Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students is a compilation of original short stories, poetry, non-fiction essays, and artwork commissioned from some of the best creatives in the speculative genre. With more than 100 tiered and differentiated extension activities appropriate for both middle and high school students, an extensive glossary, comprehension questions, vocabulary, and prompts for discussion covering subjects across the curriculum, Conjuring Worlds is a one-stop interdisciplinary teaching tool.

In the Letter from the Editor for the Conjuring Worlds textbook, I briefly discuss all of the ideas I put in motion and all the people who made those ideas come to life in a finished product. 

In Future Foodie, I explore food possibilities of the future. I wrote this essay and designed the accompanying discussion questions, extension activities, and word builder. 

In this activity, students are asked to write a poem inspired by the pictures shown. 

A poem honoring early 20th century magician, Black Herman. As editor, I also created the accompanying discussion questions and world builder (vocabulary). 

With pride and a coveted prize on the line, Omen tries to redeem himself in a local strongman competition.

A mock advertisement for Dr. Marvellus Djinn's amusement park of magic and mythological creatures.  

In this excerpt from Dr. Marvellus Djinn's Odd Scholars, Elliot learns more about the magical world of time travel in a cotton candy booth. 

A mock interview with Dr. Marvellus Djinn reveals more about her mysterious park of magic and mythological creatures. 

In this excerpt from Dr. Marvellus Djinn's Odd Scholars, quirky magician and amusement park owner, Dr. Djinn, is introduced in an interview in a local newspaper. I arranged a cosplay photoshoot where I depicted her character for the novel. 

In this guide to the novel, educators are provided with discussion questions, before, during, and after extension activities, and links to resources for teaching the text. I created this guide using my knowledge as a former teacher and my graduate work in curriculum design. The novel is considered lower YA and appropriate for young people ages 14 and up. 

In this 2025 essay for Grassroots Thinking, I discuss the inspiration for my picture book, A City Dream, and the Harlem Park playground revitalization project I spearheaded with the youth of Jamii Homeschooling Collective in Baltimore City. The playground revitalization project represents the themes of A City Dream in action. 

Djinn and Tonics was intended to be a dinner theater piece. While Dr. Marvellus Djinn's Odd Scholars is a young adult novel with an ensemble of four teen protagonists, Djinn and Tonics caters to an adult audience and centers Dr. Marvellus Djinn in events that take place before she meets the Odd Scholars. 

Black Kaleidoscope Book Cover

In this excerpt from Black Kaleidoscope, I've written a senryu for Nicodemus, Kansas, a legendary all-Black pioneering town West of the Mississippi River. 

This tanka honors the anthropological and literary gifts of Zora Neale Hurston.

A tanka for the poets of the Black Arts Movement.

A tanka in memoriam of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

A senryu regarding the 40 year government sanctioned study of untreated syphilis in Black Southern sharecroppers. 

A tanka in honor of Black Panther Party for Self-Defense co-founder, Huey P. Newton. 

Octavia E. Butler is considered by many to be the godmother of modern science fiction. In this senryu from Black Kaleidoscope, I consider the ways her words encouraged me to think critically about the human condition and catalysts for change. 

A black dragon in the middle of a sapphire sky. 

In 2015, world renowned anthropologist Dr. N’Kiyah Battle and a five- person crew set out to observe the Impundulu, a mythological bird said to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons. Written below are her final accounts of the expedition. This poem was first published in FIYAH Issue #9, 

When I stumbled upon a map of mythical creatures originating in the southwestern United States, I thought about how I could create a menu out of some of the creatures' attributes.  This poem was originally published in the Fall 2021 issue of Starline.

On May 20, 2020, journalist Harley Lyons conducted an exclusive interview with a West African Mermaid (Jengu) at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. The transcript can be read below. This poem was published in May 2021 by Mermaid's Monthly. 

In this nonet, I attempt to describe the horror of Kongamato, a mythical river-dwelling dragon from central Africa. This poem was originally published in the Winter 2021 issue of Fantasy Magazine. 

Lotus and her father prepare for her Conjure Poetry lessons over brunch at Terra Cafe. 

Lotus and her father travel to Everyone's Place, a portal to her grandmother's home. 

Lotus receives her first lesson in how to turn her poems into spells. 

Lotus puts her lesson in action and attempts to conjure love from her poem. 

Lotus is quizzed on her very first spell.