Join us for Chicanofuturism Now!, a reading from a groundbreaking raza futurology anthology that explores visions of a decolonized future. Featuring Scott Russell Duncan, W. O. Torres, Juan G. Berumen, M. M. Olivas, and Ricardo Tavarez, this event showcases bold narratives and speculative fiction, where Chicano and Indigenous identities intersect with futuristic themes, challenging colonial structures and imagining liberated possibilities for our communities.
Scott Russell Duncan, a Xicano writer, was editor on the first Chicano sci-fi anthology, El Porvenir, ¡Ya!, which was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He is director of Palabras del Pueblo, a writing workshop for la raza. His nonfiction piece “Mexican American Psycho is in Your Dreams” won first place in the 2019 Solstice Literary Magazine Annual Literary Contest. He is at work on a collection of short stories called Plurality. His novel, Old California Strikes Back, a magic memoir and meta-novel tour of California with the head of Joaquin Murrieta is published through FlowerSong Press. www.scottrussellduncan.com.
M. M. Olivas is an alumna of the 2022 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop and the 2023 Under the Volcano Writers Residency. She received her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of California Riverside and once worked as an Associate Editor for Escape Pod Magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in several publications, including Uncanny Magazine, Weird Horror Magazine, Apex, and Bourbon Penn. Her short story “If There May Be Ghosts” was on Reactor Magazine’s Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction list for July 2022, and her short story “The Prince of Oakland” was featured in Tenebrous Press’ Brave New Weird Anthology for 2024. Olivas also made the longlist for the 2021 Samuel R. Delany Fellowship and was a recipient of the 2022 George R. R. Martin Sense of Wonder Scholarship. As a trans, first-generation Chicana horror writer, Olivas explores the intersection of queer and diasporic experiences in her fiction. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, earning her MFA in Creative Writing at San Jose State University and collecting transforming robots. Olivas’ debut novel, Sundown in San Ojuela, a gothic spaghetti western that follows Aztec Vampires in California’s Inland Empire is available for preorder online and through indie bookstores, and will release in paperback, kindle, and as an audiobook November 19th.
W.O. Torres resides in Northern California along with his beautiful wife, brilliant daughters, and their wonder dog, where he often writes once everyone is finally asleep.
As a child of the ’70s, his original works are inspired by his love of the golden age of Marvel Comics, Saturday afternoon Kung-Fu Theatre, Star Wars, Star Trek, James Bond, The Twilight Zone, and all things strange and unexplained. These obsessions helped him avoid gangs, violence, drugs, and dropping out of high school, which were sadly all too familiar occurrences in his neighborhood on his way to being the first person in his family to graduate college. When not writing, Mr. Torres can be found coaching youth sports, attending dance recitals, going on family hikes and on occasion, sharing some cervezas and tacos with his wife.
Ricardo Tavarez is a Bay Area educator who teaches at Contra Costa College. He directs the Pan Dulce Poets reading series in The Mission District at La Reyna Bakery and is a member of La Brigada, an arts collective that organizes the SF International Flor y Canto Literary Festival. Ricardo’s writing is a reflection on cultural dynamics, music and memory.
Juan G. Berumen, PhD. Raised in the Bay Area, Juan is a teatrista and filmmaker who positions storytelling for self-expression while empowering our communities and transforming society. Currently, Juan is an Ethnic Studies Lecturer at UC Berkeley and is in production for his second short film Recetas.