Black Speculative Fiction and Afrofuturism

Are you a fan of The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin and looking for titles like it to explore? Join us from 3-4 pm Saturday, August 24 at Shaker Library for A History of Black Speculative Fiction and Afrofuturism when University of Michigan scholar Jeremy Glover will discuss the emergence of the genre in the 20th century, and talk about its political stakes and artistic innovations.

So exactly what is Black Speculative fiction? It's term for literature that fits into distinct genres like fantasy, science fiction, and horror, and invites readers to immerse themselves in new cultures, communities, and other-worldly creations. According to the late Octavia Butler, "There is nothing new under the sun. But there are new suns."

W.E.B. Du Bois imagined a post-racial apocalypse in his classic, The Comet. In Kindred, Octavia Butler tells the story of a modern black woman who is transported back in time to a slave plantation in the antebellum South. In her Broken Earth trilogy, Jemisin mixes fantasy and science fiction in a far-into-the-future Earth.

Butler was a multiple recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and was the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Samuel R. Delany received Nebula, Hugo, and Lambda awards for his writing, and N.K. Jemisin made history as the first author to win three consecutive Hugo Awards for her Broken Earth trilogy. Samuel R. Delany has written more than 20 novels and collections of short stories, memoirs, and critical essays.

Jemisin, Butler, and Delany are some of the more well-known authors of black speculative fiction, but the breadth of black voices in science fiction and fantasy goes well beyond these authors. Check out these Speculative Fiction and Afrofuturism titles available at Shaker Library.

Learn more at this interesting Saturday afternoon lecture at the library.