Speculative Fiction at the Columbus Book Festival

Listeners, you’re about to slip through a portal to arrive at the 2025 Columbus Book Festival, where Megan Giddings, Ruben Reyes Jr., and Edward Underhill discussed the ins and outs of speculative fiction: why they write it, why they love it, and the challenges and opportunities the genre presents. We’ve got mysterious doors opening to unknown lands, alternate realties, time slips, and plenty of additional oddities, so step into that portal and don’t you dare look back.   Megan Giddings, the author of the novels Lakewood, The Women Could Fly, and, most recently, Meet Me at the Crossroads. Her story collection, Black Arts, is forthcoming in 2026. She is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota.   Ruben Reyes, Jr. is the author of the short story collection There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven and, most recently, the novel Archive of Unknown Universes. Originally from Southern California, he now lives in Brooklyn.   Edward Underhill is the author of the young adult novels Always the Almost, This Day Changes Everything, and In Case You Read This. His latest novel is his first for adults, The In-Between Bookstore. He grew up in Wisconsin and currently resides in California.   Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and an edited transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email [email protected] (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.