Canons

This idea of a feminist SF canon would be to take a subset of the most outstanding and representative works to suggest to those unfamiliar with it. The Tiptree Awards give a top choice and a short list for each year. However, a canon for reading in general would include works from before the award began. It might also make different choices to be more representative. By agreeing on a central set of works to suggest to those new to the category, then readers will eventually have a set of stories that they know in common which they can use as material for comparison and to discuss new works.

There are at least several ways to organize such as canon...

• Historical Canon - by Liz Henry
• Canon by Format and Title - by Cynthia Ward. This was a list assembled by Cynthia Ward for The Internet Review of Science Fiction. (cf. "Feminist SF: Futures for Humankind"). It is organized by format (novel, short form, anthology) and title. Authors marked with an asterick are essential feminist SF authors, and most or all their SF is relevant.
• Girl Canon - A canon of girls' lit. While the Girl Canon is only partly SF, understanding and familiarity with the Girl Canon is probably essential to understanding the background of many feminist analyses, references, and responses to literature.