There are online groups where black genre writers from around the world discuss, among many things, the prevalence of black fantasy, science fiction, and horror fiction in popular culture today. There have been strides in black and African diaspora representation over the years, yet what the participants in these forums query is how far these advances have really taken black narratives into popular culture, as well as the areas in the popular zeitgeist that black inspired narratives still seem to be excluded from even in this year of 2026. This essay will explore some of the discrepancies black genre writers believe exist, and offer ways for it to be rectified.
There is no doubt that black genre writers have had some success in publishing. One can look at Octavia Butler, for instance, a multiple recipient of Hugo and Nebula awards and the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Despite the fact that she is heralded as a genius many times over, the question must be asked: how widely sold are her novels? The Globe and Mail states that, “It would take more than 50 years, but Butler did become a best-selling author, first hitting The New York Times bestseller list in 2020 with Parable of the Sower.” Currently, Ava DuVernay and Charles D King’s Macro Ventures, alongside Victoria Mahoney, are working on a television adaptation of Butler’s Dawn, a part of her brilliant Xenogensis series which was first released in 1987.
This, of course, shows that doors have been opened to cracks for black genre writers, though when looking at popular culture, black genre writers can’t help but point out that while Octavia Butler, a certified literary genius, has yet to have one popular movie made from her works, Frank Herbert’s Dune has been made into movies twice, once by David Lynch in 1984, then more recently by Denis Villanueva in 2021. It was also a television miniseries directed by John Harrison. Stephen King books have been made into movies an astonishing 88 times.
Samuel DeLany, another of the great black speculative fiction writers, has also won the Nebula Award, Kessler Award, and was named the 30th SFWA Grand Master in 2013. Though not as popular as Octavia Butler, his writing is known for its “high-concept science fiction and his sharp theories on social contact.” (Literary Hub) Samuel DeLany is an author mostly known by speculative fiction enthusiasts. His work, though heralded in the sci-fi and fantasy community, is only in the top 1000 and higher on the best-selling list on Amazon. As groundbreaking as Samuel DeLany’s fiction and non-fiction are, he is not a household name in the same vein as authors like Philip K. Dick, another certified literary genius.
N.K. Jemisin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for her Broken Earth series, first released in 2015. Nnedi Okorafor’s Biniti won the Hugo and Nebula Award in 2016. In 2017, Okorafor announced that her fantasy novel, Who Fears Death (2010), was picked up by HBO to become a television series. (Wikipedia). As of yet, there is no release date for the series. Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is the first African-born black author to win the Nebula Award in 2021 for O2 Arena. He also won a Hugo Award for the same title in 2021. And while black genre writers are proud of all of these accomplishments by black genre authors, we can’t help but also point out that the Broken Earth series is currently ranked in the top 5000 on Amazon, and Binti in the top 23,000. As of the writing of this essay, none of the previously mentioned black authors have had their works adapted into popular movies, franchises, or television series, despite several being slated to become so at a yet unknown date.
Conversations within groups do not always play well in front of wider audiences. Black genre writers do feel that, despite the attempts made today to expose wider audiences to BIPOC writers, that the results are anemic at best, even if well intentioned. If you were to ask the average person if they have heard of the above-mentioned authors and books, many will probably say, “No”. Not in the same way that if you were to ask them have they heard of Game of Thrones, or Twilight, or Blade Runner, or many other popular movies, television series, and franchises that have come from white genre authors. Are strides being made to change this? Yes, and we are thankful for that. Does it feel quite slow to black genre writers. Also, yes.
It can be supposed that many will retort that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Examples may be given of popular culture that feature black characters. The very cool Blade, which features Wesley Snipes as the titular half-vampire hunter, is one example. Unfortunately, Blade was originally written by Marvin Arthur Wolfman. Though black people, and black genre writers, are very excited that Blade, like Spawn, written by Todd McFarlane, exist and feature very intriguing black central characters, our excitement is somewhat mitigated by the fact that both of these main-black-character helmed graphic novels, movies, and television series were originally written by white writers. Perhaps it can be argued that that should be inconsequential.
The aforementioned movie Dune, currently populated by a diverse cast of characters in its newest version, was also originally written by a white author. In popular culture, we do have characters like Benjamin Sisko, a Star Fleet captain, Black Panther, and the newest incarnation of Captain America, who is now Isiah Bradly. Yet all of these examples share something in common. They were all originally penned by white authors. Again, this is the observation black genre writers can’t help but point out. Are statements like this uncomfortable when shared to the wider world? Possibly. Black writers are of course thankful for the ceilings that are being broken and the doors that are being opened, but year after year it can’t help but be noticed that when new movies, franchises, or popular genre television series enter the zeitgeist, works adapted from original narrative universes first published in black books are conspicuously absent.
It is not known by anyone who has never lived in Asia that black authors are completely absent from English academies. Within Asia, English language study is a virtual prerequisite for elementary, middle, and high school students. Within the thousands of English academies with millions of students in South Korea, Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, etc, books are assigned to them to read. These books are YA fiction and genre fiction. Ninety-five percent of these books are white authors. For young students growing up in these countries, black authors virtually do not exist. Octavia Butler, Samuel DeLany, N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpek are unheard names to these students. Authors entering into the popular culture through movies, television series, and franchises are extremely important in exposing the wider world to their writing. As of this date of 2026, black genre authors have not had a chance at this opportunity.
The question that must be asked is how can this be changed? Many black genre writers today publish through indie publishers, or they self-publish. This isn’t by choice. Despite the fact that there is an effort to publish BIPOC authors, the percentage making the cut into the most influential markets is still small in comparison to the number of black speculative writers who exist. It can be debated as to why this is, but it still must be accepted that this is a current reality.
Black genre writers have a wide range of unique, engaging original worlds that are being created but confined to relative obscurity. Even those who win major awards are more or less subject to a state of relative unknownness to the wider world. Changing this should be a priority to all who want the genre landscape to truly represent a diverse range of voices. More than words are needed, however. In 2026, there should be a black author who has reached the global popularity of Georgie R.R. Martin, Stephanie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, James Dashner, Suzanne Collins, Christopher Paolini, Philip K. Dick, Madeleine L’Engle, Margare Atwood, Robert Ludlum, Frank Herbert, Rick Riordan. What all these authors have in common is that major movies, television series, and franchises have been made from their books, which helps place them on the shelves of thousands of readers throughout the world.
In 2026, there should be a black author’s name on that list, and this is an ongoing conversation amongst black genre writers as to why this has yet to be the case.
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