In this episode of Most Writers Are Fans, Terry sits down with Brent Lambert, Black queer writer, founding member of the Hugo Award-winning FIYAH Literary Magazine, and author of Necessary Chaos, to talk about community building, creative collaboration, and what it actually takes to put a short story collection together when the traditional industry doors aren't opening for you.

The episode's central question is deceptively simple: which comes first, community building or collaboration? For Brent, the answer is community, decisively. His reasoning is grounded in a clear-eyed read of the publishing landscape: a lot of writers are genuinely good, which means talent alone isn't a differentiator, and for marginalized writers, the barriers are often not about quality in the first place. When Fireside Magazine published data showing the dismal numbers of Black authors appearing in science fiction and fantasy publications, the industry's response was a string of deflections. Brent and his collaborators found those excuses unconvincing. FIYAH was their answer: build the space yourself, and prove the excuse wrong.

The conversation turns practical when Terry asks how writers actually find their way into collections. Brent walks through his early methods, Twitter before its decline, the Submission Grinder website, following editors and publishers on social media, and a tight-knit group of writers who shared open calls and challenged each other to submit.

One of the episode's sharpest exchanges is about rejection and feedback. Brent reflects on what made FIYAH different from the start: every submission received some form of feedback. For marginalized writers especially, a rejection without context is particularly cruel, you can never be sure whether the "no" was about the writing or about who you are.

Both Terry and Brent push back on the idea that short story collections need to be commercially viable to be worth doing. The real value is exposure: a publication credit gives emerging writers something concrete to point to when querying agents, and short fiction opens doors to award nominations that compound over time.

Topics Covered:

• [0:00] Cold open
• [0:48] Intro — Terry introduces Brent Lambert and the episode's focus
• [2:10] Community building vs. collaboration: which comes first?
• [5:19] The Highlander syndrome and why indie writers tend to avoid it
• [7:10] Being the only queer person in the room vs. the experience of LavenderCon
• [9:00] Marginalized perspectives as the new frontier for original storytelling
• [12:26] How to find open calls: the Submission Grinder, social media, and community networks
• [15:05] The origin of FIYAH: the Fireside Magazine report and building a response
• [17:25] P. Djèlí Clark as an early mentor and the importance of putting the ladder back down

• [25:12] What Brent looks for when curating a collection: representation, variety, and emotional arc
• [31:25] What to do with good stories that didn't make the cut
• [33:45] The real value of short fiction collections: credits, awards, and platform-building
• [38:43] "What Have You Been a Fan Of Lately?" — The Witch Roads by K. Ellt; Giant-Size X-Men with Ms. Marvel
• [41:22] Where to find Brent online

Guest Bio:Brent Lambert is a Black queer writer and founding member of FIYAH Literary Magazine, one of the most important platforms for Black voices in speculative fiction and winner of the Hugo Award. He is the author of Necessary Chaos and has contributed short fiction to a wide range of publications and anthologies. You can find him at brentslambertwriter.com, on Bluesky at @brentslambertwriter, and on Instagram at @brentslambertwriter.

Tyranny of the Fey is now available in hardcover and paperback, eBook, and audiobook. Read my stories now on terrybartley.com. Send requests to be a guest or comments about the episode to [email protected]. Theme Song: Young Squire - TrackTribe, Piano track by sing2pianos