african SF

StarShipSofa No 472 Richard Johnson and George Nikolopoulos

February 8, 2017 by Jeremy Szal

Amy H. Sturgis – Hocus Pocus Comics

Main Fiction: “In Apprehension How Like a God” by Richard Johnson

Originally published in Writers of the Future

Richard Johnson is an award-winning writer of science fiction having won the Gold Award at the Writers of the Future Competition in 2011 and the Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest in 2012. He has previously appeared on Starship Sofa with his flash fiction A Friend in Need (and you’ve also accepted my Writers of the Future winging story although that hasn’t appeared yet).

His day job as a structural engineer has taken him all over the world from the UK and Dublin to Singapore and Hong Kong. He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two young sons.

He blogs at RPLJohnson.com and his previously published short stories can be found at all ebook retailers.

Narrated by Mikael Naramore

Mikael Naramore has worked in the audiobook industry since 2001 when, fresh out of college, he was hired as a recording engineer for publisher Brilliance Audio (now Brilliance Publishing, subsidiary of Amazon.com). Over time, he transitioned to Director, all the while absorbing technique and nuance from the best actors in the business. To date, Mikael has narrated well over 100 titles, under his own and assumed names. Authors range from best-sellers Nora Roberts, Lisa Gardner, Edward Klein and Clive Barker to sci-fi rising stars Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam and Mark E. Cooper.

He was recently chosen to narrate prolific playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Ardrey’s seminal Nature of Man series which includes the international best-sellers African Genesis and The Territorial Imperative, titles which reportedly had a very heavy influence on Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick in their development of 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as Kubrick’s adaptation of A Clockwork Orange.

Mikael is also an active writer, musician and recording artist, having scored the soundtrack to an independent short film, produced and engineered critically acclaimed rock records, and written, performed and recorded several “silly little lo-fi rock songs” of his own.  He currently resides in the wild and scenic Columbia River Gorge outside of Portland, Oregon with his wife, two small boys and their beloved Golden Retriever.

Short Fiction: “A Human’s Life” by George Nikolopoulos

Originally published in Galaxy’s Edge

George Nikolopoulos is a speculative fiction writer from Athens, Greece. His short stories have been published in several magazines and anthologies worldwide, including Galaxy’s Edge, Grievous Angel, Helios Quarterly and Unsung Stories.  He has been a semi-finalist in the Writers of the Future contest. He is a member of Codex Writers’ Group. He blogs at georgenikolopoulos.wordpress.com

Narrated by: Kaushik Narasimhan

Kaushik is a management consultant by day and a writer by night with a keen interest in psychedelics and role playing video games. Website: http://kazarelth.net, twitter: @Kazarelth

 

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StarShipSofa No 465 Nnedi Okorafor

December 21, 2016 by Jeremy Szal

Main Fiction: “Spider the Artist” by Nnedi Okorafor

Originally published in Seeds of Change, edited by John Joseph Adams

Nnedi Okorafor’s books include Lagoon, Who Fears Death, Kabu Kabu, Akata Witch, Zahrah the Windseeker, and The Shadow Speaker. Her adult novel The Book of Phoenix was released in May 2015; the New York Times called it a “triumph”. Her novella Binti was released in late September 2015 and her young adult novel Akata Witch 2: Breaking Kola will be released in 2016.

Nnedi holds a PhD in literature/creative writing and is an associate professor at the University at Buffalo, New York (SUNY). She splits her time between Buffalo and Chicago with her daughter Anyaugo and family. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com.

Narrated by: Aminat Badara 

Aminat is a budding writer and aspiring On-Air-Personality.  As a Jaycee, she believes strongly in active citizenship and service to humanity. She loves reading and has a weird penchant for collecting hardcover notebooks. When she’s not writing or trying to be a superhuman, she’s either looking for Xs to solve, seeing movies or getting her heart broken by Arsenal FC. She blogs at meenahsthoughts.wordpress.com (every once in a while)

 

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StarShipSofa No 461 Lauren Beukes

November 23, 2016 by Jeremy Szal

Main Fiction: “The Green” by Lauren Beukes

Originally published in Armored, edited by John Joseph Adams.

The story will also appear in Lauren’s upcoming short fiction and essay collection, Slipping, published in late November.

Lauren Beukes is an award-winning, internationally best-selling novelist who also writes comics, screenplays, TV shows and  journalism. Her novels, including The Shining Girls, Broken Monsters and Zoo City have been translated into 23 languages and are being developed for film and TV. She’s won the Arthur C Clarke Award, the University of Johannesburg prize, the August Derleth Award for Best Horror, the Strand Critics Choice Award for Best Mystery Novel, the RT Thriller of the Year and the Mbokodo Award. Her work has been praised by Stephen King, George RR Martin, James Ellroy and Gillian Flynn as well as The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR.

She’s also written comics, including Survivor’s Club, an original horror series with Dale Halvorsen and Ryan Kelly, the NYT-best-selling Fables spin-off, Fairest: The Hidden Kingdom with Inaki Miranda, and a Wonder Woman-in-Soweto one-shot for kids, The Trouble With Cats with art by Mike Maihack. When she’s not on tour, or travelling for research, from Detroit to Zagreb, Muskat to Port-au-Prince, she lives in Cape Town, South Africa with her eight year old daughter.

Narrated by: Heather Simmons

Heather Simmons grew up in South Africa and has made her home in the United States. She earned her Ph.D. in biology at Penn State and her research focused on the evolution of plant pathogens. Heather is an active participant in community theatre with radio experience and can be reached for narration requests at hsimmons@iastate.edu.

 

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