Not What I Intended

by Nancy Kress

Nancy Kress has been exploring the possibilities of genetic engineering, human evolution, alien contact, artificial intelligence, and the future of the species for over forty years, with one eye on the bleeding edge of science and the other on the human soul and what makes it bleed. These stories, and the essays that explain her own history and worldview, compose a brief tourist's guide for the world to come. In the title memoir, 'Not What I Intended,' Kress discusses a childhood and community life where no young girl ever dreams of becoming a writer, and how she made those non-dreams come true. 'Patent Infringement' is a short piece inspired by Kress's own time writing corporate copy that managed to predict COVID, COVID vaccines, and the patenting of genes for profit. 'Laws of Survival' is a tale of first contact in which humanity is hardly the species the aliens are interested in - can an amateur dog trainer save the world the aliens have trashed, or at least herself? 'Amy Lowell, Cixin Liu, Jane Austen, and the Art of Fiction' is a compelling essay about the human drive to create patterns, and what the cognitive limitations of patternmaking means for fiction - and for politics. 'Machine Learning' is science fiction but might also be a work of psychological realism about the creation of AI and the healing of a scientist's grief over the loss of his daughter. And featuring an in-depth Q&A with new Outspoken Authors series co-editor Nick Mamatas, who travelled up to Seattle to talk to Nancy about the future of plagues, sleepless nights, teaching science fiction writing, and dogs dogs dogs!

136 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Nancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella Beggars in Spain which was later expanded into a novel with the same title. In addition to her novels, Kress has written numerous short stories and is a regular columnist for Writer's Digest. She is a regular at Clarion writing workshops and at The Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland. During the Winter of 2008/09, Nancy Kress is the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the University of Leipzig's Institute for American Studies in Leipzig, Germany.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another crackerjack entry in the Outspoken Author series by PM Press, where short books contain a few fiction pieces, an essay, an interview of the author by the series editor, and a bibliography.

Nancy Kress is known as the queen of the hard science fiction writers. She certainly didn't start out that way, raised in a traditional family where her mother presented her (at age 12) with the career options of secretary, nurse or teacher. She chose teacher, and taught elementary school for a few years before having babies and becoming isolated in her married life. She turned to writing as a relief valve, and started writing science fiction since that's what she devoured growing up. Selling a few stories, she expanded her involvement after her marriage ended, and she became a prominent voice in the field at an age where many writers had already had a decade or two of success.

All writers come to writing differently, but women writers (especially those raised in the mid 20th century) had a challenging time of it, torn between domestic expectations and career interests, where they often weren't taken very seriously. Kress's path is somewhat unique but resonates with those of other women who finally found their voice in the field. It leads this reader to think about the women who published a promising story or two, and then disappeared. That could have been Kress's story. Fortunately for us, it wasn't.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of sorts which makes it difficult to give an overall rating too. What's even harder is that it's a mix of fiction and non-fiction. This book series is designed as a complete showcase of an author. You will only like it if you love that author. I love Nancy Kress' writing which is why I bought this book. The essays were specifically written for this collection, and I'd only read one of the novelettes previously.

Patent Infringement (2002) - short story
Written as a series of letters about the absurdity of the legal system and patenting of genes.

Not What I Intended – essay
An extended author bio of how Nancy ended up where she is.

Laws of Survival (2007) - novelette
Star Trek was wrong. The aliens are here for the dogs not the whales, but humanity is in the way again and suffers as a result. Training dogs as surrogates for invading aliens is a surcease for truma and an escape from deprivation for the protagonist.

"Books Cannot Be Sold As Though They're John Deere Tractors" - interview of Nancy Kress by Nick Mamatas
Important highlights of the interview:
Nancy drives the same car as me. A Honda CR-V
Nancy prefers dogs to cats for non-human friends, which shows how intelligent she is.
Observer was written to elucidate the science. Nancy provided the story, Robert provided the science.

Amy Lowell, Cixin Liu, Jane Austen, and the Art of Fiction – essay
An essay on life, art, and storytelling. How to render the chaotic patterns of life into the art of fiction. With a side-order on criticism or judging the past yesterday’s fiction by today’s standards.

Machine Learning (2015) - novelette
An AI spontaneously becomes a psychotherapist to treat its creator.

[Jim Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars