So it's the cover reveal of the Year's Best African Speculative Fiction volume 3 by I and
@Chinazaezims
. The amazing cover was done by Cyrielle Prückner. And the anthology is now up for pre-order here
We already announced the toc, which you can see below
2011, Jonathan administration, my 1st year in uni, my dad was kidnapped. We paid ransom, he was returned dead, body dropped on a field for us to pick up. Found candle wax on his body from being tortured with fire, & skin peeled off around his hands where he was tied too tightly.
Update on this. I'm alive, though I won't say well, yet. Currently in Nigeria. I was detained for 3 days, & missed the NAACP Image awards. Been seeing the speculations. I'll just say it's way worse than anyone is says or thinks. But I'll talk to a lawyer first, then more, soon
Turns out I just won, & will be the 1st Black person to win the
@Asimovs_SF
reader's award, with my story Destiny Delayed. It's a great honour to win an award that's been won by so many other awesome writers like Asimov, Kevin J Anderson, Ursula K Le Guin, Connie Willis, & others
Visa got approved. Turns out there was a
#VisaForEkpeki
🙂.
And I'll going to
@chicagoworldcon
#Chicon8
.
It'll be my 1st international trip. First time flying in fact, even locally. 😄🤭
Uprooted, ungrounded by pen & words, funded & fought for by the genre & good, kind people
Journey's end; won't be attending
@chicagoworldcon
. Or any other cons if my current mood is anything to go by & if this is how it goes. I can't anyway. Literally, mood asides. Got denied visa to the Worldcon by
@USinNigeria
today. It's not the denial but the how
@abikedabiri
So I won the World Fantasy award for best anthology with the 1st ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction I edited & published, with my
@JembefolaPress
. I'll be the 1st African born, Black writer, editor &, publisher to win the world fantasy award in its near 5 decade history
The winner of ANTHOLOGY
#WorldFantasyAwards2022
is:
The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2021), ed. Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Jembefola Press)
So I'm happy to announce the first ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology. It is edited by yours truly and out under
@JembefolaPress
. 😇
Peep the cover below.
TOC and other notable works we loved:
pre-order
The
@HugoAwards
ceremony yesterday. I didn't win in any of the categories I was nominated in. But I didn't lose either, & I certainly don't feel sad. You see, that wasn't my fight. My fight was to be here, like the 3k plus other people that attended
@chicagoworldcon
#Chicon8
Three presidents now, 4 terms, and it's still the same exact thing. Nothing has changed. People will talk about the better times. Nigeria has never & can never be good. From East, South, North, West, same nonsense.
So I sold a story to
@Asimovs_SF
, my first sale to one of the big 3 mags & my 3rd pro sale qualifying me for
@sfwa
full membership.
Also my first published novelette, an original, climate fiction novelette is out today & free to read on
@GalaxysEdgeMag
Just won the Locus award for best anthology. (Far as I know) it'll make me the 1st African editor & 1st African born-Black writer to win it at all. & for an anthology titled Africa Risen. My 6th nomination in 3 years. 1st time, 1. 2nd, 2 & 3rd, 3. 3rd time really is the charm. 🙂
AI art is the antithesis of representation, the natural outcome of undervaluing diverse narratives, multiple voices & proliferation of lived experiences. Its born from unchecked anti diversity, collapsing existing viewpoints into one static thing regurgitated eternally for profit
Telecoms did nothing. Didn't trace no numbers for us. They were calling us at their leisure. Every institution in this country is useless, has always been useless & will always be useless.
Published the 1st ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology Oct last year.
@amazon
@AmazonKDP
said I couldn't get royalties for it till Jan this year. Then on Dec 31st they rushed to shut my account down, j TVust before we crossed over into the near year
Journey's end; won't be attending
@chicagoworldcon
. Or any other cons if my current mood is anything to go by & if this is how it goes. I can't anyway. Literally, mood asides. Got denied visa to the Worldcon by
@USinNigeria
today. It's not the denial but the how
@abikedabiri
Some WorldCon recollections (an African writer's account). The very 1st world con I attended. Well not attended, registered for, I was the only African writer from Nigeria to. 2 from South Africa. 3 in total in the whole continent.
Meanwhile the police are doing the exact same thing now they were doing now. Nothing. Mof they asked us for money to do their jobs. Almost as much money as the kidnappers. In the end there's no difference btw the two. Half the time, it's the police kidnapping you.
So I'm a finalist in the Hugo award, the first Black man, and first African to be nominated in the best editor, short form category. This will be my 2nd time in a row being nominated, and 2nd time as editor. It'll be my third nomination in 2 years. 🙂🥰
My climate fiction story O2 Arena a Hugo, BSFA & Nommo finalist just made me the 1st African, Nebula winner for novelette & 1st African born - Black, Nebula award winner 🥲🥰
You can read it
& consider it for the Hugo & other awards
Nominated for my 1st Hugo award, with my climate fiction novelette O2 Arena, also a Nebula & BSFA finalist. 🥰🥳
It'll make me the 1st African nominated in the novelette category, & the 1st African born, Black writer nominated at all. You can read it here
Just won the World Fantasy award, for the 2nd time in row, for best anthology. & the only African editor to have won. Congrats to our publishers
@TorDotComPub
, the entire team, my co-editors
@blackpotmojo
&
@AuthorZKnight
, all our amazing contributors, WFA judges, all involved
The winner is:
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, eds. Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight (Tordotcom Publishing)
Happy to announce that I've been elected to the
@sfwa
board of directors, as a director-at-large. Far as we know, I'll be the first African on the board. 🙂
You can't tell people in the fire how to think. You don't know how you'll think or what you'll do until you're in it. Both the victims and their family aren't thinking or reacting how you are now from the comfort of your phone. The people to have expectations of...
As for talks of oh he's fine now, Well meaning. I appreciate you all. But I'm not fine, I'm angry. The talks of he must have overstayed & bla, I'll say people saying this dont know anything, what visa I have, how I used it, etc. But sure, ratify fascist, racist acts of empire
@ImadeIyamu
@iaboyeji
Making a movie doesn't even necessarily mean glorifying. It's telling a story. Stories serve many purposes. It can be documentation or a warning. In any case it's owning your own narrative. It's left to see the purpose they put this story to. They haven't done anything wrong, yet
No Black SFF writers in Africa are represented by the biggest literary agents, aren't published by any of the big 5 or their imprints, aren't on the NYT or other major bestselling lists. They don't have any of the things that constitute big success in the SFF industry...
A lot of people will say it's funding terrorism to crowdfund to pay kidnappers a ransom. But remember you are on your own as a Nigerian. The only solution you get is the one you make. & It may not be, does not have to be sensible or conventional. Do whatever you have to do.
Nominated for my 1st Hugo award, with my climate fiction novelette O2 Arena, also a Nebula & BSFA finalist. 🥰🥳
It'll make me the 1st African nominated in the novelette category, & the 1st African born, Black writer nominated at all. You can read it here
Also why the North, South, region, religion agenda has always been nonsense. Nigeria has always been Nigeria. The same. It's never been better or worse. Sh*t hit the fan looong ago. So rotating faeces, flies everywhere. It just never hit you B4. Leave agenda
@pyjama_ceo
Cuz you've managed university degree & some tiny achievements you are holding to your chest, you now think this makes sense & favours you. You don't know this is the mindset behind the Berlin conference division of Africa, racism & other kinds of bigotry that marginalize you too
“It’s still easier for a white person to write a book with an all-black cast set in fantasy Africa and get it published than for a black person.”
Bad enough with trade publishing. Now add self publishing, short fiction, non-fiction & even freelancing...
One minute you're a Hugo finalist, the next your nephew and niece want you to get down on all fours so they can ride you as their centaur. At least it's an SFF animal. 😩
Just signed a contract. My Nommo award winning short story The Witching Hour will be reprinted and narrated in
@PodCastle_org
for their Indigenous Magic special issue.
The 1st ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology I edited & published just made me the 1st Black African editor to be a World Fantasy award finalist. With it I'm also a Locus & the 1st African Hugo award, best editor finalist.
Do consider it/me for the Hugo 😇
Journey's end; won't be attending
@chicagoworldcon
. Or any other cons if my current mood is anything to go by & if this is how it goes. I can't anyway. Literally, mood asides. Got denied visa to the Worldcon by
@USinNigeria
today. It's not the denial but the how
@abikedabiri
So I'll be the 2023 ICFA Guest of Honour 🥰, the 1st African-born Black writer to be goh. An immense honour indeed, that's been held by 2 Nobel laureates; Isaac Bashevis Singer & Doris Lessing, the oldest Nobel prize in literature winner. I'll be the youngest ever ICFA GoH btw.
So your fav award winning editor has a new anthology out today. 🙂
It's a happy publication day to the 1st ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction Anthology (2021). You can get it on Amazon & other stores...
😯 Just saw this. My first editing award & I'll be the first African editor to win it too 🥺. It's an immense honour. Thanks to the
@BritFantasySoc
@AuthorZKnight
my amazing co-editor, the nominees & all who supported us to kickstart, boost & review it. We're all winners 🤗❤️
Most people don't know what books are. Half the time ya'll say books, even seasoned industry pros, they mean novels. Why else have a list of "books" with only novels. That's a list of novels. Anthologies are books, collections are books. Comics are books, graphic novels are books
So my
@UncannyMagazine
debut is now free to read on the site. It's a non-fiction piece titled 'Too Dystopian for Whom? A Continental Nigerian Writer’s Perspective.' Bit long, at 3488 words, the longest essay they've published this year. I hope you like it.
😯 Just saw this. My first editing award & I'll be the first African editor to win it too 🥺. It's an immense honour. Thanks to the
@BritFantasySoc
@AuthorZKnight
my amazing co-editor, the nominees & all who supported us to kickstart, boost & review it. We're all winners 🤗❤️
Best Anthology goes to: Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora
ed. Zelda Knight & Oghenechovwe Ekpeki Donald
@Penprince
&
@AuthorZKnight
AI crashing publishing and causing more rigorous or severe vetting, more distrust from the publishers/readers will affect the whole industry in the end, but the newer, younger writers first. The older, bigger folks will still get solicited. But the no-big name, slush soldier
You may have heard, I had visa complications recently while trying to attend the
@naacpimageaward
I was nominated for, the
@IAFA_TW
conference as a goh, &
@ASU
fellowship. I'm now crowdfunding for a new visa & legal fees. Pls support & share. Thanks.
@MHairkoh
I think you missed the issue people had with it, which is that if a pregnant wife doesn't feed a man breakfast he will cheat on her with the first available woman that offers him a spoon of rice. Microwave & fridge doesn't change that. If you don't see anything wrong with that...
I'm a finalist for the Nebula award, with my
@Asimovs_SF
short story, Destiny Delayed. 🥰🥳
You can get it here
Also a good time to mention it's eligible for the Hugo, WFA, etc. You can see my full eligibility list & other works at
So I saw the
#HugoAwards
votes breakdown, and it's really interesting. It turns out I came second. Very not bad for a self published, reprint anthology. 🙂 …
I'll be the 1st writer on the continent to win this 🥰
& the 2nd time in a row a Nigerian is winning, both of us the only Africans to have. Congrats to the honours listed writers, esp
@RB_Lemberg
& Isabel Fall, powerful writers. Thanks to the Motherboard for the amazing honour 💙
We’re delighted to announce that Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki has won the 2020 Otherwise Award for his stunning novella “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon”! Congratulations
@Penprince_
! Read the full announcement:
I'll be the 1st BIPOC to get that honour, the 1st non-American, and the only person to, this year. If I win both, I'll be the 1st & only person in the genre's history to. Cuz of this I said to try to attend WorldCon. Be there when I possibly make history, again. But naaa
So I'm a finalist in the British Fantasy award, with the Africa Risen anthology I co-edited. 🤩🥰
This will be my 3rd consecutive year being a finalist, & 4th nomination since being the 1st African editor to win with Dominion, in 2021.
This is despite being quite literally the most awarded SF writer, editor and publisher on the continent. I was a finalist in the
@TheHugoAwards
this year in editing & fiction categories. You don't have to be CIA to know why this is important. Simple Google search
& on Sunday I might be the 1st Black person to win the Hugo, best editor sf award, the 1st African to win for best novelette or the 1st person ever to win in both categories, in the same year.
& If it's neither, it'll still be the most amazing time & a great win being there
So he says there's no point paying a ransom. He's practically a dead man from when he's kidnapped. But when it happens, we still pay. They call and make him talk to us too, he tells us to pay. Same person who said dont pay. Point is, this isn't a sense thing.
I'll be the first (and only) African born, Black writer to be nominated for the Nebula award. And this, twice, back to back, in 2 different categories now. 🥲
I'll be the 1st African writer to be a Nebula finalist with a novelette & my climate fiction story O2 Arena, the 1st novelette by an African writer to be finalist. Its also a
@BSFA
finalist,
@Hugo_Book_Club
,
@NOAFzine
recommended, & eligible for the Hugo
Look at this. I'm a Nebula award finalist with my novella Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon in the Dominion anthology. Alongside these other amazing authors. And peep my cool graphic design by the also amazing finalist
@jifueko
😊🎉
I'm happy to launch the Emeka Walter Dinjos Memorial Award for Disability In Speculative Fiction. It's set up to well, reward disability in speculative fiction as the name implies. This it will do, by awarding two writers yearly, in two categories for works of up to 25,000 words
The Nigerians making noise about Bobi Wine but are okay with Sowore being in jail though. Cuz a lot of these cats will laugh and tell you Sowore wasn't smart & overdid it. 🙄 Ya'll don't believe in the struggle. You only like when it looks good or when the person is winning.
Platonic relationships are my new obsession in stories. Hot platonic relationships with hot, non sexual love which is intense nontheless and beautiful, complex and the parties will do anything for each other.
Can't believe the Wachowski sisters made Matrix then still went ahead & gave us Sense8. & people still talk about they were great but didn't do it often enough. Often enough? The single one of those two works is enough for the world forever. The both of them, we'll never deserve
People saying the adverse, long term effects of paying ransoms.
B4 my dad was kidnapped, he saw it coming. Told us if he was ever kidnapped, not to donate because it's be pointless. He was sick, so wouldn't survive the treatment esp without his meds he needed daily.
And it's been quite the ride. 2nd Visa interview invite on Friday, interview itself on Monday, Visa on Tuesday, Travel on Wednesday, event on Thursday, till the end of the week. So I guess, still keep an eye out for me. My schedule....
@da_shoemaker
You sabi na. You dey. People will come and tell you in Jonathan's regime, things were good then. For Warri & East them dey kidnap hawkers and groundnut sellers that year.
Turns out the Hugo finalist pin is very useful for removing sim cards from mobile devices. So neat and thoughtful. Like I'm thinking thank God I was a Hugo finalist cuz how ever would I have gotten my sim out of my phone if not. 😄
Just cuz you're fully vaccinated doesn't mean you shouldn't properly draw your protective circle and make sure it's ringed with salt before you summon a demon or other denizen of hell to help torment your enemies and snatch their souls after.
They invented Google right? Why not use it? Or better yet, just read, since I even brought everything to you. If you don't want to do the barest minimum & crosscheck.
Something that's only happened for 5 people in the profession's history. The last time, in 2001, 21 years ago.
I mean it wasn't rocket science. & He wasn't a prophet. They were kidnapping anybody, even okada riders & tomato sellers. Much less someone with a car. My uncle has been kidnapped 4 times. My ex, another uncle & like a dozen people I know. It's bound to happen
@tunnie__
@ImohUmoren
@valerian247
Dudes will try to dodge accountability and get away with everything without even bothering to come up with reasonable excuses. It's all because "I am a man". Na the testosterone dey make us forget 😩. It's the lazy excuses for me.
Apparently that's not enough reasons to get visa to attend the WorldCon. If I had been considered & denied I wouldn't even have worried as much. But I don't feel I was even considered at all. It didn't look like. Despite all I did (seperate from being ultra excellent at what I do
While fireworks were going out they were busy getting in one last evil for the year, to steal my royalties, over $2000 last I checked. Preorders & sales for 3 months. Proceeds for all the work, hype, all gone. For these stupid, inexplicable, senseless reasons...
Been quite the year. I wrote & published fiction & nonfiction, sold stories, original & reprint. To venues like Asimov & Tor. Won awards, wrote & gave speeches, edited & published books & mags, started presses, organized cons & awards. Think I'll do an eligibility list/post 🙂
The first Africa Risen review is out. And like that I have my first starred review too, and from
@PublishersWkly
!
Congrats to us all, the editors, the amazing authors on this and entire publishing team. 🥰✨⭐🧡
@tordotcom
@TorDotComPub
I've always believed we are stronger than the systems that shackle and keep us down, if we only rise above the things that divide us. I wished that we did that more, like we did this time & this writer, editor & publisher can travel the nebula on a rocket. 🌌🚀👨🏾🚀
Balloons 🥰. Yayy, it's my birthday. If you're inclined to give me a present, simply read my works & engage with em. Short story Destiny Delayed
Bridging Worlds anthology
The essay, Too Dystopian For Whom...
In no particular order
Won the Nebula and World Fantasy awards, the first African to, in the categories I won. Was a multiple Hugo award finalist for Novelette & best editor sf, the 1st African to be shortlisted in the editor categories, and the novelette category as well...
Smells of classism to me. Student paying international fees, money. Prior/Family abroad, pedigree and or money. A very particular kind of money. If you make it yourself, naaa. Family kind, yes. If not, convo ends.
Help support my fundraiser to attend
@chicagoworldcon
I'm a 1st time, multi Hugo finalist with my Nebula winning novelette O2 Arena
& Best editor SF with the Year's Best African Speculative Fiction, free here
We never seriously talk about the possibly permanent psychological effects of rejections. We mostly laugh about it. It's silly, temporary, unavoidable, necessary pain, like an injection. But sometimes it can be a mortal wound. Something dies in you everytime you're rejected...
"Your membership upgrade application has been reviewed and approved. Congratulations on your sales and welcome to Full
@sfwa
membership!"
🙂 upgraded to full membership 3 years after my 1st pro sale. Was doing one a year, except last year editing Dominion. Slow & steady...🐢
I'll be the 1st African writer to be a Nebula finalist with a novelette & my climate fiction story O2 Arena, the 1st novelette by an African writer to be finalist. Its also a
@BSFA
finalist,
@Hugo_Book_Club
,
@NOAFzine
recommended, & eligible for the Hugo
Happy Val's &
#BlackHistoryMonth
I have giveaways & (final) updates to the Amazon KDP fiasco. 1stly, the Year's Best African Spec Fic anthology is now free in all formats & my (already free) climate fiction novelette O2 Arena 🙂
It's my birthday, & I have updates, & giveaways 🌝 - the YBASF anthology, now free for Kindle users at the former
@AmazonKDP
link on
@JembefolaPress
website
That & my climate fiction novelette O2 Arena. Tho that was already free 🌝
At least by the end of today I'll be a Nebula winner or loser. Both of which were beyond the scope of my ambitions as a literary enthusiast, growing up dreaming of being a writer. Wasn't even amongst my unrealistically dreams. Here's to achieving our not-dreams, Nigeria asides 🥂