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Readercon 29 Afrofuturism Panel Quick Resource

7/10/2018

Attribution: Josiah Mackey [image description: shape of a black woman holding an orb. Her body is filled in with the galaxy and stars.]

I have the pleasure of moderating a panel on Afrofuturism at Readercon with guests Terrence Taylor/@vamptestaments, Romie Stott/ http://romiesays.tumblr.com, Phenderson D. Clark / @pdjeliclark , and Readercon guest of honor Nisi Shawl/ @NisiShawl.
Phenderson and Terrence are old friends, and hopefully Nisi and Romie will become new ones.

In this post, I've attached a very brief background document for those who plan to attend but are a little hazy on exactly what Afrofuturism is all about. The document includes a link to Mark Dery's term-coining essay as well as a quote from Ytasha L. Womack's book on the subject, Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. Also included is a reading list of authors currently working in the genre compiled by Milton Davis. Author Troy L. Wiggins (@Troylwiggins) has graciously sent me another reading list. Troy's includes both contemporary fiction as well as nonfiction texts. Finally, there is a Nisi Shawl's book review of Nalo Hopkinson's Midnight Robber.

You have your homework. It is my hope that this will make your experience at the panel more enjoyable and help focus any comments or questions you may have. The panel will be on 7/13/18 at 7:00 p.m. in Salon 6.

You can find me @cprwords on Twitter.

P.S. For those who have more time, I've attached another PDF. Ground breaking essays in the journal Social Text on AfroFuturism