Tag: publications

"Turtle Rider" illustration by Julie Dillon

“The Ocean That Fades Into Sky” and other updates

Kathleen Kayembe

First things first: my novelette “The Ocean That Fades Into Sky” went live on Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 108, on May 2nd! It was written for the beautiful Julie Dillon illustration above, of a regal black woman riding a flight of turtles through the sky. You can read it at the above link, as well as find links to the podcast version of the story and an interview with me about the writing process behind it (spoiler: it was tricky).

Charles Payseur has an excellent review of the fiction in Lightspeed Issue 108, so do check it out!

Also exciting: The Locus Awards Finalists have been announced, and two anthologies I’m in were nominated: The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, edited by N.K. Jemisin & John Joseph Adams (Mariner); and The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Twelve, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris US; Solaris UK).

Convention news: I sold books at OzCon in April (during Avengers: Endgame opening weekend, to be precise) with my friend the writer/illustrator Jennifer Stolzer, who is a marvel.

And finally, this weekend (May 24–27, 2019) I’m at WisCon43. If you see me, do come say hi, and also don’t judge me for being an awkward turtle; it’s not you, it’s me. 😉

2017-2018 Roundup Post

Kathleen Kayembe

Wow, 2017 was very kind to my work.

The Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler anthology by Twelfth Planet Press was released, and to help generate publicity for it, my contribution, the essay “The Butler Effect”, was reprinted on OkayAfrica.com.

Short story “The Faerie Tree” and novelette “You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych” were also published, in Lightspeed and Nightmare magazines, respectively. “The Faerie Tree” then appeared on Lightspeed’s most excellent podcast, and was featured via Lightspeed Presents on iO9. They were given kind reviews and seemed well-received.

In 2018, a number of awesome things happened as a result of those publications:

So, uh, yeah. Writing-wise, 2018 was a very good year, and while I didn’t anticipate any of it, it’s thrilling that it happened, and I’m supremely grateful to all the readers and editors and awards committees who made it happen.

Attending conventions this year (WisCon, ReaderCon, and Archon) was especially cool, since I got to meet people whose work I love who’d also enjoyed my stuff. Someday I hope to be less of an awkward turtle when this happens, but I think it’s okay, seeing as I’m a writer and we’re generally a strange but friendly bunch?

Speaking of which: the speculative fiction community is full of awesome people who do awesome work, and are kind and supportive, and seek to foster community and help ease the way for up-and-coming authors in the industry. For anyone considering dipping your toes into the speculative fiction pool, know there is a community waiting for you: one that wants you to succeed, needs to hear your voice, and eagerly anticipates reading the truth of your unique experiences, albeit told slant.

Your stories are worth telling. Don’t keep us waiting.