Every Wednesday I host #WednesdayNightWriteIn, a virtual space for Black women/trans/non-binary/queer writers to come together to work on their respective writing projects in a supportive environment. Virtual meetings are held weekly on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m., EST. For information on how to join, send an inquiry through the contact page.

Join us on October 19 as we celebrate the launch of Sinister Wisdom 122: Writing Communities! I’ll be joined by my co-editor Lauren Cherelle, as well as several contributors to the issue. Click here to register.

On September 30, I’ll be chatting with Nicole Shawan Junior about Black feminist publishing. Join us!

The purpose of this workshop is to help lesbian and queer writers generate ideas for fiction writing, including long and short form stories. Writers will read and discuss one or two stories, (circulated before the workshop), and spend time generating ideas from writing prompts. While writers may write in whatever genre they choose, the workshop will focus on speculative fiction by exploring the ways in which the quotidian might inspire the fantastical.

Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D. is a Black lesbian writer, scholar, and publisher. Her work can be found in various online and print publications, and her collection of speculative short fiction, How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions, is forthcoming March 2, 2021 from BLF Press.

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Charis welcomes Stephanie Andrea Allen in conversation with Jewelle Gomez for a celebration of Allen's daring collection of speculative fiction, How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions. Stephanie Andrea Allen attends to the lives of Black women, mostly lesbian or queer, all keenly aware of the forces seeking to consume them. This event is co-sponsored by BLF Press. BLF Press is an independent Black feminist publishing house dedicated to amplifying the work of Black women and women of color. Click here to learn more.  

A Black lesbian working the gig economy runs into a trio of motorized scooters and helps them escape from Earth. An enchanted sleep mask gives a woman the gift of slumber, but what will it cost her? A suburban housewife is framed for murder by her homophobic neighbor. And in the follow up to “Luna 6000,” a young woman investigates her mother’s untimely death and learns the truth about her family.  

How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions is an unapologetic,  often humorous, foray into the quotidian magic that envelops Black women’s lives. The eleven stories in this collection are filled with characters who will entice and delight readers as they traverse the worlds around them. With a mix of fabulism, near future, and speculative fictions, Allen reminds us in exquisitely nuanced prose that the fantastical can be found amongst the ordinary.  

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

We will be archiving this event and adding closed captioning as soon as possible after airing so that it will be accessible to deaf and HOH people. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Stephanie Andrea Allen is a southerner, scholar, and writer. Her work can be found in Big Echo: Critical Science Fiction Magazine, Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing, Sinister Wisdom, and in her debut collection of short stories and essays, A Failure to Communicate.

Jewelle Gomez (Cape Verdean/Ioway/Wampanoag) is a writer and activist and author of the double Lambda Award-winning novel, THE GILDA STORIES from Firebrand Books. Her adaptation of the book for the stage "BONES & ASH: A GILDA STORY," was performed by the Urban Bush Women company in 13 U.S. cities. The script was published as a Triangle Classic by the Paperback Book Club.

“Stephanie Andrea Allen’s story collection embraces the acerbic complexity of Joanna Russ, the practical science  of James Tiptree Jr., the moral center of Rod Serling along with the finger-popping, sister sense of your local black  beauty shop. Not a combo you want to pass up.” Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories

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