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✦ LIVE: GAMES x GAB [18+] Taking in the Night City sights to celebrate! ✦ AFFILIAVERSARY! https://twitch.tv/niqfury

LETS GOOOOOOOO 🥳🥳

I'm so fucking proud! Follow my talented friend and congratulate her on this incredible accomplishment. I promise y'all are going to be in awe of the world and characters she's created 😭 I can't wait for everyone to meet Blessing 💜

🗣️ A WRITER!

Say it one more time!

We’re thrilled to share the news that Fuse client Bayana A. Davis’s TROUBLE THE WATERS has sold in a seven-way auction to Lois Evans at Knopf Books for Young Readers! Congratulations, Bayana!

Lois Evans at Knopf has acquired, in a seven-way auction, Trouble the Waters by Bayana A. Davis, a YA historical fantasy debut in which a Black teenager from the antebellum South, bound by her masters' blood-magic, escapes with her sister to a mystical maroon settlement deep in the Dismal Swamp, only to discover that her very presence threatens the newfound freedom and community she holds dear. Publication is slated for spring 2028; Ernie Chiara at Fuse Literary did the six-figure, two-book deal for North American rights. Art by Nicole Deal

TROUBLE THE WATERS By Bayana A. Davis Imprint: Knopf Children's Bayana A. Davis's TROUBLE THE WATERS, in which a Black teenager from the Antebellum South, bound by her masters' blood-magic, escapes with her sister to a mystical maroon settlement deep in the Dismal Swamp only to discover that her very presence threatens the newfound freedom and community she holds dear, to Lois Evans at Knopf Children's, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2028, by Ernie Chiara at Fuse Literary (NA). Rights: ernie@fuseliterary.com Film/TV: ddeuble@independentartistgroup.com

Born with the ability to sense and control water, Blessing has always been drawn to the Dismal Swamp. But she has never considered running into its wild depths, especially not after her master sold her to the Mason siblings—a doctor with deep interest in the secrets of the swamp and his sister, whose blood magic keeps Blessing tightly bound to her. When her mother meets the fatal consequences of leading a failed rebellion against the enslavers of Sweet Tide Plantation and the surrounding county, she's the only one left to protect her younger sister from the doctor's experiments and her mistress's binding magic. Determined to keep her sister from a beastly fate, she decides it's time to leave Sweet Tide behind. Fleeing into the Dismal Swamp, Blessing and her sister find Solace, a maroon settlement cloaked in magic and secrecy. Determined to be welcomed into the village, Blessing hopes to keep the true nature of her magic secret-but when a strange rot forcing its way through Solace's barriers connects back to her own traumatic past, it's up to her to confront the monsters who bound her in order to keep her sister and new community safe.

A picture of Blessing, a Black girl in a blue dress walking through the swamp. Words float around her with descriptions of TROUBLE THE WATERS: YA historical fantasy Set in 1808 Magical maroon community Dismal Swamp Ancestral magic Black resistance Art by Nicole Deal

When I first read about the maroons of the Dismal Swamp a couple years ago, the idea for TROUBLE THE WATERS practically unfurled before me & I'm so so so excited and honored to be able to share Blessing's story with readers.

I'm so excited !!! Can't wait for everyone else to experience her brilliance ✨💜

I’ll be transitioning this account with a new name and some new branding soon but it will always always be a place to celebrate Black art and Black creatives and Bayana and the rest of the BNC team will always have been a part of that vision building.

Can’t wait to connect more soon! 💜

Bayana A. Davis

Make sure to give her some love, follow the page so you’re ready when pre-orders come, and check out all the amazing creative work she’s done over the years at www.yanawroteit.com

Hey, it’s DJ!

I know it’s been a minute but I had to come out of hiatus for this one:

BNC Co-Founder, Brilliant Writer, and Community Builder @yanawroteit.bsky.social got her first book deal, y’all! 🎉

This sparks joy 🥹💙
#TARBIS

Bat Convertible Bag hanging on tree (front view)

Fairy Convertible Bag hanging on tree (front view)

I took pics of my bags outside!! They're available for guaranteed preorder for another week!

They're convertible bags that can be worn as a backpack, crossbody bag & waist bag. And can also be attached to mobility aids or plushies or water bottles.

Store details & pics below!

This looks dope!

Exclusive Interview with Roye Okupe Creator of IYANU YouTube video by ForAllNerds TV

Have you watched Iyanu yet?? 👀

@tatianaking.com interviews Roye Okupe about Iyanu, an animated fantasy and superhero series inspired by Yoruba history, culture, and mythology 🇳🇬

@lionforgeent.bsky.social

🎧: www.spreaker.com/episode/excl...
📺: youtu.be/yxEEiDkjgZ8?...

The Black femme has the box...

See y'all soon 💙

That said, I’ve really enjoyed cultivating our nerdy little community here and on Twitch and am excited to continue to do so post transition 💜

bsky.app/profile/blac...

Bayana and Robyn had a few books and a dream and created something beautiful. I’m so grateful to have been a part these last six years.

I’m also proud of us for being honest with ourselves and one another about our capacity in this moment.

It’s time to REST and create in new ways. 💛

We appreciate y’all! Love, Bayana, Robyn, Porshèa, DJ, and Niq

Thank you so much for 10 amazing years 💜

Our website & YouTube will stay up as an archive, including Fandom Forward’s fan activist toolkits for y’all to access as a resource. www.blacknerdscreate.com

All of the content you love including previous Black Magic History Month and Kuumba Kickback content will remain up as archives.

The Instagram Account will be repurposed by Porshèa to cover books & other media.

Fans of The Plot Thickens and Porshèa’s other bookish content will be able to connect with her on the Instagram account in time.

DJ will be taking over and rebranding BNC’s Twitch and BlueSky! If you’re following us there, make sure to stick around (and follow if you aren’t) Follow DJ for updates @talespinningDJ

@talespinningdj.bsky.social will rebrand this BlueSky space and our Twitch, keeping both communities creative, nerdy, and fun

The TARBIS will now be steered by Niq and Black Tardis! Listen, support, and follow: @niq.fury @black.tardis

Doctor Who fans follow @niqfury.com and @blackinspaceandti.me for continued Blackness in space!

A new season of Wizard Team is coming soon! Listen on your favorite app Follow @wizardteampod on IG & Tumblr Support on Patreon (repurposed from BNC)

Wizard Team continues on with a new season starting soon! Fans of Black fantasy and SciFi need to make sure to tune in with @yanawroteit.bsky.social @robynrambles.bsky.social and Porshèa!

Just because BNC is ending doesn’t mean our team will stop creating. Many of us will be resting & taking stock, but a few of us have projects and ideas in the works outside of the BNC umbrella...

You know we can’t stop creating and celebrating Black art. You’ll be able to connect with us in new ways!

However, due to changing priorities, responsibilities, and a bit of burnout, we’ve decided that it’s time for the BNC journey to end. This is a huge decision that we don’t take lightly—we’ve all built lasting friendships, created things that we’re really proud of, and we’ve done that in part because of you. We’ve appreciated all the support, engagement, partnerships, opportunities, and community over the last decade.

And after careful consideration we’ve decided it’s time for us to start some new creative chapters.

Black Nerds Create started out as two cousins who just wanted to nerd out together and blossomed into a community of nerdy, creative folks who have connected over multiple fandoms, projects, and more. So much has happened in the last ten years, and we’re so grateful for all we’ve been able to do and the connections and community we’ve been able to build.

We’re so proud of everyTHING BNC has created and accomplished in the last ten years.

A decorative announcement that reads: Some News from Black Nerds Create

A Birthday Announcement from the team!

1) Yes 😭
2) Love the extended idea that writing groups are spaces where we share and help nurture pieces of the soul

Screenshot of a Pokémon picture book showing a Machop using a voltorb as a bowling ball

machop is bowling