Daniel José Older is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

and

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

writer. His work includes the '' Shadowshaper'' ''Cypher'' series as well as novels in the ''Star'' ''Wars'' series.

Career

Older's career as a writer began in 2014, in the back of the ambulance where he worked as an EMT in New York City. Older has said that he sees himself as an outsider to the publishing and literary scene. Describing himself as a disruptor, saying, “I entered the writing world clearly and strategically to do this thing, to write these books, to get them into the world and fuck with people…to generally fuck shit up.” Older's formal writing foray onto the writing scene came with
Salsa Nocturna
'' in 2012. A collection of stories from the living, the dead, and those in between, ''Salsa Nocturna'' serves as an introduction to key characters from his first series, ''Bone Street Rumba.'' Older's debut novel, ''Half-Resurrection Blues,'' was published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Anika Noni Rose Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, as seen in ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. ...

had optioned the television and films rights to the novel and the following two novels in the ''Bone Street Rumba'' series. Later in 2015, Older's sophomore novel and series, Shadowshaper, was published by Scholastic. Following Older's tradition of inclusive writing, it follows a young Afro-Latina named Sierra who discovers her family's history of supernatural powers and her ability to interact with the spirit world. The book is the first of five works in the '' Shadowshaper Cypher.''

Older has been critical of works that fail to include racial diversity. While he admires ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...

'' series of novels, he was disappointed in the casting of the

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

based on them, writing that the " whitewashing of Katniss was a tremendously unimaginative and useless act." Older has also been critical of "the popular surge of YA dystopias that followed in the wake of the Hunger Games trilogy," calling it "wildly undiverse." He attributes this lack of diversity to a "phenomenal lack of imagination" on the part of the authors, and a laziness, he feels, designed to keep some people out of the picture, saying: "To be able to figure out all these quirky things about what you imagine the future will be like, and not somehow have any folks of color doing anything

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

ic or worthwhile in it, what happened?" In 2018 Older released his first Star Wars novel ''Last Shot'', which serves as a tie-in to '' Solo: A Star Wars Story''. It stars

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

and

Lando Calrissian Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...

and takes place between ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

'' and ''

The Force Awakens ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens'') is a 2015 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. The sequel to '' Return of the Jedi'' (198 ...

'' with flashback settings before and after ''Solo''.

World Fantasy Award Petition

In August 2014, Older started a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

to change the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

statuette from a bust of H. P. Lovecraft to one of African-American author

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship ...

, on account of Lovecraft's racism, and concerns that it would be disrespectful to recipients, in particular those belonging to non-white ethnicities that Lovecraft held in particular contempt. In November 2015 it was announced that the

trophy would no longer be modeled on Lovecraft. Older told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper by email, "If

as a genre truly wants to embrace all of its fans, and I believe it does, we can't keep lionising a man who used literature as a weapon against entire races. Writers of color… raised our voices collectively, en masse, and the World Fantasy folks heard us. Today, fantasy is a better, more inclusive, and stronger genre because of it."

Bibliography

Novels

''Shadowshaper Cypher'' series (Young Adult)

* '' Shadowshaper'' (2015) * ''Ghost Girl in the Corner'' (2016) * ''Dead Light March'' (2017) * ''Shadowhouse Fall'' (2017) * ''Shadowshaper Legacy (2020)''

''Bone Street Rumba'' series (Adult)

* ''Half-Resurrection Blues'' (2015) * ''Midnight Taxi Tango'' (2016) * ''Battle Hill Bolero'' (2017)

''Dactyl Hill Squad'' series (Middle Grade)

* ''Dactyl Hill Squad'' (2018) * ''Freedom Fire'' (2019) *''Thunder Run (2020)''

''Star Wars''

* ''Last Shot'' (2018) * ''The High Republic Adventures'' (2021) * ''Race To Crashpoint Tower '' (2021) * ''Trail of Shadows'' (2021) * ''Midnight Horizon'' (2022)

''Outlaw Saints'' duology (Young Adult)

* ''Ballad & Dagger'' (2022)

Standalone

''The Book of Lost Saints'' (2019) ''Flood City (2021)''

Short fiction

Novellas

* ''Anyway: Angie'' (2014) a Bone Street Rumba novella * ''Kia and Gio'' (2015) a Bone Street Rumba novella * ''Ginga'' (2015) a Bone Street Rumba novella * ''Ghost Girl in the Corner'' (2016) a Shadowshaper novella * ''Dead Light March'' (2017) a Shadowshaper novella

Collections

* ''Salsa Nocturna'' (2012)

As editor

* ''Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History'' (with Rose Fox, 2014) *''Fantasy Magazine: People of Color Destroy Fantasy'' (2016)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Older, Daniel Jose 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American male novelists American writers of young adult literature American male short story writers Hispanic and Latino American writers Hispanic and Latino American novelists Hispanic and Latino American short story writers Living people Social justice 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Year of birth missing (living people)