Susan Palwick
As a writer and scholar of science fiction and fantasy, I have a particular interest in place. Invented places such as Earthsea and Middle Earth have always been central to speculative literature, which casts a new light on known lands by guiding readers through unknown ones. (I chose these two examples partly because Le Guin and Tolkien are among the "greenest" writers in the genre.)
Since my arrival in Reno in 1997, place has become increasingly important in my own writing. My novelette "Going After Bobo," set on Peavine Mountain here in Reno, appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction in 2000, and was reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction #18. My second novel, The Necessary Beggar (Tor Books, October 2005), is set partly in Reno and in the Gerlach area. And I am currently working on another novel, tentatively entitled Driving to November, set in an imaginary valley in the Gabbs region of central Nevada.