Shweta Narayan short story on Strange Horizons

Shweta Narayan's short story Nira and I has been published by the web magazine Strange Horizons.

Nira and I are with Hemal on the day she dies. She is teaching us a clapping song game, a remembering game. She is winning.

Shweta Narayan has lived in places where Hemal's story is less fictional than she'd like. She was the Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship recipient at Clarion 2007. She has a poem in the Winter 2009 issue of Goblin Fruit and stories forthcoming in places like Shimmer, Greatest Uncommon Denominator, and the Beastly Bride anthology, and she is working on her first novel. For more about the author, see her website.

Superman in the Cotton Fields: Comics in Black and White, Mostly White

Superman in the Cotton Fields is a 2005 article by Scott Poole on systemic racism in the comics industry.

A racist society is one in which significant political and social capital rests in white hands, even if that society gives lip service and official tribute to the ideals of 'tolerance' and 'diversity'. At least in the marginal art form of comics, African American representations are changing.

Read 1st chapter of S.P. Somtow's series The Dragonstones online

"Sometimes you'll believe me, and sometimes you'll say it can't be so; but stay with me. Every event in the world has at least two explanations: one that is fact, and one that is the truth."


-- from S.P. Somtow's novel Jade

Writer S.P. Somtow, winner of the World Fantasy Award, has made the first chapter of his fantasy novel Jade available to read online. Jade is the first novel in S.P. Somtow’s new fantasy series The Dragonstones, set in the intersection between the worlds of Harry Potter and Bangkok 8.

From the website for The Dragonstones: Somtow has been absent from publishing for about seven years. His seven-year writer's block has not exactly been uncreative — he's composed and had produced three operas and many other major musical works. His fiction block broke last year with An Alien Heresy, which recently appeared in Asimov's.

Somtow says, Despite public readings of The Dragonstones being rapturously received, (my) big trilogy hasn’t yet found a publisher. If you like what you’ve read, don't hesitate to lobby your favorite fantasy publisher!

Read the opening chapter of Jade.

Superheroes photo project by Dulce Pinzón

MINERVA VALENCIA from Puebla works as a nanny in New York. She Sends 400 dollars a week.


MINERVA VALENCIA originaria de Puebla trabaja como niñera en Nueva York.
Manda 400 dólares a la semana.

From Pinzón's artist's statement:


"This project consists of 20 color photographs of Mexican and Latino immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo pictures the worker/superhero in their work environment, and is accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to their families each week.

Click on the link to see Superheroes.

Thanks to Neil Gaiman for the pointer.

Verb Noire: new publishing venture

The mission statement of Verb Noire:

To celebrate the works of talented, underrepresented authors and deliver them to a readership that demands more.


What does that mean? That if you're a talented writer with an awesome, original story about a POC girl/guy/transgendered character, there is a place for you. And that if you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan who has grown tired of the constant whitewashing of these genres, there is a place for you, too.

Here's the Verb Noire donation link.

East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention 2009

The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention 2009 takes place in Philadelphia, P.A. on May 16, 2009.

(Wis)Con Or Bust: raising funds to help fans of colour attend Wiscon

Kate Nepveu is organizing scholarships to help people of color attend WisCon, the annual gathering of the feminist science community. More info on this at her LJ community, Fight Derailing. The community's fundraising efforts are hosted at the LiveJournal community Con or Bust.

Blue Mountain Trouble: novel by Martin Mordecai

Quill & Quire review of Blue Mountain Trouble, a first novel from Jamaican-Canadian Martin Mordecai:

The story begins with a bang. A pair of twins, walking down a mountain to their village school, encounter in the morning mist a vision of a huge, disembodied goat's head. The vision fades, and seconds later the ground in front of them trembles and slides away. Was the goat a malevolent presence, or did it save them from injury or worse? Already, the book is a grabber.

Native American comic art

Comic Art Indigene
March 6, 2009 to May 31, 2009
National Museum of the American Indian, on the National Mall, Washington, DC

Storytelling has long been a part of Native American culture. Comic Art Indigene examines how storytelling has been used through comics and comic-inspired art to express the contemporary Native American experience. Under the larger definition of narrative art, comic art is more related to Native American art traditions than one might expect.

Wiscon continues to welcome people of colour to the convention

Policy on welcoming people of colour, with action plan, from Wiscon, the world's leading feminist science fiction convention.

"We are proud that WisCon 33 will host the first Cultural Appropriation 101 class that we're aware of in the science fiction world." Wiscon also says, "We're planning to set aside a room during the convention for discussion of moving-forward strategies and potential improvements. We will work closely with people of color to ensure that this does not become a space in which the offenses recycle."

There's more. Details on the Wiscon web site, here.

SF community discussion on race in the real world continues

Mary Anne Mohanraj is guest-blogging on John Scalzi's blog, Whatever:

That's a starting assumption for me -- the world is racist, the culture I grew up in is racist, I've internalized and carry around a hell of a lot of racist baggage, and on some deep level, many of my basic assumptions are racist. So are yours.

Beacon press seeks artist for graphic novel of Octavia Butler's Kindred

Via racalicious:

For many years, Beacon Press, a nonprofit book publisher since 1854, has had the privilege of publishing Octavia Butler’s Kindred, the story of a modern black woman transported through time to the antebellum South. Octavia Butler died tragically in 2006; those familiar with her life and work know how singular and important her legacy remains. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the novel, and Beacon is deeply honored to announce a collaboration with the Butler estate to produce a graphic adaptation of Kindred. The press is currently inviting proposals from cartoonists who appreciate Octavia Butler’s legacy, and reflect her commitment to social justice in their own work.


Those interested in discussing a proposal should email the editor of the Graphic Books list, Allison Trzop, at atrzop AT beacon DOT org. The deadline is March 16.