Welcome to the latest Nablai's Nebula, courtesy of Nablai, where you can get all the hottest sub-genre-relevant info and inspiration you need!

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June has finally arrived. Bringing with it the rainbows in the sky. The showers are many, the skies have spread, we welcome the Pride month with a bang.

Yes, you guessed right. This month's issue is all about LGBTQ+ science fiction. And with everything currently going on in the world, we thought it fit to present the diverse inclusiveness of our Wattpad and the international writer community in this article.

There's horror, terror and pain going on. But it doesn't mean we can't reach out to each other. Distant as we seem, but we stand together as one in the ocean of humanity. There's a hero in all of us. All we need is empathy, compassion and kindness.

Like the rainbows in the sky, each one of us has the power to reach a heart. This is where we start--right here, right now.

Thanks to the websites, blogs and online materials, the worlds of science fiction have become a part of our daily lives. The stories spun by the writers of these genres are often set in communities where the modern definitions of gender and the hindrances of law are not valid. They allow explorations of different perspectives, giving endless possibilities in the process. This makes these worlds of writing a natural home for LGBTQ+ people and their hopes, problems and dreams.

One of the earliest references to LGBTQ+ in science fiction was "A True History" by the Greek writer Lucian (A.D. 120–185). It's also known as the earliest surviving example of science fiction and the first ever LGBTQ+ science fiction story.

The main character is enveloped by a typhoon and swept up to the moon, which is inhabited by a society of men that are at war with the sun. After the hero distinguishes himself in combat, the king gives him his son the prince in marriage. The all-male society reproduces (male children only) by giving birth from the thigh or by growing a child from a plant produced by planting the left testicle in the moon's soil.

In the pre-nineteenth century literature, handling of sexual topics in most of the speculative fictions. Issues of gender and sexuality have been central to SF since its inception but were ignored by readers and critics until the late twentieth century.

An Anglo-American Alliance, a 1906 novel by Gregory Casparian, was the first SF-themed novel to openly portray a lesbian romantic relationship.

As the demographics of the readership broadened in the Pulp Era (1920-30s), it became possible to include characters who were more or less openly homosexuals. But in accordance with the prevailing mindset during these times, they were stereotyped as villains: evil, demented, or effeminate. Homosexuals were usually typecast as a "corrupt slaveholding lord whose tyranny was doomed to be overthrown by the young male heterosexual hero."

There was no representation of lesbians as either heroes or villains during this era.

One of the earliest examples of science fiction that featured "unconventional" sexual activity was the early novel Odd John (1935), by Olaf Stapledon. In the story, John is a mutant with extraordinary mental abilities who will not allow himself to be bound by many of the rules imposed by the ordinary British society of his time. The novel implied that he seduced an older boy who became devoted to him but also suffered from the moral dilemma that the relationship created.

According to Joanna Russ, science fiction writers had repeatedly turned a blind eye to the subject of homosexuality in the Golden Age(1940-50s) of Science Fiction.

As the readership for science fiction began to mature in the 1950s, writers like Philip Jose Farmer and Theodore Sturgeon were able to usher in more obvious sexuality into their work.

Until the late 1960s, however, few other writers depicted alternative sexuality or revised gender roles, or openly investigated sexual questions. The majority of LGBT characters were portrayed as caricatures, such as "man-hating amazons", and attempts at portraying homosexuals sympathetically or to humanize them, were met with hostility.

Sturgeon wrote many stories during the Golden Age of Science Fiction that highlighted the importance of love, regardless of the current social norms. In his short story "The World Well Lost" (1953) first published in Universe magazine, homosexual alien fugitives and unrequited human homosexual love are portrayed. The sensitive treatment of homosexuality was unusual for science fiction published at that time. It is now regarded as a milestone in science fiction's portrayal of homosexuality.

He later wrote Affair with a Green Monkey, which examined social stereotyping of homosexuals. In 1960 published Venus Plus X, in which a single-gender society is depicted and the protagonist's homophobia portrayed unfavourably.

The late 1960s reflected the changes prompted by the civil rights movement and the emergence of a counterculture. Changes within the science fiction were incorporated into a movement called "The New Wave"--a movement sceptical of technology, a wee more socially liberated, and increasingly interested in experimentation.

When writers like Michael Moorcock (editor of the influential New Worlds) joined the New Wave movement, depictions of alternative sexuality and gender became common in the science fiction genre.

His 1965 novel "The Final Programme" had most of the leading characters, including the main character Jerry Cornelius, engaging in same sex relationships on multiple occasions. Same sex relationships were depicted as entirely normal and without any judgemental or negative consequences. This theme is maintained throughout the whole Jerry Cornelius series.

Generally, in Moorcock's stories, especially the "Dancers at the End of Time" series, sexuality was seen as polymorphic and fluid rather than based in fixed identities and gender roles.

As lesbians and gay folks became a more visible as a community in the 70's, the science fiction writer community also grew. Notable amongst them were Joanna Russ, Thomas M. Disch and Samuel R. Delany.

In Samuel R. Delany's earliest stories, rather than overtly sexual references, the facet of gay sexuality was shown as a "sensibility." Stories like Babel-17 (1966) had same-sex love and intercourse clearly implied, but were given a kind of protective colouration because the protagonist is a woman who is involved in a three-person marriage with two men.

With his most famous science fiction novel "Dhalgren" (1975), Samuel depicts his characters in a wide variety of sexualities and behaviors.

The feminist SF authors like Joanna Russ visualized cultures where homo- and bisexuality, combined with a variety of gender models were the norm. Her noteworthy stories include "The Female Man (1975) and the award-winning story "When It Changed" showed a female-only lesbian society that flourished without men.

To her credit, she is largely responsible for introducing radical lesbian feminism into science fiction.

James Tiptree Jr, was a closeted bisexual woman writing secretly under a male pseudonym. She explored sexual impulse as her main theme in her award-winning "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?", which presented a female-only society after the extinction of men from disease. The women reproduced via cloning and considered men to be comical.

We have famous science fiction authors who approached LGBTQ+ themes in their individual works. Robert A. Heinlein's "In Time Enough for Love" (1973), the main character argues strongly for the future liberty of homosexual sex, but advocated sex for the purpose of procreation. The concept of female bisexuality in "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961) was described as just to titillate the readers and the male homosexuality was called a "wrongness deserving pity."

Science Fiction writer Thomas Disch had chronicled Heinlein's use of sexuality in an essay "The Embarrassments of Science Fiction."

The fact that Disch had come out in 1968, was occasionally evident in his poetry and particularly in his novel On Wings of Song (1979). Particularly his science fiction mosaic novel "334" which explores bisexual characters. "334" was selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science-fiction novels written since World War II.

Elizabeth Lynn was an openly lesbian science fiction writer who had written numerous works featuring positive gay protagonists. Notable among her works were "Chronicles of Tornor novels" (1979–80), "A Different Light" (1978), "The Woman Who Loved the Moon."

As homosexuality gained more acceptance, the same was often incorporated into otherwise conventional science fiction stories with little or no fuss. This in turn was helped by the growing number of openly gay or lesbian writers such as David Gerrold, Geoff Ryman, Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott and transgender writers such as Jessica Amanda Salmonson.

Uranian Worlds, by Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo, was compiled in 1983 and is an authoritative guide to science fiction literature featuring gay, lesbian, transgender, and related themes. The book covered details of 568 science fiction novels and stories published before 1990 and featured two introductions by established authors Samuel R. Delany and Joanna Russ.

In Lois McMaster Bujold's Ethan of Athos (1986), the hero is a gay obstetrician Dr. Ethan Urquhart of the single-gender world Athos, whose dangerous adventure alongside the first woman he has ever met presents both a future society where homosexuality is the norm and the lingering sexism and homophobia of our own world.

David Gerrold is an LGBTQ+ science fiction writer with works that include "The Man Who Folded Himself (1973), the multple award-winning "Jumping Off the Planet" (2000), the semi-autobiographical Nebula award winner short story "The Martian Child" (1994).

Geoff Ryman had written several award-winning novels and short stories that featured LGBT characters. His prominent stories were "The Child Garden" (1989), "Lust" (2001), "Was" (1992).

The 21st century saw the rise of amazing LGBTQ+ writers like Larissa Lai, Elizabeth Bear, Rafael Grugman, Sarah Hall. I'm sure there are many more which could fill pages and pages.

1) THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET BY BECKY CHAMBERS

Rosemary Harper jumps at the chance to join the ragtag crew of the Wayfarer. Traveling through space has been her life's dream, and even though the ship has seen better days, she's just happy to be along for the ride. When her crew is offered a job to tunnel wormholes through space, however, she soon discovers that her new life is more dangerous than she thought. It will take bravery, trust, and hard work from every member of the crew if they're to make it out of this mission alive. 

2) BLACKFISH CITY BY SAM J. MILLER

Blackfish City is a floating island in the middle of the Arctic Circle where crime, disease, and a widening gap between the rich and poor is threatening to tear the city apart. When a mysterious woman riding an orca—known as the "—shows up, she inspires acts of resistance from four citizens of Blackfish City. As they fight to save the city from self-destruction, they'll uncover truths about political corruption and the strength of human relationships.

3) THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR BY BY AMAL EL-MOHTAR AND MAX GLADSTONE

Red and Blue are time-traveling secret agents working for different sides. Red aligns herself with the Agency and Blue with the Garden. If they were to ally with each other, they'd risk being accused of treason and even losing their lives. But when they start leaving letters for the other to read, a forbidden romance starts to blossom.

4) EMPIRE OF LIGHT BY ALEX HARROW

Damien Nettoyer works with a band of criminals who provide undercover assassination jobs for the Empire. It's a lucrative job—as long as you don't get caught. But Damien's usual life is thrown out of kilter when a revolutionary named Raeyn offers him a job: kill Damien's old boss. If he refuses, Raeyn will kill his entire crew. As Damien joins Raeyn's revolution, he finds himself dangerously close to unraveling secrets about the Empire and falling in love with the one person he shouldn't.

Thanks to our friend Rollie nosleneillor, we have come to know that Wendy and Richard Pini--the creators of the well-known Elfquest series have been long time supporters of the LGBT cause.

I believe this is all for now. Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments below. Until we meet again. This is Nab saying Goodbye. Stay safe, happy and protected! :)