On November 26 & 27 we’re hosting our second-ever AugurCon, our virtual celebration of speculative literatures! We’re joined by over 45 amazing guests, including authors, poets, editors, and publishing professionals, to explore the intersections of the world we know—and the ones we dare to imagine.

We connected with Nafiza Azad, author of ROAD OF THE LOST, who is a panel moderator at this year’s AugurCon.

Get your ticket to attend her panel:

The Pen and the Sword: How Research Shapes Fantasy Worlds
Sunday, November 27 at 1:30–2:30 PM EST / 10:30–11:30 AM PST

To see the full weekend program schedule, visit our website.

Let’s start with the big question: do you have a favourite spec fic genre? If so, what is it? Is it the genre you play in most often?

I would say high fantasy because there’s something about made up worlds with their own… everything… that feels very thrilling to me.

But to be honest, I am interested in all spec fic. I make it a point not to limit myself where reading is concerned.

And yes, I usually do find my stories somewhere in the scope of high fantasy. Anywhere I have to build a world and tackle the delicious impossibility of making this world feel as real as the one we live in.

In other interviews, while talking about your work, you’ve highlighted the importance of “mess” with femininity (messy friendships, life as messy). I, too, love messiness—and especially how it pairs with learning, forgiveness, and change. What is it about mess that draws you in your work, and what do you want to get out of it—for yourself or your readers?

Mess is another way of saying life and you don’t live until you get messy, until you get your hands dirty, so to speak. I don’t set out to specifically create messy characters. Instead I just try to create the most believable characters who are the results (or perhaps the consequence) of the landscapes they grow up in. I take my lived experiences and imbue the teaching they gave me into my characters which makes them flawed but deliciously (and sometimes frustratedly) so. Honestly, I want all my books to live beyond the page. Perhaps the messiness is my attempt to ensure they do.

This year, you’re moderating a panel on research and fantasy worlds. Without giving too much away for the panel: what’s your favourite and/or least favourite part about the research phase? What do you research vs. invent?

My favourite part is unearthing the possibilities that come to light as I do research about a particular thing I want to write about or explore in my book albeit in fantastical settings. My least favourite thing would be how unsurmountable the mountain seems at the beginning of the venture.

When you think about your career so far, what’s one of the moments that keeps you going? A career highlight, or a beautiful moment, an inspiring mentor, or something you’re just incredibly proud of? How has that impacted your journey?

I think it’s the moment of awe that comes with realizing that people are taking the stories you write seriously. It used to be that I would bore everyone talking about stuff I made up in my head and now people are actually having meetings about the stuff I made up in my head. It’s wondrous but also humbling.

Hear more from Nafiza: Get your ticket to AugurCon 2022

Nafiza Azad writes speculative fiction centering girls and women of colour. Her latest novel, ROAD OF THE LOST, was released in October, 2022.

Join Nafiza at AugurCon! Our panel on The Pen and the Sword: How Research Shapes Fantasy Worlds takes place on Sunday, November 27. Get your ticket to AugurCon 2022 now!