Ytasha L. Womack is an award-winning author, director, independent scholar, and dance therapist. Her book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy Culture is a leading primer on the subject and is a 2014 Locus Awards Nonfiction Finalist. Her follow up, The Afrofuturist Evolution: Creative Paths to Self Discovery, debuts in March. She wrote and produced the Afrofuturist and science animation and immersive experience Niyah and the Multiverse currently running at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Ytasha lectures on Afrofuturism and the imagination for audiences around the world and was a cocurator of Carnegie Hall’s Afrofuturism Festival, a nationwide arts festival, in 2022. She’s also featured in the documentary Afrofuturism: An Origin Story produced in partnership with the National Museum of History and Culture (Smithsonian). She contributed essays to the Smithsonian’s book Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures and is featured in the museum’s first of its kind exhibit of the same name which debuted in March 2023.
Her book Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration (Becker & Mayer) debuted in October 2023 and her debut graphic novel Blak Kube, illustrated by Tanna Tucker, debuts in Feb 2025 (Megascope/Abrams). Ytasha’s other works include the sci fi novel Rayla 2212, the Kickstarter project A Spaceship in Bronzeville as well as the nonfiction books Post Black, and Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love & Hate About Hip Hop. Ytasha’s films include the Afrofuturist dance film A Love Letter to the Ancestors From Chicago (director) and Couples Night (screenwriter). She cocurated the Adler Planetarium’s Afrofuturism Nights and their Rayla 2212 dance, music, and augmented reality experiences. She created and hosts Afrofuturism Dance experiences and workshops, a merging of dance and futures thinking, for youth and adults
Ytasha was an inaugural resident for Black Rock Senegal helmed by artist Kehinde Wiley in Dakar and showcased her zine Liquid at the 2022 Dakar Biennial. Other residencies include serving as writer in resident for WOW Festival in Liverpool, Kickstarter, and Emerson College. Her short story Liquid Twilight is featured in the 2023 World Fantasy Award winning anthology Africa Risin. She also has essays featured in the books Black Cinema & Visual Culture, MIT’s Make Shift: Dispatches From the Post Pandemic, Boogie Down Predictions: Hip Hop and Afrofuturism, and the graphic novel Matty’s Rocket. Ytasha has a BA from Clark Atlanta University and studied Media Management at Columbia College in Chicago. Ytasha was also listed as a design innovator in the book The Black Experience in Design: Identity Expression and Reflection. Ytasha has a BA in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University and studied Media Management at Columbia College Chicago. She loves house music and drinks an abundance of tea.
Her book Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration (Becker & Mayer) debuted in October 2023 and her debut graphic novel Blak Kube, illustrated by Tanna Tucker, debuts in Feb 2025 (Megascope/Abrams). Ytasha’s other works include the sci fi novel Rayla 2212, the Kickstarter project A Spaceship in Bronzeville as well as the nonfiction books Post Black, and Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love & Hate About Hip Hop. Ytasha’s films include the Afrofuturist dance film A Love Letter to the Ancestors From Chicago (director) and Couples Night (screenwriter). She cocurated the Adler Planetarium’s Afrofuturism Nights and their Rayla 2212 dance, music, and augmented reality experiences. She created and hosts Afrofuturism Dance experiences and workshops, a merging of dance and futures thinking, for youth and adults
Ytasha was an inaugural resident for Black Rock Senegal helmed by artist Kehinde Wiley in Dakar and showcased her zine Liquid at the 2022 Dakar Biennial. Other residencies include serving as writer in resident for WOW Festival in Liverpool, Kickstarter, and Emerson College. Her short story Liquid Twilight is featured in the 2023 World Fantasy Award winning anthology Africa Risin. She also has essays featured in the books Black Cinema & Visual Culture, MIT’s Make Shift: Dispatches From the Post Pandemic, Boogie Down Predictions: Hip Hop and Afrofuturism, and the graphic novel Matty’s Rocket. Ytasha has a BA from Clark Atlanta University and studied Media Management at Columbia College in Chicago. Ytasha was also listed as a design innovator in the book The Black Experience in Design: Identity Expression and Reflection. Ytasha has a BA in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University and studied Media Management at Columbia College Chicago. She loves house music and drinks an abundance of tea.