The sci-fi industry has a long and storied history, beginning with what many consider the first science fiction novel: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. While often lumped into the horror genre, Frankenstein fits perfectly into the mold of what we consider sci-fi to be today: theoretical, futuristic concepts made real due to certain technological or scientific advancements. The form that these advancements take, of course, varies wildly according to the particular political or social narratives of the time—and whether the author wants to support them or subvert them.

From that moment in 1818, the sci-fi industry has grown in leaps and bounds, experiencing a sudden surge in popularity during the 1930s to 1950s that is often referred to as the golden age of science fiction. This is when many of the sci-fi greats emerged, from Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein to Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. Most dealt with what we now call hard sci-fi, which refers to a branch of science fiction that is particularly interested in keeping with scientific and technological logic and realism.

While most of these golden age authors are still widely considered to be the best of the best, evolving readership and cultural movements over the ensuing decades have rooted out some fundamental issues with the sci-fi industry as a whole—namely, those of sexism and a general lack of inclusivity. The “damsel in distress” trope was a regularly present one, with plenty of forcible kissing that made it clear consent was not considered an important issue at the time.

In a letter to Astounding Science Fiction in 1939, for example, Isaac Asimov freely admits his questionable attitude toward women: “Let me point out that women never affected the world directly. They always grabbed hold of some poor, innocent man, worked their insidious wiles on him (poor unsophisticated, unsuspecting person that he was) and then affected history through him.” While this sentiment mirrored the common attitude toward women at the time, it is one that has alienated many potential modern readers who want to give the genre a try.

Luckily, the industry as a whole has been making the slow but steady shift toward inclusivity in terms of both its readers and its writers. From 1948 to 1999, for example, the percentage of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association’s women members grew from around 15 percent to 36 percent.

The main change to the genre is the diversity of authors putting their own unique spins on what sci-fi is and can do. During an interview with Polygon, editor Nivia Evans cites the novel The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull as an example of taking the best parts of sci-fi and infusing them with something other: “Some of the beats are familiar—the encounter with the alien, and trying to understand what the world is—but you’re being taken to an island nation that’s long been forced to feel insignificant on the global scale, and now they’re the first place of alien contact, and they’re in the public eye . . . In science fiction . . . we’re used to working with tropes. That’s what people really love. They love seeing the things they grew up with remixed and rehashed. And as soon as you add new voices and cultures, new perspectives, the things people may have been tired of feel original.” This kind of enthusiasm for fresh ideas and voices feels light-years away from the science fiction that originally defined the genre.

There’s no denying, however, that there is still a long way to go in terms of representation and diversity. For example, only ten out of forty authors awarded the prestigious Grand Master title by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) have been women—and with the exception of one (Andre Norton in 1984), those have all occurred in the last twenty years.

With the rise of self-publishing and a recognition by major publishing houses that sci-fi audiences are ready for something different, it looks like the enduring popularity of the science fiction genre is finally learning to embrace all its authors and fans.

So what should you read if you’re in the market for inclusive science fiction? I’ll wrap up this entry with ten of my top recommendations to get you started:

• The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
• The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
• Barbary Station by R. E. Stearns
• An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
• The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
• The Humans by Matt Haig
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Xenogenesis trilogy by Octavia Butler

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.