Steven Barnes crew: Writer for RGB * Autograph * Filmography * Official Website #1 * Official Website #2 * His Wife's Official Website

Author Steven Barnes saw the hit movie Independence Day in a "redneck town." The film co-starred Will Smith, an African-American actor who has since become one of Hollywood's top leading men.

After the show, Barnes overheard two white men talking about how much they loved the movie - and how much they loved Smith. "I said, 'this is not the world my daddy grew up in," said Barnes, who's black.

That 1996 movie constituted a "big breakthrough" for the way it featured a black hero in a science-fiction setting, said Barnes, a successful sci-fi writer. "We are on the cusp of something different."

Barnes' remarks yesterday came as a breakthrough of a more modest sort occurred in Rochester - the first science-fiction convention anywhere, apparently, that embraced racial diversity as its theme.

The Rochester Fantasy Fans, a 22-year-old club whose membership includes devotees of the sci-fi genre, settled on the theme in part because February was Black History Month and because, well, it seemed like a good idea.

"Contrary to the image of science fiction fans being white males in their teens and twenties, we're more diverse than that, and we wanted to emphasize that," said Dale Gulledge, an organizer of Astronomicon, as the convention is known.

Yesterday they debated whether science fiction had reached an "ebony era" - a time of success for African Americans in a genre that historically has been dominated by white authors, heroes and fans.

Most of the speakers agreed the situation is changing, but slowly.

"While it may not be the 'ebony era' of science fiction, certainly things are headed in the right direction," said Tananarive Due, an African-American author of supernatural suspense novels.

The convention concludes today at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel. Admission is $15.

For more information, try: www.rochesterfantasyfans.org

Outside Links

• Steven Barnes: White & Black (March 2003 Interview Excerpts)
• BookSense.com Interview
• 2002 StoryCon Speakers
• A photo of Steven appears on this page (alt url)
• A Very Short Biography
• A photo of Steven at Denvention Two - 1981 WorldCon
• A photo of Steven at Noreascon 3 - 1989 WorldCon
• A photo of Steven at ConJosé: The 60th World Science Fiction Convention (August 29 - September 2, 2002) (archive)
• Two photos of Steven at OryCon 19, Portland's premiere science fiction convention (November 7-9, 1997)
• Bibliography
• An excerpt from his book "Lion's Blood"
• SciFi.com Online Chat Transcript - February 12, 2002
• Interview
• Interview - July 29, 2002
• Fan Site
• Dragon*Con Biography
• Biography
• Interview - February 18, 2003
• Astronomicon '01 (be sure to read the press clipping at the bottom of the page as it features some quotes from Steven)