Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction [Paperback]

Margaret Killjoy (Editor), Kim Stanley Robinson (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

“Basically, anarchy is in fact the only political position that is actually possible.”—from the interview with Alan Moore, author of V for Vendetta

We all know that there is a deeply entwined relationship between personal politics and works of fiction. For centuries, authors have used the veil of fiction to cast a critical eye toward the larger society around them: think of Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, Issac Asimov, Margaret Atwood, Aldous Huxley, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, and even Mary Shelley. Now, for the first time, in an unprecedented new release from AK Press, some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction discuss this relationship with a specific focus on anarchist politics.

Sci-fi powerhouses Ursula K. LeGuin, Alan Moore, Michael Moorcock, and Lewis Shiner join activist authors Derrick Jensen, Starhawk, Cristy C. Road, and a variety of other up-and-coming young writers in a series of interviews that explore fiction’s deeply political roots. Ranging in scope from serious political discussions to hilarious personal anecdotes, the interviews collected here paint an intimate portrait of the author as a political agent.

Compiled and annotated by SteamPunk Magazine founder Margaret Killjoy, and with an introduction by Kim Stanley Robinson, Mythmakers and Lawbreakers is an engaging and highly readable book—a must-read for any serious fan of sci-fi or political fiction, and a useful tool for both new and seasoned authors interested in developing their own political utopias.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Killjoy is a writer, editor, and designer. The founder of SteamPunk Magazine, and the author of The SteamPunk?s Guide to the Apocalypse, Margaret lives a nomadic lifestyle and has been involved in local politics around the globe. Kim Stanley Robinson is a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. He is the author of numerious books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed Fifty Degrees Below, Forty Signs of Rain, The Years of Rice and Salt, and Antarctica. In 2008 he was named one of Time Magazine's Heroes of the Environment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: AK Press (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1849350027
• ISBN-13: 978-1849350020
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #780,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The photo by Najva Sol.
My name is Margaret Killjoy, though most everyone I know calls me Magpie. I try to do too many things, such as writing, traveling, playing accordion, publishing, photographing, and trying to bring about an end to the concept of the State. I grew up in Maryland, but have been moving every few months for most of my adult life and have lived all over the United States and parts of Europe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, this book is fantastic (and so much fun)!!!, October 31, 2009

By 

wildflowerboy (planet earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction (Paperback)

In this amazing collection of conversations with anarchist fiction writers, Margaret Killjoy, founder of Steampunk Magazine, explores the intersection between anarchist politics and fiction. The writers he interviews are really diverse and represent many different genres of literature like science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, cyberpunk, and pagan literature. The viewpoints are equally diverse. On the one hand, you have an anarcho-primitivist like Derrick Jensen, while on the other, you have a computer geek like Rick Dakan. If you're like me and love the ecofeminist author Starhawk, you will not want to miss her portion of the book. The interviews with Ursula K. Le Guin, Cristy C. Road, Crimethinc., and Carissa van der Berk Clark are also really great. While most of the other authors I've never heard of before, I now look forward to checking out their work. While I mostly read a lot of theory and history books these days, I agree with the authors about the importance of using fiction to disseminate political ideas. For example, on a personal note, my life was very much changed by reading Starhawk's beautiful novel, "The Fifth Sacred Thing". Perhaps, you too have had a similar experience from such a novel. Over all, I found Margaret Killjoy's book very inspiring. While the movement no doubt needs its theorists and community organizers, this book reminds us that our storytellers (and poets, artists, dancers, musicians, etc.) are equally important. Thank you AK Press for sending me this book as part of my monthly membership to the Friends of AK Press, something readers interested in activist literature should certainly consider. Not only is it an economical way of getting the best books ever by authors like Cindy Milstein, Noam Chomsky, Ward Churchill, and Alexander Cockburn, it is also a great way to make sure that such important ideas get published and made available to the rest of the world.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable insights on the power of fiction, November 3, 2009

By 

John B. Mahaffie (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction (Paperback)

This book has plenty to offer not just to anarchists and radical activists, but to anyone who is interested in understanding, or using fiction to explore and promote change. Killjoy, the editor, could easily have written what he thought different anarchist fiction writers were doing and what he thinks their work means, but he had the good idea to ask them. Their insights are distinctly useful to me in pondering and trying to understand the roles of art and literature in society.

And the book is also pleasing in size (sized for travellers, no doubt!) and in layout, sequence, and so on. Killjoy also appends a thorough list of past and present writers, anarchist or not, who wrote about anarchism in their fiction.

Please note that though I am related to the editor of this book, my thoughts here are as sincere and objective as I can make them.