Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki Profile picture
Hugo, @NAACPImageAward finalist, Nebula, WFA, Locus, BFA, Otherwise winner. BSFA, Sturgeon finalist. 1st Black @Asimovs_SF award winner #ICFA44, @CanConSF GoH
Leslie Varney Profile picture 1 subscribed
Oct 31, 2022 8 tweets 2 min read
Thread illustrates why Musk buying Twitter is a lose lose situation. Everything said here is true. But everything everyone else is saying is also true. Musk owning Twitter is infinitely more dangerous than people think. Esp for people in marginalized & vulnerable demographics Looking beyond his pro fascist messages against Ukraine and Taiwan. There's the anti semitic, anti Black, pro supremacist sentiments masquerading as free speech. All of which is fertilizer for very real violence people suffer daily & which will now skyrocket
Aug 18, 2022 31 tweets 14 min read
Journey's end; won't be attending @chicagoworldcon. Or any other cons if my current mood is anything to go by & if this is how it goes. I can't anyway. Literally, mood asides. Got denied visa to the Worldcon by @USinNigeria today. It's not the denial but the how

@abikedabiri This is despite being quite literally the most awarded SF writer, editor and publisher on the continent. I was a finalist in the @TheHugoAwards this year in editing & fiction categories. You don't have to be CIA to know why this is important. Simple Google search ImageImage
Jul 24, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
No Black SFF writers in Africa are represented by the biggest literary agents, aren't published by any of the big 5 or their imprints, aren't on the NYT or other major bestselling lists. They don't have any of the things that constitute big success in the SFF industry... Except awards. And that's just well, me. Which really just proves my point. Being Black and on the continent, you can write literary fiction. Or you can be abroad, an immigrant or disaporan and do SFF. But being Black, here & doing SFF, that's a triple whammy.
Jul 23, 2022 6 tweets 5 min read
Good thing I'm not the only one thinking it. What I want to know is who's scam is this? Someone else's or @CustomsNG, @RedstarPlc @FedEx's? Even if you'll bill me 100k for an item that has no monetary value & can't be bought/sold, how can you threaten to auction my item in 4 days You call me on Friday, and tell me if by Thursday, 4 business days after I don't cough up 100k naira you confiscate & auction the item. The charge is not reasonable, but the deadline & penalty is outright senseless. Pablo Escobar no do pass this. @CustomsNG @RedstarPlc fix up!
Mar 6, 2022 25 tweets 5 min read
It's good to see so much support for the average Russian, like what's been shown for Ukrainians. It's applaudable, though I must say it feels alien, cuz this Russian "extreme" is kinda the Nigerian normal & how these companies have treated us forever, for no reason. It's like a regular day for most artists on the continent, these Russian sanctions. In fact it might be better than the average day here. Throw in limited power supply, no healthcare, security, a collapsed economy, etc & it might start to get closer
Jan 15, 2022 25 tweets 8 min read
Some more updates on the Amazon KDP fiasco, they called me again yesterday, to explain why I can't edit my banking details. Must have seen my tweet on it. They said it's a security issue. And offered some more assistance in replacing it and ensuring I can get the royalties On another note, though related, I'm trying to use the account of a friend that was in the US because well, they don't accept Nigerian bank accounts. I was using Payoneer, a service that mimics US bank accounts and essentially reads as if you are in the US. It's legit btw
Jan 13, 2022 9 tweets 4 min read
So we reached & passed our goal, & the fundraising campaign's been closed. My immense thanks to everyone who contributed not just financially, but their voice & outrage & various other kinds of support & encouragement as well. 🙏🏾
Meanwhile an update, I got a call from Amazon KDP A short while ago. Very strange right? & I've never tried to call cuz calling from here isn't feasible. They called, my actual phone number. Said they saw my social media campaign and wanted to explain. Something they didn't "want to" all the multiple times I emailed. 🙄 Anyway
Jan 13, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Story publication alert!
My first publication of the year 🥰
My climate fiction novelette, O2 Arena is out as a reprint in issue 129 of @apexmag & free to read here.
It's eligible for the Hugo, Nebula & other SFF awards. Do read & consider it! Had started to forget I'm a writer too, with all the editing & publishing, Amazon shenanigans. Thanks @apexmag for reminding me 🤗
Oh and it was originally published November 2021 in issue 53 of @GalaxysEdgeMag
Jan 10, 2022 23 tweets 8 min read
Published the 1st ever Year's Best African Speculative Fiction anthology Oct last year. @amazon @AmazonKDP said I couldn't get royalties for it till Jan this year. Then on Dec 31st they rushed to shut my account down, j TVust before we crossed over into the near year While fireworks were going out they were busy getting in one last evil for the year, to steal my royalties, over $2000 last I checked. Preorders & sales for 3 months. Proceeds for all the work, hype, all gone. For these stupid, inexplicable, senseless reasons...