Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction

Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction
Author: Eugen Bacon
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-10-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

In this vibrant and approachable book, award-winning writers of black speculative fiction bring together excerpts from their work and creative reflections on futurisms with original essays. Features an introduction by Suyi Okungbowa. Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction showcases creative-critical essays that negotiate genre bending and black speculative fiction with writerly practice. As Afrodecendant peoples with lived experience from the continent, award-winning authors use their intrinsic voices in critical conversations on Afrofuturism and Afro-centered futurisms. By engaging with difference, they present a new kind of African study that is an evaluative gaze at African history, African spirituality, Afrosurrealism, "becoming," black radical imagination, cultural identity, decolonizing queerness, myths, linguistic cosmologies, and more. Contributing authors – Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Dilman Dila, Eugen Bacon, Nerine Dorman, Nuzo Onoh, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Stephen Embleton, Suyi Okungbowa, Tobi Ogundiran and Xan van Rooyen – offer boldly hybrid chapters (both creative and scholarly) that interface Afrocentric artefacts and exegesis. Through ethnographic reflections and intense scrutinies of African fiction, these writers contribute open and diverse reflections of Afro-centered futurisms. The authors in Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction feature in major genre and literary awards, including the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Locus, Ignyte, Nommo, Philip K. Dick, Shirley Jackson and Otherwise Awards, among others. They are also intrinsic partners in a vital conversation on the rise of black speculative fiction that explores diversity and social (in)justice, charting poignant stories with black hero/ines who remake their worlds in color zones of their own image.

Afro-future Females

Afro-future Females
Author: Marleen S. Barr
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2008
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Afro-Future Females: Black Writers Chart Science Fiction's Newest New-Wave Trajectory, edited by Marleen S. Barr, is the first combined science fiction critical anthology and short story collection to focus upon black women via written and visual texts. The volume creates a dialogue with existing theories of Afro-Futurism in order to generate fresh ideas about how to apply race to science fiction studies in terms of gender. The contributors, including Hortense Spillers, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, and Steven Barnes, formulate a woman-centered Afro-Futurism by repositioning previously excluded fiction to redefine science fiction as a broader fantastic endeavor. They articulate a platform for scholars to mount a vigorous argument in favor of redefining science fiction to encompass varieties of fantastic writing and, therefore, to include a range of black women's writing that would otherwise be excluded. Afro-Future Females builds upon Barr's previous work in black science fiction and fills a gap in the literature. It is the first critical anthology to address the "blackness" of outer space fiction in terms of feminism, emphasizing that it is necessary to revise the very nature of a genre that has been constructed in such a way as to exclude its new black participants. Black science fiction writers alter genre conventions to change how we read and define science fiction itself. The work's main point: black science fiction is the most exciting literature of the nascent twenty-first century.

Dark Matter

Dark Matter
Author: Sheree R. Thomas
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 499
Release: 2014-12-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1455534153

This volume introduces black science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers to the generations of readers who have not had the chance to explore the scope and diversity among African-American writers.

The Black Speculative Arts Movement

The Black Speculative Arts Movement
Author: Reynaldo Anderson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2019-11-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 149851054X

The Black Speculative Arts Movement: Black Futurity, Art+Design is a 21st century statement on the intersection of the future of African people with art, culture, technology, and politics. This collection enters the global debate on the emerging field of Afrofuturism studies with an international array of scholars and artists contributing to the discussion of Black futurity in the 21st century. The contributors analyze and respond to the invisibility or mischaracterization of Black people in the popular imagination, in science fiction, and in philosophies of history.

Apex Magazine Issue 146

Apex Magazine Issue 146
Author: Lesley Conner
Publisher: Apex Publications
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2024-09-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Strange. Surreal. Shocking. Beautiful. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 146 contains the following short stories, essays, reviews, and interviews. EDITORIAL Musings from Maryland by Lesley Conner ORIGINAL SHORT FICTION Kizimbani by Eugen Bacon and Clare E. Rhoden And Someone Has to Do It by Koji A Dae A Tapestry of Dreams by Victor Forna What Good Daughters Do by Tia Tashiro The Price of Moss by Akis Linardos FLASH FICTION The Eight Things You'll Never Be Now That You're Slowly Turning Into a Giant Spider Creature by Alex Sobel A Very Short History of the Discovery and Origin of Homo Sapiens Microplasticus in Three Parts by Joshua Ginsberg CLASSIC FICTION Remembered Salt by E. Catherine Tobler Halogen Sky by Wendy N. Wagner NONFICTION Ancient Aliens, Clones, and Growing Up as a SFF Reader in Brazil by Renan Bernardo Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Writing in Solitude by Jordan Kurella Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review by AC Wise Book Review: John Wiswell's Someone You Can Build a Nest In by Leah Ning INTERVIEWS Interview with Authors Eugen Bacon and Clare E. Rhoden by Marissa van Uden Interview with Author Tia Tashiro by Marissa van Uden Interview with Cover Artist Marco Mazzoni by Bradley Powers

Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism
Author: Ytasha L. Womack
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1613747993

2014 Locus Awards Finalist, Nonfiction Category In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book's topics range from the "alien" experience of blacks in America to the "wake up" cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.

Black From the Future

Black From the Future
Author: Stephanie Andrea Allen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2019-08-20
Genre:
ISBN: 9780578502137

Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing encompasses the broad spectrum of Black speculative writing, including science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and Afrofuturism, all by Black women writers. Editors Stephanie Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle have gathered the voices of twenty emerging and established voices in speculative fiction and poetry; writers who've imagined the weird and the wondrous, the futuristic and the fantastical, the shadowy and the sublime.

How Long 'til Black Future Month?

How Long 'til Black Future Month?
Author: N. K. Jemisin
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2018-11-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0356512533

Hugo award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N. K. Jemisin sharply examines modern society in her first short story collection. 'The most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer of her generation... Jemisin seems able to do just about everything' NEW YORK TIMES 'Smart, sharp and very, very timely' I NEWSPAPER 'An important collection by a rising star' GUARDIAN 'Jemisin is now a pillar of speculative fiction, breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 'The most critically acclaimed author in contemporary science fiction and fantasy' GQ 'One line from [Jemisin's introduction] has tattooed itself on my mind, a sort of manifesto for her ongoing work and all the fiction I love: 'Now I am bolder, and angrier, and more joyful.' I felt, after reading these stories, that I was too' NPR BOOKS 'N. K. Jemisin is a powerhouse of speculative fiction. So, obviously, you need to read this new short story collection' BUSTLE N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul. For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out: The Inheritance Trilogy The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms The Kingdom of Gods Dreamblood Duology The Killing Moon The Shadowed Sun The Broken Earth The Fifth Season The Obelisk Gate The Stone Sky

Africa Risen

Africa Risen
Author: Sheree Renée Thomas
Publisher: Tordotcom
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250833019

Winner of the 2023 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology Winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best Anthology A 2023 NAACP Image Award Nominee A 2023 British Fantasy Award Nominee A NPR Best of the Year pick A Book Riot Best SFF of the Year pick "[A] magnificent and wide-ranging anthology . . . A must-read for all genre fans."—Publishers Weekly, starred review From award-winning editorial team Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight comes an anthology of thirty-two original stories showcasing the breadth of fantasy and science fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora. A group of cabinet ministers query a supercomputer containing the minds of the country’s ancestors. A child robot on a dying planet uncovers signs of fragile new life. A descendent of a rain goddess inherits her grandmother’s ability to change her appearance—and perhaps the world. Created in the legacy of the seminal, award-winning anthology series Dark Matter, Africa Risen celebrates the vibrancy, diversity, and reach of African and Afro-Diasporic SFF and reaffirms that Africa is not rising—it’s already here. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Afrofuturism 2.0

Afrofuturism 2.0
Author: Reynaldo Anderson
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2015-12-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1498510515

The ideas and practices related to afrofuturism have existed for most of the 20th century, especially in the north American African diaspora community. After Mark Dery coined the word "afrofuturism" in 1993, Alondra Nelson as a member of an online forum, along with other participants, began to explore the initial terrain and intellectual underpinnings of the concept noting that “AfroFuturism has emerged as a term of convenience to describe analysis, criticism and cultural production that addresses the intersections between race and technology.” Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astroblackness represents a transition from previous ideas related to afrofuturism that were formed in the late 20th century around issues of the digital divide, music and literature. Afrofuturism 2.0 expands and broadens the discussion around the concept to include religion, architecture, communications, visual art, philosophy and reflects its current growth as an emerging global Pan African creative phenomenon.