In this engaging and accessible guide, Eugen Bacon explores writing speculative fiction as a creative practice, drawing from her own work, and the work of other writers and theorists, to interrogate its various subgenres. Through analysis of writers such as Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling, this book scrutinises the characteristics of speculative fiction, considers the potential of writing cross genre and covers the challenges of targeting young adults. It connects critical and cultural theories to the practice of creative writing, examining how they might apply to the process of writing speculative fiction. Both practical and critical in its evaluative gaze, it also looks at e-publishing as a promising publishing medium for speculative fiction.

This is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of creative writing, looking to develop a critical awareness of, and practical skills for, the writing of speculative fiction. It is also a valuable resource for creators, commentators and consumers of contemporary speculative fiction. Chapter 8, 'Horror and the Paranormal' was shortlisted for the Australasian Horror Writers Association (AHWA)'s 2019 Australian Shadows Awards.

Eugen Bacon, MA, MSc, PhD, is a computer scientist mentally re-engineered into creative writing. Her stories have won, been shortlisted and commended in international awards, including the Bridport Prize, Copyright Agency Prize, Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Award, Nommo Award for Africans and Fellowship of Australian Writers National Literary Awards. Her creative work has appeared in literary and speculative fiction publications worldwide, including Award Winning Australian Writing, British Science Fiction Association's Vector Magazine, AntipodeanSF, Andromeda, Aurealis, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Meniscus, TEXT, The Victorian Writer, Unsung Stories, the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild and through Routledge in New Writing. Publications: Claiming T-Mo (Meerkat Press). Writing Speculative Fiction (Red Globe Press). In 2020: Her Bitch Dress (Ginninderra Press); The Road to Woop Woop & Other Stories (Meerkat Press) Hadithi (Luna Press Publishing); Inside the Dreaming (NewCon Press).