D.J. Daniels

DJ Daniels is an Australian author. Her novel, Green Jay and Crow, has recently been released in the US by Abaddon / Simon & Schuster. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, and So It Goes.

She is a judge for the 2018 Aurealis Awards and is one of the Sydney Story Factory’s Ambassadors of Ink.

Recently I asked Daniels about what she was reading. Her reply:

At the moment I’m reading Wolfgang Jeschke’s The Cusanus Game which depicts a contaminated future in which human DNA is mutating. Jeschke is not an author I’ve ever read before, but the book was a library find which I borrowed in a bite-the-bullet spirit – the book’s themes looked very similar to my current work. So far, so good; they’re nothing alike. And Jeschke is a great author to have found.

Most recently I’ve read Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Moon, an examination of a relatively near future in which the moon has been substantially colonised. I always enjoy Robinson’s work, his eco consciousness, his thoughtful push towards if not utopia, then towards something better. He mixes the technical with the human in an interesting way. An ageing philosopher/poet/cloud star, a pregnant activist, and emerging AI. Very enjoyable.

Emma Newman’s Before Mars, the third in her Planetfall series was another recent read. I admit I have skipped from one to three, I need to return to After Atlas. Newman I love for her ability to delve into the mind and its labyrinths. Her protagonists are very believably human. In this case, I appreciated her truthfulness about the complexities and regrets of motherhood.

I’ve also read some short fiction by Haruki Murakami: After the Quake. This compilation is a response to the Kobe earthquake. Haunting, imaginative and surreal as always.

And finally, a different kind of reading. I’ve been perusing anthologies and collections as a judge for the Aurealis Awards – Australian awards for speculative fiction. A wide range of work from names that are new to me as well as established authors. There’s some wonderful, powerful stuff in the mix.

Visit D.J. Daniels's website.

--Marshal Zeringue