Fireside and Fiyah Bringing Visibility to Black Writers in Speculative Fiction

We know how this goes: whenever we as Black people talk about exclusion, the choir of “Prove It” turns up, demanding stats and figures and research. Our experience is not enough. Well, two of the strongest short story publishers in Speculative Fiction, Fireside Magazine and Fiyah Literary Magazine, have independently produced the facts and figures to prove what we already know: that Black people are disproportionately rejected from the major publishing markets. With three years of data, we can see improvements in some magazines, maintenance in others, and that some magazines, in L.D. Lewis’s words, should: “Just admit your market’s discerning tastes skew colonial and that you’re fine with it, but stop insisting that apparently 100% of the stories you receive from Black writers just aren’t good enough.” And if you’re going to admit that, readers and writers should know, so we can vote with our dollars and submissions. The #BlackSpecFic Report For the third year running, Fireside Magazine — while publishing some of the best spec fic in short form — has also produced the 2017 #BlackSpecFic report. The #BlackSpecFic report, under the lead of Cecily Kane, chronicles in hard numbers the facts so many Black writers can testify to: regardless of “diversity” statements, some publications actively under publish Black writers, and probably all writers of color. In the years since Fireside started doing the report, Black representation has doubled in the pro-rate magazines surveyed.

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