Women initially existed on the fringes of science fiction, often writing under their initials or a male or androgynous pseudonym.

Now they are some of the most prolific and popular writers of science fiction.

Bradley was initially best known for her Darkover novels, a series dealing with a race of beings with strange psionic powers and a fear of technology.

In her more recent books she has recast myths from the point of view of the female:

• The Mists of Avalon, Arthurian legend from point of view of Guinevere, and its prequel The Forest House (1994)
• The Firebrand, the story of the Trojan War told from Cassandra's point of view

Anne McCaffrey

McCaffrey moves easily between science fiction and fantasy. Her novels often feature a dose of romance.

Key Works

• Dragonriders of Pern and other novels and stories set in that universe
• The Ship Who Sang and co-authored stories set in the same universe
• The Crystal Singer and its sequels Killashandra and Crystal Line

Russ is the first of a number of overtly feminist authors of science fiction and criticism.

Key Works:

• "When It Changed" (1972)
• The Female Man (1975)

Wilhelm moves easily between science fiction and mainstream fiction.

Her best known work of science fiction is Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (1976), a Hugo winner about cloning.

Recently Wilhelm has published a series of successfully mainstream novels featuring lawyer Barbara Holloway and her father.

Vonda McIntyre

McIntyre has written a number of Star Trek and Star Wars novels and novelizations.

Her key work is Dreamsnake (1978), a Hugo and Nebula winner.

Tiptree (1915-87), whose real name is Alice Sheldon, was an intelligence officer with the CIA with an earned doctorate in experimental psychology.

She kept her identity secret until she won an award for being a male sensitive to female characters in science fiction.

Her writing exhibits a deep concern for male/female harmony.

She is best known for her short stories:

• "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?"
• "Love is the Plan, the Plan is Death"

She also wrote--and won awards--as Racoona Sheldon.

She and her husband committed suicide together.

C.J. Cherryh

Cherryh is a classics teacher who also moves easily between science fiction and fantasy.

Key Works:

• Downbelow Station (1981), Hugo winning intelligent space opera
• Cyteen (1988), a trilogy that also won a Hugo

Slonczewski is a biologist and a professor at Kenyon College in Ohio. She writes a lot about human/animal hybrids.

Key Work: The Door Into Ocean

Elgin is a linguist and that background informs her work.

Key work: Native Tongue

Tepper is another overtly feminist writer.

Key Works:

• The Gate to Women's Country
• Grass
• Beauty, a retelling of several fairy tales, most notably Sleeping Beauty

Willis who is noted for her short stories, has won many short fiction Hugos and Nebulas.

Key Works:

• Doomsday Book, about time travel back to the time of the Black Death, won both Hugo and Nebula.
• To Say Nothing of the Dog, a comic novel set in the same universe, won the Nebula.

Margaret Atwood

Butler is a black feminist.

Key Works:

• Xenogenesis trilogy

Bujold is noted for her often-humorous Miles Vorkosigan novels.

Start with Shards of Honor and Barrayar and you will not be able to stop until you have read everything you can get your hands on. My favorite is Mirror Dance.

Bujold has made some forays into fantasy, most notably with The Curse of Chalion.