Editorial 3.1
by Amanda Weiss
Dear Reader,
Welcome to our fifth issue, “Interstices.”
Speculative literature is frequently defined by its perceived boundaries: science fiction versus fantasy, genre fiction versus literary fiction, escapism versus realism. Yet these boundaries are porous and fictional: “genre-bending” literary trends like magical realism, slipstream, fabulism, and weird fiction have long questioned the stability of such categories. Hivemind Issue 3.1 explores the “interstices” or “spaces in between” in speculative literature by asking: How does contemporary speculative fiction newly challenge genre categorization and literary preconceptions? How do authors explore the myth of boundaries? How is genre questioned and defied across different cultures and languages? And what does this ultimately reveal about the nature of categories across languages, cultures, societies, and historical contexts?
Pieces in this issue examine that which is “neither here nor there.” In our fiction section, Beth Goder’s “Arachnomorphosis” is a slipstream piece, a genre that inherently exists between the “real” and “nonreal,” “literary” and “speculative,” “human” and “nonhuman.” Jessi Rich’s “BABYLONICA” blends science fiction and fantasy tropes to similarly examine what makes her characters–and the art that they produce–human. Edogawa Ranpo’s lesser-known early short story, “The Ghost” (trans. by Keegan MacDonald), combines narrative elements from ghost stories, gothic literature, and early detective/mystery fiction. Finally, Eugie Foster’s urban fantasy, “Of Two Minds in Lanais,” draws from both European and Asian fantasy elements to describe a blending of minds, playing with perceived boundaries at the aesthetic and narrative level.
In our nonfiction section, our authors further examine boundary-crossing. Keegan discusses magical realism in two pieces on Latin America and Japan, highlighting the historical and cultural foundations that shaped each literary tradition’s respective development. Finally, Britta Kallin contributes our first book review on Brunhild the Dragonslayer, a Japanese “light novel” series by Agarizaki Eiko that blends premodern German mythology with more contemporary Japanese storytelling.
This issue was made possible through a generous GEARS grant from Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College and the work of two amazing student editors: Keegan MacDonald and Jessi Rich. As mentioned above, Keegan contributes three (!) pieces to this issue: an original translation of an Edogawa Ranpo short story and two original non-fiction pieces. Jessi Rich, an outstanding young writer, wrote an original short story specifically for this issue. Our conversations on the interstices of speculative fiction have been absolutely invaluable. Thank you to all for your support, and we hope you enjoy this issue!
Amanda Weiss
March 11, 2026
About the Editorial Team
Amanda Weiss is Associate Professor of Japanese at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she teaches courses on Japanese media and society and leads a Vertically Integrated Project in East Asian Media. Her most recent book is Han Heroes and Yamato Warriors: Competing Masculinities in Chinese and Japanese War Cinema (University of Hong Kong Press, 2023). Dr. Weiss is a 2018 graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop and her favorite authors include Kelly Link, Ken Liu, Neil Gaiman, N. K. Jemisin, Carol Emshwiller, and Ted Chiang.