith Lorraine, "Earthlight on the Moon" (1941)
• Lilith Lorraine, "The Acolytes" (1946)
• Lilith Lorraine, "Men Keep Strange Trysts" (1946)

JOURNALISTS

• Ellen Reed, "Natural Ink" (1942)
• Fran Miles, "Oil for Bombing" (1944)
• Henrietta Brown, "Marine Engineering in the Insect World" (1945)
• Lynn Standish, "The Battle of the Sexes" (1943)
• Lynn Standish, "Scientific Oddities" (1945)
• Laura Moore Wright, "Sunlight" (1946)
• L. Taylor Hansen, "Scientific Mysteries: The White Race--Does It Exist?" (1942)
• L. Taylor Hansen, "Scientific Mysteries: Footprints of the Dragon" (1944)
• L. Taylor Hansen, H. Malamud, I. Berkman, and H. Rogovin, "A Protest" (1943)
• L. Taylor Hansen, "L. Taylor Hansen Defends Himself" (1943)

EDITORS

• Mary Gnaedinger, "Editorial Note" (1939)
• Dorothy Stevens Mcilwraith, "The Eyrie" (1940)
• Lilith Lorraine, "Cracks, Wise and Otherwise" (1943)
• Mary Gnaedinger, "The Editor's Page" (1940)
• Mary Gnaedinger, "The Editor's Page" (1943)
• Dorothy Stevens Mcilwraith, "The Eyrie" (1940)
• Dorothy Stevens Mcilwraith, "The Eyrie" (1941)
• Lilith Lorraine, "Training for World Citizenship" (1946)
• Lilith Lorraine, "The Story of Different" (1950)

ARTISTS

• Olivette Bourgeois
• Lucille Webster Holling
• Margaret Johnson Brundage
• Dorothy Louise Les Tina
• Dolly Rackley Donnell

• Conclusion: "Challenging the Narrative, Or, Women Take Back Science Fiction", Kathleen Ann Goonan
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index