Talking Fiction and Indigenous Futures with Weyodi OldBear, Lee Francis IV, and Patty Krawec

Three creators at the forefront of Indigenous writing and publishing gather to discuss the current state of their fields — how today's Native writers draw from history and look toward the future.

Weyodi OldBear, a citizen of the Comanche Nation and Nebula Award-finalist, is an author, poet, and game developer whose work spans Indigenous futurism, comics, and speculative fiction. Her novel As Many Ships As Stars received warm reviews from Publishers Weekly, and the first book in her trilogy series The Root and The Seed is due from Android Press in June 2026. Lee Francis IV is an educator, entrepreneur, and award-winning writer who founded the Indigenous Comic Con, Native Realities, and Red Planet Books and Comics, among other organizations advancing Native and Indigenous pop culture. Patty Krawec writes about how Anishinaabe thought informs faith and social justice practices and is the author of Becoming Kin.

OldBear joins in person; Krawec and Francis join online. Audience members are welcome in the Cooper Room or via livestream.

Part of the New York Society Library's Celebration of Indigenous Writers, underwritten by the Henry S.F. Cooper Jr. Fund.