You’re probably already familiar with the Hugo-winning Lightspeed Magazine, which runs a story once a month right here on io9. The publication has just launched a crowdfunding campaign to put out a special issue in 2016, themed “People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!”
“When I was growing up, I literally thought that science fiction stories only happened to white people, because that’s all I read,” one of the issue’s guest editors, Sunil Patel, says in the Kickstarter video. “It did not occur to me, even when I began writing, that someone who looked like me could be on a spaceship. Could build a robot. Could get in a time machine and fight dinosaurs.”
As of this writing, the project (other guest editors will include Nalo Hopkinson, Kristine Ong Muslim, Nisi Shawl, and Berit Ellingsen) had almost reached its goal of $5,000. But, why not drop a few bucks and nudge it over the line? There are several “stretch goals” beyond the original amount, which promise more radness if the funds are raised (including two more proposed special issues: “POC Destroy Fantasy!” and “POC Destroy Horror!”)
No matter what, “POC Destroy Science Fiction!” is gonna be an issue jam-packed with short stories, flash fiction, nonfiction, author spotlights, and more—entirely created by people of color, who (as Patel points out) are often absent or ignored in science fiction. This issue is definitely gonna be an awesome countermeasure to that lack of diversity in the genre. You can find out more (and check out the killer rewards for donations) at the Kickstarter page!