Release Date 12 September 2023
Artwork by Iain Clark
Locus Recommended Reading List 2023
BSFA Winner for Best Non-Fiction, Shortlist 2024
Hugo Awards Finalist for Best Related Work 2024
MAUREEN KINCAID SPELLER [1959-1922] was a reviewer, critic and lifelong science fiction fan. Active in SF fandom from the early 1980s, Maureen started reviewing for the BSFA magazine Vector in 1986. She served on the jury of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, chaired the Tiptree Award and taught the SF Foundation Critical Masterclass in 2016. Her criticism has appeared in a wide variety of venues, and her extended critical analysis of the 2012 BSFA and Clarke Awards was shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Best Related Work.
In 1999 she was nominated for a Hugo in the Best Fan Writer category. Her passionate advocacy of new critical voices saw her appointed Senior Reviews Editor of the groundbreaking speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons in 2015.
"When Maureen fell ill in the spring of 2022, my first reaction, like that of many, was one of profound shock. Her untimely death has robbed us all, not only of her presence, but of the work she was yet to do. Maureen had long spoken of her desire to put together a collection of her criticism, and the original intention for this volume was that she would personally be involved in the selection and curation of her favourite pieces. Time was sadly against us, but the desire to preserve Maureen's work, to have it readily available to audiences old and new, has never felt more urgent. A Traveller in Time is by no means a complete collection - there is lots more out there to discover - but my hope is that it presents a faithful snapshot of Maureen as she was in life: spirited, passionate, knowledgeable and endlessly curious."
Nina Allan - Editor
A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller
"... A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller is a terrific sampling of Maureen’s criticism, each piece illustrating not only her desire to engage with the work but also the broader genre and literary community. [...] The great sadness of finishing A Traveller in Time is that I can’t tell Maureen how much I loved the book or argue with her about spoilers (she’s fine with them in reviews) and Steven Moffat (she’s not keen). But that sadness is somewhat mollified with the knowledge that her voice and her legacy will live on, that through this book, she will continue to be an inspiration, a bridge builder, for so many of us in the genre community." Ian Mond - Locus Magazine November 2023
