Although I’ve had some personal setbacks in my freelance writing career thanks to COVID-19, this year still managed to be a decent year for me as a freelance pop culture critic. As such, I am eligible for “Best Fan Writer” in the 2021 Hugo Awards and would love to be considered for it.

I am especially proud of my video game criticism essays and articles, which were featured in new places such as Fanbyte, Into The Spine, and Strange Horizons for the first time as well as familiar places such as Anime Feminist.

Another media that I did a stellar job critiquing this year is comic books. This year saw my debut at the comic book criticism website Women Write About Comics and Newsrama and appearing at old favorites like Anime Feminist and Black Sci-fi.

Finally, I was also thankful to be able to discuss some sci-fi fantasy novels at various websites such as Tor, Black Sci-fi, and my personal column The Afro YA at Brain Mill Press Voices.

Now, here are some highlights from my pop culture criticism in 2020.

My Gaming Criticism

Kingdom Hearts’ Sea Salt Trio and The Power of Chosen Family; Strange Horizons

JRPG Openings and The Call To Adventure; Into The Spine

5 Essential Gaming Anime To Watch; Fanbyte

My Comic Book Criticism

The Magik of New Mutants’ Illyana Rasputin; Women Write About Comics

A Beginner’s Guide To Modern LGBTQ Manga; Newsrama

My Fave Is Problematic: Phantom Thief Jeanne; Anime Feminist

My SFF CriTiCISM

8 SFF Books That Center Mental Health; Tor.com

10 Black Sci-fi Fantasy Works That Need A Netflix Adaptation; Black Sci-fi

Tristan Strong Destroys The World Is A Magical Tale of Intergenerational Trauma; The Afro YA (Brain Mill Press Voices)