A Stunning New Romantasy Set in New Orleans
As the new month starts, we’re sitting back and taking stock of the latest goings-on in the world of BIPOC lit. While we’re getting the temporary shutdown of a fire literary magazine, we’re also getting a star’s reading list and what sounds like a delicious New Orleans-set romantasy.
Let’s get into it.
HEATED RIVALRY Star Hudson Williams Shares His Favorite Books
A fan has compiled Hudson Williams’s favorite novels in a tweet that has really made the rounds. While Williams stars as Shane Hollander in the hit queer hockey romance, Heated Rivalry, which was adapted from the book of the same name, his personal reading tastes run a smidge more literary. He lists Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and 2024 darling Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar as among his favorites. He also seems to have a thing for Joan Didion. Barnes and Noble has even assembled a display of Hudson’s faves. I love when bookish things have their moment.
Black Lit Magazine FIYAH on Indefinite Hiatus
Bad news: author and editor DaVaun Sanders has announced that the Black speculative lit magazine FIYAH is going on an indefinite hiatus. The 40th issue is set to be its last for now. If you’re unfamiliar, please get familiar—through the years, it has published work by cofounders Troy L. Wiggins, L.D. Lewis, Justina Ireland, and P. Djèlí Clark, as well as Eden Royce, Nicky Drayden, C.L. Clark, and many others.
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It feels like too many creative outlets are shuttering, all while AI becomes more and more ingrained in our lives, and, more importantly in this conversation, in our creative spaces. FIYAH is one of those publications that sought to give voice to voiceless creators from the beginning, so it’s even more disheartening to see it hit this roadbump. But since this has been listed as just a hiatus, I am hopeful it will return.
In the meantime, I encourage you to run up a tab on the site! Each issue is $3.99—if you can afford it, I suggest getting involved with a few.
Dhonielle Clayton Has a New Romantasy for Adults Set in New Orleans
Dhonielle Clayton has long been doing the damn thing when it comes to YA and middle grade releases—The Conjureverse and The Belles are two of her bestselling series—and now she’s debuting with a romantasy for adults. It’s set in New Orleans, which feels like the perfect setting for romantasy, with its unique blend of innate mysticism and romance. Clayton says the book, titled Conjure the Bones, pays subtle homage to Anne Rice, who was a big influence. The story splits New Orleans into five different versions of itself, in which witches, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural creatures live. It’s out March 2, 2027.
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