Praised by both literary journals and leading fiction magazines, Nisi Shawl is celebrated as an author whose works are lyrical and philosophical, speculative and far-ranging; “ . . . broad in ambition and deep in accomplishment” (The Seattle Times). Besides nearly three decades of creating fantasy and science fiction, fairy tales, and indigenous stories, Nisi has also been lauded as editor, journalist, and proponent of feminism, African-American fiction, and other pedagogical issues of diversity.
Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to her work, the third in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover—or learn more of—the vibrant voice of Nisi Shawl, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.Included within these pages are:
- Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book
- Author interview
- Complete bibliography
- Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)
- . . . and more!
Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Nisi Shawl.
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And read about the Primer Series HERE!
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EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #3: A PRIMER TO NISI SHAWL
• Introduction by Eric J. Guignard
• Fiction Stories by Nisi Shawl
o The Beads of Ku
o Otherwise
o Just Between Us
o At the Huts of Ajala
o Street Worm
o Conversion Therapy
• About Nisi Shawl (A Biography)
• Essay: Why Nisi Shawl Matters
• In Conversation with Nisi Shawl
• Written On The Water: An Essay by Nisi Shawl
• A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Nisi Shawl
• Academic Commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD
• Illustrations by Michelle Prebich
Author, Nisi Shawl
Nisi Shawl (they/them pronouns)’s dozens of acclaimed stories have appeared in Analog and Asimov’s Magazines and in anthologies ranging from the groundbreaking Dark Matter series to Salon’s online Trump Project, among many other publications. Their story “Vulcanization” was selected as one of twenty offered in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Though best known for their short fiction, Shawl wrote the 2016 Nebula finalist and Tiptree Honor novel Everfair, an alternate history in which the Congo overthrows King Leopold II’s genocidal regime. Everfair was hailed by Karen Joy Fowler as “luminous” and “original,” a “wonderful achievement.” Ursula K. Le Guin described Shawl’s 2008 Tiptree Award-winning short story collection Filter House as “superbly written.”
In 2005, Shawl co-wrote Writing the Other: A Practical Approach with Cynthia Ward. This book is now considered the standard text on diverse character representation in the imaginative genres, and it forms the basis of their years of online and in-person classes offered under the same name. They are a founder of the inclusivity-focused Carl Brandon Society and has served on the Clarion West Writers Workshop’s board of directors for nineteen years.
Since the turn of the millennium, Shawl has reviewed books for The Seattle Times, their local daily newspaper. They also occasionally freelance reviews for Ms. Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. They contribute monthly columns to The Seattle Review of Books and to Tor.com—the latter column expanding on their seminal 2016 “Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction” essay.
Shawl edits the reviews section of the feminist literary quarterly The Cascadia Subduction Zone. In the past they edited and co-edited several fiction and nonfiction anthologies such as Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany; and Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler; both finalists for the Locus Award. Currently they're in the final stages of editing New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, to be published in March 2019 by Solaris Books.
They live in Seattle, near a lake with enticingly strong currents, and take frequent walks through the neighborhood with their mother June and cat Minnie, at the pace of an entitled feline.
Nisi's bibliography (through Spring, 2018) is listed here: A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Nisi Shawl
