Hello! 👋🏾 My name is Bezi, and I’m a book reviewer and fantasy nerd!
I have both an academic background in and a love for speculative fiction, medieval literature, and critical race studies. My favorite genres to read include fantasy fiction by and about Black people (YA and adult), Afrofuturist fiction, romance, and contemporary YA fiction centering BIPOC!
I’m currently working as an assistant marketing manager for Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
I moderated a panel on plot structure & storytelling for DVCon 2022 with authors Bethany C. Morrow, Angeline Boulley, Nia Davenport, Antwan Eady, and Graci Kim.
I wrote an essay for Catapult on visibility vs. representation; Cinderella’s colorblind casting; and the fantasies Black girls like me learned to internalize.
I wrote my first freelance piece — an essay on race, complicity, and solidarity in Trouble the Saints, Alaya Dawn Johnson’s new alt-history noir novel.
In partnership with Greenlight Bookstore, Leah Johnson and I get dressed up for prom to talk about her debut, You Should See Me in a Crown, and claiming our Black joy.
I chat with Megan about representation vs visibility in books and media, #OwnVoices fantasy, supporting BIPOC bookstagrammers and authors, and dragons.
Dreaming in the Dark is a podcast created by Ravynn K. Stringfield and I — Black fantasy scholars with a love of magic — that brings the stories we wished we had as children to the forefront!
Named after Toni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark, our podcast celebrates the creations that center those usually written in the margins of the fantastic 💜
OH HEY, FOR BEST VIEWING, YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR PHONE