Bethany Jacobs

Bethany Jacobs is an American science fiction author whose debut novel These Burning Stars (2023) won the Philip K. Dick Award in 2024. Her work represents a new generation of space opera that centers complex political dynamics, queer relationships, and morally ambiguous characters in richly constructed interstellar settings. These Burning Stars is set in a three-planet system and follows three women—a ruthless spymistress, a religious zealot, and a thief—whose fates converge around a secret that could destabilize their civilization. The novel was praised for its intricate world-building, morally complex characterization, and ambitious scope. It was published by Orbit Books and received nominations for multiple awards in addition to the Philip K. Dick Award win. Jacobs's fiction is part of a broader wave of politically sophisticated, identity-conscious space opera that has revitalized the subgenre in the 2020s. She writes science fiction that takes seriously the social, political, and philosophical dimensions of imagined futures, placing her in conversation with authors like Arkady Martine and Ann Leckie.