Without a Map

by Nnedi Okorafor, Mary Anne Mohanraj

Without a Map is published in conjunction with the appearance of Mary Anne Mohanraj and Nnedi Okorafor as the Guests of Honor at WisCon 34, May 27-31, 2010 Madison, WI.

Nnedi Okorafor contributes an excerpt from "Stormbringer," her sequel to The Shadow Speaker. In this powerful, tender excerpt, Dikéogu, a "meta-human" runaway slave with the power to create storms, meets Tumaki, the daughter of a wealthy Muslim family. The two fall in love and hang out in Tumaki's secret basement library, reading and making love. In the meantime, people are disappearing from Timia: "It was a slow disease in Timia. I might have left that city if it weren't for Tumaki. Hiding away in her library, I didn't realize how bad it was getting. Not until the day she came running down the winding staircase, shaking, eyes wide and wet..."

Mary Anne Mohanraj contributes a mix of emotionally rich and intimate stories, poems, and essays. In "Identity Papers," "Revised Itineraries," and "Saying Hello," Mohanraj, who was born in Sri Lanka but has lived in the United States since the age of two, recounts and reflects on a recent trip to Sri Lanka, where she wonders if she could ever feel at home. "Sequins" explores the complications bisexuality bring to an apparently traditional marriage, while in the space opera tale "Jump Space," Sarita tests her polyamorous marriage when she independently makes a commitment that could affect the future of her entire family. The volume concludes with Mohanraj's discussion of racism and how to write characters of color well.

Genres: Speculative Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com and follow Nnedi on twitter (as @Nnedi), Facebook and Instagram.