{"id":134,"date":"2023-11-19T11:14:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T11:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/?page_id=134"},"modified":"2024-10-02T07:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T07:32:58","slug":"escape","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/hello-world\/journal-articles\/escape\/","title":{"rendered":"ESCAPE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Espoon Science Fiction ja Fantasiaseura ESC ry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESCAPE 1\/2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Ten-year retrospective of The African Speculative Fiction Society: How are we doing?<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Donald Mullany<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part One \u2013 Introduction and motivational contexts:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been about 10 years since a group of authors, creatives and academics began to discuss the need for a more formal association, based in continental Africa and representing African-specific tastes, creative industries, and markets. The need was primarily centred around the single statement that had become more troublesome the greater the effort was made to refute: \u2018… Is Africa ready for science-fiction?<\/em>\u2019.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add fuel to the need was the increasing prominence of anthologies and collections by Africans in Speculative Fiction that had been gaining traction over the proceeding decade that had centred local, African based authors, editors, and publishers. Shortly thereafter, on August 15th<\/sup> in 2016, the charter members of African Speculative Fiction Society assembled to represent the group of Pan-African creators of artists, authors, film makers, publishers, and writers as the African Speculative Fiction Society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launching Mission Statements by Chinelo Onwualu and Sofia Samatar below indicated the continental desire to focus and cooperate on Pan-African issues: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>The ASFS will provide a place where writers, readers, and scholars can come together to find information, connect with each other, and act as watchdogs for their collective interests.\u201d Chinelo Onwualu, co-founder of OMENANA.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe ASFS will create a space for African speculative fiction writers to network, organize, learn from each other, and debate. It will promote an ongoing conversation, led by artists, on Africa’s literatures of the imagination.” Sofia Samatar, author of A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus for continental-based membership was as inclusive as possible, considering the monumental scope and range of African interests. To acknowledge the mobility of African people and the considerable number of geo-political factors, definitions of eligibility had to be carefully nuanced. It had to account for currently resident continental citizens as well as stateless or immigrant persons (resident). It also had to account for recently emigrated or expatriated citizens and their children (diaspora).   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest initial challenge, unsurprisingly enough, was to acknowledge the enormous number of languages covered over the focus area and to try and decide a common working language for the organization. In the end it was decided that Anglophone communications (English) and resources were more efficient in achieving the goals of the society, even as there were equally compelling reasons for Francophone, Arabic, Indigenous and other communication languages. This decision was based purely on including the widest possible initial reach for news and interests. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the charter members represented the Continental literary behemoths of Nigeria and South Africa. A testament of the inclusivity focus and the thought processes put into the society was the consideration of the sheer number of other nationalities represented in the prospective membership caucus. This focus bore fruit over time as traditionally less-represented members joined and enhanced the \u2018multi-national\u2019 status of the society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was followed by the announcement of the Tom Ilube funded Nommo Awards in 2017 for the Best Speculative Fiction Novel, Novella, Short Story, and graphic novel categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part One \u2013 Introduction of public facing and Outreach ASFS vehicles:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lead up to the formal society announcement, in 2014, a Facebook page was formed called the \u2018The African Fantasy Reading Group\u2019. The reading group provided a public forum for target audience and creators before the formal organization was codified into organizational groups. The reading group was subsequently renamed \u2018The African Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Group\u2019 in 2017 to reflect a more refined description of the activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The page describes itself and its goals as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a group of folk interested in African Speculative Fiction — science fiction, fantasy, comics, movies, or stories that draw on local beliefs or strange stuff that doesn’t fit. We have nearly (4,900) members and rising (August 2023). The core activity should be discussing fiction and sharing news and views about African speculative fiction.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African Speculative Fiction Society and the Nommo Awards grew out of discussions here and we have links with them. We hope the pros at ASFS will continue to post creative topics, writing tips and publishing news here.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mission Statement of the Reading Group, and obviously the society on whole is: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increase interest world-wide in African fantasy and science fiction of all kinds in any medium;<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build audiences on the African continent so that African SFF writers can write for them too and have a career in Africa;<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Help African SFF readers to become African SFF writers;<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and work with the professional body, the African Speculative Fiction Society.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stated Activities of the Reading Group is: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want news of new African SFF publications. Tell us when you publish a story. Tell us if you run an event or start a new magazine. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We urge you to fill in the form that twill include your publication in the ASFS database of African SFF. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want members to talk about African SFF stories they like and why they like them. Let\u2019s debate what\u2019s good.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part Two \u2013 Immediate outcomes discussion:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Immediate outcomes of the ASFS were the quick wins with regards to correcting narratives and misinformation that had built up over the layers of engagement between the continent of Africa and the rest of the world. In the public view and in the academic view much of the narrative used to regarding \u2018African\u2019 Literature and Genre Fiction has been until then, deliberately of otherwise, misleading.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statements had been made about<\/em> rather than from, <\/em>engaged parties in the greater environment. Of all the egregious praxis that has been ascribed to African creatives, perhaps three stand out specifically and particularly. More than any other single thing fuelling the ire of continental creatives, misrepresentation of \u2018science-fiction\u2019 and \u2018fantasy\u2019 definitions as assigned to the actual body of work of an entire continent is perhaps primary.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western models of genre classification are mainly algorithm-determinist but lack any base definition in many cases. Thus, cramming African originated works into a western classification or stapling a classification onto one is reductive and constantly \u2018others\u2019 the original creator intentionally or unintentionally. This distracts and divides recognition of what is clearly speculative fiction by othering the work as \u2018not-Sci Fi\u2019, or worse creating a constantly evolving and further reductive sets of classification that rob the work of its place.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next would be out-of-context statements, universal and stereotypic \u2018thought -terminating-cliches’ (TTC) that remove any agency from African creatives, and perhaps only then the lack of directional market penetration from African to the Global North. As stated before, there is no single, united African experience but rather a multiplex of locations with a greater or lesser influence. A best example of this is any sweeping statement that boldly asserts a \u2018lack of…\u2019 or a \u2018dominance of…\u2019 without due diligence as to veracity of context. The commonly abused TTC is that Africans do not read, write, nor are concerned with futuristic nor speculative notions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This notion entered popular western from a 1977 essay by Charles R. Saunders titled \u2018Why [American] Blacks Don\u2019t Read Science-Fiction’ and seems to have perpetuated itself egregiously and inapplicably. Pan-African Science Fiction authors have been perpetually surprised to discover that somebody does not believe that they, in fact, exist. Contextually adding [American] to his essay title, however, adds greater context to this argument, as this often lacking in such discussions. The stream of TTC\u2019s that are ascribed to African literature and Genre work is by volume both astounding and annoying. The ASFS organization got to work on this preconception as soon as it was formalized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of [American] knowledge of Pan-African literature is a palpable demonstration of low expectation, because Pan-African Universities readily offer Americentric author literature studies. This is as inexplicable as it is indefensible. The 1962 Makerere Conference titled \u2018A Conference of African Writers of English Expression\u2019 polarised literature and language schisms rather than enhance the body of work of existing Pan-African authors. Rather than seeking to recognize the volume, contribution and content of all Pan-African authors, the Conference had changed in context to become the yardstick of an unrelated political set of ideology that encouraged its own set of TTC statements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, the ASFS has attempted to position many of its members as a possible alternative with regards to international university source curriculum selections that may still rigidly select works from a narrow body of novelist authors. Usually, Pan-African literature studies are mutually exclusive with African-American literature studies as they appear in the same slot, pick one. If a selection is made for Pan-African literature, typically the curriculum is usually selected from authors from the mid-20th Century Makerere movement, cherry-picking criteria from a fixed set of colonial era authors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ASFS-aided awakening happened very quickly as the recommended reading list of the static dozen or so authors from the same decade, exploded into a thousand and is considered the first \u2018big win\u2019 for the ASFS. The range of these works has expanded in the ASFS database from the Cameroonian author Jean-Louis Njemba Medu\u2019s 1932 novel Nnango Kon<\/em> written in the Bulu language to the last entry in the project, which is a short fiction piece by Adelehin Ijasan titled From Earth to Io, with love<\/em> in 2022. The ASFS has certainly exposed a wealth of short-form fiction authors typically excluded from novel recommended reading lists.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regards to market penetration, the ASFS has not had the success it would have preferred, although some changes have accelerated over the decade, the gains have been minimal. While interest has certainly been encouraged, practical solutions have not kept pace with the expectations. This is essentially a \u2018chicken-and-egg’ quandary. The reality is that Western publication markets exploit reading populations for their own gain, and so publish what they publish based on their previous publishing successes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They typically sponsor Writing Retreats to groom authors into presenting their content \u2018for market success\u2019 and employ editors, illustrators, and marketers to feed their own pipelines. They cultivate their own aesthetic and ruthlessly exclude all others. They typically support and subsidize Book Clubs and Reading Groups with free or heavily sponsored book contributions, shutting out competition and securing their pipelines. Pan-African source literature is either a market; or a competitor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the former, then movement to authentic voices cannot be encouraged by Western Publishers and any popular successes by Pan-African authors threaten to crowd out their own sales opportunities. If the latter, then Western Publishers often double down on their markets and over-emphasize their aesthetic. Certainly, the most successful Pan-African authors are those published in the West by Western Publishers, using Western distribution channels and Marketing algorithms, and following Western aesthetics.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, if a struggling Pan-African author has not been \u2018adopted\u2019 by a prestigious Western Publisher, then chances are good that they will remain in obscurity throughout their career. This cycle of obscurity extends through an echo-chamber of critical journals, review, and academic publications that support these industries. New Pan-African Publisher Imprints typically inherit the aesthetic of the umbrella Publisher, and they are unlikely to be positioned as a competitor on their establishment. Overall, a local author that reflects a local aesthetic still has as much chance of being signed up by these organizations, as they have in applying directly to the umbrella organization itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASFS has some marginal success in relaxing the Gatekeeping for the Industry support channels. Selection of editors with regards to publishing houses are more sensitive to grammar and dialect, patois and creole. Western editors are moving away from a demand on over-exposition of \u2018african scenes\u2019 that bordered on the fetish. A street in Nairobi has the same features as a street in Birmingham without the need for five hundred extra words to capture the \u2018Nairobi-ness\u2019 of this strange alien place. So, partial progress at least. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part Three \u2013 Conclusions and Supporting Artefacts:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ASFS has demonstrated real, measurable gains against misinforming \u2018thought-terminating-cliches’ and \u2018Presentism bias\u2019 by expanding the scope, volume, and breadth of African Literature. This has been accomplished by surveying the usual scope of typically referred to as \u2018African work\u2019 that has expanded from an African SF (9 Worlds) Panel Recommended List SF in SA (23) African SF Rec List from Nine Worlds (August 2014) \u2013 Nick Wood (frogwrite.co.nz)<\/a> of about three dozen authors, editors, and graphic artists to an excess of 450+ authors and 1300+ discrete works.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is in part due to the breakthrough of Geoff Ryman\u2019s 100 African Authors web documentary series in Tor and later Strange Horizons (Strange Horizons – 100 African Writers of SFF<\/a>) Web Sites and the database compiled by Wole Talabi within the ASFS website portal (www.africansfs.com – List of Published African SFF).<\/a> This database project tracked a fixed period of time and closed for new submissions in 2022.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feat and this database, in turn, allowed analysis that put paid (finally!) to the other TTC-ridden conversations that take place about<\/em> African authors and literature in general, and rather than with them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another egregious example of TTC sophistry is that the ASFS put paid to is the ideation that \u2018… [Speculative] Science-Fiction is dominated by males…\u2019. Yet again there is evidential-based answers that this is not so. Internationally, the SWFA-organized Nebula Awards show that from 2009 to 2021, out of the 78 nominees for Best Novel that 46 were by female authors and 32 were by male authors, with the percentage of nominations by males since 2009 was 41.03%, and the percentage of wins by males since 2009 was 23.08%.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, the Pan-African statistics look slightly different but referencing data extractions from the ASFS resources compiled by Wole Talabi with this link: Preliminary Observations <\/a>From An Incomplete History of African SFF – SFWA , where the differences do not show any substantial swings to justify the superlative term \u2018dominate\u2019. Pan-African Authors tend to write what they want to write about, more so than in the Western markets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the ASFS has also managed to correct purely aspirational Marketing statements about \u2018African Literature Rising\u2019 as a presentism flaw. Pan-African speculative authors are not a fad that appeared suddenly in response to some arbitrary event in the Western Literary World. To assert so is to remove agency from Pan-African authors who have been doing so all along, and will continue to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, in closing, this first retrospective of the African Speculative Fiction Society is complete. Looking forward another decade and estimating where the areas where the ASFS activity will benefit its members is difficult to track, but here goes nothing…  Future synergies between the ASFS and the relationship with Oriental markets and SinoSF movements is most likely. China represents a market of nearly 700 million English readers and is already the largest market by volume for many African authors who remain obscure in the West. The ASFS will experience a surge in authors and works from the growing Francophone and Afro-Carribean aesthetic, as will the involvement in language translations. Perhaps too, a spread in the genre scopes to include topical aesthetics such as cli-fi, solar-punk and an increased focus on AI dystopian fictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End <\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Espoon Science Fiction ja Fantasiaseura ESC ry ESCAPE 1\/2023 A Ten-year retrospective of The African Speculative Fiction Society: How are we doing?   By Donald Mullany  Part One \u2013 Introduction and motivational contexts:  It has been about 10 years since a group of authors, creatives and academics began to discuss the need for a more formal … Continue reading “ESCAPE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":129,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-134","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137,"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134\/revisions\/137"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caliban.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}