6:30 - 7:30
Join us for Sapphic Romantasy, an enchanting evening celebrating queer love, magical legacies, and epic destinies in speculative fiction.
This event features Be Steadwell, author of Chocolate Chip City, appearing in person, and C. L. Clark, author of Fate’s Bane, joining virtually for a conversation exploring how sapphic relationships, community, and power shape the worlds of fantasy and magical realism. From contemporary magic in Washington, D.C. to mythic rivalries in mist-covered fens, these two novels center queer love stories that challenge tradition, reshape destiny, and imagine futures filled with possibility. Expect a lively discussion on sapphic romance in fantasy, the power of chosen family, class and political struggles, and how magic becomes a metaphor for transformation and resistance. Whether you're a longtime fantasy fan, a romantasy enthusiast, or simply looking for stories where queer love and adventure take center stage, this conversation promises heart, humor, and imagination.
Be Steadwell (They/Them, Be). Be is a queer pop composer and author from Washington DC. Be's goal as an artist is to write love stories centering Black girlies, introverts and weirdos. Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University. Be's short films Vow of Silence and Black Tea (2025) screened in film festivals around the world, including Black Star, HBO OutFest, The Schomburg Center, Inside Out Toronto and The Bush Films.
C.L. Clark, dubbed the "Patron Saint of Sword Lesbians" by Reactor Magazine, is a BFA award-winning editor and the Nebula-nominated author of a few essays, several short stories, and a handful of books, including the Magic of the Lost trilogy (The Unbroken), the novella Fate's Bane, and the Arcane novel Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf. When they’re not imagining the fall of empires, they’re trying not to throw their kettlebells through the walls.
About Sistah Scifi
Started in 2019 by Isis Asare, Sistah Scifi is the first Back-owned book store focused on science fiction and fantasy in the US, as validated by the American Booksellers Association. Located primarily in cyberspace, Sistah Scifi launched three Sistah Scifi Book Vending Machines at Chapter510, located at 546 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607, and Northwest African American Museum and Distant Worlds Coffee in Seattle, WA, in 2022. Read more here.
Connect:
LGBTQIA+ Interest
Gather, share knowledge and celebrate our unique identities at the queerest library ever.
For more resources, the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center is the gateway to the Library’s broader collections documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual history and culture, with a special emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area.
More Than a Month: Black Interest
Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Black community.
More Than a Month recognizes important events in Black history, honors community and national leaders and fosters steps towards collective change. Programming features authors, poets and craft classes.
BIPOC Interest
Attend programming, lectures and workshops intended for the BIPOC community.