February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black people and their contributions to history and culture. We at Apex are proud to publish the works of Black authors and stand firm in our dedication to share diverse and creative voices. To that end, please keep reading to learn about some of our titles written by Black authors and consider picking up a copy to support their authorial endeavors.
Breath of Life by L.H. Moore
Breath of Life is a collection of the works of author and poet L.H. Moore, whose history- and Afrofuturism-inspired short stories, poetry, and essays move between and blur the lines between horror, science fiction, and fantasy.
In the short story “Roots On Ya,” a roots man in rural Virginia has to undo a crossing…and more. A scientist has a harrowing experience as she discovers more than she bargained for in the depths of underwater cave tunnels in “Rule of Thirds.” As a symbol of a new country is constructed, all is not what it seems in “With These Hands: A Tale of Uncommon Labour.” In the short story “Here, Kitty,” a young woman realizes that what is lost is not always meant to be found. As a young woman and her friends come of age, they discover a family legacy that will change them forever in the short story “A Clink of Crystal Glasses Heard.” All three of the “Bice” poems explore The Divine Comedy author Dante Aligheri’s obsession with Beatrice—from her biting, unamused point of view.
Find these and more in Breath of Life. With themes of family and identity, rooted solidly in history and imagining the unknown—both here on Earth and beyond—Breath of Life is an exploration of the unexpected.
About the Author
L.H. Moore is a writer, poet, and artist living in the Washington, D.C. Metro area.
Moore has been published in publications such as Apex, FIYAH magazine and Fireside, the collaborative Chiral Mad 4 anthology; Black Magic Women; the Bram Stoker award finalist anthology Sycorax's Daughters; the Dark Dreams anthology series (Dark Dreams, Voices from the Other Side, and Whispers in the Night); and the African-American National Biography series published by Harvard/Oxford U. Press.
Learn more at her website, https://lhmoorecreative.com/.
$15.95 in paperback from Apex Book Company!
Pimp My Airship by Maurice Broaddus
Notable dark fantasy author Maurice Broaddus weaves a tale of revolution and resistance in this thrilling steampunk adventure!
Revolution vibrates the airwaves in Indianapolis. Join Sleepy, (120 Degrees of) Knowledge Allah, and heiress Sophine Jefferson in a steampunk adventure as they battle for the soul of their city and their people.
Warning: Don’t Believe the Hype!
All the poet called Sleepy wants to do is spit his verses, smoke chiba, and stay off the COP’s radar—all of which becomes impossible once he encounters a professional protestor known as (120 Degrees of) Knowledge Allah. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of local authorities and have to elude the powers that be.
When young heiress Sophine Jefferson’s father is murdered, the careful life she’d been constructing for herself tumbles around her. She’s quickly drawn into a web of intrigue, politics, and airships, joining with Sleepy and Knowledge Allah in a fight for their freedom. Chased from one end of a retro-fitted Indianapolis to the other, they encounter outlaws, the occasional circus, possibly a medium, and more outlaws. They find themselves in a battle much larger than they imagined: a battle for control of the country and the soul of their people.
The revolution will not be televised!
About the Author
A community organizer and teacher, Maurice Broaddus's work has appeared in magazines like Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Asimov's, Magazine of F&SF, and Uncanny Magazine, with some of his stories having been collected in The Voice of Martyrs. His books include the urban fantasy trilogy, The Knights of Breton Court, the steampunk works, Buffalo Soldier and Pimp My Airship, and the middle grade detective novels The Usual Suspects and Unfadeable. His project, Sorcerers, is being adapted as a television show for AMC. As an editor, he's worked on Dark Faith, Fireside Magazine, and Apex Magazine.
Learn more at his website, https://mauricebroaddus.com/.
$18.95 in paperback from Apex Book Company!
Danged Black Thing by Eugen Bacon
FINALIST FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD
Danged Black Thing is an extraordinary collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, patriarchy and womanhood, from a remarkable and original voice. Traversing the West and Africa, they celebrate the author’s hybridity with breathtaking sensuousness and lyricism.
Simbiyu wins a scholarship to study in Australia, but cannot leave behind a world of walking barefoot, the orange sun, and his longing for a “once pillow-soft mother.” In his past, darkness rose from the river and something nameless and mystical continues to envelop his life. In “A Taste of Unguja” sweet taarab music, full of want, seeps into a mother’s life on the streets of Melbourne as she evokes the powers of her ancestors to seek vengeance on her cursed ex. In the cyberfunk of “Unlimited Data” Natukunda, a village woman, gives her all for her family in Old Kampala. Other stories explore what happens when the water runs dry—and who pays, capture the devastating effects on women and children of societies in which men hold all the power, and themes of being, belonging, and otherness.
Speculative, realistic, and even mythological, but always imbued with truth, empathy, and Blackness, Danged Black Thing is a literary knockout.
About the Author
Eugen M. Bacon, MA, MSc, PhD, is an African Australian author of several novels and collections. She's a British Fantasy Award winner, a Foreword Indies Award winner, a twice World Fantasy Award finalist, and a finalist in other awards, including the Shirley Jackson and the Nomma Awards for speculative fiction by Africans.
Eugen was announced in the honor list of the Otherwise Fellowships for "doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction." Danged Black Thing by Transit Lounge Publishing made the Otherwise Award Honor List as a "sharp collection of Afro-Surrealist work," and was a 2024 Philip K. Dick Award nominee.
Learn more at her website, https://eugenbacon.com/blog/.
$18.95 in paperback from Apex Book Company!
Let's Play White by Chesya Burke
Let's Play White by Chesya Burke builds dark fantasy and horror short stories on African and African American history and legend, while playing with what it means to be human.
White brings with it dreams of respect, of wealth, of simply being treated as a human being. It's the one thing Walter will never be. But what if he could play white, the way so many others seem to do? Would it bring him privilege or simply deny the pain? The title story in this collection asks those questions and then moves on to challenge notions of race, privilege, personal choice, and even life and death with equal vigor.
From the spectrum spanning despair and hope in "What She Saw When They Flew Away" to the stark weave of personal struggles in "Chocolate Park," Let's Play White speaks with the voices of the overlooked and unheard. "I Make People Do Bad Things" shines a metaphysical light on Harlem's most notorious historical madame, and then, with a deft twist into melancholic humor, "Cue: Change" brings a zombie-esque apocalypse, possibly for the betterment of all mankind.
Gritty and sublime, the stories of Let's Play White feature real people facing the worlds they're given, bringing out the best and the worst of what it means to be human. If you're ready to slip into someone else's skin for a while, then it's time to come play white.
About the Author
Dr. Chesya Burke is an Asst. Professor of English and U.S. Literatures and the director of the Africana Studies at Stetson University. Having written and published over a hundred stories and articles within the genres of horror, science fiction, comics, and Afrofuturism, her academic research focuses primarily on the intersections of race, gender and genre. Her short story collection, Let's Play White, is being taught in universities around the world, leading Grammy Award winning poet, Nikki Giovanni, to compare her writing to that of Octavia Butler and Toni Morrison, and Samuel Delany naming her the "formidable new master of the macabre."
Learn more at her website, https://www.thechesyaburke.org/.
$18.95 in paperback from Apex Book Company!
Thank you for celebrating Black History Month with Apex!
