Brown Girl In the Ring (27 page)

The SpecHeads; Bob, Brent, and Laurie, for lively, intelligent dissection of my manuscript. Hope allyou like how I put it back together. And to David for loving, honest critique. And Peter (Driver Man) for science expertise—if I got any of it wrong, it’s my fault, not yours—and general sound advice.

The cast and crew of the 1995 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop (it was sticky and there weren’t any ducks), and to Bob and Laurel, who lent me the cash to get there, and the Cultural Human Resources Council, which ultimately helped me pay the whole tab.

Derek Walcott for writing the play
Ti-Jean and His Brothers
, one of the first examples of Caribbean magic realism I ever read.

The arts councils that have supported my writing: Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, and the Multiculturalism Programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The African Heritage collections of the Toronto and North York Public Libraries, which are resources beyond price. I didn’t know a lot of this stuff; I looked it up.

Every friend who’s ever listened to me moan that I can’t do this, it’s too hard, no, I can’t come out and play ’cause I gotta write another thousand words. Especially you, Sudharshan. And Winsom, for support and jubilations.

I’d like to thank the Academy…oh, all right, I’ll stop now.

• • • •

And hekua to all my ancestors for walking the path before me and lighting my way.

NALO HOPKINSON was born in Jamaica and has also lived in Guyana, Trinidad, and Canada. The daughter of a poet/playwright and a library technician, she has won numerous awards including the Ontario Arts Council Foundation Award for Emerging Writers, and her award-winning short fiction collection
Skin Folk
was selected for the 2002
New York Times
Summer Reading List and was one of the
New York Times
Best Books of the Year. She lives in Toronto.

Hopkinson is also the author of
The New Moon’s Arms
,
The Salt Roads
,
Midnight Robber
, and
Brown Girl in the Ring
and the editor of
Mojo: Conjure Stories
.