FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction

What FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction does

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction is a digital-first quarterly literary magazine that publishes speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror — featuring stories, poetry, and essays by and about Black people of the African Diaspora. Founded in 2017 as a project of the Niggerati Space Station (NSS) collective and operated under NSS Media, it has shipped 38 themed quarterly issues plus special issues through April 2026, building a catalog of over a decade of curated content. The core technology is a self-hosted publishing platform that distributes issues as downloadable PDF and EPUB files, with merchandise (posters, framed prints, postcards) shipped on demand through the same e-commerce storefront.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring annual subscriptions and per-issue digital sales at $3.99 (the primary stream), one-time physical merchandise sales, and episodic donations and grants such as the LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing Contest funding. Go-to-market is community-led and direct-to-consumer: open submissions, themed reading series (LIVE!FIYAH), the annual FIYAHCON convention, the Ignyte Awards, and ecosystem partnerships with Tor.com, Locus, Broad Universe, Reckoning, and Writing Excuses. Customer segments are Black speculative fiction writers (supply side) and readers seeking Black-centered genre fiction (demand side), with a secondary segment of disabled, LGBTQIA, and neurodivergent writers served through intersectional editorial practice. The publication has won the World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award, and Hugo Award, and is staffed by a distributed team of roughly seven core editors and extended contributors across the US and Nigeria.

Name

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction

Legal name

NSS Media

Website

https://fiyahlitmag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction is a digital-first quarterly literary magazine publishing themed speculative fiction by and about Black people of the African Diaspora, distributed via PDF/EPUB subscriptions and direct e-commerce sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Literary Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interactive & Enhanced Digital Publishing (multimedia, serialized, interactive fiction) (MPAJAMAL), Author Website, Storefront & Direct-to-Reader Commerce (D2C Sales) (MPAJAJAE)

Keywords

• Speculative fiction publishing
• Digital literary magazine
• Quarterly themed issues
• Black speculative fiction
• Independent publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Digital Magazine Sales: Individual quarterly issues sold as downloadable PDF and EPUB files at $3.99 per issue. Subscription model with yearly billing delivers all issues released during the subscription period via email.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of printed posters ($22-$35), framed poster prints ($35-$60), postcards ($3), and other branded merchandise through the online shop.
3. Donations and Grants: Accepts donations with supporter recognition in issues. Has received grants including the LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing Contest funding. Special Projects section includes dedicated grants program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

FIYAH publishes a quarterly digital speculative fiction magazine featuring stories by and about Black people of the African Diaspora, sold as themed issues in PDF and EPUB formats for $3.99 per issue or through annual subscriptions. The publication also sells related physical merchandise (posters, framed prints, postcards), operates the Ignyte Awards program, hosts FIYAHCON and the LIVE!FIYAH reading series, and runs grants and research initiatives supporting Black speculative fiction writers.

Product overview

FIYAH is a digital-only quarterly speculative fiction magazine that serves as a literary incubator for Black speculative fiction. The core offering consists of quarterly themed issues available via subscription or individual purchase in PDF and EPUB formats. Related offerings include print merchandise (posters and framed prints), the annual Ignyte Awards, FIYAHCON virtual convention, the LIVE! FIYAH reading series, the #BlackSpecFic research reports, the POB Score Project tracking publishing diversity, grants for writers, author interview features (Voices on FIYAH), and the Em-Dash gameshow for writers. FIYAH also publishes the Breathe FIYAH flash fiction anthology in partnership with Tor.com.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Published 38 quarterly issues plus special issues since 2017
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered supportive and core.

• Broad UniversesupportiveGTM or Marketing PartnerBroad Universe is a supporting organization for FIYAH. Their logo appears in the supporters section of the FIYAH website.
• Reckoning MagazinesupportiveGTM or Marketing PartnerReckoning Magazine is listed as a supporter of FIYAH. Reckoning Press logo appears in the supporters section.
• Writing ExcusessupportiveGTM or Marketing PartnerWriting Excuses podcast logo appears in the supporters section. Writing Excuses is a popular writing advice podcast.
• Locus MagazinesupportiveGTM or Marketing PartnerLocus Magazine 2026 fundraiser partnership with FIYAH. Locus is a leading science fiction and fantasy publication.
• Tor.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIYAH collaborated with Tor.com to produce the Breathe FIYAH flash fiction anthology, edited by DaVaun Sanders.
• Lambda Literary FoundationsupportiveOthersL.D. Lewis serves as Awards Manager for the Lambda Literary Foundation while also serving as founding creator of FIYAH.
• Othering and Belonging Institute at UC BerkeleysupportiveOthersChristian M. Ivey works as Digital Communications Specialist for the Othering and Belonging Institute while serving as FIYAH's Art Director and Social Media Manager.
• NSS MediacoreOthersNSS Media is the parent company/collective for FIYAH Literary Magazine. Copyright 2022 NSS Media. All Rights Reserved.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Uncanny Magazine: A Hugo-winning, digital-first, reader-supported SF/F magazine that publishes themed issues on a recurring schedule and is built around a curated editorial mission very similar to FIYAH's.
• Strange Horizons: An online speculative fiction magazine with a strong tradition of publishing marginalized voices and themed editorial slates — closely aligned with FIYAH's mission and digital-first magazine format.
• Lightspeed Magazine: A flagship online science fiction and fantasy magazine that has actively reprinted FIYAH contributors (e.g., 'Saudade') and operates the same digital-issues-plus-podcast model FIYAH uses.
• Clarkesworld Magazine: A long-running, award-winning digital SFF magazine selling individual issues and subscriptions online — directly comparable in distribution mechanics and audience.
• PodCastle: A speculative fiction podcast and magazine publishing short fiction; several FIYAH editors (e.g., Emmalia Harrington, former managing editor Eboni Dunbar) have published or worked there, signaling overlap in contributor and editorial communities.
• Reckoning Magazine: An independent speculative fiction magazine focused on environmental justice and creative responses to the climate crisis; explicitly listed as a FIYAH supporter and operating with the same indie-literary-magazine ethos.
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies: A long-running online fantasy magazine that sells individual issues and subscriptions digitally, comparable in format, audience size, and indie-press economics to FIYAH.
• Nightmare Magazine: A horror/dark-fiction sister magazine to Lightspeed, with the same digital-issue distribution model and themed editorial structure used by FIYAH.
• Fireside Magazine: A short fiction magazine featuring diverse speculative fiction; former FIYAH founding-creator L.D. Lewis is its publisher, creating direct organizational and curatorial overlap with FIYAH.

Emerging players

• Apogee Journal: A literary magazine publishing work by Black, Indigenous, and people of color — adjacent in audience and identity-driven editorial mission, though broader than speculative fiction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fiyahlitmag
• Facebookfacebook.com/fiyahlitmag
• Pinterestpinterest.com/fiyahlitmag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fiyah-literary-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction