Africa Risen

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction is a speculative fiction anthology edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Zelda Knight, and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki featuring 32 original works of fiction. It was published in 2022 by Tor Publishing.[1]

Africa Risen
Editor
Cover artistManzi Jackson and Christine Foltzer
CountryUnited States of America
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAnthology series
GenreScience fiction anthology, Speculative fiction, essays, postmodern lit, literary fiction
PublisherTordotcom
Publication date
15 November 2022
Media type
  • Hardcover
  • e-Book
Pages528 (hardcover)
ISBN9781250833006 hardcover
Preceded byA Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora 

Development and inspiration

The anthology serves as a third volume to the Dark Matter anthology series edited by Thomas from 1998 to 2004.[2] The first book published in this Dark Matter anthology was produced at the turn of the new millennium, the award winning A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (2000). The second book in the Dark Matter series was the equally lauded World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology winner, Reading the Bones (2004).

According to Thomas, Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora re-kindled the desire to edit an anthology of Africans and Africans in the Diaspora when Ekpeki reached out to her.[2] The name of the anthology was supposed to be Africa Rising, but was changed because according to Thomas "Africa has risen".[2]

Content

Source:[3]

  • "The Blue House" by Dilman Dila
  • "March Magic" by WC Dunlap
  • "IRL" by Steven Barnes
  • "The Deification of Igodo" by Joshua Omenga
  • "Mami Wataworks" by Russell Nichols
  • "Rear Mirror" by Nuzo Onoh
  • "Door Crashers" by Franka Zeph
  • "The Soul Would Have No Rainbow" by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
  • "A Dream of Electric Mothers" by Wole Talabi
  • "Simbi" by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
  • "Housewarming for a Lion Goddess" by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga
  • "A Knight in Tunisia" by Alex Jennings
  • "The Devil Is Us" by Mirette Bahgat
  • "Cloud Mine" by Timi Odueso
  • "Ruler of the Rear Guard" by Maurice Broaddus
  • "Peeling Time (Deluxe Edition)" by Tlotlo Tsamaase
  • "The Sugar Mill" by Tobias S. Buckell
  • "The Carving of War" by Somto Ihezue Onyedikachi
  • "Ghost Ship" by Tananarive Due
  • "Liquid Twilight" by Ytasha Womack
  • "Once Upon a Time in 1967" by Oyedotun Damilola Muees
  • "A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner" by Alexis Brooks de Vita
  • "The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" by Tobi Ogundiran
  • "When the Mami Wata Met a Demon" by Moustapha Mbacké Diop
  • "The Papermakers" by Akua Lezli Hope
  • "A Soul of Small Places" by Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo
  • "Air to Shape Lungs" by Shingai Njeri Kagunda
  • "Hanfo Driver" by Ada Nnadi
  • "Exiles of Witchery" by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori
  • "The Taloned Beast" by Chinelo Onwualu
  • "Star Watchers" by Danian Darrell Jerry
  • "Biscuit & Milk" by Dare Segun Falowo

Themes

The themes in the anthology are Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, climate, gender, LGBT and religion.[4]

Reception

It is nominated for the 2023 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction.[5] NPR named it amongst their Best of the Year pick.[6] It earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly and Booklist.[7][8] In the Publishers Weekly review, it was called "a magnificent and wide-ranging anthology..." noting that it is "a must-read for all genre fans."[7]

Booklist called it "a significant addition to the canon of modern speculative fiction."[8] while Library Journal considered it "a welcome introduction to speculative writers from the African continent and the African diaspora."[9] Isiah Lavender III in a review for Locus praised the work for an outstanding collection.[4]

See also

References
  1. Alexander, Alesia (9 March 2022). "Africa Risen Anthology Celebrates Science Fiction Fantasy from Africa and the Diaspora". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. Thomas, Sheree Renée; Ekpeki, Oghenechovwe Donald (October 5, 2022). "The Heart of Genre: Regina Kanyu Wang, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Sheree Renée Thomas on Curating Anthologies". Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre (Interview). Interviewed by Drew Broussard. Literary Hub and Tor Books. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  3. "Announcing Africa Risen, a New Anthology of African and Diasporic Speculative Fiction". Tor.com. September 20, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. Lavender III, Isiah (December 31, 2022). "Isiah Lavender III Reviews Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, & Zelda Knight". Locus. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  5. Templeton, Molly (January 19, 2023). "Africa Risen Receives NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Literary Work". Tor.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  6. Brown, Alex. "Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction". Books We Love. NPR.
  7. "Africa Risen". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  8. Essen, Leah von (October 1, 2022). "Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction". Booklist. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  9. Williams, Danielle (September 16, 2022). "Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction". Library Journal. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
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