An Anthology For Er'body.

Before I wound up working for libraries, I thought Amish Romance was a joke genre used by someone accepting submissions to their anthology to illustrate a point I had missed. The editor assured me it was a real thing, but it wasn't until a librarian backed up his assertion that I knew for sure.

Since then, I have seen some pretty off the wall stuff when it comes to anthologies. There is a big push, fortunately, to include marginalized groups and get away from the Western European dominance that long ago out-stayed its welcome in the world of genre fiction. However, every so often a description comes up that is so bizarre and, sadly, hilariously worded that I can't help but wonder at the state of mind of those seeking the submissions.

What did I see recently that prompted this post? In this case, a publication describing itself as, "a series of feminist bicycle science fiction anthologies." Yes, you read that right.

Feminist.
Bicycle.
Science Fiction.

I get feminist science fiction. I've read it and enjoyed it at times. Like anything else that advances a socio-political agenda, the stories can get a bit heavy-handed but to dismiss an entire sub-genre based on the tendency of some authors to preach is narrow-mindedness at its worst. And since I didn't want to simply point out the oddness of the subject matter, I decided to look into the subject a little more.

I'm a big Call the Midwife fan, believe it or not, so learning of the historical connection between female empowerment and bicycles was not altogether unsurprising. The depth to which it goes, however, was. It was literally the difference between constantly supervised movement and the ability to move about without being watched. You can read about it here.

Starting to make a little more sense? This isn't some casual reference to a hobby. The science fiction part is...unusual and the main theme is...Cats.

Okay.