In Companion Piece, editors L.M. Myles (Chicks Unravel Time) and Liz Barr bring together a host of award-winning female writers, media professionals and more to examine the wide array of humans, aliens and tin dogs who have accompanied the Doctor in his adventures throughout time and space.
Tansy Rayner Roberts (Ink Black Magic) finds the defining attribute of Sara Kingdom, while Amal El-Mohtar (The Honey Month) looks at the extent to which the Doctor himself is a companion, particularly to the Brigadier. Nina Allan (“Angelus”) rewatches – with some concern – Sarah Jane Smith’s debut for the first time in ages, and Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue) addresses the ethics of using violence through the lens of Leela, Ace and Amy Pond.
Other contributors include Karen Miller (The Innocent Mage), Deborah Stanish (Chicks Unravel Time), Lynne Thomas (Chicks Dig Time Lords), Joan Francis Turner (Dust), Mary Robinette Kowal (Shades of Milk and Honey) and Tehani Wessely (FableCroft Publishing).
Seanan McGuire watches too much television, which does not explain how she also writes three books a year (as two different people, no less - she's also Mira Grant), dozens of short stories, and endless blog posts. It has been posited that she may be a Time Lady herself, or possibly an alien pod plant. Both seem equally likely. Seanan has been nominated for a variety of genre awards, and won the 2011 Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
L.M. Myles contributed to the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords.
Lynne M. Thomas is the Editor-in-Chief of Hugo-nominated semiprozine Apex Magazine. She co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, as well as Whedonistas and Chicks Dig Comics. She is also the moderator for the Hugo-nominated SF Squeecast, a monthly SF/F podcast, and chaired the 2011 James Tiptree, Jr. Award Jury.