From acquisitions all the way to publication and beyond, Ashley Imanë Fields walks us through the process at Freedom Fire, a new imprint at Disney Hyperion dedicated to stories about Black Joy, Black Resilience, and Black Storytelling.

Topics discussed include:

Thanks Ash for joining us!

This episode is all about intellectual property (IP) companies and our experiences working with them. We're joined by Nia "N.E." Davenport and Bethany Baptiste.

Nia "N.E." Davenport is an award-winning Science Fiction/Fantasy author who writes stories that blend magic, mayhem, and deadly heroines. She attended the University of Southern California and studied Biological Sciences and Theatre Arts. She also has an M.A. in Secondary Education. 

She teaches English and Biology to amazing students. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. She’s an advocate for diverse perspectives and protagonists in literature. Nia’s latest book is OUT OF BODY, a propulsive young adult thriller set in Atlanta with a body-swap twist.

Bethany Website: bethanybaptiste.com

Nia Instagram: nia.davenport

Bethany Instagram: bethany_baptiste

Nia Twitter: nia_davenport

Bethany Twitter: StorySorcery

Nia TikTok: nia.davenport

Bethany TikTok: bethany.baptiste

Today, we're discussing the Southern Gothic genre through some of Beatrice's favorite TV shows. This was adapted from a Voodoonauts class Beatrice taught.

The TV shows discussed are The Vampire Diaries (Bonnie Bennett), True Blood (Tara Thornton), and Interview with the Vampire (Louis de Pointe du Lac).

Here is the link to the aforementioned chart: https://tinyurl.com/yh37vd6s

Beatrice has a new book deal!

Join us as we discuss their debut adult horror novel, I'LL MAKE A SPECTACLE OUT OF YOU, coming fall 2025. Full of Black Appalachian history, Southern Gothic horror, religious horror, and much much more.

To keep up with their latest updates, check out their website at www.beatriceiker.com. And follow them @beatricewinifrediker on Instagram/Threads and TikTok, and @beatriceiker on Twitter.

Join us as we talk with experienced agents Jen Azantian (Azantian Literary Agency) and Chelsea Hensley (kt literary) about current market dynamics, their agenting highs and lows, and more!

Learn more about Azantian Literary agency at www.azantianlitagency.com

Learn more about kt literary at www.ktliterary.com

Hey Afronauts! Our guest today is Indie-bestselling author Kamilah Cole. We had such a fun conversation, discussing everything from an alarmingly strict writing routine as a child, to the metadata she researches for her day job and writing, to plantains.

Thee Afronauts Black Writers Social is January 31, 2024. Kamilah Cole is the inaugral guest of honor, and will be do a reading of SO LET THEM BURN. Also, we'll be giving away a signed copy! If you're a Black writer, DM us (@theeafronauts) on social for an invite link. Our discord community is up and running! DM us for that link as well.

Kamilah Cole is an Indie-bestselling, Jamaican-born, American-raised author. By day she works in publishing and by night she frantically types words she hopes people want to read. In the past, she’s also worked as a journalist and at a hotel, two jobs that give you amazing stories to tell at parties. You know, if she went to parties.

A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is currently based in the Tri-State Area, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early Spongebob Squarepants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In today's pre-chat, Thee Afronauts have some big announcements! We're opening a discord community for Black writers, starting a newsletter, and having our first-ever social! More info below if you're interested.

The meat of today's episode is about self-advocacy. We gave some examples of when we had to advocate for ourselves, discussed turning down opportunities (not easy!), and discussed the importance of community support.

This is the last Afronauts Podcast episode til this fall, but we're focusing on other exciting projects:

This is a fun one! Join us for a round table conversation with four 2024 debut authors: Sami Ellis, Ashton Lattimore, Avione Lee, and Rae Giana Rashad. We get into some honest discussion of the highs and lows of debut year, marketing plans, and protecting the integrity of your story through edits.

Support their books here:

DEAD GIRLS WALKING by Sami Ellis: https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/dead-girls-walking

ALL WE WERE PROMISED by Ashton Lattimore: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722988/all-we-were-promised-by-ashton-lattimore/

MIN AND THE PERILOUS PIPE by Avione Lee: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76536323-min-and-the-perilous-pipe

THE BLUEPRINT by Rae Giana Rashad: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-blueprint-rae-giana-rashad?variant=41059561472034

Catch up with us in our pre chat, then listen as we talk to Kwame Mbalia about writing, publishing, and Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion that will feature stories of black joy and resilience written by black creators.

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, a former pharmaceutical metrologist, and a publisher with Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion.

His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it—along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING—is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion.

He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology BLACK BOY JOY, published by Delacorte Press. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheez-Its. 

Learn more about Kwame at https://www.kwamembalia.com/.

Follow him on social media @KSekouM on X (formally Twitter) and @mbalia1 on Instagram.

We had a wonderful chat with Root Literary's Samantha Fabien about her personal agent taste, how she sets her client's submissions up for success, and her personal agent career goals.

Learn more about Samantha at https://www.rootliterary.com/agents