10 of the Best Black Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers
To commemorate Black History Month in the US and Canada, we’re celebrating some of the very best Black fantasy and science fiction authors and their books. From esteemed, award-winning names across the genres, to emerging writers making waves within the literary world, these authors and their books are essential reading for those wishing to delve deeper into the genres to discover modern classics and captivating debuts alike.
Octavia E. Butler
A trailblazer in the genre of science fiction, Octavia E. Butler was a prolific writer whose work was lauded by critics across her 36-year career. The first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, she was also the recipient of multiple prestigious accolades throughout her lifetime, including Hugo and Nebula awards, and in 2000 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the PEN American Center.
Heroic recommends: Patternmaster (Doubleday, 1976) and Kindred (Doubleday, 1979)
Nalo Hopkinson
The Jamaican-born Canadian author has written broadly across several genres of speculative fiction, most notably science fiction and fantasy. Hopkinson’s writing has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and shortlisted for the James R. Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award. In 2020, she was named the 37th Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Heroic recommends: Brown Girl in the Ring (Warner Aspect, 1998)
Charles R. Saunders
Inspired to begin writing science fiction after reading the work of Andre Norton, Charles R. Saunders is best remembered for his Imaro stories, set in the fantasy world of Nyumbani, a continent based on Africa. Alongside his literary career, he worked as a journalist and columnist, and wrote several works of non-fiction focused on the Black communities of Nova Scotia in Canada, where he lived until his death in 2020.
Heroic recommends: Imaro (DAW, 1981)
N. K. Jemisin
Best known for her Broken Earth series, N. K. Jemisin worked professionally as a counselling psychologist before graduating from the Viable Paradise writing workshop and embarking on a literary career. She was the first author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in three consecutive years, and she made history as the first African-American author to win in that category.
Heroic recommends: The Killing Moon (Orbit, 2012) and The Fifth Season (Orbit, 2015)
Nisi Shawl
Michigan-native Nisi Shawl is best known for their fantasy and science fiction short stories, which have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction and Rosebud Magazine, among others. Their debut novel, Everfair, is a steampunk alternate history of the African Congo. Alongside writing, they have edited anthologies of Afrofuturist, LGBT+ and African-American fiction, and they also contribute reviews to the Seattle Times.
Heroic recommends: Everfair (Tor, 2016)
Roseanne A. Brown
A journalism graduate of the University of Maryland, Roseanne A. Brown has quickly established herself as a compelling and exciting new voice in the fantasy genre. Her 2020 debut, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, draws on West African folklore for inspiration, depicting the tumultuous bond between a crown princess and a desperate refugee, whose paths unexpectedly cross. Her follow-up, A Psalm of Storms and Silence, will be published in August 2021.
Heroic recommends: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (Harper Collins, 2020)
P Djèlí Clark
American science fiction writer and historian P Djèlí Clark is a three-time Hugo Award finalist and author of novels, short stories and non-fiction. His short story The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington, published in Fireside Fiction in 2018, won both the Nebula Award for Best Short Story and the 2019 Locus Award for Best Short Story, and his thrilling, supernatural reimagining of 1920s Georgia, set against the unsettling backdrop of white supremacy and racial politics, was selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice Pick. His next novel, A Master of Djinn is forthcoming from Tor in 2021.
Heroic recommends: Ring Shout (Tor, 2020)
Walter Mosley
Despite being best known for his crime and mystery fiction, Walter Mosley’s works of science fiction are remembered by fans and critics as gripping and evocative depictions of the human condition. His phenomenal world-building is best observed in Futureland, his 2001 series of interconnected short stories depicting a post-cyberpunk dystopian universe in which humans live under a technocracy. He received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2020, making him the first Black male to receive the honour.
Heroic recommends: Blue Light (Little, Brown, 1998) and Futureland (Warner, 2001)
Nnedi Okorafor
With her writing heavily influenced by her dual Nigerian and American heritage, Nnedi Okorafor has written fantasy and science fiction for both children and adults. Frequently exploring and interpreting folklore and mythology in her writing, she has been recognised with Hugo, Nebula and Eisner Awards for her fiction. Her 2010 novel, Who Fears Death, is set in post-apocalyptic Africa and deals with race, oppression, tribal politics and magic. As of 2017, Who Fears Death is in development as an HBO television series, with George R. R. Martin set to serve as an executive producer.
Heroic recommends: Who Fears Death (DAW, 2010)
Jordan Ifueko
The author of the New York Times bestselling novel Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko is an exemplary new voice in the realm of young-adult fantasy. An epic West African-inspired tale of magic, duty, revenge and power, Raybearer is a sensational debut novel filled with originality and flair. Ifueko’s short fiction has previously been featured in Strange Horizons and Lunch Ticket, and her second novel in the Raybearer series is forthcoming.
Heroic recommends: Raybearer (Hot Key, 2020)
