Black Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Justina Ireland
What inspired you to start writing?
When I was pregnant with my kiddo I was terrified of losing my identity as a person and being reduced to little more than an incubator for the next generation. So I decided to do something I was afraid of trying to do: writing a book.
What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?
To be honest, for a long time, I resisted the title of being a horror writer, mostly because the genre classification tends to be a little reductive. Also, I’m not a straight white guy. The fact that stories like Beloved was never billed as horror (it most definitely is, BTW) kind of cemented my belief that while I was playing in a genre space, horror wasn’t for me. But once I realized that horror wasn’t just the stereotypical slashers that everyone identifies with the genre or the problems of middle-aged white men going through a mid-life crisis I realized I’d been writing horror pretty much my entire career. Because I tend to write about the things that scare us. So much of human existence is linked to fear, and fear drives more of our decisions than we tend to admit.
Do you make a conscious effort to include African diaspora characters and themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?
I mean, no, but yes? I write the world that I see around me, the world that existed historically within this country since I often use history as the basis for my worldbuilding. I don’t know of a single time and place since colonization where this country was all one thing or another. It’s actually embarrassing when I read a book and the characters are all white, because that in and of itself is a fantasy, and not really one I find believable. It’s also a huge tell for those authors, that their life is so monochromatic. How have you managed to create such a sterile existence for yourself, and why would I believe you can successfully convey truths about existence when you’re only living a fraction of a life? So I don’t have to work to include Black characters because we exist, like cars and the inevitable disappointment of getting older. And that’s all I’m writing about, the truths of existence packaged in a way that hopefully terrifies, delights, and entertains.
What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?
I write horror because it’s a great way to make the terrifying survivable. If a character can survive the zombie apocalypse then maybe I can survive a Saturday morning at Costco.
How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
I’m really happy that more authors of color and queer authors are being lifted up and bringing us fresh storytelling that doesn’t feel like a retread of the same five stories I’ve been reading since sixth grade. I’m hoping we get more of that. After all, no one knows more about fear and survival than those who are marginalized.
How do you feel the Black community has been represented thus far in the genre and what hopes do you have for representation in the genre going forward?
I mean, terribly. The dead Black character trope exists for a reason. Black characters aren’t disposable, but horror sure does make it feel that way. My hope for the future? All Black everything. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. Black horror doesn’t have the depth and breadth it could, but we’ll get there.
Who are some of your favorite Black characters in horror?
Rah Digga’s turn in Thirteen Ghosts as Maggie Bess will always be my standard for Black characters in horror. She has so few moments on screen but when she is there she’s no-nonsense and smart. And she actually survives the entire film, so hell yeah. Just give me smart, capable Black women doing what they need to survive and I’m there for it. It’s a shame that’s a standard that is so hard to find.
Who are some African diaspora horror authors you recommend our audience check out?
Obviously, anything by the Queen of Black Horror (and honestly, the Queen of Horror no qualifier needed) Tananarive Due, Chesya Burke, or Tiffany Jackson. And Toni Morrison. We don’t classify her work as horror, but so much of it truly is.
What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?
If the world of your horror story doesn’t look like the world we live in you’re only writing to a small slice of humanity. Be better than that. It’s boring.
And to the Black writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?
Keep pushing. There are so many reasons to quit, but the best reason to keep going is that the world needs your voice.
Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide, Rust in the Root, the middle-grade novel Ophie’s Ghosts, which won the Scott O’Dell award for historical fiction, and a number of Star Wars books including Lando’s Luck, Spark of the Resistance, A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster. She is one of the primary story architects of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative and has also written a number of Marvel comics. In the screenwriting arena, Justina recently co-wrote episode three of Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher and has staffed a number of other TV writers’ rooms. She is a former editor-in-chief of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award. She has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards and she won the Locus award for Dread Nation. She holds a BA in History from Georgia Southern and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. You can find Justina on social media and at her website justinaireland.com, and you can find her work wherever great books are sold.
