Saratoga Book Fest Convo: "Black to the Future: Science Fiction & Fantasy by Black Authors"

About this event

Join us for a special conversation between Prof. Jaye Austin Williams and Heritage-Fantasy author Shawntelle Madison* as they explore the impact possibilities of this genre of writing for all of us. This event is the launch of a special project by the same name, generously funded by a regrant from Saratoga Arts.  "Black to the Future" will be distrubuting selected books into the commuity throught the dedicated Little Free Library, located outside Frederick Allen Elks Lodge, 69 Beekman Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Jaye Austin Williams, PhD & Skidmore Alum: "For me, reading Black Science Fiction is a heuristic (a facilitator of one’s continued exploration) for considering terror’s indelible impact upon the complicated, paradoxical process of “living” while black. The intergenerational imprint of racial slavery continues to prompt a multifarity of thought – speculative and otherwise – around how to reckon with this paradox. From Samuel Delany, to Walter Mosley, to Octavia Butler, to the many contemporary Black voices writing within the genre who are not named here, the invitation to speculate about future, its im/possibilities, and to examine the implications of having to pursue such study to begin with, is precisely what compels me to think and imagine alongside these writers. I look forward to elaborating some of that thought, and who several of the Black Science Fiction writers are with whom I engage."  https://saratogabookfestival.org/2024-authors/williams/

*Ms. Madison will be part of another panel discussion on Sunday, 10/06/24, 10a, at Saratoga Arts:  Heritage-Inspired Fiction with Ann Dávila Cardinal, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, & Shawntelle Madison.   https://saratogabookfestival.org/2024-authors/madison/

This event is the launch of a very special project by the same name, generously funded by a regrant from Saratoga Arts.  "Black to the Future" will distribute 75 selected books over the year into the Saratoga Springs community through the  Little Free Library, located outside Frederick Allen Elks Lodge, 69 Beekman Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, dedicated to African American Authors, Artists, Culture, and History.