Sara Doke

Sara Doke is a Belgian journalist, translator and author of science fiction and fantasy who is also an activist engaged for authors' rights.

Biography Sara Doke is the daughter of visual artist and feminist activist for women artists (1931–2021).

Trained as a journalist, Sara Doke is also a digital publisher and organiser of cultural events related to fantasy and Imaginary as well as an active advocate for authors rights. She is president of honour of the (SELF). She went to court with her husband Ayerdahl, also an SF writer, representing authors against the RELIre digitisation and commercialisation project of unavailable books of the twentieth century. She organised the 2003 in Flemalle and helped to organise the Imaginaire festival in Brussels, at the Maison du livre from 1999 to 2002.

She chairs the jury for the awarded each year at the Utopiales festival in Nantes.

She translates fantasy albums and English-language novels published throughout the world. She won the Grand prix de l'Imaginaire in 2013 for her translation of The Windup Girl in French by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Science-fiction féministe For Sara Doke, the most important feminist science fiction novels are Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and Becky Chambers's The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. She also pays tribute to Joëlle Wintrebert, affirming that without her ‘there wouldn't be many female SF authors in France’. Doke cites Les Olympiades truquées, Le Créateur chimérique and Les Amazones de Bohême as books from Wintreberg having left their mark on her.

In 2015, she published her first feminist science fiction novel, Techno faérie, with . Using numerous documents and illustrations, the author paints a portrait of the 88 main fairies in the collective imagination, integrating them into technological society. In a second book, L'autre moitié du ciel (The other half of the sky), published in 2019, she proposes an inventory of women's imaginary heritage.

Activism In 2012, she was elected president of the Syndicat des écrivains de langue française along with . However, in 2013, she stepped down from the presidency in favour of Jeanne-A Debats, retaining the honorary presidency. Alongside Ayerdhal, who died in 2015, she took a stand against the abuses of the project, and in November 2016 succeeded in having the project condemned by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In 2022 she protested against the eviction of Stéphanie Nicot from the festival Les imaginales by publishing a letter of support for Nicot with other authors among whom Floriane Soulas, Sylvie Lainé, Ïan Larue, Estelle Faye, Robin Hobb, Sylvie Denis, Lucie Chenu, , and .

Works

Novels

Techno Faerie, Les Moutons électriques, collection « La Bibliothèque voltaïque », 2015 . L'Autre Moitié du ciel, Mu, 2019. La Complainte de Foranza, Leha, 2020.

Anthologies

Fata Morgana, short story in Et d'Avalon à Camelot directed by Lucie Chenu, 2012 Grands Peintres féeriques, Les Moutons Électriques. 2022

Translations

La Cité de pierre, George R. R. Martin, Bifrost, 2003, in Les Rois des sables, J'ai lu, 2007 . Gears of War – Tome 1 : Aspho Fields, Karen Traviss, Milady, 448p, 2009 . Kate Daniels – Tome 1 : Morsure magique, Ilona Andrews, Milady, 352p, 2009 . Kate Daniels – Tome 2 : Brûlure magique, Ilona Andrews, Milady, 352p, 2009 . Kate Daniels – Tome 3 : Attaque magique, Ilona Andrews, Milady, 352p, 2010 . Greg Mandel – Tome 2 : Quantum, Peter F. Hamilton, Milady, 512p, 2010 . Lila Black – Tome 1 : Bienvenue en Otopia, Justina Robson, Milady, 480p, 2010 . Lila Black – Tome 2 : Ascenseur pour Démonia, Justina Robson, Milady, 480p, 2010 . Lila Black – Tome 3 : Destination Faerie, Justina Robson, Milady, 480p, 2010 . Greg Mandel – Tome 3 : Nano, Peter F. Hamilton, Milady, 2011 . La Fille automate, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2012 . Ferrailleurs des mers, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2013 . Les Cités englouties, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2013 . Zombie Ball, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2014 . L'Alchimiste de Khaim, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2014 . Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2016 . L'Arche de Darwin, James Morrow, Au diable Vauvert, 2017 . Théâtre des dieux, Matt Suddain, Au diable Vauvert, 2017 . Machine de guerre, Paolo Bacigalupi, Au diable Vauvert, 2018 .