Black Writers and Readers (Still) Matter

“I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.”
― Octavia E. Butler

Even though we find ourselves already at the end of February, it feels important to mark Black History Month and the historical and ongoing contributions of people from the African diaspora to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and beyond.

There are far too many names — past and present — to include, but we wanted to take a moment to highlight again the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholars from 2021 — Lue Palmer and shakirah peterson. Since 2007, the Carl Brandon Society has donated this scholarship in Octavia’s name to writers of color attending Clarion and Clarion West.

Additionally, we are excited to welcome new instructors to the 2022 Six-Week Workshop, including P Djeli Clarke, Tobias Buckell, and Bill Campbell!

We encourage you to take a look back at our 2020 resource post in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as our living list of recommended readings by Black authors.

We know that there will always be more work to do as an organization to align our efforts in solidarity, and we will keep striving forward.