It's not always easy finding speculative fiction stories with Black/African main characters. This "directory" aims to collect authors of these works, making it easier for readers to connect with the authors and find more stories. Fantasy, Paranormal, Science Fiction, and Horror genres included. *Free

Containing the biographies of over one hundred black women who write horror, 100+ Black Women in Horror is a reference guide, a veritable who's who of female horror writers from the African Diaspora. It is an expansion of the original 2014 book 60 Black Women in Horror. February is African American History Month here in the United States. It is also Women in Horror Month (WiHM). This list of black women who write horror was compiled at the intersection of the two. It consists of an alphabetical listing of the women with biographies, photos, and web addresses, as well as interviews with 17 of these women and an essay by David Watson on LA Banks and Octavia Butler.

Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the trailblazing African American author, Encounters with James Baldwin is a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections, interviews and poetry. This moving collection demonstrates the significant legacy of the writer and activist who spoke truth to power during the era of the fight for Black civil liberties in the US, and after. In this literary anthology, over 30 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin’s thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice. Stella Dadzie was born in 1952 in London, United Kingdom. She co-founded the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD), which worked relentlessly between 1978 and 1982 to challenge the predominantly white domination of the feminist and women’s liberation movements of that era. Additionally, her work extended beyond the written word into practical action, contributing to the enrichment of curriculums and development of anti-racist strategies in educational and youth services. “... the words of this remarkable collection are breath blown back to our beloved ancestor James Baldwin, and he to them, to us: air we breathe, air we need, for these troubled times.” — Kevin Powell – GRAMMY-nominated poet and activist “From reflective pieces, interviews, essays, and poetic interventions, Encounters with James Baldwin confirms the enduring resonance of the life and work of James Baldwin across the globe. This is an important text for readers eager to consider the expansive legacy of arguably the most piercing and committed author and critic of the last century.” — Rich Blint, writer and critic

The films, television shows, and graphic novel series that comprise the Whedonverse continually show that there is a high price to be paid for love, rebellion, heroism, anger, death, betrayal, friendship, and saving the world. This collection of essays reveals the ways in which the Whedonverse treats the trauma of ordinary life with similar gravitas as trauma created by the supernatural, illustrating how memories are lost, transformed, utilized, celebrated, revered, questioned, feared, and rebuffed within the storyworlds created by Joss Whedon and his collaborators. Through a variety of approaches and examinations, the essays in this book seek to understand how the themes of trauma, memory, and identity enrich one another in the Whedonverse and beyond. As the authors present different arguments and focus on various texts, the essays work to build a mosaic of the trauma found in beloved works like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse, and more. The book concludes with a meta-analysis that explores the allegations of various traumas made against Joss Whedon himself.

Sci-fi and fantasy of tomorrow . . . . . . selected by masters of today. Where can you find the hottest new talent all in one book? Right here. This year’s winning stories include a diverse collection of brilliantly realized worlds of dystopian politics, magical realism, post-apocalyptic adventure, and romance, dark fantasy and more. You’ll love this anthology because these writers push the boundaries—and break beyond them . . . these illustrators envision the impossible—and render it real . . . these stories challenge the way we see ourselves—and present the world in a new way. Buy Writers of the Future Volume 36. 24 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators Bonus short stories by: L. Ron Hubbard • Katherine Kurtz • Jody Lynn Nye • Nnedi Okorafor Art and writing tips by: Echo Chernik • L. Ron Hubbard • Mike Perkins • Sean Williams Edited by: David Farland 16-page color Gallery of Artwork Cover art by: Echo Chernik Soar to new heights of Science Fiction & Fantasy. Get to know tomorrow’s brightest creative talents chosen by some of today’s bestselling authors and celebrated artists including Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, Brandon Sanderson, Dan dos Santos, and Robert J. Sawyer. The future of science fiction and fantasy is in your hands. Anthology includes: 12 award-winning stories, 16 full-color illustrations, 4 bonus stories, and 4 articles offering art and writing tips. ___________________________ 4 bonus short stories: “Borrowed Glory” by L. Ron Hubbard: For a single day of glory and the settlement of a dispute among immortals, a life can be a satisfactory price. “The Green Tower” by Katherine Kurtz: The magic is strong in the Green Tower, and two young girls struggle to discover its secrets. “The Phoenix’s Peace” by Jody Lynn Nye: The Phoenix has always been the guardian of Dembia. Now there’s trouble in the land, and mysteriously, the Phoenix has left two golden eggs. “The Winds of Harmattan” by Nnedi Okorafor: A young woman seeks her destiny in the African winds of Harmattan. ___________________________ Art and writing tips: “The Illustrators of the Future Contest and the Art of This Anthology” by Echo Chernik: As a successful advertising and publishing illustrator, Contest Coordinating Judge, and art director, Echo gives the story behind the cherished art included in this anthology. “Steps in the Right Direction” by L. Ron Hubbard: In this interview, Ron describes the practical philosophy and energetic disciplines he applied with such telling success to his own career as a professional author. “Breaking In” by Mike Perkins: Marvel and DC artist for Captain America, Thor, and Spider-Man shares valuable advice for anyone wanting to make it as a professional artist and illustrator. “Making Collaboration Work for You or Co-writing with Larry and Sean” by Sean Williams: New York Times bestselling author, provides insight on the pitfalls and advantages of collaborating with another author. “These are the people who are going to be creating trends.” —Brandon Sanderson

Selected by The Atlantic as one of THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS. ("You have to read them.") From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner The visionary time-travel classic whose Black female hero is pulled through time to face the horrors of American slavery and explores the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy then and now. “I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm.” Dana’s torment begins when she suddenly vanishes on her 26th birthday from California, 1976, and is dragged through time to antebellum Maryland to rescue a boy named Rufus, heir to a slaveowner’s plantation. She soon realizes the purpose of her summons to the past: protect Rufus to ensure his assault of her Black ancestor so that she may one day be born. As she endures the traumas of slavery and the soul-crushing normalization of savagery, Dana fights to keep her autonomy and return to the present. Blazing the trail for neo-slavery narratives like Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer, Butler takes one of speculative fiction’s oldest tropes and infuses it with lasting depth and power. Dana not only experiences the cruelties of slavery on her skin but also grimly learns to accept it as a condition of her own existence in the present. “Where stories about American slavery are often gratuitous, reducing its horror to explicit violence and brutality, Kindred is controlled and precise” (New York Times). “Reading Octavia Butler taught me to dream big, and I think it’s absolutely necessary that everybody have that freedom and that willingness to dream.” —N. K. Jemisin Developed for television by writer/executive producer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Watchmen), executive producers also include Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields (The Americans, The Patient), and Darren Aronofsky (The Whale). Janicza Bravo (Zola) is director and an executive producer of the pilot. Kindred stars Mallori Johnson, Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten, and Gayle Rankin.

In both the literal and metaphorical senses, it seemed as if 1970s America was running out of gas. The decade not only witnessed long lines at gas stations but a citizenry that had grown weary and disillusioned. High unemployment, runaway inflation, and the energy crisis, caused in part by U.S. dependence on Arab oil, characterized an increasingly bleak economic situation. As Edward D. Berkowitz demonstrates, the end of the postwar economic boom, Watergate, and defeat in Vietnam led to an unraveling of the national consensus. During the decade, ideas about the United States, how it should be governed, and how its economy should be managed changed dramatically. Berkowitz argues that the postwar faith in sweeping social programs and a global U.S. mission was replaced by a more skeptical attitude about government's ability to positively affect society. From Woody Allen to Watergate, from the decline of the steel industry to the rise of Bill Gates, and from Saturday Night Fever to the Sunday morning fervor of evangelical preachers, Berkowitz captures the history, tone, and spirit of the seventies. He explores the decade's major political events and movements, including the rise and fall of détente, congressional reform, changes in healthcare policies, and the hostage crisis in Iran. The seventies also gave birth to several social movements and the "rights revolution," in which women, gays and lesbians, and people with disabilities all successfully fought for greater legal and social recognition. At the same time, reaction to these social movements as well as the issue of abortion introduced a new facet into American political life-the rise of powerful, politically conservative religious organizations and activists. Berkowitz also considers important shifts in American popular culture, recounting the creative renaissance in American film as well as the birth of the Hollywood blockbuster. He discusses how television programs such as All in the Family and Charlie's Angels offered Americans both a reflection of and an escape from the problems gripping the country.