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P Djèlí Clark

(Phenderson Djèlí Clark)

(b.1971)

P. Djèlí Clark is a writer of speculative fiction. Born in Queens, New York, he has lived alternatively in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Texas and the Caribbean. His stories have appeared in online publications such as Daily Science Fiction, Every Day Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, and elsewhere. He has also contributed short stories to anthologies such as the Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology and Griots: Sisters of the Spear, co-edited by Milton Davis and the pioneering Charles Saunders. Professionally, Clark is a doctoral candidate in history who focuses on issues of slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World. He currently resides in Washington D.C., and ruminates on issues of diversity in speculative fiction at his blog The Disgruntled Haradrim.

Genres: Children's Fiction, Fantasy

New and upcoming books

August 2024

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

April 2025

Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold
(Abeni's Song, book 2)

Series

Dead Djinn Universe
   A Dead Djinn in Cairo (2016)
   The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (2019)
   1. A Master of Djinn (2021)

Abeni's Song
1. Abeni's Song (2023)
2. Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold (2025)

Novels

Ring Shout (2020)
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins (2024)

Collections

Swift the Chase (2019) (with others)

Novellas and Short Stories

The Black God's Drums (2018)

P Djèlí Clark recommends

A Stranger in the Citadel (2023)
Tobias S Buckell
"A Stranger in the Citadel is a powerful story that explores the strength of the written word and those who fear it. Tobias Buckell has crafted a disturbing and page-turning tale of banned books, outlaw librarians, killer angels, and world changing secrets--set in a far flung dystopian future that chillingly resonates with our present."

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (2023)
Wole Talabi
"Wole Talabi brings us an imaginative tale of ancient deities with modern problems--where answering prayers and winning at the cut throat competition for adherents is the best way to maintain the bottomline. Shigidi is a richly written story of love between immortals, a high stakes supernatural heist, and a sweeping adventure across time, space, and perhaps realms of existence. This is godpunk, done with style. And I'm absolutely here for it!"

In the Lives of Puppets (2023)
TJ Klune
"In the Lives of Puppets is a powerful story of humanity and what survives after we're gone. Do the new inheritors of this earth forge a new path? Or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of their makers? TJ Klune has created an enchanting tale of Pinocchio in the end times, offering up hard truths alongside humor, kindness, love and, most important, hope."

The Daughters of Izdihar (2023)
(Alamaxa Duology, book 1)
Hadeer Elsbai
"Hadeer Elsbai has written a powerful story of sisterhood, love, and struggle within a rich, vibrant world with complicated characters that leap from the page to smash the patriarchy!"

The Monsters We Defy (2022)
Leslye Penelope
"Rich and immersive. . . full of mesmerizing magic!"

Destroyer of Light (2021)
Jennifer Marie Brissett
"Destroyer of Light grapples with themes of both the human and post-human experience in a way that is wholly original and seductively engaging. Brissett builds a richly layered and imaginative world that reflects much of our own-the good, the brutal, and the truly monstrous-while daring us to dream of something more. This is a tale not only of becoming and transformation, but about the choices we make that bring us to our destinations. In a time of new, meaningful, and thrilling science fiction, Destroyer of Light is a must read."

The All-Consuming World (2021)
Cassandra Khaw
"What a @#*% ride! Cassandra Khaw has written an utterly bold and bombastic sci-fi novel—complete with sentient warships, conniving AI, and quite possibly the most dangerous and violent foul-mouthed lady cyborg mercenaries in the known universe! And I am absolutely here for all of it! Khaw has built a world as scarily beautiful and complex as their expansive imagination. Be warned though: once this book gets a hold of you, it won’t let go until the mind-bending, explosive end!"

The Chosen and the Beautiful (2021)
Nghi Vo
"Decadent. Visual. Imaginative. Genius. Not enough words to praise this page-turning novel of sorcery, infernal compacts, and enchanted elixirs, in an altogether different 1920s New York. Nghi Vo snips apart, then magically weaves together a familiar story in a wholly original and decidedly unfamiliar way. Redo all the classics. And do them like this!"

Bacchanal (2021)
Veronica G Henry
"Writer Veronica Henry pulls on a mix of African folklore, Black histories, and carnival culture to weave a story of mesmerizing, bizarre, and dangerous magic. With a heroine of unique powers and a cast as colorful as any sideshow, this story offers up its share of delights, adventure, and frights! Welcome to Bacchanal. Enjoy the sights. Hope you make it out alive!"

Sorrowland (2021)
Rivers Solomon
"Torrowland delivers! Black Power cults. Government conspiracies. Post-Human transformations. A mother willing to defy everything and everyone-even nature itself-to protect her family. Rivers Solomon has once again created an engrossing, emotional, and original read with pages that demand to be turned. The writing is visceral and soul-clenching. The characters--bold, creative, and memorable. The action, heart-stopping. This is imaginative storytelling at its finest. Once I started, I could not put down Sorrowland until I reached the end. And then I wanted more!"

The Conductors (2021)
(Murder and Magic, book 1)
Nicole Glover
"An Underground Railroad—but with magic. With compelling characters and wondrous worldbuilding, Glover weaves a tangled mystery of murder, spellwork, and freedom amid the remnants of slavery’s lingering memories."

More recommendations

Anthologies containing stories by P Djèlí Clark

The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction: 2022 (2023)
(Year's Best African Speculative Fiction)
edited by
Eugen Bacon, Milton Davis and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Out There Screaming (2023)
An Anthology of New Black Horror
edited by
Jordan Peele

The Book of Witches (2023)
edited by
Jonathan Strahan

More anthologies

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