Can you reccomend some non-white fantasy authors for me?
This semester, I am taking an English course about African-American literature and, so far, everything we have read has been about the oppression that blacks in the United States have faced in all the years that they have been in the United States. I confess myself disappointed since I thought the course would highlight all kinds of works by black American authors and not just works by black Americans, about black Americans and for black Americans. So, naturally, I turn to fluther.
I mostly read fantasy and have read a goodly number of books featuring black characters rather, characters described as being dark skinned since in many fantasy worlds, people are not described as “white” or “black” but simply by skin tone alone but I do not believe I have ever read a fantasy book written by a non-white author. Can the collective recommend any non-white fantasy authors for me?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
16 Answers
In my African American Women Novelists class, we studied Octavia Butler’s “Kindred.” It’s about a woman time-traveling. It’s also awesome, and she’s seminal in both the sci-fi, minority, and women work canons.
Your question took me back at first. Here’s one list I came across. blog.buzzymultimedia.com/list-of-african-american-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-authors/ – Cached – Similar
Trying again. www.buzzymultimedia.com
I was going to go with @iamthemob Octavia Butler is who what came to mind for me as well.
Definitely Octavia Butler. We read her novel “The Parable of the Sower” in an African-American lit course I took last year. That book is somewhat post-apocalyptic, somewhat fantasy. I’ve heard her other books are great, too. We also read a novel called “Imperium in Imperio” by Sutton E. Griggs, which isn’t technically fantasy, but is an excellent book about the hypothetical possibility of black Americans creating, as the title implies, their own separate state within America.
This book is not about an African-American woman, but since you asked for books by non-whites, hopefully this will work. Like Water For Chocolate, by Mexican author Laura Esquivel, is a great book in the “magical realism” genre. You can check it out here
Another great book by a woman of color (from India) is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. You can see it here
And this one called The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl, by Virginia Hamilton, might work too. I haven’t read this one, but I saw it on Amazon and it’s about a young African woman. You can see it here
@Kardamom Laura Esquivel is amazing!
Also in the magical realism realm: Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende
Some of Amy Tan’s novels might also be suitable for the genre.
Also, I was going to suggest a couple of good novels that are not in the fantasy genre, but are written by and about black women. They are The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Amy Tan is a fantasy author?
@Rarebear I was playing a little loose with the OPs question, but if we were talking about understanding lives lived by defining the mythology of the culture (fantasy or magical realism), I’ll stick by Amy Tan as a valid answer.
Octavia Butler is by far the most iconic African American scifi author, but Samuel Delaney is also a big one. He’s won many Hugos and Nebulas. I’m not a huge fan myself because he’s a bit on the on the “hard science fiction” and I’m more into the social and political sci-fi.
Walter Mosely mostly writes crime fiction, but he recently wrote this really strange historical/science fiction novel called “47”—It’s VERY hard to explain without spoiling the plot, but it’s one of the only science fiction books I ever heard of that was based on a Civil War Plantation. It was written for kids, but it’s unusual and original enough to spark anyone’s interest.
I just thought of another author, but it may not be your thing. It’s more romance that happens to have fantasy aspects.
L. A. Banks. She writes lots of steamy stuff with demons, werewolves and vampires. Her stuff used to sell very well in the bookstore I last worked in and I read a little of it.
Here is a link with more authors and fantasy books that I found. There is another Mosely. I’m tempted to pick that up because his last book I read was so creative and strange.
http://www.wakegov.com/libraries/reading/lists/scifi/africanamericanscifi.htm
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
