Midwest BSFA members and supporters will participate in a panel called Steampunk Aesthetics Through A Black Lens on Saturday, July 25, at 1 p.m. EST as part of the virtual convention Michigan Magick and Machine (July 24-26)! Black people and other POC interested in steampunk are doing so within a Eurocentric framework that doesn’t really take us into account. Panelists will explore their character back stories and how they navigate the space while still managing to have fun. Continue reading “Midwest BSFA Organizes Panel for Virtual Convention”
Open Gaming at Chase Public – Steamfunkateers’ The Haunting of the House of Crum
In honor of the closing of Ral Buldhar: A Dungeons & Dragons Art Show exhibit, Chase Public is hosting an afternoon of open gaming on Feb. 16. We’ll be bringing The Haunting of the House of Crum, the first one-shot campaign for writer Balogun Ojetade’s Steamfunkateers steamfunk role playing game. Continue reading “Open Gaming at Chase Public – Steamfunkateers’ The Haunting of the House of Crum”
Check Out Midwest BSFA at Hero Nation on Sept. 9!
Want to get into steampunk but not sure where to start? Aiesha of Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance will discuss the film short Steamfunk and Rococoa: A Black Victorian Fantasy (steampunk as it pertains to people of color) and lead a steampunk character building workshop at the Hero Nation event in Ypslanti, Mich., next month! Hero Nation-Ypslanti, Sept. 9, 1-6 p.m., Parkridge Community Center, 591 Armstrong Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48197, www.heronationypsi.com.
Interview with Author Valjeanne Jeffers
Indie author Valjeanne Jeffers Skyped in to participate in our cyberfunk panel at Pandoracon last month. Midwest BSFA recently talked to her about her nerdom, her writing career, and operating in predominately-white, predominately-male genres. Continue reading “Interview with Author Valjeanne Jeffers”
Interview with Balogun Ojetade
We recently talked to Balogun Ojetade – author, master instructor of indigenous African martial arts, screenwriter, film director, tabletop role-playing game designer, traditional African priest – about his new anthology, Rococoa. Continue reading “Interview with Balogun Ojetade”
Interview with Writer Milton Davis
Georgia-based indie writer Milton Davis is raising money for Changa and the Jade Obelisk, a sword and soul animated adventure based on his novel Changa’s Safari. In the first episode, Changa, a young prince vowing to seek revenge for the death of his father and free his family and people from captivity, faces off against the sorceress Bahati and her evil horde of Hyena Men. We caught up with Davis as he prepared to participate in several panel discussions at this year’s DragonCon and asked him to tell us more about how he creates. Continue reading “Interview with Writer Milton Davis”
Being Black and Female in Steampunk
When I started getting into steampunk a couple of years ago, my first question was “There’s no slavery in this, right?” I was met with a very emphatic “NO!” It’s not like I didn’t have a right to ask. Any hobby that takes bits and pieces from a century that was horrific for at least 95% of the world’s population gets a very strong and lingering side eye. I began to feel more comfortable with steampunk when I stopped thinking about it from the standpoint of what was and started visualizing what never was but could’ve been. That, however, took some work.
Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance 