Nalo Hopkinson - Blackheart Man
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nalohop.bsky.social
Nalo Hopkinson - Blackheart Man
@nalohop.bsky.social
11K followers 1.3K following 1.6K posts
Award-winning author of prose & comics, maker of food and small objects she/her/hers http://nalohopkinson.com
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nalohop.bsky.social
Here is the church the day after Melissa. (Apologies, I don't have the names of the people who took the pics.)
The same church, roofless, with only the walls standing. There is rubble inside and outside what's left of the building.
November 5, 2025 at 7:37 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
An old friend of mine is a pastor in Lacovia, Jamaica. This was the church the day before Melissa.
Compact church building with yellow brick walls, red roofs and peaked glass windows lined with light blue paint.
November 5, 2025 at 7:35 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
My Sunburst Award medallion just showed up!
The Sunburst Award medallion is round, about palm-sized, made of solid metal with a pinwheel-type pattern engraved on it. It hangs by a red ribbon. Back of the Sunburst Award medallion, which is round, palm-sized, made of solid metal. Engraved into the back of this one: "The Sunburst Award 2025: Blackheart Man, by Nalo Hopkinson."
November 2, 2025 at 11:31 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
My "I didn't win the Le-Guin Prize but shortlisted is still pretty fucking dope and plus it went to someone awesome for an awesome novel" consolation ice cream. And yes, I wanted soft serve.
Nalo in a Dairy Queen with red padded benches. She's wearing a fuzzy lavender coat, colourful velvet scarf & glasses with huge maroon frames. She's holding & eating a large serving of plain ice cream piled high in a cone, & smiling in enjoyment, eyes half-closed.
October 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
I’ve seen one of these birds grab a whole pizza out of someone’s hands at the crowded Granville Island dock & fly away with it. They are bold, determined & hella strong.
Blue poster standing on wooden boardwalk, oceanside, outside Granville Island market. Image: cartoon white seagull, yellow french fry tipped w red ketchup in its beak. Text: “Warning: Seagulls steal snacks by the sea shore.”
August 4, 2025 at 7:27 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
I just received pbk copies of Blackheart Man; a lovely surprise (I knew the publisher was going into pbk, just didn't know they had mailed my copies).
Front cover, pbk ed of Blackheart Man, a novel by Nalo Hopkinson. Foreground: face of a handsome young Taino Man, long black hair, dark green blouse. Background: twin cameos, looking left & right of a Black woman, implied deities, with blue-black skin & a gold headband of 3 strips. Each woman is crowned with the black head of a caiman. Back cover, pbk ed of Blackheart Man. Variegated blue background. Bottom left: portrait photo, Nalo Hopkinson; a smiling Black woman, bald, glasses, oxblood lipstick, light blue shot silk shirt. Text: “Readers are gifted with the rare privilege of transcending limitations when it comes to the possibility of how legendary Black characters can be depicted. In this spellbinding book, myth and history converge, taking readers on a fantastical journey.” -The Toronto Star One morning, fifteen Ymisen galleons arrive in the harbour to force a trade agreement upon the island nation of Chynchin. Veycosi, in training as a griot (an historian and musician), hopes to sail off to examine the rare Alamat Book of Light & thus secure a spot for himself on Chynchin's Colloquium of Scholars. However, an unexpected disaster, created by Veycosi, prevents that from happening just as the implied threat of the Ymisen rises. Hoping to recover & prove himself with a bold move, Veycosi quickly finds himself in way over his head. Bad turns to worse when malign forces start stirring. How much trouble can a poor student take? Or cause all by himself? The line between myth and the history of the Chynchin war of independence from Ymisen blends in this delightfully sly novel by one of our most lauded writers of Caribbean speculative fiction. “SFWA Grand Master Hopkinson serves up a rich stew of folklore and history in this delightfully delirious fairy tale of a magical island resisting reconquest...A triumph.” -Publishers' Weekly “Hopkinson's most narratively complex novel...and her most linguistically inventive work to date.” -Locus Nalo Hopkinson is an award-winning author of numerous novels & short stories. Nalo grew up in Jamaica, Trinidad & Guyana before moving to Canada when she was 16. Visit her at nalohopkinson.com. Saga Press SagaPress.com SimonAndSchuster.com @SagaPressBooks Cover design by Maddy Angstreich Cover illustration by Johnny Tarajosu Fiction ISBN 978-1-6680-0511-8 $18…
July 8, 2025 at 9:33 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
In the Vancouver sky last night. Is that you, Jean Jacket? #JordanPeele #Nope #Don’tLookAtItDirectly
Vancouver, BC skyline near dusk, view from the sea wall. In the overcast sky, a lone, low cloud stands out in the foreground, a distinctly lumpish and different shape than the skyscape high above it.
June 28, 2025 at 8:19 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
November 2024. I turned 64 in December.
NH portrait (through a car window?), smiling, wearing glasses w variegated translucent green frames & bright red lipstick.
June 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
I finally have stickers I can use when I sign copies of Blackheart Man to cover the jacket quotation from a former friend I recently discovered is a sexual predator. His name on my book has been triggering me. L to R; now you see it, now you don't. My thanks to DCF for skillful sticker design.
Cover of novel Blackheart Man showing problematic NG endorsement. Cover depicts head & shoulders of a beautiful young Taino man, facing forward, wearing a mid green tunic. Behind are two profiles of near-identical twin African goddesses, facing left & right. They each wear a hat made from the dried head of a caiman. Cover of novel Blackheart Man, problematic NG quote now invisible, having been covered up with a sticker that matches the background. Cover depicts head & shoulders of a beautiful young Taino man, facing forward, wearing a mid green tunic. Behind are two profiles of near-identical twin African goddesses, facing left & right. They each wear a hat made from the dried head of a caiman. Roll of stickers designed to match the cover background of novel Blackheart Man, and shaped so as to cover NG quotation.
March 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
I’ve been sewing for 50+ years, and it’s taken me that long to come up with a system for knowing which needle is in the machine.
Top view of a white sewing machine. A piece of card is taped to the upper face of the machine. The words “denim 110” are handwritten on the card in black ink.
March 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Alt description of the cover.
Cover art by Joshua Mays, Jamaica Ginger & Other Concoctions: profile of young Black woman, sepia tones peeking out of blue outline embedded w strings of light blue dots. She’s wearing either a 40s style hat or maybe a planet w rings. black background w purple flowers.
January 27, 2025 at 8:08 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
My mcsweeneys.ne
t science fiction trading cards just arrived. Tickled to be in the pack.
Silver foil packet, rectangular, w garish illo in the style of 1950s pulp covers. Depicts Isaac Asimov. Reads “McSweeney’s Sci-Fi Author Cards, 15 Cards per Pack, With Career Stats.” 8 McSweeney’s science fiction author trading cards, comics-style portraits of Nalo Hopkinson, Charlie Jane Anders, Octavia Butler, Cory Doctorow, Ray Bradbury, Naomi Kritzer, Jeff Vandermeer, Ursula Le Guin.
December 18, 2024 at 5:55 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
The first time I realized that I'd written a fair bit of stuff was when I took a uni position and unpacked my books onto the shelves in my office.
Two tall white shelving units with shelves offset. Stacked untidily full of books, some multiples, all containing something written by Nalo Hopkinson.
November 29, 2024 at 7:49 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Supper: BC spot prawns, forbidden rice ramen, mixed greens, sliced Thai pepper, diced ginger, turmeric, Angostura Bitters. #FoodIsGood
Grey enamelled frying pan filled with purple rice ramen, slightly wilted lettuce greens, curls of pinkish-yellow stirfried shrimp, dotted with bright red circles of thin-cut Thai chillies.
November 26, 2024 at 8:45 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Pomelo chili marmalade. Boil sliced skin & pith of 1 pomelo 2x in fresh water till pith is translucent. Rinse until water no longer runs greenish. Place in heavy pot w 2 sliced chilis. Cover w sugar then water. Stir. Cook med heat, not stirring, til 220F. Remove from heat. Cool. Bottle. #FoodIsGood
Marmalade on an indigo blue glass plate, flanked by black spoon, butter knife, round seed crackers. Marmalade is chunky, dark brown with reddish highlights. There are cracker crumbs on the plate.
November 1, 2024 at 1:55 AM
nalohop.bsky.social
B&N Reward or Premium Member? Get 25% off all pre-orders of my forthcoming novel Blackheart Man fr 7/10/24 – 7/17/24. Across all formats; print, ebooks, audio. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blackheart...
@sagapressbooks.bsky.social
Cover of novel Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson shows portrait of young Taino in the foreground, green shirt, long black hair. He's flanked on either side by twin African women, side view left & right. Each woman wears a "crown" that is the head of a caiman.
July 12, 2024 at 5:46 AM
nalohop.bsky.social
My first attempt at velveting chicken. Delicious. I used it in a stirfry w pea shoots from my patio garden and broccoli. thewoksoflife.com/how-to-velve...
Black ceramic bowl filled with a stirfry of strips of tender, browned chicken breast, broccoli florets, and pea shoots
June 25, 2024 at 4:24 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
1st harvest from my tiny, sunless balcony garden; a punnet of microgreens.
Outdoors, day. Wooden-beamed balcony flooring. In foreground is a hand holding a green commercial cardboard punnet full of pea shoots.
June 23, 2024 at 8:35 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Zucchini lasagna with tomatillo/chayote sauce (housemate can’t do tomatoes).
rectangular glass baking dish containing a casserole of rolled up zucchini slices stuffed with with ricotta and slathered w caramel-colored chunky sauce, topped with grated, melted mozzarella
June 20, 2024 at 5:33 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Reskeet w your polycule.
Still from Black Panther: three Dora Milaje women soldiers on guard as T'Challah and Killmonger face off to fight.
June 2, 2024 at 2:57 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Curried chicken w asparagus n kale over high protein noodles made of chicken breast (I know, but they’re really tasty) #FoodIsGood
Blue glass plate w curried chicken legs, asparagus, kale over white homemade noodles drenched in curry gravy
March 22, 2024 at 6:11 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
Breakfast: bone broth egg drop soup with asparagus. #FoodIsGood
close up of black bowl on clear glass plate. Bowl contains soup with yellow threads of drizzled egg and chunks of green asparagus spears.
February 19, 2024 at 7:28 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
This soup is a little different every time I make it: Kabocha squash w nutmeg, ginger, butter, flaked chillies, shredded raw basil. Served on the side w sliced avocado and crumbled blue cheese topped w balsamic & apple cider vinegars & hot sauce. Glass of Chateau Croix-Mouton Bordeaux #FoodIsGood
L: black bowl w mango yellow squash soup inside. R: black plate, red flower design. Avocado slices topped w crumbled blue cheese laced w balsamic and apple cider vinegars & hot sauce.
January 29, 2024 at 3:48 AM
nalohop.bsky.social
Xmas morn tradition; Guyanese garlic pork. Chopped ribs marinated 3 days in vinegar, thyme, garlic, hot peppers, then fried brown. #FoodIsGood
1” cuts of pork ribs, fried brown & draining on paper towel with a sprig of fried thyme, beside a slice of buttered bread. Brass-tipped fork resting atop.
December 25, 2023 at 6:36 PM
nalohop.bsky.social
63!
NNH, outdoors on a bench, overcast day. Long black coat. Black chelsea boots, teal gaiters tied with a bow at each knee. Black sweater, multicoloured scarf. Cobbled pavement.
December 20, 2023 at 8:35 PM