Maurice Broaddus is an American author who has published fiction across a number of genres including young adult, horror, fantasy and science fiction. Among his books are The Knights of Breton Court urban fantasy trilogy from Angry Robot, the steampunk novel Pimp My Airship from Apex Publications, and the young adult novel The Usual Suspects from HarperCollins."Review of The Usual Suspects by Maurice Broaddus," Kirkus, Feb. 17, 2019. His Afrofuturist space trilogy Astra Black was released by Tor Books beginning in 2022."Meet the Man Behind Afrofuturist Steampunk" by Stephen Starr, OZY, January 8, 2020. He has also published dozens of short stories in magazines such as Asimov's Science Fiction, Black Static, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Weird Tales along with anthologies including Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy and Sunspot Jungle.
Life
Broaddus was born in London, United Kingdom, but grew up in Indianapolis, United States. His mother is from Jamaica, where many of his relatives still live."Good-bye Aunt Bell" by Maurice Broaddus, author's website, accessed 1-25-2014.
Broaddus earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Purdue University and worked for two decades as an environmental toxicologist. He was formerly the executive director of Cities of Refuge Ministries, which provides transitional housing and employment opportunities for people dealing with addiction, reentry, or homelessness.Cities of Refuge Ministries information page , accessed January 25, 2014. He currently works at the Oaks Academy Middle School as a teacher librarian and at the Kheprw Institute, a neighborhood association focusing on youth leadership development, community wealth building, and improving the lives of local residents."Meet The Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Writer Changing Indianapolis" by Lou Harry, Indianapolis Monthly, July 17, 2019.
He still resides in Indianapolis, where he lives with his wife and two sons.
Writing
Broaddus has published dozens of short stories and hundreds of essays (including as a columnist for the Indianapolis Star and as a reviewer for HollywoodJesus.com). His fiction has been published in magazines such as Asimov's Science Fiction, Cemetery Dance, Fiyah Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Apex Magazine, Black Static, Weird Tales, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Fantasy & Science Fiction, along with stories in original and reprint anthologies such as Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy and Sunspot Jungle.
In 2010 Angry Robot published Broaddus’ urban fantasy novel King Maker, a "retelling of the Arthurian mythos involving street gangs.""Opening New Doors: SF/Fantasy Publishing 2010" by JoSelle Vanderhooft, Publishers Weekly, Apr 12, 2010. The novel was called a "triumph" by SF Book Reviews"Review of King Maker by Maurice Broaddus", SF Book Reviews, March 10, 2010. and was followed up by two sequels, King's JusticeReview of King's Justice: The Knights of Breton Court II, Publishers Weekly, January 31, 2011. and King’s War. In 2012 Angry Robot published the trilogy in an omnibus edition entitled The Knights of Breton Court.
His steampunk novella Buffalo Soldier was released in 2017 by Tor"Fighting on Arrival, Fighting for Survival: Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus" by Alex Brown, Tor.com, April 25, 2017. and was described by the New York Times Book Review as an "exciting" story packed with "alternate American history, fantastic technology and father-son bonding.""Ghosts, Warring Gods and the Apocalypse: The Best of New Science Fiction and Fantasy" by N. K. Jemisin, The New York Times Book Review, May 18, 2017. His short story collection The Voices of Martyrs was released in 2016 by Rosarium Publishing. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the collection "evocative and moving" with "lush, descriptive prose (that) tantalizes all the senses."Starred review of The Voices of Martyrs by Maurice Broaddus," Publishers Weekly, 01/02/2017.
In 2019 Broaddus sold his Afrofuturist space trilogy Astra Black to Tor. The first novel in the series, Sweep of Stars, was released in March 2022. His 2020 novella Sorcerers about a hip hop inspired sorcerer, is being adapted into a show by AMC Networks."AMC Networks will adapt hip-hop and magic story from Indianapolis author Maurice Broaddus" by David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, Aug. 11, 2020."AMC Adapting Novella 'Sorcerers' From Maurice Broaddus, Otis Whitaker And Jim Mahfood Into Series" by Justin Kroll, Deadline, Aug. 4, 2020. Broaddus wrote the novella with "Otis Whitaker," a pseudonym for a collective of storytellers at NeoText, and illustrated by Jim Mahfood.
Editing
Broaddus has also edited and co-edited several well-received anthologies, including Dark Faith (alongside fellow editor Jerry Gordon), which focused on the intersection between horror and religious faith."Review of Dark Faith," Publishers Weekly, May 3, 2010. He also co-edited the "People of Colo(u)r Destroy Fantasy" and "People of Colo(u)r Destroy Horror" special issues of Fantasy and Nightmare magazines."Writers of Color Continue to Wrestle With Lovecraft’s Racist Legacy," Wired, Jan. 6, 2017.
He also works as an editor at Apex Magazine.
In late 2020 Broaddus guest edited a special issue of Fireside Magazine dealing with grief and loss."Editorial" by Maurice Broaddus, Fireside Magazine, Autumn 2020, page 1. One of the essays selected by Broaddus was "Da Art of Speculatin'" by Regina N. Bradley, which discussed how hip-hop duo Outkast "blended Black Southern life of the past and present in their music to paint possibilities of their lives in the future.""Publisher apologizes for 'auditory blackface': A minstrel-like performance of a Black woman's essay" by Lateshia Beachum, Washington Post, November 28, 2020. Despite the first line of the essay identifying Bradley as a "southern Black woman who stands in the long shadow of the Civil Rights Movement," without the knowledge of Broaddus"The rekindling of Fireside Magazine" by Andrew Liptak, Transfer Orbit, June 16, 2021."Regarding our audio recordings" by Pablo Defendini, Fireside Magazine, November 24, 2020. the magazine's publisher released an audio version of the essay narrated by a white man "who spoke in an accent that listeners interpreted as something that would appear in a minstrel show.""White Man Hired To Narrate Southern Black Woman Scholar's Essay Turns Brilliant Black Art Into Minstrel Show" by Kirsten West Savali, Essence Magazine, December 6, 2020. The audio version was called "auditory blackface" and resulted in national media attention."Publisher Hires White Man to Narrate Black Woman's Outkast Essay, White Man Reads in the Worst Southern Blaccent Ever" by Zack Linly, The Root, 11/26/2020. The audio version was later deleted and the publisher apologized to Bradley and Broaddus.
Awards
Broaddus, along with co-editor Jerry Gordon, was a finalist for the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology for Dark Faith"2010 Stoker Final Ballot", Locus Magazine, February 28, 2011. and won the Kitschies award for debut novel for King Maker."The Kitschies: 2010 Golden Tentacle Winner," pornokitsch, January 28, 2011. He was also a finalist for the Black Quill Award."Nominations for the 4th Annual Black Quill Awards", Dark Scribe Magazine, December 2, 2010.
His novel Pimp My Airship won the 2020 genre award at the 2022 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards, presented by Indiana Humanities."Maurice Broaddus, 2020 Genre Winner," Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards, accessed 9/9/2021."Honors keep coming for Maurice Broaddus," Indianapolis Recorder, September 10, 2020. Additionally, in 2024, Broaddus received two Indiana Author Awards for Best Middle Grade Novel titled Unfadeable and Genre Shortlist for Sweep of Stars.
Bibliography
Novels
Astra Black trilogy Sweep of Stars (Tor, March 2022) Breath of Oblivion (Tor, November 2024) A City Dreaming (Tor, June 2026) Pimp My Airship (Apex Publications, 2019) The Knights of Breton Court trilogy (reprinted in the omnibus edition The Knights of Breton Court, Angry Robot, 2012) King Maker (Angry Robot, 2010) King's Justice (Angry Robot, 2011) King's War (Angry Robot, 2011) Sweep of Stars (Macmillan Publishers, 2022)
Young adult novels
Unfadeable (HarperCollins, April 2022) The Usual Suspects (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins, 2019)
Short story collections
The Voice of Martyrs (Rosarium Publishing, 2016)
Anthologies
Streets of Shadows (Alliteration Ink, 2014, edited with Jerry Gordon) Dark Faith: Invocations (Apex Publications, 2012, edited with Jerry Gordon) Dark Faith (Apex Publications, 2010, edited with Jerry Gordon)
Novellas
Sorcerers (NeoText, 2020, written with "Otis Whitaker," a pseudonym for a collective of storytellers, and illustrated by Jim Mahfood) Buffalo Soldier (Tor, 2017) I Can Transform You (Apex Publications, 2013) Bleed With Me (Delirium Books, 2011) Devil's Marionette (Shroud Publishing, 2009) Orgy of Souls (Apex Publications, 2008, co-authored with Wrath James White)
Selected short fiction
"Abagail’s Gethsemane" (w/ Wayne Brady, The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand, Gallery Books, 2025) "Babylon Systems" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2021) "Black Panther – Kindred Spirits" (Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, Titan Books, March 2021) "The Legacy of Alexandria" (Apex Magazine, November 2020)"The Legacy of Alexandria" Apex Magazine, November 2020. "City of Refuge" (Escape Pod 2020, reprinted in Lightspeed Magazine, August 2021) "The Migration Suite: A Study in C Sharp Minor" (Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2019, reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2020"FUTURE TREASURES: THE YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY 2020, EDITED BY RICH HORTON" Black Gate, June 17, 2021.) "El is a Spaceship Melody" (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2018) "What the Mountain Wants" (w/ Nayad Monroe, Do Not Go Quietly, Apex Publication, 2018) "The Valkyrie" (War Stories Anthology, Apex Books, 2014; reprinted in Starship Sofa, 2018) "Vade Retro Satana" (Fiyah Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Spring 2017; reprinted in Lightspeed Magazine, December 2018) "The Ache of Home" (Uncanny Magazine, July–August 2017) "At the Village Vanguard" (Mothership Zeta, October 2016; reprinted in Escape Pod) "Super Duper Fly" (Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling, Apex Books, 2015; reprinted in Sunspot Jungle, Rosarium Publishing, 2018) "The Kwanzaa Kid" (Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Anthology, Evil Girlfriend Media, 2015) "Steppin' Razor" (Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2014) "The Electric Spanking of the War Babies" (co-written with Kyle S. Johnson, Glitter & Mayhem, Apex Publications, 2013)"Glitter & Mayhem is a glam rock space party terror anthology" by Ed Grabianowski, io9, January 9, 2014. "Awaiting Redemption" (Eulogies II: Tales From the Cellar, edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta, and Tony Tremblay, HW Press, 2013) "A Soldier's Story" (Vampires Don't Sparkle!, edited by Michael West, Seventh Star Press, 2012) "Being in the Shadow" (Appalachian Undead, edited by Jason Sizemore, Apex Publications, 2012) "Rainfall" (Cemetery Dance, #65, 2011) "Lost Son" (Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology edited by Charles R. Saunders, Milton J. Davis, MVmedia, 2011) "The Problem of Trystan" (Hot and Steamy: Tales of Steampunk Romance, edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg, DAW Books, 2011) "I, Theodora" (Beauty Has Her Way, edited by Jennifer Brozek, Dark Quest Books, 2011) "A Stone Cast into Stillness" (Dark Futures edited by Jason Sizemore, Dark Quest Books, 2010; republished 2012) "Hootchie Cootchie Man" (Black Static, Issue 14, December 2009-January 2010) "Trouble Among the Yearlings" (Harlan County Horrors, edited by Mari Adkins, Apex Publications, 2009)