2020 was A LOT, y’all. In a year that was harrowing for all of us, we managed to drop 4 complete issues, including a JOY issue, which… we’re just glad was possible. These issues included 17 stories, 9 poems, and 4 new covers all by Black creators the world over. In a changing of the guard, B. Sharise Moore is assuming the role of Poetry Editor from our brother Brandon O’Brien.
We were nominated for yet another Hugo and joined the well-populated and startlingly attractive list of people whose names George R. R. Martin could not pronounce. We were also recipients of the first ever OutpostCon Asteroid Award for Best Science Fiction where they also mispronounced our name at the award ceremony, but were very apologetic about it so we let it rock.
This was a gruesome year in a series of gruesome years for Black communities and police violence. The mounting tragedies and the eventual failures of our systems to answer calls for justice turned into calls to support and amplify Black creators. For FIYAH, this meant seeing an explosion of our subscriber base to over 1,700 members which will allow us to pay our 2021 contributors the professional rate as set by SFWA, of .08/word. This means that for the first time, writers publishing with us can count their works toward SFWA-eligibility.
The outpouring of support combined with the catalysts of award hosts butchering names, COVID-19 making virtual events commonplace, and some experiences with other conventions inspired the creation of the first ever FIYAHCON for BIPOC+ in SFF, and the Ignyte Awards helmed by L.D. Lewis and Brent Lambert and executed to great acclaim in October of this year. Brent Lambert and DaVaun Sanders also edited our first ever collaboration with Tor.com with flash fiction collection Breathe FIYAH.
As always, we are immensely grateful for the support we’ve received, and we look forward to bringing you new, exciting content in 2021.
This post is here to help you out should you want to nominate FIYAH or any of its incredible contributors for the upcoming award season.
FIYAH Literary Magazine is eligible for 2020 semiprozine award categories.
STAFF
Publisher: Troy L. Wiggins
Executive Editor: DaVaun Sanders
Managing Editor: Eboni J. Dunbar
Poetry Editors: Brandon O’Brien, B. Sharise Moore
Acquiring Editors: Danny Lore, Kaleb Russell, Genine Tyson, Emmalia Harrington, Tonya R. Moore
Art Director + Layouts Composer + Project Manager: L. D. Lewis
Reviews Coordinator + Social Media Manager: Brent Lambert
FIYAHCON Director: L. D. Lewis
FIYAHCON Master of Programming: Brent Lambert
PROSE
Executive Editor: DaVaun Sanders
Acquiring Editors: Danny Lore, Kaleb Russell, Emmalia Harrington, Genine Tyson
* Authors with their own eligibility posts elsewhere. Links beneath the table.
| Title | Author (Last, First) | Word count | Story Type |
| Issue 13- January 2020 | |||
| All That The Storm Took | Scholfield, Yah Yah* | 5572 | Short |
| Roots on Ya | Moore, LH* | 6829 | Short |
| Lusca | Knowles, Soleil | 2562 | Short |
| The Transition of Osoosi | Gartrell, Ozzie M. | 7900 | Novelette |
| Issue 14 – April 2020 | |||
| Guardian of the Gods | Ogundiran, Tobi* | 5765 | Short |
| Uniform | Nunnally, Errick | 5549 | Short |
| A Terminal Kind of Love | Henry, Veronica | 3041 | Short |
| Your Rover is Here | Kindred, LP | 3415 | Short |
| Issue 15 – July 2020 | |||
| Red Cloth, White Giraffe | Ndlovu, Yvette Lisa* | 4065 | Short |
| The Last Testament | Raines II, Aurelius | 5049 | Short |
| The Black Menagerie | Richardson, Endria Isa* | 6952 | Short |
| Your Name is Oblivia | Tirado, Vincent | 4451 | Short |
| Issue 16 – October 2020: JOY | |||
| Interstate Africana | Dunlap, WC | 2487 | Short |
| Silver Door Diner | Garrison, Bishop | 4714 | Short |
| Paid in Full | Macklin, Sarah A. | 4226 | Short |
| That Which Smells Bad | Niyonsenga, Aline-Mwezi | 2846 | Short |
| Ambrosia | Saunders, Margaret | 4544 | Short |
- Tobi Ogundiran’s Eligibility Post
- Yvette Lisa Ndlovu’s Eligibility Post
- Endria Isa Richardson’s Eligibility Post
- Yah Yah Scholfield’s Eligibility Post
- LH Moore’s Eligibility Post
POETRY
Poetry Editor: Brandon O’Brien
Acquiring Editor for Poetry: B. Sharise Moore, Tonya R. Moore
Our poets are eligible for the Rhysling Awards
| Issue 13 – January 2020 | Author (Last, First) |
| Aliens Visit the Caribbean | Pierre, Terese Mason |
| Issue 14 – April 2020 | |
| Zombie of Palmares | Dismukes, Woody |
| Autolysis After Mentor Pursues Me While in a Relationship | Swift, Jacqui |
| Issue 15 – July 2020 | |
| The Technicolor Simulations: Test #2020-Z | James, Maya C. |
| Late Moonwalk | Ogbuji, Uche |
| Libations | Nathaniel, Soonest |
| Issue 16 – October 2020 | |
| In Retrograde | Robinson, Billimarie Lubiano |
| Paradise | Jarred Thompson |
| Tiny instances of Black girl magick | June, Nia |
ART
Art Director: L. D. Lewis
Artists are eligible for semipro/fan artist categories
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| FIYAH #13 | FIYAH #14 |
| Artist: Steffi Walthall | |
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| FIYAH #15 | FIYAH #16 |
| Artist: Cyan Daly | Artist: Odera Igbokwe |
Got questions? Email team[at]fiyahlitmag.com. And from all of us, thank you for reading and for loving what we do.
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