Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction

by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Zelda Knight

Overview

Winner of the 2023 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology

Winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best Anthology

A 2023 NAACP Image Award Nominee

A 2023 British Fantasy Award Nominee

A NPR Best of the Year pick

A Book Riot Best SFF of the Year pick

"[A] magnificent and wide-ranging anthology . . . A must-read for all genre fans."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

From award-winning editorial team Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight comes an anthology of thirty-two original stories showcasing the breadth of fantasy and science fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora.

A group of cabinet ministers query a supercomputer containing the minds of the country’s ancestors. A child robot on a dying planet uncovers signs of fragile new life. A descendent of a rain goddess inherits her grandmother’s ability to change her appearance—and perhaps the world.

Created in the legacy of the seminal, award-winning anthology series Dark Matter, Africa Risen celebrates the vibrancy, diversity, and reach of African and Afro-Diasporic SFF and reaffirms that Africa is not rising—it’s already here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250833006
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Pages:	528
Sales rank:	504,240
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.80(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer and editor from Nigeria. He won the Nommo Award for best short story by an African in 2019, the 2020 Otherwise Award, and the HWA diversity grant. He has been a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, BSFA, BFA, Sturgeon, This Is Horror, and Nommo awards. He co-edited the Dominion anthology, is guest editor at Interstellar Flight Press, and is the editor of the first ever Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction anthology. His written works have appeared and are forthcoming in Tor.com, NBC, Strange Horizons, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, Galaxy’s Edge and more.

Zelda Knight is a USA Today bestselling author, British Fantasy Award-winning editor, and diverse bookseller. She writes speculative romance for all orientations. She’s also the publisher and editor-in-chief of Aurelia Leo, an independent Nebula Award-nominated press based in Louisville, Kentucky. Zelda co-edited Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, which has received critical acclaim, and Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction. Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads, or visit her website.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight

“The Blue House” by Dilman Dila

“March Magic” by WC Dunlap

“IRL” by Steven Barnes

“The Deification of Igodo” by Joshua Uchenna 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

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/08/2022

Thomas, Ekpeki, and Knight assemble a stellar lineup of 32 writers from across the African diaspora for this magnificent and wide-ranging anthology of speculative shorts. Some stories center on technology, including “IRL” by Steven Barnes, in which the protagonist must contend with the ever-thinning line between virtuality and reality. Others focus on history and politics: Sandra Jackson-Opoku’s “Simbi” puzzles through the legacies of slavery and exploitation of labor, while in Wole Talabi’s “A Dream of Electric Mothers,” a woman consults a supercomputer containing the memories of her countryfolk to determine whether to go to war. Akua Lezli Hope’s “The Papermakers,” meanwhile, takes the anthology in a breezy and slightly surreal direction with the story of an interracial relationship in a papermaking guild. If none of the stories stand out, it’s because each is as masterful as the next. This weighty sampler is best read slowly to give each writer their due before moving on to the next. It’s an impressive survey of contemporary Black SFF that should be a must-read for all genre fans. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

09/16/2022

Featuring new, emerging, and established authors, this riveting collection of 32 original short stories offers readers everything from 1960s fantasy to futuristic science fiction. Having previously edited other well-regarded African speculative fiction collections, such as Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction 2021, and Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, editors Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight have created another compelling collection. Each story stands alone, but the works are loosely tied together by the writers' shared African heritage. While many of the stories are set on the African continent, there are also several based in the United States, and each story takes a slightly different approach to confronting such topics as equality, climate change, and racial tension. Readers will enjoy that the stories often revolve around the supernatural characteristics of the protagonists. VERDICT These stories are entrancing and provide a welcome introduction to speculative writers from the African continent and the African diaspora.—Danielle Williams

Library Journal

"If you like short stories, are looking for an entry point to short speculative fiction, or need something to break a reading slump, you can’t go wrong with Africa Risen."—NPR

"Thomas, Ekpeki, and Knight assemble a stellar lineup of 32 writers from across the African diaspora for this magnificent and wide-ranging anthology . . . A must-read for all genre-fans."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"These stories enchant, surprise, and provoke and are a significant addition to the canon of modern speculative fiction."—Booklist, starred review

"These stories are entrancing and provide a welcome introduction to speculative writers from the African continent and the African diaspora."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

This audiobook, a sweeping collection of new speculative fiction from Africa and people of African descent, is enjoyable and intellectually stimulating. It's largely narrated by people of a similar culture and heritage as the authors, so some of the phrasing and pacing may sound unusual to the American ear. However, these talented narrators bring authenticity and an immersive cultural adventure to listeners. With a wide range of stories, there will be something for nearly everyone to dig into. Celebrating the creative vision of a multitude of writers from the African diaspora, these narrators bring the stories vividly to life. Discover new life on a dying planet, memories preserved on a mainframe, and a magical rain goddess among the diverse stories included. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2023 - AudioFile