Stephani Maari Booker

Stephani Maari Booker, writer, editor and owner of Athena Persephoni Publications, writes prose and poetry for the page and for performance in which she wrestles with her multiple marginalized identities: African American, lesbian, lower-class, nerdy and sexy. She holds an MFA from Hamline University of St. Paul, MN and is a past editor and current contributing editor/writer for the African American newspaper Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

Journals that have published her creative work include Minnesota Women's Press (womenspress.com), Red Planet (www.redplanetmagazine.com), Astral Waters Review (www.astralwatersreview.com), Wanderlust (www.wanderlust-journal.com), Rigorous (www.rigorous-mag.com), Aphelion Webzine (www.aphelion-webzine.com), Lavender Review (www.lavrev.net), Serendipity (http://serendipitylitmag.org), Off the Coast (www.offthecoastmag.com), Adrienne: A Poetry Journal of Queer Women (http://siblingrivalrypress.com/adrienne), The Voices Project (www.thevoicesproject.org), Cactus Heart (www.cactusheartpress.com), Skin to Skin (http://s2skin.com), phati'tude Literary Magazine (phatitude.org) and Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette (http://pittsburghflashfictiongazette.net).

Anthologies and collections that feature her work include Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year: Vol. 6 (Sinclair Sexsmith, editor; Cleis Press, 2022), Queer Voices: Poetry, Prose, and Pride (Andrea Jenkins, John Medeiros and Lisa Marie Brimmer, editors; Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2019), Owning It: Embracing Our Bodies, Sexuality, and Power edited by Rhiannon Rhys-Jones, Sienna Saint-Cyr & S.B. Roark (SinCyrPublishing.com, 2018); The Future of Us: An Anthology edited by Charlotte Bailey & Florence Okoye (https://issuu.com/afrofutures_uk, 2016); Jalada 02: Afrofuture(s) (http://jaladaafrica.org, 2015), Queenies, Fades, Blunts: A Zine (The Lonely Londoners, 2014, www.facebook.com/thelonelylondoners); Coming Together: Girl on Girl (EroticAnthology.org, 2013); 60 Seconds to Shine: 221 One-minute Monologues for Women (Monologue Audition Series, Volume 2) edited by John Capecci and Irene Ziegler Aston (Smith & Kraus Inc., 2006); and Longing, Lust, and Love: Black Lesbian Stories edited by Shonia L. Brown (Nghosi Books, 2006).

She has also performed most recently for “Controlled Burn - Queer Performance for a World on Fire!” presented by 20% Theatre Company at Phoenix Theater, “Revolutionary Jetpacks: Reclaiming the Future(s)” presented by Patrick’s Cabaret at Strike Theater, WordBrew MN: 4th Annual MNSpec Local Author Showcase, “Women Who Write” presented by Quatrefoil Library and the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota, ”The Love Project” presented by Obsidian Arts at Pillsbury House Theatre, and the Dirty Queer Show 4 and 5 in Minneapolis, MN.

Website: http://www.athenapersephoni.com

Amoja Three Rivers

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afrofuturism    anticlassism    antiracism    asian american    black author    female leads    jewish author    lesbian author    lgbtqia    multicultural    native american    native american author    oppression    poc characters    race relations    science fiction    speculative fiction