Scholar and author Marcus Haynes believes in the transformative power of literature. While earning degrees in English from Alcorn State University and University of Louisiana at Lafayette he discovered speculative fiction, a field dedicated to challenging world views. He soon recognized the lack of diversity and inclusion in speculative works and discovered Black Speculative Fiction as a way to correct that. This field has provided Haynes with a focus as he finishes his doctoral research at Clark Atlanta University and a basis for his Elemental novel series. Creatively and academically, Haynes has set out to produce works that show that speculative fiction can include more than heterosexual, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, men and boys. He hopes to offer a more nuanced glance into speculative worlds, maybe even encouraging young POC to love reading and writing as he does. Through his writing, his teaching, and his online presence, he hopes that he can revolutionize how the world, our youth in particular, view Blackness.
