Charles R. Saunders

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For other persons named Charles Saunders, see Charles Saunders (disambiguation).

Charles R. Saunders also credited as Charles Saunders (born 1946[1]) is an African American author and journalist currently living in Canada. During his long career, he has written everything from novels both fiction and non-fiction, to screenplays and radio plays.

According to Saunders he read his first work of Science Fiction in 1958, a misremembered novel by Andre Norton; this he states was what that got him into the genre.[2] The mutated Siamese he recalls in an interview with Amy Harlib, might have been one of Holsteen Storm's Mercats, from The Beast Master 1959.[3] In 1974 he wrote a series of short stories for Gene Day's fanzine Dark Fantasy.

The issue of Dark Fantasy with the first Imaro story found its way to Lin Carter, who included it in his first Year's Best Fantasy Stories collection, published by Daw Books in 1975. That of course, brought Saunder's work to the attention of DAW publisher Donald A. Wollheim, who eventually suggested that Saunders turn his Imaro stories into a novel. Six of the novellas originally published by Gene Day in Dark Fantasy, (Mawanzo, Turkhana Knives, The Place of Stones, Slaves of the Giant Kings, Horror in the Black Hills, and The City of Madness) would later be used in his first novel Imaro which was published by Daw Books in 1981.[4]

But a lawsuit by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate over a poorly chosen cover quote The Epic Novel of a Black Tarzan, caused a one month delay in shipping as the books had to be reprinted which led to poor sales. Saunders wrote and had published two more books in the series, The Quest for Cush in 1984 and The Trail of Bohu in 1985.[5]

In 2006, a small publishing company named Night Shade Books made a deal with Saunders to publish an updated edition of Imaro. This new edition excludes the Slaves of the Giant-Kings novella which Saunders felt held too many parallels to the present day Rwandan Genocide.[6]

Charles Saunders lives in Nova Scotia, a province in the eastern part of Canada. He works the night shift there at a local newspaper as a copy editor, and writes his thoughts out in longhand during the day. Nova Scotia's black community is largely descended from African Americans who went over to the British side during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, they were given freedom and land in Nova Scotia after those wars ended, one such community was Africville. He has written four non-fiction books about the Nova Scotia black community, including a collection of his columns.[7]

Contents

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Fiction Novels

[edit] Non-Fiction Novels

  • Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace (1990)
  • Spirit of Africville (1992)
  • Share & Care: The Story of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children (1994)
  • Black & Bluenose: The Contemporary History of a Community (2002)

[edit] Essays

  • Die Black Dog! A Look at Racism in Fantasy - Toadstool Wine (1975)
  • Of Chocolate-Covered Conans and Pompous Pygmies - New Fantasy Journal #1 (1976)
  • Out to Launch: 1950s Nostalgia - Dark Fantasy #10 (1976)
  • Imaginary Beasts of Africa - Simba #1 (1976)
  • More Imaginary Beasts of Africa - Simba #2 (1976)
  • Why Blacks Don't Read Science Fiction - Windhaven #5 (1977)
  • The Gods of Africa - Wax Dragon #1 (1977)
  • Three African Superheroes - New Fantasy Journal #2 (1977)
  • Where Did Those Names Come From - Drums of Nyumbani #1 (1980)
  • To Kush and Beyond: The Black Kingdoms of the Hyborian Age - Savage Sword of Conan #56 (1980)
  • Fantasy: An International Genre - World Fantasy Convention (1984)
  • Out of Africa - Dragon #122 (1987)
  • Why Blacks Should Read Science Fiction - Dark Matter #1 (2000)

[edit] Uncollected Short stories

  • Bwala li Mwesu (The Moon Pool) (1976)
  • The Nunda (1976)
  • Death Castle of Djenne (1976)
  • Ishigbi (1976)
  • The Blacksmith and the Bambuti (about Pomphis) (1977)
  • Khodumodumo (1977)
  • The Singing Drum (1977)
  • Two Rogues (1977)
  • Betrayal in Belverus (Ghor, Kin Slayer chapter VI) (1977)
  • Cats in the Cellar (1977)
  • Luendi (1977)
  • Mai-Kulala (1977)
  • The Skeleton Coast (1978)
  • Amma (1978)
  • Mbodze (1978)
  • Okosene Alakun and the Magic Guinea-Fowl (1978)
  • Through the Dark Past (co-written with Gene Day) (1978)
  • The City of Mists (co-written with Kenneth Huff) (1978)
  • Agbewe's Sword (1978)
  • Kibanda ya Kufa (The Hut of Death) (1978)
  • Death in Jukun (1979)
  • The Return of Sundiata (1982)
  • The Silent Ghosts (1982)
  • Mzee (1984)
  • Shimenege's Mask (1985)
  • Marwe's Forest (1986)
  • Death's Friend (1987)
  • Drum Magic (1988)
  • Ishu’s Gift (1986)
  • Out-Steppin’ Fetchit (1987)
  • The Last Round (1988)
  • Scorpion Sand (unknown)
  • Katisa (about Imaro's Mother) (unknown)
  • In the Red Dawn (co-written with Gene Day) (unknown)
  • Imaro and the White Queen (unpublished?)

[edit] Dark Matter Anthology

see also: Sheree Thomas

  • Gimmile's Songs - Dark Matter #1 (2000)
  • Yahimba's Choice - Dark Matter #2 (2004)

[edit] As Editor

  • Balik and the Sirens of Alcathoe (1977)

[edit] Screenplays & Radioplays

  • Amazons - screenplay (1986)
  • The Sam Langford Story - radioplay (1987)
  • Stormquest - screenplay (1988)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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