Continuum: French Science Fiction Short Stories

Classic French science fiction short stories translated into English for the first time.
This unique collection of newly translated short stories offers a taste of classic and contemporary French science fiction to English-language readers. These stories cover a range of fascinating topics including simulated reality, speciesism, ecology, and transhumanism—all while exploring universal themes of belonging, death, and identity. Some of the authors featured in this anthology, like Julia Verlanger, Sylvie Denis, or Jean-Claude Dunyach, have shaped the history of French science fiction after World War II. Curated by Annabelle Dolidon and Tessa Sermet, French language and literature professors who share a love for the genre, these nine stories showcase some of the brilliant mid- to late twentieth and twenty-first century French contributions to science fiction.

Dolidon and Sermet provide illuminating expansions that accompany each tale and fascinating insights into the evolution of French and American science fiction. The discussion opportunities are also a wonderful resource for teachers and students of French literature and French culture as well as English and comparative literature. This anthology is a great opportunity to discover French sci-fi in English translation for fans or readers new to the genre.

Annabelle Dolidon, PhD, is a professor of French at Portland State University who specializes in post-World War II novels and short stories with a special interest in science fiction. Her past publications include journal articles on these subjects as well as three other textbooks for the French classroom. As a teacher and a scholar, Professor Dolidon enjoys students’ and readers’ curiosity, critical thinking, and challenging questions—she also enjoys not having all the answers. Life is learning: if you knew everything, what would be the point? That’s where science fiction comes in; no answers but a lot of questions to discuss, debate, and explore together or alone.

Tessa Sermet is an assistant professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois. Her research focuses on French science fiction and, more particularly, liminal spaces and spatial, ecological, and bodily transitions in French and French-speaking science fiction and dystopias. She has published three articles about French and Francophone science fiction covering a range of topics including language and translation in feminist science fiction.