Introduction to Black Girl Magical

Print copies available at Quimby's Bookstore 1854 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Digital copies available here

This publication came from my own love of fiction and the fantasy genre. Growing up, I would spend hours reading about characters that would travel through these worlds going on amazing adventures, meeting magical creatures and having cool powers. However, it was rare-and it is still rare-to see stories where the main characters looked like me-a young Black girl.

It is an issue that has persisted over the decades: the lack of visibility of Black people–specifically Black women–in spaces that do not center around our pain, our suffering, or our issues with racism/discrimination overall. The purpose of this publication is to center Black women in the genre of fantasy, a genre that has so much possibility of showing joy, love, celebration, along with a little bit of magic along the way. Historically, the mainstream fantasy genre is white dominated. However, we can and have lived in these worlds. The vastness of the Black identity and experience can add so much to a continuously blooming genre. We can be fairies, mermaids, magicians, goddesses, and all types of beings that haven’t even been thought of yet. We can be all those things WITHOUT having the pain we experience in our everyday lives be the focus of these narratives. There is merit to having these experiences of racism and microaggression incorporated in these stories. However, it is also important to show the community and the love that exists in Blackness and within Black femininity.

This collection will showcase the fantasy genre centered around Black women and femmes communities. It may be a small start but I hope to provide for our readers an escape from reality and, for our Black female readers, the ability to see themselves as magical, mystical, and powerful beings. I hope you find a bit of joy in these stories and artworks and get inspired by the works you see here. I thank all of the artists for their contributions and making this possible and I thank our readers for choosing to come on this journey with us.

Best Wishes,
Ashley C.