''The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction'' is an anthology of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n
speculative fiction edited by
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki or Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald is a Nigerian speculative fiction writer and editor residing in New York. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in ''Omenana Magazine'', Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores', ''Tor.com'', ' ...
.
Background
Ekpeki was inspired to publish the book after the positive reception of his earlier African speculative fiction anthology, ''
Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
,'' to "create more spaces for the works of speculative fiction writers of African descent to be appreciated".
All the stories in the anthology are
reprints of stories first published elsewhere.
Contents
Themes
Parenthood, family, and relationships to the past are themes across many stories in the anthology.
Both straight and queer points of view are explored.
Stories in the anthology include the genres of
Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultu ...
,
Africanfuturism
Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of Culture of Africa, African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined ...
,
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
,
hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
,
horror,
slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...
,
climate fiction
Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013).Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi' retrieved 3 March 2016 Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, wor ...
,
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...
, and
weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Weird fiction either eschews or radically reinterprets ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other traditional antagonists of supernatural horr ...
.
Reception
Fiona Moore
Fiona Moore is a Canadian academic, writer and critic based in London (UK). She is best known for writing works of TV criticism, short fiction, stage and audio plays (being one of the original members of the Magic Bullet Productions writing team a ...
in a
British Science Fiction Association
The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British academics, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to promote the writing, criticism, and study of science fiction ...
review describes the anthology as "a good general representation of the state of
SFF in Africa and the diaspora".
Moore is somewhat critical of the large number of American contributors compared to those of other nationalities, although admitting that such a distribution is understandable given the nature of the publishing industry, and that African American writers are still underrepresented overall in literature.
Writing for the
British Fantasy Society
The British Fantasy Society (BFS) was founded in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. ...
, Sarah Deeming highly recommends the anthology. Deeming praises the high quality of the stories, noting that many "had a musical quality, almost like poetry rather than prose, and each one deserved reprinting".
She particularly highlights three stories: "Things Boys Do" by
Pemi Aguda; "Scar Tissue" by
Tobias S. Buckell, which Deeming describes as "beautifully written and well-thought-out"; and the "fresh and seductive" story "Love Hangover" by
Sheree Renée Thomas.
T.G. Shenoy also highlights "Things Boys Do" and "Scar Tissue", as well as praising stories by WC Dunlap, Russell Nichols,
Chinelo Onwualu
Chinelo Onwualu is a Nigerian editor and a speculative fiction writer. She is the co-founder and previous editor-in-chief of ''Omenana Magazine''. She is also co-editor at ''Anathema Magazine''.
Early life and career
Onwualu was born in Nigeria. S ...
, and Marian Denise Moore in a review for ''
Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
''. Shenoy labels the anthology as a whole a "must-read". He suggests that the anthology may have been improved by including a discussion of African speculative fiction and the creative choices that went into putting together the book, or including Ekpeki's novella ''
Ife-Iyoku, The Tale of Imadeyunuagbon.'' However, Shenoy notes that their lack of inclusion does not in itself diminish the anthology.
Awards and nominations
The anthology was nominated for the 2022
Locus Award
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...
for Best Anthology. It won the 2022
World Fantasy Award—Anthology
The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described by book critics such as ''The Guardian'' as a "prestig ...
. Maria Spada's cover art for the book was longlisted for the 2022
BSFA Award for Best Artwork.
References
2021 anthologies
Africanfuturism
{{anthology-book-stub
Fantasy anthologies