On the anniversary of British Emancipation on August 1, 1834, revisiting an old post on freedom and abolitionism in the steampunk Atlantic–or lack thereof.
Image: Broadside advertising abolitionist August First commemoration in Worcester, MA, 1849. Boston Public Library.
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🦑 In recent good news, my 2023 short story How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub”—a tale of colonialism, sea monsters, and men of ambition—is a finalist for the Hugo award (wow!) and a few weeks ago, won for Best Short Fiction at the British Science Fiction Association Awards! (Whuuut?!) Back when it was featured in January 2023 by Uncanny Magazine, it was my first published new short story in three years. So, these acknowledgments have been some wonderful surprises. Didn’t know this short story had legs—or in this case, tentacles! Below is somewhat of a repost from what I wrote back in January 2023 on the story’s origins and inspiration, with some updates on recent events.🦑
Image: “Le Poulpe Colossal,” drawing by Pierre Denys-Montfort, engraved by Étienne Claude Voysard, 1801
Continue readingIt’s 2023, and my first new published short story in over a year appears in the double-sized Issue 50 of Uncanny Magazine, alongside a host of phenomenal authors. “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub”—a tale of colonialism, sea monsters, and men of ambition.
Image: “Le Poulpe Colossal,” drawing by Pierre Denys-Montfort, engraved by Étienne Claude Voysard, 1801
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The cover for my upcoming debut novel A Master of Djinn got revealed this week. Welcome back to the world of an alternate 1912 Cairo, of steampunk, magic, and djinn. Oh, and everyone’s favorite dapper suit wearing investigator–complete with a bowler.
In which we peek behind the curtain to dive into some of the inspiration and influences in my novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015. I’ll try to make it brief.
But don’t hold me to it.
Try the sudjukh.
Stay for the Zar.
*cover is courtesy of artist Stephan Martiniere.
Phenderson Djèlí Clark 