If you’re like me and are super excited about S.A. Chakraborty’s first book since the Daevabad Trilogy, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, you’ve probably noticed something different about the cover—other than how dynamic and differently illustrated it looks. Instead of going by her author name, it now says her first name, “Shannon.” I don’t have behind-the-scenes knowledge of the reasoning behind this. However, considering the historical and contemporary publishing landscape, as well as the space Chakraborty occupies, this is vital to see.

Up until her upcoming book, Chakraborty used her “author name” of “S.A. Chakraborty.” However, as she states on her website, she prefers to go by Shannon. Because I knew her gender before reading The City of Brass, I assumed that this name was to limit gender bias among science-fiction and fantasy (SFF) readers. Anytime I could pick my own book or author project growing up, I chose my now-fallen heroine J.K. Rowling. Publishers convinced her that boys would not pick up her book if it started with “Joanne.” So, they added a fake middle name and published the story under J.K. Rowling. This trend of gendered SFF selection persists among adults (including women), so I thought that was the source of the change. This might have been the influence, but it wasn’t her reasoning.

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