Eugen Bacon
Eugen Bacon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eugen Matoyo Tanzania |
| Alma mater | Strathmore University |
| Occupations | Author; computer scientist |
| Awards |
|
Eugen Bacon (née Matoyo[1]) is an African-Australian computer scientist and author of speculative fiction.
For her writing career, Bacon has won the British Fantasy Award, British Science Fiction Award, Ignyte Award, Locus Award, and SFWA Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. She has been a finalist for other literary awards including the Aurealis Award, Ditmar Award, Nommo Award, Otherwise Award, Philip K. Dick Award, Shirley Jackson Award, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, and World Fantasy Award.
Early life and education
[edit]Eugen Bacon was born Eugen Matoyo. She was born near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. As a toddler, she moved with her family to Nairobi, Kenya. Her family later returned to Tanzania, while Bacon remained in boarding school there. She later lived in the UK before moving to Melbourne, Australia.[1]
She studied Information Technology at Strathmore University in Kenya[1]. She holds a Master of Science in distributed computer systems from the University of Greenwich. She worked in various IT roles. She later completed a Master of Arts in writing and a PhD in writing. In 2021, she stated that she worked as a corporate communications manager in addition to writing and editing.[2]
She speaks English and Swahili.[3]
Writing career
[edit]She has published short fiction and novels in various genres within the literary speculative fiction field, including black speculative fiction and afrofuturism. She also writes nonfiction including essays, scholarly articles, book chapters and books.[4][5]
In 2021, Bacon was a writer-in-residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writer's Centre.[6] She was the recipient of a 2024 Otherwise Fellowship.[7] She served as the chair of the jury for the 2025 Otherwise Awards.[8]
Bibliography
[edit] |
Novels and novellas
[edit]- — (23 July 2019). Claiming T-Mo. Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781946154132.
- — (8 December 2020). Ivory's Story. NewCon Press. ISBN 9781912950768.
- — (15 March 2022). Mage of Fools. Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781946154842.
- — (7 February 2023). Broken Paradise. Luna Press Publishing. ISBN 9781913387327.
- — (1 August 2023). Serengotti. Transit Lounge Publishing. ISBN 9780645565362.
- Bacon, Eugen; Hook, Andrew (27 October 2023). Secondhand Daylight. Cosmic Egg Books. ISBN 9781803413556.
- — (2 September 2025). The Nga'phandileh Whisperer. Stars and Sabers Publishing. ISBN 9798991441940.
- — (16 September 2025). Novic. Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781965740019.
Short fiction
[edit]- Collections
- Bacon, Eugen; Davies, Milton (6 October 2020). Hadithi & The State of Black Speculative Fiction. Luna Press Publishing. ISBN 9781913387334.
- — (1 December 2020). Black Moon: Graphic Speculative Flash Fiction. Illustrated by Elena Betti. IFWG Publishing International. ISBN 9781925956658.
- — (1 December 2020). The Road to Woop Woop & Other Stories. Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781946154316.
- — (14 December 2021). Saving Shadows. Illustrated by Elena Betti. NewCon Press. ISBN 9781914953057.
- — (8 September 2022). Chasing Whispers. Raw Dog Screaming Press. ISBN 9781947879447.
- — (20 June 2023). Danged Black Thing. Apex Book Company. ISBN 9781955765114.
- — (19 September 2024). A Place Between Waking and Forgetting. Raw Dog Screaming Press. ISBN 9781947879782.
- Stories
- — (28 February 2021). "Unlimited Data". In Davis, Milton (ed.). Cyberfunk!. Mvmedia. ISBN 9781734627985.
- — (1 October 2020). "A Visit in Whitechapel". In Whates, Ian (ed.). London Centric: Tales of Future London. NewCon Press. ISBN 9781912950720.
- — (May–June 2021). "When the Water Stops". The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
- — (10 August 2021). "The Failing Name". Fantasy Magazine. Vol. 70.
- — (21 September 2021). "Baba Klep". In Oghenechovwe, Donald Ekpeki (ed.). The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2021). Jembefola Press. ISBN 9781647100742.
- — (28 March 2022). "Naked Earth". In Chrulew, Matthew (ed.). Phase Change: Imagining Energy Futures. Twelfth Planet Press. ISBN 9781922101730.
- — (19 July 2022). "The Devil Don't Come With Horns". In Liaguno, Vince A.; Mason, Rena (eds.). Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology. William Morrow Paperbacks. ISBN 9780358658894.
- — (22 April 2023). "Human Beans". In Nováková, Julie; Law, Lucas K.; Forest, Susan (eds.). Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays. Laksa Media Groups Inc. ISBN 9781988140476.
- — (21 November 2023). "Sina, the Child with No Echo". In Talabi, Wole (ed.). Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology. Android Press. ISBN 9781958121603.
Anthologies (edited)
[edit]- Eugen Bacon; Gene Rowe, eds. (7 June 2022). Fission #2 Volume 1: Stories from the British Science Fiction Association. HWS Press. ISBN 9781910987162.
- Gene Rowe; Eugen Bacon, eds. (19 December 2022). Fission #2 Volume 2: Stories from the British Science Fiction Association. HWS Press. ISBN 9781910987186.
- Eugen Bacon; Gene Rowe, eds. (24 September 2023). Fission #3: Stories from the British Science Fiction Association. HWS Press. ISBN 9781910987193.
- Eugen Bacon; Gene Rowe, eds. (15 July 2024). Fission #4: An Anthology of Stories from the British Science Fiction Association. British Science Fiction Association. ISBN 9781068721601.
- Gene Rowe; Eugen Bacon, eds. (4 June 2025). Fission #5: An Anthology of Stories from the British Science Fiction Association. British Science Fiction Association. ISBN 9781068721625.
- Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki; Eugen Bacon; Milton Davis, eds. (12 December 2023). The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2022). CAEZIK SF & Fantasy. ISBN 9781647100766.
- —, ed. (23 February 2023). Languages of Water. MVMedia. ISBN 9798985733662.
Poetry
[edit]- — (2020). It's Folking Political. Ginninderra Press.
- — (2020). Her Bitch Dress. Ginninderra Press.
- Bacon, Eugen; Hecq, Dominique (19 January 2021). Speculate: A Collection of Microlit. Meerkat Press. ISBN 9781946154743.
- — (14 December 2023). Texture of Silence: An Illustrated Collection of Prose Poetry. Illustrated by Steve Simpson. Independent Legions Publishing. ISBN 9791280713780.
Non-fiction
[edit]- Books
- — (3 May 2019). Writing Speculative Fiction: Creative and Critical Approaches. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781352006056.
- — (15 August 2022). An Earnest Blackness. Anti-Oedipus Press. ISBN 9780999153581.
- —, ed. (14 November 2024). Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9798765114667.
- Articles and essays
- — (19 April 2011). "Chewing Over the Trials of Unemployment". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- — (31 December 2012). "Writerly Passage: Crafting Stories Within a Story". Bukker Tillibul. 7 (2). Swinburne University of Technology. doi:10.25916/sut.26284789. ISSN 1835-0836.
- — (31 December 2013). "Journaling: A Path to Exegesis in Creative Research". Text: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses. 18 (2). Australian Association of Writing Programs. doi:10.25916/sut.26294428. ISSN 1327-9556.
- — (17 December 2015). "Creative Practice - Finding the Right Mentor". New Writing. 13 (2). doi:10.1080/14790726.2015.1117495.
- — (17 December 2015). "Push – A Prototype of Displaced Fiction: Breaking the Circle of Silence (YA Literature)". New Writing. 13 (1). doi:10.1080/14790726.2015.1117496.
- — (24 January 2017). "Creative Research: Mixing Methods in Practice-led Research to Explore a Model of Stories-within-a-story to Build a Novel". New Writing. 14 (2). doi:10.1080/14790726.2016.1270969.
- — (23 February 2017). "The Scholarly Exegesis as a Memoir". New Writing. 14 (3). doi:10.1080/14790726.2017.1284245.
- — (October 2017). Stephen Higgins (ed.). "Crossing Genre: Exemplars of Literary Speculative Fiction". Aurealis. No. 105.
- — (June 2018). Michael Pryor (ed.). "What is AfroSF?". Aurealis. No. 111.
- — (May 2019). Stephen Higgins (ed.). "Writing and Reading Speculative Fiction". Aurealis. No. 120.
- — (April 2020). Michael Pryor (ed.). "The Rise of Black Speculative Fiction". Aurealis. No. 129.
- — (11 May 2020). "Becoming Visible: The Rise of Black Speculative Fiction". Vector. British Science Fiction Association.
- — (10 June 2020). "The Benefit of Our Humanity". The Blue Nib. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- — (24 May 2020). "I Went Looking for AfroSF". Vector. British Science Fiction Association.
- — (August 2020). Dirk Strasser (ed.). "Dark Fiction". Aurealis. No. 133.
- — (4 August 2020). "Afrofuturism: A WorldCon Recap, and Some Thoughts". Vector. British Science Fiction Association.
- — (27 August 2020). "The New Seduction of an Old Literary Crime Classic". LitHub.
- — (25 November 2020). "Inhabitation – Genni and I: Eugen Bacon on Black Speculative Fiction". Sydney Review of Books.
- — (3 January 2022). "Trends in Black Speculative Fiction". Fafnir. 8 (2). Finnish Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research.
- — (15 October 2024). "Mea Culpa". In Kadija George Sesay; Cheryl Robson (eds.). Encounters with James Baldwin: Celebrating 100 years. Supernova Books. ISBN 9781913641405.
Awards and honors
[edit]| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "Horror and the paranormal", published in Writing Speculative Fiction | Australian Shadows Awards | Non-Fiction and Criticism | Finalist | [9] |
| 2020 | Claiming T-Mo | Ditmar Award | Novel | Finalist | [10] |
| Nommo Award | Novel | Longlisted | [11] | ||
| "The Day Chivalry Died" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [11] | |
| "A Good Ball" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [11] | |
| Hadithi & the State of Black Speculative Fiction | Australian Shadows Awards | Edited Works | Finalist | [12] | |
| Ivory's Story | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Shortlisted | [13] | |
| "A Pining" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [11] | |
| Writing Speculative Fiction | Ditmar Award | Criticism or Review | Finalist | [10] | |
| 2021 | Claiming T-Mo | Nommo Award | Novel | Longlisted | [14] |
| Danged Black Thing | Aurealis Award | Collection | Shortlisted | [15] | |
| Australian Shadows Awards | Collected Works | Finalist | [16] | ||
| Otherwise Award | — | Honor List | [17] | ||
| "The Failing Name" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [18] | |
| Ivory's Story | Nommo Award | Novella | Longlisted | [14] | |
| "The One Who Sees" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [14] | |
| "The Road to Woop Woop" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [14] | |
| "Still She Visits" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [14] | |
| "A Visit in Whitechapel" | Nommo Award | Short Story | Longlisted | [14] | |
| 2022 | An Earnest Blackness | BSFA Award | Best Long Non-fiction | Longlisted | [19] |
| "The Failing Name" | World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | Nominated | [20] | |
| Mage of Fools | BSFA Award | Novel | Longlisted | [19] | |
| 2023 | Broken Paradise | BSFA Award | Shorter Fiction | Shortlisted | [21] |
| Shirley Jackson Award | Novella | Nominated | [22] | ||
| "The Devil Don’t Come with Horns" | World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | Nominated | [23] | |
| "Dominant Themes in Afro-Centric Fiction" | BSFA Award | Short Non-fiction | Shortlisted | [21] | |
| An Earnest Blackness | British Fantasy Award | Non-Fiction | Won | [24] | |
| Locus Award | Non-fiction | Finalist | [25] | ||
| Languages of Water | BSFA Award | Collection | Longlisted | [26] | |
| "Paperweight" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [26] | |
| "Sina, The Child With No Echo" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [26] | |
| Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction 2022 | BSFA Award | Collection | Longlisted | [26] | |
| 2024 | Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction | BSFA Award | Long Non-fiction | Longlisted | [27] |
| "An Afrofuturistic Dystopia and the Afro-irreal" | BSFA Award | Short Non-fiction | Shortlisted | [28] | |
| Broken Paradise | Nommo Award | Novella | Shortlisted | [29] | |
| Danged Black Thing | Philip K. Dick Award | — | Nominated | [30] | |
| "Kizimbani" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [27] | |
| "The Mystery of A Place Between Waking and Forgetting" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [27] | |
| A Place Between Waking and Forgetting | BSFA Award | Collection | Longlisted | [27] | |
| Shirley Jackson Award | Single-Author Collection | Nominated | [31] | ||
| Serengotti | Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Fiction | Shortlisted | [32] | |
| "The Writer as an Agent of Change" | BSFA Award | Short Non-fiction | Longlisted | [27] | |
| 2025 | N/a | Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award | — | Won | [33] |
| Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction | Ignyte Award | Creative Nonfiction | Won | [34] | |
| Locus Award | Locus Award for Best Non-fiction | Won | [35] | ||
| "AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [36] | |
| Fission #5 | Aurealis Award | Anthology | Shortlisted | [37] | |
| "Kinje'kitile and the Jintu" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [36] | |
| "Ne'za's Yearning" | Aurealis Award | Young Adult Short Story | Shortlisted | [37] | |
| The Nga'phandileh Whisperer | Aurealis Award | Horror Novella | Shortlisted | [37] | |
| Novic | BSFA Award | Shorter Fiction | Longlisted | [36] | |
| "The Shadow Eater of Órino-Rin'" | BSFA Award | Short Fiction | Longlisted | [36] | |
| "Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other" | BSFA Award | Short Non-fiction | Won | [38] | |
| 2026 | Nga'phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella | British Fantasy Award | Novella | Pending | [39] |
See also
[edit]- The Westsider: Eugen Bacon on the Power of Storytelling
- HWA: Black Heritage in Horror - Interview with Eugen Bacon
- British Fantasy Society - Meet Eugen Bacon
- British Science Fiction Association - Interview: Eugen Bacon
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Francesca Myman (17 January 2022). "Agents of Change: Eugen Bacon". Locus. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ Tanisha Rule (12 February 2021). "Reviewer Tanisha Rule Interviews Eugen Bacon, Author of The Road to Woop Woop and Other Stories". www.forewordreviews.com. Foreword Reviews. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ Eugen Bacon (24 November 2020). "Inhabitation – Genni and I | Eugen Bacon on Black Speculative Fiction". Sydney Review of Books. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "Introducing Eugen Bacon". WFC2020. 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Macmillan Learning UK". Macmillan International Higher Education. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ↑ "KSP Writers-in-Residence & Fellows 1987-present". Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers' Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ Jed Hartman (12 February 2025). "Announcing the 2024 Otherwise Fellowship recipients!". Otherwise Awards. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "2025 Otherwise Award Winner". Locus. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ↑ "2019 Australian Shadows Awards Finalists". Locus. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- 1 2 "2020 Ditmar Winners". Locus. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Longlist for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction". Brittle Paper. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "2020 Australian Shadows Awards Winners". Locus. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "2020 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chukwuebuka Ibeh (24 May 2021). "The 2021 Nommo Awards Longlist Announced". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "2021 Aurealis Awards Winners". Locus. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "2021 Australian Shadows Awards Winners". Locus. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "2021 Otherwise Award Winners". Locus. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ Mike Glyer (21 January 2022). "Second Round of 2021 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- 1 2 Mike Glyer (12 January 2023). "Second Round of 2022 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "2022 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- 1 2 "2023 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ↑ "2023 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Locus. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ↑ Molly Templeton (30 October 2023). "Announcing the 2023 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Reactor. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ↑ "2023 British Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ "2023 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Mike Glyer (21 January 2024). "Second Round of 2023 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Mike Glyer (1 February 2025). "Second Round of 2024 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "2024 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
- ↑ "2024 Nommo Awards Shortlist". Locus. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "Jacobs Wins 2024 Philip K. Dick Award". Locus. 1 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "2024 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Locus. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ↑ "The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists 2024". Readings. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "Bacon Receives Solstice Award". Locus. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "2025 Ignyte Award Winners". Locus. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ↑ "2025 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 21 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Mike Glyer (27 January 2026). "Second Round of 2025 BSFA Awards Nominations Begins". File 770. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 "2025 Aurealis Awards Winners". Locus. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ↑ "2025 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "The British Fantasy Awards 2026 Shortlists!". 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
