Our co-founder, Ofeibea Loveless, is a teacher now! Her online course, Steampunk 101, is available on the Speculative Fiction Academy‘s website. The course “teaches writers about the subgenre’s origins and dives deeper into character and world building in this space.” Call her Professor Loveless!
Aiesha recently recorded a steampunk character building panel for Clermont County Public Library’s virtual Libraricon event on Nov. 6 and 7! You can catch the presentation on the library’s YouTube channel beginning at 2 p.m. EST on Nov. 7. Click here for the full schedule.
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”
🚨🚨 Aiesha will close out the year choppin’ it up with Ben of “Mr. Ben’s K-Pop Power Hour” at 10 p.m. on Dec. 30 on WAIF (88.3 FM)! They’ll be discussing a number of topics, including cosplay, anime, and steampunk. Tune in! 🚨🚨
Our co-founder is presenting her steampunk character building workshop at Motor City Black Age of Comics on Saturday, Nov. 3! Click here for more information. This is her final presentation of the year so if you’re in the area, check her out!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the rift between black Americans and continental Africans, and how more visible it is these days, thanks to social media. From Seren Aishitemasu’s slightly unhinged but still insightful YouTube videos about continental Africans’ appropriation of black American culture for profit and fame to the online grumblings from continental Africans about Black Panther/Coming to America mashups earlier this year to Luvvie Ajayi starting what felt like a diaspora war on Twitter last week when she tried to talk slick about Tevin Campbell, I’m seeing more clearly the fissures in the already fragile foundation on which black Americans and continental Africans stand. As someone who does steampunk from a multicultural perspective centering on a West African narrative, this all makes me think about changes I could make to my character’s backstory.***
Continue reading “Diasporic Blackness and Revising Steampunk Characters”
Cosplayer/geeklanthropist Sistah Geek, co-host of the Wakanda IV Lyfe podcast, is co-presenting a steampunk character building workshop with our fearless leader at the Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts (MECCACon) at 11 a.m. on Sept. 16! We talked to her about comics, steampunk, not letting mansplainers drain you and being a geek who gives back.
Continue reading “Interview with Cosplayer/Podcaster Sistah Geek”
A few months ago, a white author posted a comment in one of the Facebook groups I moderate seeking a beta reader for the steampunk story he was writing. Because his main character is Asian and he clearly is not, he was interested in finding a person of color to read the story. My response was “hire an Asian sensitivity reader.” Continue reading “Why You Need A Sensitivity Reader (aka Don’t Ask Me To Do Emotional Labor For Free)”
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”
Hey hey hey! After a couple of cons and a much-needed holiday break, we’re back like cooked crack! (But, um, far less addictive/destructive.) November was hectic, y’all. HECTIC. Check out what we and our friends were up to last month! Continue reading “And I’ll Be Gone Til…December (November Recap)”
Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance 