N.K. Jemisin spoke at the Nebulas as the grandmaster, using paper instead of a teleprompter owing to time and addressing us as “Fellow writers of the torment nexus”. She mentioned that she initially hesitated, worried that she was too young.

I took a handful of notes, not many due to being distracted by getting some stains off the white pants I was wearing (long story). And then in the middle of an anecdote, Jemisin paused, shuffled her paper notes, and looked at us.

“I set the podium on fire,” she said.

Given her tone, I thought she was joking, or that this was a bit for her speech. Then I saw the head of the ground crew volunteers grab a glass goblet of water and run onstage. Other volunteers did as well with the banquet napkins. One batted at the podium with the napkin.

Apex editor and writer Jason Sanford mentioned in Genre Grapevine that it seemed apropos. The world was on fire, and Jemisin accidentally set the podium on fire trying to turn on its light to read her speech, and there happened to be tape on the lightbulb we couldn’t see. Racists and sexists in speculative fiction tried taking her down ten years down and remain persistent. And we still have to deal with these idiots in all aspects in our life.

Even though the speech was great, I kept recounting that moment. So I rechecked my notebook for what I did and didn’t take down that night. Jemisin insisted that “we can make the world better.” She spoke warmly of empathy, and caring for others, including ourselves.

“The problem with self-hatred is you stop trying to be better,” she said.

I wrote that down word-for-word. And I’m glad I did.

Latest Published Works

Superjump:

“Among Us Animated Pilot Shows a Capitalist Nightmare”

“The Musical Magic of Laura Shigihara”

Medium:

“Amphibia Season 2 Retrospective”

"Who Is Buffy Without Giles? A Tribute to Anthony Head"

"‘Star Wars’ Corruption is Supposed to be Fiction, Not Real Life!"

Personal Blog:

“Can Creators and Actors Stop Dying for a While?”