Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations on Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature In A Pandemic

by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Editor), Nikhil Singh, Zelda Knight

The Bridging Worlds non-fiction anthology examines the difficulties Black people and African writers faced in the 2020 pandemic-lockdown breakout year and how they navigated them. Bridging Worlds seeks to explore the threads and lines that connect us as we navigated this singular yet multifaceted experience, and show that connection in the various non-fiction pieces written in the diverse styles and forms the authors chose.

Bridging Worlds contains 18 pieces of speculative non-fiction, by 19 creatives aimed at documenting the experiences we had as speculative creators during that very challenging year.

It contains essays, interviews, narrative non-fiction pieces, whatever styles the creatives chose to tell their stories in. Stories that touch on their hopes, difficulties, losses, successes and further plans. It is meant to be an integral contribution to the speculative fiction canon and shed much needed light on the marginalized and scarcely represented Black and African experience.

126 pages, ebook

First published February 21, 2022

About the author

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer, editor, & publisher from Nigeria. He is a Nebula, Nommo, Otherwise and British Fantasy award winner, and a Hugo, Locus, Sturgeon & BSFA finalist. He edited the first ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology, the Bridging Worlds non-fiction anthology, co-edited Dominion, & the Africa Risen anthology. He founded Jembefola Press and the Emeka Walter Dinjos Memorial Award For Disability In Speculative Fiction

Reviews

[Goran Lowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this short collection of non-fiction. Don't go into this expecting in-depth essays or serious literary criticism. That's not what this collection tries to be- instead, you will find people reflecting on their experience trying to break into the SFF world, trying to battle through the pandemic, and finding meaning in it.

I was expecting this to be a melancholic or bitter collection... but found most pieces to end on a hopeful note. These are reflections, yes, but I was pleased to see most authors look at the bright side of it all. Above all, I was delighted to read about some of the perspectives here. I learned.

This non-fiction book is available for free online and is a rather quick read. Highly recommended if you're interested in the perspective of Black and African writers!

[Runalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very impressive piece of non fiction exploring Black Speculative Writers to 2020, the pandemic and various injustices to Black people across the world. Human, funny, angry and eloquent it will make you realise you were not alone in how you processed this time but also there were so many other stories going on around us

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[DIARRHEA BUBBLEBATH · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good