Chesya Burke is an American editor, educator and author of comic books and

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

, most notably horror and dark fantasy. She has published over a hundred short stories, essays, and articles in magazines and anthologies such as ''

Clarkesworld ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American Online magazine, online Fantasy magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke (editor), Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthl ...

'', ''

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American Horror fiction magazine, horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been ...

'', ''Nightmare Magazine'', and ''Stories for Chip: A Tribute to

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ; born April 1, 1942) is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, and ...

''. Her short story collection ''Let's Play White'' was published in 2011 while her debut novel, ''The Strange Crimes of Little Africa'', was released in late 2015.

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (June 7, 1943 – December 9, 2024) was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. One of the world's best-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recor ...

has compared Burke's fiction to that of

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer who won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to recei ...

and

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

Life

Burke grew up in

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of p ...

. She earned a double major in Africana Studies and English from

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a Private university, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergra ...

and a Masters in

African-American studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

. Her master's thesis was on

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

from The

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

. Burke earned her Ph.D. in English at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. She is active in literary and feminist communities, for example serving as co-chair of the Board of Directors of Charis Circle, the nonprofit programming arm of Charis Books & More, the Atlanta area's independent feminist bookstore.

Fiction

Burke's first full-length short story collection ''Let's Play White'' was published in 2011 by

Apex Publications ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been nominated for several a ...

. The collection was favorably reviewed in the ''Midwest Book Revie''w, ''Austin Post'' and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', which said "If the urban realism doesn't always seem quite realistic, the depth of Burke's characters, the weight of their decisions, and their choices make this the very opposite of escapist fantasy." Burke's debut novel ''The Strange Crimes of Little Africa'' was published in late 2015 by RothCo Press. The novel is a mystery set during the 1920s

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

and features a Black detective who realizes "she may have to sacrifice her cousin's freedom when she discovers evidence that her father, the first black traffic cop on the force, may be guilty of murder." The novel features an appearance by a fictional version of

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...

Critical reception

Burke is known for blending different genres together with her writings. Reviewers have praised Burke's fiction, with the Barnes and Nobles Book Club calling her writing "mesmerizing -- there is an undeniable lyricism there but also a tangible darkness and pain."

called her a "formidable new master of the macabre" while poet

has compared Burke's writing to that of

and

A class of undergraduate English students at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

created a website analyzing the themes of her short story collection through the lens of

Black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...

, as embodied in the work of

Patricia Hill Collins Patricia Hill Collins (born May 1, 1948) is an American academic specializing in race, class, and gender. She is a distinguished university professor of sociology emerita at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is also the former head of ...

and

Barbara Christian Barbara T. Christian (December 12, 1943 – June 25, 2000) was an American author and professor of African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Among several books, and more than 100 published articles, Christian was be ...

Nonfiction and editing

Burke has written essays and articles for a number of magazines and anthologies, including

, Nightmare Magazine, and the

African American National Biography Project The African American National Biography Project is a joint project of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University and Oxford University Press. The object of the project is to publish and maintain a database o ...

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Strange Crimes of Little Africa'', RothCo Press (December 2015)

Collections and anthologies

* ''Let's Play White'', Apex Publications (2011)

Critical work

* "The H Word: The H is for Harassment (a/k/a Horror's Misogyny Problem)," Nightmare Magazine (2014) * "Super Duper Sexual Spiritual Black Woman," Clarkesworld (2012) * "Race and the Walking Dead" (2011)

Short stories

* "Haint Me Too" in ''Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery'', edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering (Titan Books, 2019) *
Say, She Toy
, 2017 Locus Recommended Short Story, ''

'' (2017) * "Shiv", ''Outside'', a graphic anthology of new horror fiction with art by Jennifer Y Cruté, Ash Pure and Topics Press (2017) * "In the Quad of Project 327," Cassilda's Song edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. (forthcoming in 2016) * "Cut. Pour.", ''The Daughters of Inanna'', Thunderstorm Books (2015) * "For Sale: Fantasy Coffin (Ababuo Need Not Apply)," ''Stories for Chip: A Tribute to

'' (2015) * "Please, Momma," Nightmare Magazine (2015) * "I Make People Do Bad Things," Nightmare Magazine (2014) * "The Horror at Castle Cumberland," ''Letters to Lovecraft: Eighteen Whispers to the Darkness'', Stone Skin Press (2014) * "Mountaintown," ''Shadows Over Main Street'' edited by Doug Murano & D. Alexander Ward, Hazardous Press (2014) * "The Teachings and Redemptions of Ms. Fannie Lou Mason," Apex Publications, (2011) * "CUE: Change," Apex Publications, (2011) * "Purse," Apex Publications, (2011) * "What She Saw When They Flew Away," Apex Publications, (2011) * "I Make People Do Bad Things," Apex Publications, (2011) * "Walter and the Three-Legged King," Apex Publications, (2011) * "The Unremembered," Dark Faith (2010) * "My Sister's Keeper," ''Whispers in the Night'' edited by Brandon Massey, Dafina Press (2007) * "The Light of Cree," Voices From the Other Side (2006) * "He Who Takes Away the Pain," Dark Dreams (2004) * "The Room Where Ben Disappeared," Would That It Were (2004) * "Chocolate Park," Undaunted Press (2004)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Chesya Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American novelists American horror novelists American fantasy writers American women novelists American women short story writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women horror writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers Agnes Scott College alumni Georgia State University alumni University of Florida alumni People from Hopkinsville, Kentucky Novelists from Kentucky 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers