In his job as a journalist, Adam Bender reports on technology and politics, but since self-publishing 2010’s We, the Watched,he has used insight on those subjects to create award-winning speculative fiction. Last year’s The Wanderer and the New West earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named one of our best books of 2018 for bending genres and its inventive inversion of the standard dystopian narrative. The book is set in a near-future America where Wild West–style gunfights and lawlessness coexist with smartwatches and autonomous vehicles, offering some intriguing commentary on contemporary gun control debates. Bender spoke with us about creating and publishing fantasies that explore the very real issues he reports on in new ways.

How does journalism complement your fiction writing? 
Writing news and fiction complement each other very well. This might sound cynical, but covering tech and politics informs my fiction about humanity’s fraught future. Also, many of the writing skills I learned while training to be a journalist, such as using concise language and making sure that I “show, don’t tell,” have made me a better writer overall.

What attracted you to the dystopian genre? 
I’ve always loved stories that make a statement about society, whether it be darkly humorous satire or more serious dystopian fiction. I like imagining worlds that are not that far from what we are today but where something is just a little bit off. In a good dystopian story, the most disturbing part doesn’t seem like much of a stretch from where we are today.

How does The Wanderer and the New West break away from the usual dystopian narrative? 
Dystopian stories are often about totalitarian authorities, but the government in The Wanderer and the New West has pulled out of people’s lives. It’s a lawless near-future America where individuals are empowered to take the law into their own hands. I thought this genre reversal would be a great way to take a dystopian look at the gun debate, in which some seek more regulations while others see the Second Amendment as critical to protecting their individual liberties.The best dystopian stories are about current issues….Presenting them as fiction makes them more accessible to all perspectives. Many of the same people who react negatively to a lecturing politician on the “other side” will keep their minds open when they read a novel.

What made you decide to self-publish?
I’d rather have my writing out in the world than keep it to myself. What literary agents and publishers think will sell commercially is subjective and in constant flux. I would welcome the right opportunity to publish traditionally, but I also want to be true to myself and get my work out there for readers to judge.

What have been some approaches to self-publishing that have worked best so far?

The great thing is self-publishing nowadays doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality. I worked with freelancers throughout the process, including two editors, a cover designer, and an interior layout whiz, to ensure a professional product. Marketing is the toughest thing as an indie author.

Do you think speculative fiction works particularly well in the self-publishing sphere?
The speculative genre is a great genre to be in right now given the success of recent books like The Hunger Games and TV shows like Westworld and The Handmaid’s Tale.And perhaps by owning my own work I can be just a little more controversial than someone who is traditionally published.

What are you working on next? 
My next novel, Utopia PR, is a satire about a public relations crisis manager who seeks greater work-life balance in his job spinning the news for a dystopian government. I've always tried to include some comic relief in my books, but this time I wanted to write a straight-up comedy. It’s been a lot of fun!

Rhett Morgan is a writer and translator based in Paris.