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The Outspoken and the Incendiary: Interviews with Radical Speculative Fiction Writers
In-depth, intense, insightful.
For more than a decade, radical science fiction author and activist
journalist Terry Bisson interviewed some of the most provocative and
outspoken authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Anarchism, sexuality, creativity, and the future of humanity itself—no
topic was taboo. Bisson's prankster spirit also shone through as he
quizzed his subjects about what cars they drove, played free association
games, and created an atmosphere of two old friends having intimate
late-night chats. Collected from PM Press's award-winning Outspoken
Authors series for the first time, The Outspoken and the Incendiary
showcases insightful and long-form explorations into the lives and
minds of some of today’s most politically charged fiction writers.
“PM's Outspoken Authors series looks almost like a science fiction
Who’s Who or Hall of Fame, except that I included myself. Because I
could.” —Terry Bisson
Words and Thoughts Eleanor Arnason, Terry Bisson, Michael
Blumlein, John Crowley, Samuel R. Delany, Cory Doctorow, Meg Elison,
Karen Joy Fowler, Eileen Gunn, Elizabeth Hand, Cara Hoffman, Nalo
Hopkinson, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Paul Krassner, Joe R.
Lansdale, Jonathan Lethem, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ken MacLeod, Nick Mamatas,
Michael Moorcock, Paul Park, Gary Phillips, Marge Piercy, Rachel
Pollack, Rudy Rucker, Kim Stanley Robinson, Carter Scholz, Nisi Shawl,
John Shirley, Vandana Singh, and Norman Spinrad, with additional new
contributions by Nalo Hopkinson, Jonathan Lethem, Nisi Shawl, Peter
Coyote, and Rudy Rucker.
For more than a decade, radical science fiction author and activist
journalist Terry Bisson interviewed some of the most provocative and
outspoken authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Anarchism, sexuality, creativity, and the future of humanity itself—no
topic was taboo. Bisson's prankster spirit also shone through as he
quizzed his subjects about what cars they drove, played free association
games, and created an atmosphere of two old friends having intimate
late-night chats. Collected from PM Press's award-winning Outspoken
Authors series for the first time, The Outspoken and the Incendiary
showcases insightful and long-form explorations into the lives and
minds of some of today’s most politically charged fiction writers.
“PM's Outspoken Authors series looks almost like a science fiction
Who’s Who or Hall of Fame, except that I included myself. Because I
could.” —Terry Bisson
Words and Thoughts Eleanor Arnason, Terry Bisson, Michael
Blumlein, John Crowley, Samuel R. Delany, Cory Doctorow, Meg Elison,
Karen Joy Fowler, Eileen Gunn, Elizabeth Hand, Cara Hoffman, Nalo
Hopkinson, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Paul Krassner, Joe R.
Lansdale, Jonathan Lethem, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ken MacLeod, Nick Mamatas,
Michael Moorcock, Paul Park, Gary Phillips, Marge Piercy, Rachel
Pollack, Rudy Rucker, Kim Stanley Robinson, Carter Scholz, Nisi Shawl,
John Shirley, Vandana Singh, and Norman Spinrad, with additional new
contributions by Nalo Hopkinson, Jonathan Lethem, Nisi Shawl, Peter
Coyote, and Rudy Rucker.
- GenresNonfiction
398 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2025
About the author
Terry Bisson
216 books179 followersTerry Ballantine Bisson was an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his short stories, including "Bears Discover Fire" (1990), which which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, as well as They're Made Out of Meat (1991), which has been adapted for video often.
Adapted from Wikipedia.
Adapted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2026
Starting in 2009, PM Press issued small booklets focusing on a single author, including some short fiction and an interview with the author by the irrepressible Terry Bisson.
Terry is no longer with us, sadly, but this compendium includes 32 of the interviews, including a few not conducted by Terry (which includes one of Terry). These Q&A sessions give a brief but meaningful look at the authors' background and point of view. They are also often quite funny as Terry banters with the interviewee.
Terry has a leftist background (and went to prison for some months for not divulging names of people), and many of the interviews are with people of a radical or leftist background. Terry wasn't much interested in interviewing people from the right side of the political spectrum.
My only quibble is that nowhere is it indicated what year these interviews took place. Sometimes it can be derived by the context in the interview, but it would have been helpful to list the year conducted either in the table of contents or somewhere in each interview so that when an author refers to 'the current situation' or similar vague referral, we know what time period they're talking about.
Because Terry was born in 1942 he mainly talks to people he knew or read during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The series is continuing with editors Nisi Shawl and Nick Mamatas, and I am hopeful that some of the future interviews are conducted with younger authors and from those of backgrounds beyond the US and UK.
Terry is no longer with us, sadly, but this compendium includes 32 of the interviews, including a few not conducted by Terry (which includes one of Terry). These Q&A sessions give a brief but meaningful look at the authors' background and point of view. They are also often quite funny as Terry banters with the interviewee.
Terry has a leftist background (and went to prison for some months for not divulging names of people), and many of the interviews are with people of a radical or leftist background. Terry wasn't much interested in interviewing people from the right side of the political spectrum.
My only quibble is that nowhere is it indicated what year these interviews took place. Sometimes it can be derived by the context in the interview, but it would have been helpful to list the year conducted either in the table of contents or somewhere in each interview so that when an author refers to 'the current situation' or similar vague referral, we know what time period they're talking about.
Because Terry was born in 1942 he mainly talks to people he knew or read during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The series is continuing with editors Nisi Shawl and Nick Mamatas, and I am hopeful that some of the future interviews are conducted with younger authors and from those of backgrounds beyond the US and UK.
February 14, 2026
I knew Terry Bisson casually for years. I've appreciated many of his books and short stories. I was distantly sad when he died. I own all the books in his PM Press "Outspoken Authors" series, and I have read just about all of them, including the interviews. So I was a little uncertain about reading all the interviews in one place--but I was also learning more about who he was, and just how radical a life he led, and I was curious.
The book has a foreword by Jonathan Lethem, an introduction by Nisi Shawl, an afterword by Nalo Hopkinson, and elegies for Bisson by Peter Coyote and Rudy Rucker. All of these writers except Coyote are also interviewed. The interviews are in alphabetical order by author's last name, including one or two interviews from the Outspoken Authors series which were conducted by people other than Bisson.
It turns out that the point of putting them altogether is not to give you insight into the individual writers (there's plenty of that, but it can be derived from reading the interviews separately in the book series) but to give you insight into Terry Bisson. He was an interviewer like no other. All good interviewers do their prep work, target their questions, and play to their partners' strong points. Bisson did all those things, but he had his own scattershot, impulsive style. He'd ask an intense question, follow up the answer with a very specific response that shows he was listening, and then change the subject completely. He had a particular way of listing a few cultural icons (writers, actors, books, musicians) and asking the interviewee to give him one sentence about each of them. This only works if you think long and hard about who your partner will have interesting opinions about. He throws in his signature question, "what car do you drive?" the way Alfred Hitchcock put himself into every movie.
In the end, the book turns out to be a travelogue through all of the ways that science fiction writers (and the occasional writer from another genre) can have leftist, progressive, or radical beliefs underlying their work, and thus a surprising paean to "diversity of tactics" and the richness of believing that a better world is possible.
The book has a foreword by Jonathan Lethem, an introduction by Nisi Shawl, an afterword by Nalo Hopkinson, and elegies for Bisson by Peter Coyote and Rudy Rucker. All of these writers except Coyote are also interviewed. The interviews are in alphabetical order by author's last name, including one or two interviews from the Outspoken Authors series which were conducted by people other than Bisson.
It turns out that the point of putting them altogether is not to give you insight into the individual writers (there's plenty of that, but it can be derived from reading the interviews separately in the book series) but to give you insight into Terry Bisson. He was an interviewer like no other. All good interviewers do their prep work, target their questions, and play to their partners' strong points. Bisson did all those things, but he had his own scattershot, impulsive style. He'd ask an intense question, follow up the answer with a very specific response that shows he was listening, and then change the subject completely. He had a particular way of listing a few cultural icons (writers, actors, books, musicians) and asking the interviewee to give him one sentence about each of them. This only works if you think long and hard about who your partner will have interesting opinions about. He throws in his signature question, "what car do you drive?" the way Alfred Hitchcock put himself into every movie.
In the end, the book turns out to be a travelogue through all of the ways that science fiction writers (and the occasional writer from another genre) can have leftist, progressive, or radical beliefs underlying their work, and thus a surprising paean to "diversity of tactics" and the richness of believing that a better world is possible.
January 10, 2026
Love and miss you, Terry!
Terry Bisson spent a lifetime writing tender, satirical Science Fiction and not talking to cops. He was a damn good soldier, man, and friend (not to me, but to all he shared a life his time with). Here is a compilation of the interviews Bisson conducted for PM Press's Outspoken Author series that includes short fiction showcases and conversations with various left-leaning speculative fiction writers.
Bisson's status as a legendarily good friend permeates through each of these interviews. The congenial familiarity and teasing, sometimes self-amusing approach to these conversations makes these chats something of an anomaly in the wider world of interview-series. Whereas something like Hot Ones (to make a far-reaching example) succeeds on the inventiveness of the format, the heightened state of the subject, and the depth of the research team-- Bisson's interviews succeed largely because you can tell that both people are immensely pleased to be corresponding with one another, reminiscing and paling around.
It's unclear what format these interviews took place in (there are several instances of follow-up questions, but there are also a handful of responses that seem to reference that responses to Bisson require typing/writing). This, I think, is a benefit to this collection. Many of the answers feel thoughtful, sincere, and designed to edify the audience rather than the sea of interviews out there designed only to showcase personality and generate soundbites.
Bisson has a number of "catchphrase" inquiries, questions he asks of everyone. Sometimes they are stock-standard like his reliable "What car do you drive?" cudgel. Other times, he will ask subjects to discuss other writers or concepts in a single sentence-- or my favorite: the Jeopardy! style answer where you must supply the question. Despite the formulaic approach, the answer to these questions often yields fun answers.
Many of the conversations are interesting and enjoyable to read, but I hasten to say that anything in here completely blew me away. I wouldn't describe any of these interviews as casual, but they are not the most ambitious. I enjoyed basically every interview with an author that I knew and several of the ones I'd never heard of. There are a few duds that gave me absolutely nothing, not even the pleasure of listening to two good friends. But it's a large collection.
This may or may not bother people, but there are numerous formatting issues in my copy.
The interviews are bookended by multiple introductions, forewords, afterwards, and eulogies. Bisson was the type of man who, when he died, people practically elbowed each other to pay their respects. It is the kind of life we should all strive for. Especially the part about not talking to the police.
Terry Bisson spent a lifetime writing tender, satirical Science Fiction and not talking to cops. He was a damn good soldier, man, and friend (not to me, but to all he shared a life his time with). Here is a compilation of the interviews Bisson conducted for PM Press's Outspoken Author series that includes short fiction showcases and conversations with various left-leaning speculative fiction writers.
Bisson's status as a legendarily good friend permeates through each of these interviews. The congenial familiarity and teasing, sometimes self-amusing approach to these conversations makes these chats something of an anomaly in the wider world of interview-series. Whereas something like Hot Ones (to make a far-reaching example) succeeds on the inventiveness of the format, the heightened state of the subject, and the depth of the research team-- Bisson's interviews succeed largely because you can tell that both people are immensely pleased to be corresponding with one another, reminiscing and paling around.
It's unclear what format these interviews took place in (there are several instances of follow-up questions, but there are also a handful of responses that seem to reference that responses to Bisson require typing/writing). This, I think, is a benefit to this collection. Many of the answers feel thoughtful, sincere, and designed to edify the audience rather than the sea of interviews out there designed only to showcase personality and generate soundbites.
Bisson has a number of "catchphrase" inquiries, questions he asks of everyone. Sometimes they are stock-standard like his reliable "What car do you drive?" cudgel. Other times, he will ask subjects to discuss other writers or concepts in a single sentence-- or my favorite: the Jeopardy! style answer where you must supply the question. Despite the formulaic approach, the answer to these questions often yields fun answers.
Many of the conversations are interesting and enjoyable to read, but I hasten to say that anything in here completely blew me away. I wouldn't describe any of these interviews as casual, but they are not the most ambitious. I enjoyed basically every interview with an author that I knew and several of the ones I'd never heard of. There are a few duds that gave me absolutely nothing, not even the pleasure of listening to two good friends. But it's a large collection.
This may or may not bother people, but there are numerous formatting issues in my copy.
The interviews are bookended by multiple introductions, forewords, afterwards, and eulogies. Bisson was the type of man who, when he died, people practically elbowed each other to pay their respects. It is the kind of life we should all strive for. Especially the part about not talking to the police.
February 25, 2026
A couple interesting interviews, most are rather dull. It's also poorly edited with lots of typos and formatting problems.
April 5, 2026
This is an engrossing collection of interviews and a surprisingly fast read. The interviews are (mostly) done by Terry Bisson, the brilliant SF author perhaps best known for his award-winning short story, "Bears Discover Fire." The interviews were originally published as part of PM Press's Outspoken Authors series, with each book including short fiction by the featured author alongside an interview with them. (I've read several of those books and recommend them as well.)
I received this book as a birthday gift and initially thought I might read a few of the interviews from authors I love or am interested in. But the book was so engaging that I immediately found myself reading it from cover to cover. Bisson's quirky and fun personality comes through in every interview, with questions ranging from "What kind of car do you drive?" to "You describe yourself as an anarchist rather than a Marxist. What does this mean politically? Personally? Artistically?" The interviewees come to life as well, and it often feels like being a fly on the wall for a fascinating conversation between old (and very smart) friends. The book is also a fitting tribute to Bisson, with several authors offering moving elegies at the end.
I recommend this book for any SF fan, but particularly for writers. The interviews often delve into writing process ("your drill for writing," as Terry calls it) and the ups and downs of publishing, and the answers from these brilliant writers are often both instructive and inspiring.
I received this book as a birthday gift and initially thought I might read a few of the interviews from authors I love or am interested in. But the book was so engaging that I immediately found myself reading it from cover to cover. Bisson's quirky and fun personality comes through in every interview, with questions ranging from "What kind of car do you drive?" to "You describe yourself as an anarchist rather than a Marxist. What does this mean politically? Personally? Artistically?" The interviewees come to life as well, and it often feels like being a fly on the wall for a fascinating conversation between old (and very smart) friends. The book is also a fitting tribute to Bisson, with several authors offering moving elegies at the end.
I recommend this book for any SF fan, but particularly for writers. The interviews often delve into writing process ("your drill for writing," as Terry calls it) and the ups and downs of publishing, and the answers from these brilliant writers are often both instructive and inspiring.
Want to Read
February 14, 2026Rec. by: Debbie Notkin, and the late author's work
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews