Tuesday, February 15th, 1:00 pm CST
Join Kwame Mbalia, the editor of Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood, and his fellow contributors Suyi Davies Okungbowa, P. Djélì Clark, and DaVaun Sanders for a spirited discussion about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood. This important collection of stories exploring the impact of joy on family, community, and personal reflection will inspire all readers to recognize and appreciate the power of joy.
A Certificate of Attendance will be issued to those who attend this webinar. A recording will be posted to Mackin.com for those who cannot participate in the live session.
Speakers
Kwame Mbalia
Author
Kwame Mbalia is a husband, father, writer, #1 New York Timesbestselling author, and former pharmaceutical metrologist, in that order. He is the author of the Tristan Strong trilogy, The Last Gate of the Emperor duology, and Black Boy Joy – an anthology of 17 stories celebrating Black boyhood. His work has received numerous starred reviews and a Coretta Scott King Honor. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, Kwame survives on dad jokes and Cheez-Its.
P. Djélì Clark
Author and Historian
P. Djélì Clark is the award-winning and Hugo-, Nebula-, and Sturgeon-nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums, and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies; and in print anthologies including Griots, Hidden Youth, and Clockwork Cairo. He is a founding member of FIYAH: A Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction and a reviewer at Strange Horizons. He resides in a small Edwardian castle in New England with his wife, twin daughters, and pet dragon, where he works as an academic historian. When so inclined, he rambles on issues of speculative fiction, politics, and diversity at his aptly named blog, The Disgruntled Haradrim. His debut novel is A Master of Djinn.
Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Author
Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction, and other speculative works inspired by his West African origins. He is the author of Son of the Storm, the first novel in the Nameless Republic epic fantasy trilogy. His highly acclaimed debut, the godpunk fantasy novel David Mogo, Godhunter, was hailed by Wired as “the subgenre’s platonic deific ideal.” His shorter fiction and essays have appeared internationally on Tor.com; on PodCastle; in periodicals such as Lightspeed, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, Fireside, and The Dark; and in anthologies like Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, A World of Horror, and People of Colour Destroy Science Fiction. He has taught creative writing at the University of Arizona (where he also completed his MFA in creative writing) as well as spoken and lectured at various venues in the United States and beyond. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.
DaVaun Sanders
Author and Editor
DaVaun Sanders resides in Phoenix. His short fiction has been published by FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, PodCastle, Broken Eye Books, Dancing Star Press, and others. He currently serves as executive editor for the World Fantasy Award–winning and two-time Hugo Award–nominated FIYAH. His most recent editorial project includes Breathe FIYAH, a flash fiction anthology collaboration with Tor.com. He hopes to continue expanding his body of work in children’s fiction for his own twins and for kids everywhere who deserve to enjoy inclusive stories.
Kia Heise, Ph.D. – Host
Mackin Learning
Kia Heise holds a doctorate in Sociology and taught in Los Angeles and the Twin Cities for several years before joining Mackin Learning. Her approach is informed by thousands of hours learning how to navigate discussions of social inequality with diverse groups of young people. She is also the author of the Little Sock picture books.
