Books & Publications
I've been writing fiction professionally since 2000, with the publication of my first novel, Homecoming. Primarily, I write literary science fiction, but I've also written fantasy, horror, and work that drifts between slipstream and magical realism. My work plays with — and interrogates — issues of othering and colonization; who benefits from technology (and who doesn't); reworking classic and emblematic past works; and reclaiming Romany voices and stories.
Selected Books
So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion
Vernacular Press, 2022 · Lethe Press, 2023
“There are so many great things I could say about this wild, utterly original novella, but I'll let you discover and delight in them yourself.”
Nisi Shawl, award-winning author of Everfair
“What Gussoff Sumption has set before us is a carefully observed tale that is by turns harrowing, hysterical, and heartbreaking. A thoughtful meditation on communication, connection, belonging, and ultimately, love.”
Matthew Quinn Martin, author of the NIGHTLIFE series
Three Songs for Roxy
Aqueduct Press, 2015
“A master class in the art of literary economy. Gussoff's use of language is evocative yet piercingly direct. She has a song to sing, a song she seems happiest to express by inviting us to sing it alongside her.”
Strange Horizons
“Takes it to a deeply nerdy and human science fiction place.”
The Seattle Review of Books
The Birthday Problem
Pink Narcissus Press, 2014
“Not the typical zombie apocalypse story. The book is full of grittiness, but it is also rich in characters and heart.”
ForeWord Reviews
The Wave and Other Stories
Serpent's Tail, 2002 · Tenth Anniversary Edition 2014
“A strong novella and ten stories twisted and wrung dry. Gussoff has a good eye for detail.”
Kirkus Reviews
Homecoming
Serpent's Tail / High Risk Books, 2000
“A tautly written, haunting tale of loneliness, alienation, and lost hopes and dreams.”
Kirkus Reviews
“A painful exposé of how we avoid feeling — it works effectively as a prose poem about a nightmare passage in one woman's life.”
Publishers Weekly
Complete Publications
Looking for something specific but can't find it? Links change rapidly — feel free to contact me directly.
Residencies, Appearances & Awards
- 2024, AWP
- 2024, February pick — Roma Words, Roma Worlds Book Group, Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University and New Providence Memorial Library
- 2023, on Story Hour
- 2023, on Romanistan podcast
- 2022, on Story Hour
- 2018, on the Horrible Writing show
- 2016, Hedgebrook (return stay)
- 2013, Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop
- 2013, Shortlisted, Synthetic Biology for Human Health (SYBHEL) Project, European Commission on Science and Society
- 2010, Hedgebrook (Elizabeth George Award winner)
- 2009, Gulliver Travel Research Grant, The Speculative Literature Foundation
- 2008, Clarion West (Carl Brandon Octavia E. Butler Scholar)
- 2008, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 'Geek of the Week'
- 2001, Village Voice, Writer on the Verge