So, as the participation of people of color in the writing of speculative fiction has increased over the last 20 years, has Delany’s prediction come true? Certainly one can cite examples of white males of privilege whining in predictably tiresome ways about the success being enjoyed by writers of color, especially women, in the awarding of prizes within the field. But 20 years later, she reports, the situation has changed drastically, as “the anthology you hold in your hands could easily have filled multiple volumes.” She adds that she did not even have to issue a public call for stories because she “received plenty merely by asking the writers of color I personally know.”

Thomas in recognition of the “groundbreaking” effects of her Dark Matter anthologies (a second anthology in 2004 followed the first one), and in her afterword Shawl relates how, in the 1990s, there were so few people of color active in the field that her proposal to staff the prestigious annual Clarion West Writers Workshop entirely with nonwhite instructors was turned down because others on the committee were afraid of using up all of the eligible candidates in a single year. Thomas in 2000), wrote that the relative absence of prejudice he had encountered as an African American in the SF field was probably due to the very small number of African-American writers practicing SF, and that if their number increased to something that better reflected the actual population, “chances are we will have as much racism and prejudice here as in any other field.” New Suns editor Nisi Shawl dedicates her anthology of original speculative fiction by people of color to Sheree R. Delany, in his essay on “Racism and Science Fiction,” published in the landmark anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (edited by Sheree R.

Before previewing some of those varied delights, however, let us take a moment to contemplate the importance of the subtitle’s proclamation that the fiction here is “by people of color.” NEW SUNS IS a varied, rich, and delightful collection of new speculative fiction.

New suns original speculative fiction