#FIYAHCON2021

I'm going to say a thing, and it might get me hate, but I promise you I only say it with love. Someone said in a conversation that they thought it was weird that there weren't many attendees at #FIYAHCON2021 representing some of the big players in the industry.

This is your friendly reminder that @fiyahlitmag is open for an unthemed sub period right now for standard submissions (poetry, fiction & non-fiction) AND we're open for Palestinian SFF writers to send us their poetry and fiction. #FIYAHCON #FIYAHCON2021

I'm telling y'all, I can't wait for the #FIYAHCON2021 programming archive to be available. It's gonna be a veritable SFF masterclass. I already know there's a long pile of panels I want to replay--both the ones I missed, and the ones I just want to experience all over again.

As the festivities are about to close, let me finally give much love and a standing ovation to the entire #FIYAHCON2021 team for such an astounding virtual con this year. You all are doing such astounding work and deserve heaps of praise for it.

It's not even wrapped yet and I can say that #FIYAHCON2021 is the best writer's con I've ever attended, also far eclipsing any academic conference I ever went to. The panels were stellar, my TBR pile is toppling, I took pages and pages of notes. Amazing.

To keep the #FIYAHCON2021 love going a little longer, I'm giving away 8 subscriptions to @fiyahlitmag -- more people need to see the amazing work that they're doing! If you'd like one, comment and tell me your most recent favorite thing from a BIPOC creator!

#FIYAHCON2021 has ended, and there may not be another one. If so, the community will feel a little less vibrant, less colorful. But all of us who attended are warmed by the friendships and memories of this weekend, and by the spark of FIYAH we'll carry with us into all we create.

The trailblazers are also the ones who suffer the pushback, the abuse, and the hardship. The #FIYAHCON2021 team have built a home for BIPOC in SFF and it is our job to find a way to keep them safe, and loved, and cared for. We have to take care of the people who care for us.

So next time I see someone saying how difficult it is to find the voices they want to showcase I'm going to think about if I saw them at #FIYAHCON2021 and wonder how hard they really looked.

Black people supporting other Black people and people of color deserve patience, kindness, and respect. Maybe some Love and civility, if you can muster it. #FIYAHCON2021

#FIYAHCON2021 has been THE highlight of my year. Getting to watch all these passionate, intelligent people converse with one another, learn from one another, relish each other's company etc has been such a luxurious experience. Glad I could be here to witness it all.