Of Clerics and Queens: Nghi Vo on Genre, Identity and Crafting Stories

Authors

Keywords:

fantasy fiction, genre, identity, queer, writer of colour, storytelling

Abstract

Best known for her elegant storytelling, lush detail, and evocative prose, Nghi Vo is the acclaimed author of The Empress of Salt and Fortune, the first in an ongoing series of novellas called The Singing Hills Cycle. Her body of work also includes the novels Siren Queen, The Chosen and the Beautiful, and The City in Glass. She has won the Hugo Award, the Crawford Award, and the Ignyte Award, and her books have been repeatedly featured in NPR’s Best of the Year lists, securing her place as a significant and distinctive voice in speculative fiction. This interview was conducted via email between May and June 2024. It touches upon the nature of the genre and forms of fantasy fiction, the significance of being a POC (person of colour) writer of speculative fiction, queerness, and worldbuilding. Vo speaks of the importance of creating counternarratives, the collaborative creation of storyworlds by author and reader, about disruption, the importance of authoring yourself, and choosing the stories we tell about ourselves.

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Author Biographies

Rheanna Mathews, Christ University, Bangalore

Rheanna Mathews is a UGC Senior Research Fellow at Christ University, Bangalore, India. Her research examines gender, sexuality, power, and temporality in queer fantasy fiction, focusing on resistance, memory, and alternative futurities. She has published a book chapter, “Populism and Fantasy Fiction,” in the Springer Nature Encyclopedia of New Populism and Responses in the 21st Century, and continues to address how contemporary fiction formally engages queer identities.

Sharmila Narayana, Christ University, Bangalore

Sharmila Narayana works as a Professor at Christ University, Bangalore (India). Cultural Studies, Afro-American literature, and Gender Studies, are some of her areas of interest. She has numerous publications in various reputed international journals.

References

Fuller, Lisa. “Why Culturally Aware Reviews Matter”. Kill Your Darlings, 5 Oct. 2020, https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/why-culturally-aware-reviews-matter.

McKeown, Erin. “The Queer Gospel”. Mirrors Break Back / According to Us, TVP Records, 2017. Spotify app.

Vo, Nghi. Into the Riverlands. First edition, Tordotcom, 2022.

---. Mammoths at the Gates. Tordotcom, 2023.

---. “On the Fox Roads”. Reactor, 31 Oct. 2023, https://reactormag.com/on-the-fox-roads-nghi-vo-2.

---. Siren Queen. First edition, Tordotcom, 2022.

---. The Brides of High Hill. Tordotcom, 2024.

---. The Chosen and the Beautiful. Tordotcom, 2021.

---. The City in Glass. Tordotcom, 2024.

---. The Empress of Salt and Fortune. Tordotcom, 2020.

---. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. Tordotcom, 2020.

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Published

29-12-2025

How to Cite

Mathews, R., & Narayana, S. (2025). Of Clerics and Queens: Nghi Vo on Genre, Identity and Crafting Stories. SARE: Southeast Asian Review of English, 62(2), 105–114. Retrieved from https://sare.um.edu.my/index.php/SARE/article/view/59192

Issue

Vol. 62 No. 2 (2025): SOUTHEAST ASIAN REVIEW OF ENGLISH (2025)

Section

Interview

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Rheanna Mathews, Sharmila Narayana

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