Chesya Burke delves deeply into the stories from her first collection Let’s Play White and her new novel The Strange Crimes of Little Africa, forthcoming from Rothco Press this fall (a mystery set in the dynamic cultural milieu of Harlem Renaissance which features Zora Neale Hurston as a character), intersectional feminism in the African-American context with strong female protagonists and supernatural powers as a force of empowerment, growing up with ghost stories in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and reclaiming cultural traditions, open endings and returning characters, why she still loves zombies, reading and enjoying H.P. Lovecraft’s works but not flinching from the critical context of his racism, her doctorate studies in English, diversity and the future of speculative fiction, and her reading recommendations including Kiese Laymon and N.K. Jemisin.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes  or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

NEXT WEEK’S GUEST:  Kate Jonez, author of Ceremony of Flies.