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The Diverse Kingdom: Growing Inclusion in SFF Publishing is a Small Fulfillment of God’s Plan

A version of this article was published in Speculative Faith on December 7, 2018, under the title, “Growing Diversity in Fantasy Genres Gives Us Hints of Eternity.”

The Broken Earth trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin
The Broken Earth trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin

By definition, science fiction and fantasy are unique among literary genres because of the presence of a wide range of diverse characters and people groups. Certainly, many are fictional (as far as we know)—Vulcans, Calormenes, sentient droids. Certainly, many portrayals, such as that of female characters and Native Americans, have been fetishized and over-troped. But, like much of the world, science fiction and fantasy are growing up, growing wiser, and embracing the stories of traditionally marginalized people groups. Some might say SFF is ahead of the curve.

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Inside Out: The Ultimate ‘Zeroes’ Power

Zeroes

Recently, I finished reading the incredible Zeroes series by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti. This story about a bunch of teenagers who discover they have crowd-based superpowers is probably the first series I’ve ever read where I felt completely satisfied at the end. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger, demanding endless what-abouts. Nor did it end with me wishing there was another book in the series. It’s okay that there isn’t.

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Blurred Reflections

Seeing the whole image of God in virtuous traits exhibited by men and women. This piece was published in Fathom Magazine on July 11, 2018. I read C. S. Lewis’s science fiction novels, called The Space Trilogy, a couple of years before the current firestorm of awareness on gender issues. With the amount of attention paid…

3 Reasons Buzzsprout is an Excellent Podcast Host

Podcasters today have a great number of options when it comes to choosing a podcast host. But, whenever someone is looking to start a podcast or is complaining about their current host, I tell them, “You should check out Buzzsprout.”

Buzzsprout offers plenty of the standard features that most podcast hosts offer. But there are three benefits to Buzzsprout’s service that I think make this company stand out from the crowd.

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3 Things the March for Our Lives Tells the Church About Gen Z

This article was published on April 2, 2018, in Relevant Magazine. Recently, hundreds of thousands of people took part in the March for Our Lives, the student-led anti-gun violence protest that held demonstrations in 800 cities in the U.S. and numerous sibling marches around the world. Most of the leaders and participants in this massive…

6 Leadership Lessons from Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the best shows on television — ever. I’ve been a fan from the beginning when Phil Coulson and Grant Ward showed up in sunglasses outside Skye’s beat up van in Los Angeles. Since being raised from the dead at great lengths, Coulson has led a small band of dedicated individuals to keep the world safe, to serve as a shield between earth’s people and threats they couldn’t ever imagine.

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