Milton

I used to read MAD magazine when I was very young. It used to crack me up. Spy vs Spy was my favorite.

The State of Black SF authors have created a flash fiction anthology that opens imagination to the idea of what Black speculative fiction can become. What’s the flash fiction prompt? A mystical bracelet. Specially created Black SF images along with the 500-word super short stories are morsels of raw potential. Join artist Winston Blakely and authors L.M. Davis, Milton Davis, Margaret Fieland, Edward Austin Hall, Valjeanne Jeffers, Alan Jones, Alicia McCalla, Balogun Ojetade, Rasheedah Phillips, Wendy Raven McNair, and Nicole Sconiers as they endeavor to explore the possibilities of Black SF in the broad ranges of Science Fiction from Paranormal to Steampunk. Readers will see the immense possibilities of Black SF. Possibilities is available free on Smashwords or for $0.99 at Kindle. Amazon would not allow us to post if for free. Kindle Version: http://www.amazon.co...=Alicia McCalla Smashwords Version: http://www.smashword...oks/view/251712

I was referring to Ebony. I know Robert Johnson cashed out a while back.

Thanks, Troy!

While I agree with what you say Troy, there is the other side of the coin. Another reason people start businesses is to build wealth. Once that business is successful the owner(s) have two choices; continue to grow the business or to sell out. In many family owned situations the children have no interest in the business so the parents must find buyers. I have a friend who is a third generation family owner of the business he runs and faces such a situation. The dilemma is many times those who step up to purchase are not black. Johnson is lucky that the children have continued to run the business. Although many businesses are started for noble causes, in the end it's just a business that at some point will be sold. We can only hope that as we prosper as a people there will be more black business folk with the acumen and the finances to keep our business institutions in the proper hands.

Enjoyed this very much, especially the song. You are a renaissance man!

I you are a member of a bookclub or if you know of a bookclub that may be interested in our titles, please contact us directly at mv_media@bellsouth.net. We offer bookclub discounts through a special direct invoice plan. Check out our titles at www.mvmediaatl.com

Thanks, Troy. I'll use it. I'm not the best editor myself, which is why I pay folks to do it for my novels. Short blurbs like this I do myself, and when I'm rushing to get something out, which I was, mistakes ensue. I'm contacting LSI now so I can make the changes. Amazon and B&N just copy whatever LSI sends them. I hope to have it changed soon.

Thanks, CYnique! Your help is greatly appreciated.

I'm not perfect. Sorry!

An exciting Sword and Soul tale by Balogun Ojetade, Once Upon a Time in Afrika tells the story of a beautiful princess and her eager suitors. Desperate to marry off his beautiful but "tomboyish" daughter, Esuseeke, the Emperor of Oyo, consults the Oracle. The Oracle tells the Emperor Esuseeke must marry the greatest warrior in all Onile (Afrika). To determine who is the greatest warrior, the Emperor hosts a grand martial arts tournament inviting warriors from all over the continent. Unknown to the warriors and spectators of the tournament a powerful evil is headed their way. Will the warriors band together against this evil? Buy your copy today at www.mvmediaatl.com Also available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com http://www.amazon.co...pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3 http://www.barnesand...n=2940015313925 You can read an excerpt from Once Upon a Time in Africa here: http://www.scribd.co...n-Afrika-Excert

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

Wow Hickson, your like almost spamming, bruh.

It's a difference writing an alien as opposed to writing about a known human experience. I actually think that no person can write a good alien, because that alien will contain some characteristic that is human. We cannot write outside of our experience. An alien, more than likely will be just that, alien. It will do and think things that will be totally incomprehensible to us, but make perfect sense to it. At least that's what I think. That's why I don't do aliens. All the cultures and situations created in science fiction and fantasy contain some element that we can relate to, because in the end they are about the human experience. There are so many variations on those themes that we'll tell stories forever. A number of people disagreed with me and I respect that. All I know is that when I read fiction about slavery written by black people the same experience by white authors there is a significant difference. White authors tend to stick to the stereotypical portrayal, while black authors 'go in,' being unafraid to deal with the ugly side of slavery. I believe the same pertains to racism as well.

The real energy is with the independent black sci fi writers. A friend of mine made a list. I'll post it soon.

You're making assumptions again, and it's those kind of assumptions that lead to stagnation. 20 years ago no one could have every imagined a street lit market, now we talk about it like it was always there. Everything has to start somewhere. It's very easy to talk yourself out of making a change. The odds are usually always against you. But that's why not everyone can be an entrepreneur. Cynique is right. Since I have the luxury of a steady career I can take more of a risk and be more patient for the reward. All my experiences over the past four years tell me that myself and other writers will eventually be able to make a living writing black speculative fiction. I'll admit the market we create may not get to the level of street lit, but it doesn't have to. Such general statements that begin with 'black people don't....' just irk me.

Here's the video of our presentation at Dragon Con. It was a packed house and an interesting discussion.

Here's link to the video of our presentation:

I disagree. I just did a State of Black Science Fiction panel at Dragon Con, one of the largest Fantasy cons in the country. Our room was filled to capacity; they had to turn people away. We ran 30 minutes past our 1 hour time limit and they had to run us out. One sister at the panel said she's attended Dragon Con for 20 years and never had she seen so many black people there in one place. Every speculative fiction event I've taken part in at the local libraries has outperformed the average event the library has held. And our audiences are always majority black. I believe there are two reasons black people don't read more science fiction; 1). They don't know that black people write science fiction, 2). They have not come across science fiction with black characters. Oh yeah, one more, 3). Much of the black science fiction they have read has not been very good. I see independent black speculative fiction in the same place that street lit was 20 years ago. We're just getting started. Every person on our panel, all black writers, are very optimistic on the future. It may not be a profitable move now and it may not get as large as street lit, but black speculative fiction will take its place as a major genre.

Brothers got to learn to leave 'Becky' alone.

I'm not pessimistic about black books and black readers. The market has changed and so have the challenges. Reading among African Americans is up overall; a few years ago it was the only bright spot in the otherwise lackluster publishing industry. I believe street lit/urban lit created their own market. They hit the street and found a demographic that didn't read because there were no books that spoke to them or reflected their reality. The challenge has been the effect this phenomena has had on black literature in general. This effect is not because all black people want to read urban lit. We don't. We are not a monolithic people. However, mainstream publishers think we are, or at least they think that other forms of black literature are not as important since they can make more money from urban lit. So they have switched their focus to what is more profitable. A couple of years ago I went to a presentation by Tina McElroy Ansa (http://www.tinamcelroyansa.com/). Ms. Ansa was among the group of talented black writers that rode the wave of success created by Terry McMillian. She talked about how she received six figure advances for her books at one time. Her most popular book was Baby of the Family. She decided to write a sequel to the book, sure that it would be published. However, her agent could not sell the book to any publisher. Why? The publishers told her, 'Black people are reading street lit now.' Ms. McElroy was forced to start her own publishing company to continue to sell her books. Now of course the publishers' statement was not true. But as far as they were concerned this is the hot market so that's where they wish to go. This is why it is so important that we own our own publishing houses and produce our own work, much like many urban lit writers/publishers do. We have a tendency to be so negative on ourselves that it's surprising that we make progress despite that. Selling science fiction and fantasy to an African American audience has been challenging but it has also been rewarding and successful. If I had listened to white folks AND some black folks I would never had attempted it because 'black people don't read science fiction.' I sell on the average 50 to 60 books a month. It's not enough to make a living, but it's been enough to raise some eyebrows. But I still get folks telling me I would do better if I wrote multicultural books. They ignore that fact that I'm doing well doing just what I planned. So to me there is a challenge being a black writer, but problems have solutions. I believe in my people and I have the privilege to see the effect of what I do in the faces of the men, women and children I sell my books to on a regular basis. I acknowledge the challenges and the negatives then I set them aside and continue to move forward, just as our ancestors have always done. Every argument you all listed are legitimate concerns. We can talk about problems all day. Let's talk about solutions.

Major publishers consider black writers and books a high risk because they don't think we jive with their major demographic. Even after multiple successes it's more difficult for us. That's why I started my own publishing company and will continue to do so no matter who approaches me. I believe by signing on with major publishers we gain financially but lose power. Once you work for someone you must do as they say. By keeping control we keep control of our image. I think that's much more important than 'celebrity.'

Steve has much faith in the mainstream publishing system and he should. He's been successful in it. Not wildly successful, but he's making a comfortable living doing it so that's good enough. He's understands the challenges black writers face in the field and works hard to educate new writers about the business as well as sharing knowledge to increase their chances of being published. Based on our conversation I think he still doesn't grasp the opportunities independent publishing offers. Most mainstream publishers stay away from self publishing because of the stigma of it being 'less.' At the end of the day I think we both left the table with a better understanding of what we do. There's an interesting dynamic developing in black speculative fiction between mainstream publishers and independent writers. Independent writers have the energy, mainstream writers have the 'pedigree.' I hope we learn to work together to grow opportunities for both groups. In the end it will be better for black writers and readers if we do.

What got me was the extremely low profit margin. Looks like a different business model was needed. As Nah'sun stated, Urban lit is contributing greatly to the revenue stream of black book stores. This book stores also should carry mainstream books as well. As a black person I just don't only read black books, especially when it comes to non-fiction. And as you know, me and my colleagues are working on building a black speculative fiction market. Overall, I think black book stores can survive, they just need to develop a new strategy based on the opportunities and challenges of today's fluctuating market.

Looks very interesting. I'll share it. I had a talk with Steve Barnes a couple of days ago, and the difference in how we look at the publishing industry was striking. He's a long time veteran and a rare successful black science fiction writer. And I'm me. :-)