After an incredibly successful and well received inaugural event last year, FIYAHCON returns this Fall with another virtual convention highlighting the contributions of BIPOC creators in the speculative fiction community. And they just announced the finalists for the Ignyte Awards, their annual award given to the best from the speculative fiction BIPOC community as voted by the fans!
One of the highlights for me last year was attending, virtually of course, the very first FIYAHCON event. While other more mainstream outfits seemed to struggle with not only executing a weekend long virtual event, the lack of true BIPOC representation was still an issue for many of us desperately seeking it.
Led by Director L.D. Lewis and other members of the FIYAH Literary Magazine team, this incredible HUGO nominated event brings with it a wide variety of entertaining and educational content surrounding the business, craft, and community of speculative literature. Where FIYAH Literary Magazine focuses more specifically on the elevation of Black voices in short speculative fiction, FIYAHCON looks to turn the attention to the BIPOC publishing community.
Taking place September 16-19, the three-and-a-half-day event includes a host of panels, presentations, games, write-ins, workshops, kickbacks, one-on-one interviews, and much, much more. The goal of the event is simple, to turn the spotlight towards marginalized voices who have been historically and systemically excluded from other spaces, and this includes more than just the Black community…
“The reasoning is that Black voices are not the least represented in the field, and we don’t want to exclude groups who are already systemically excluded from other spaces.”
And in recognizing the importance of ally-led activism outside of the BIPOC community, the event looks to include anyone who, “wishes to be viewed as a resource for racially/ethnically marginalized writers or who understand these are people to be celebrated and learned from, to be a part of the event.” If you wish to volunteer for FIYAHCON 2021, click HERE!
So, I’m thrilled to say that not only is FIYAHCON returning, but yesterday the team dropped some big news on Twitter!
The FIYAHCON 2021 Committee is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2021 Ignyte Awards. The Awards seek to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror by recognizing incredible feats in storytelling and outstanding efforts toward inclusivity of the genre. To that effect, the committee feels that these creators, creations, entities, and perspectives from 2020 represent the brightest lights in speculative fiction’s future. We encourage you to seek out the nominees unfamiliar to you on this list, engage with their works of fiction or acts of community, and to use those experiences to inform your vote.
One of the weekend’s highlights to be sure, the Ignyte Awards are meant to celebrate the best and the brightest from the speculative fiction BIPOC community. The awards cover a wide variety of categories including Best Novel – Young Adult, Best Comics, Best Fiction Podcast, Best Artist, just to name a few.
Check out the nominees below then click the link after the jump to cast your vote today!
Voting is now open, so click the image below and vote today!
For more information and a complete rundown of FIYAHCON 2021, click HERE!
*All images courtesy of FIYAHCON 2021/FIYAH Literary Magazine.
