It contains thirteen works of short fiction, and a foreword by
Tananarive Due. It was first published by Aurelia Leo in 2020.[1]
Contents
The anthology consists of thirteen works, including short stories, poems and novellas. Nine of the stories were originally published in Dominion, while four had been previously published.
Co-editor Olivia Raymond, under the
pen name Zelda Knight, had the idea for an anthology of speculative fiction that centered Black experiences. After surviving a grease fire that left her and her family scarred, she wanted to start a project which represented "[her] Christianity, [her] Blackness, [her] Womanhood".[6] While recovering from flash burns, she read about the historical
The 1619 Project, which partly inspired the themes of Dominion.[7] Knight approached Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki to co-edit. Knight had previously published Ekpeki's short story "Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon" in Selene Quarterly Magazine, and the story was also included in Dominion.[7]
In an interview from September 2020, Ekpeki and Knight confirmed that Volume 2 of Dominion was in development, and would include both new and returning writers.[8]
Reception
The anthology received mostly positive reviews from critics.[9] Fiona Moore of the
British Science Fiction Association gave the anthology a positive review, particularly for its handling of
Afrocentric and
Afrofuturist themes, and its "re-interpretation of colonialist [science fiction] tropes such as vampires and AI." Moore compared it to So Long Been Dreaming, another anthology of speculative fiction stories from authors of color.[10]
It was included on Den of Geek's "Best Non-Western and POC Fantasy Books in 2020."[11] Sarah Deeming of the
British Fantasy Society praised the scope of the anthology, as well as the individual quality of its collected short stories. Deeming had particular praise for Ono's "Unclean", on account of its portrayal of patriarchy and the conflict between native beliefs and Christianity.[12]
Awards
The anthology received several awards and nominations. It won the
British Fantasy Award for "Best Anthology" in 2021.[13] It was nominated for "Best Anthology" at the 2021
Locus Awards,[14] and the 2020 This Is Horror awards.[15]
Individual stories published in the anthology were also nominated for awards and subsequently republished. Ekpeki's "Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon" was nominated for a
Nebula Award for Best Novella.[16] Both "Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon" and
Dilman Dila's "Red_Bati" were nominated for a
BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction.[17] "A Mastery of German" by Marian Denise Moore was republished in
Jonathan Strahan's The Year's Best Science Fiction: Volume 2.[18]